Garage Works - 3/30/2022

I've been taking a break from foiling - really just trying to make sure I'm 100% for the up coming 4 to 5 day wind event.  I've been using this time to work on finishing Kalani's board.  I've sanded the board, then added another fill coat (I think I posted about that already...).  Then I got through another rough sanding.  I almost got away with not having to address any issues - but there were some pinholes and I needed to put the vent and leash cup in anyways.  So today I got in a little more work.

I added more fill (epoxy with milled fibers) around the footstrap inserts.

And I also addressed a couple more spots where I got a little close to the innegra.  I used 0.7 ounces of epoxy and 4 TDs of milled fibers - perfect amount.

The wind is supposed to be filling back in starting tomorrow - good thing I made progress (because I'm going to be fully distracted).

Dawn Patrol - 3/27/2022

Dawn patrolled this morning before I had to leave to take Noe to music and pick Marlon up from the airport.  I used the same front foil as yesterday - NL160, but changed the mast over to the 29.5".  There was still some energy in the water so I could stay on the outside - this was definitely the better call.

The first wave I caught was a little rocky - takeoff wasn't as nutty as with the shorter mast, but I think I need to play with the positioning again (I don't know why I keep having to do this... I guess body weight and surf conditions have more of an influence than I originally thought - or this foil is at the critical balance point).  Historically, it takes me a few waves to get acclimated to a change in configuration.

After that first one, the rest of the waves were long and I got in a bunch of turns.

I actually haven't used this function on the Garmin for quite some time.

       

Kalani was out - he is getting better.  He said pumping was harder than before.

Andrew was out - he catches so many waves on the SUP foil.  Noel was out also picking off the really good waves.

I ran into Roland as I was leaving (8:30).  Fun session!

W:19/F:33/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 3/26/2022

I made to Hickam by noon and the wind was up - enough to wing and it was more consistent than it had been (but still not solid trades).  I wanted to try out the Stringfellow GoFoil Fuselage for the Project Cedrus Mast.

I pumped up the OR A 5.0

I'm going to have to try a shim - it felt like this was riding nose down a hair.

Marvin and Arvin were out when I showed up.  Marvin got caught in the wind hole near the channel marker.  He was able to get up on foil on his strong side (regular foot - outbound runs), but was having trouble on the way in.

Arvin was switching between the GL210 and the RS1000 - that was indicative of the up and down in the wind.  The other thing going on was the amount of north in the wind.  But at least it was wingable!!!

I headed out to Firsts early on before Harris showed up - but the wind was softer out there and the waves were not really breaking.

I have been mixing in the duck jibe into my transition repertoire - and I have been making more of them.  I'm only tacking now when the wind is strong enough to pressurize the wing - I can keep up on the foil if that is the case.  If the wind is lighter I'll jibe to stay up on foil. 

Not a bad top end speed for the GL210.  I did notice a couple of ventilation events, but these are now not even changing my riding - I just plow through them.

Next wind event is supposed to be here Thursday on - but there is some swell coming up from the south.

W:19/F:32/S:10

Dawn Patrol - 3/26/2022

Same setup as yesterday - but with the swell breaking further out, I should have used the 29.5" mast for the extra clearance.  I'd catch a wave on the outside, but the lower height was restricting my free flow.

Despite the slight setback (I need to remember the differential between the 27.5" and 29.5" masts conditions wise - bigger waves breaking further out is ok in low tide days for the taller mast) - I caught my share of some really good foiling waves.

I went in early because it seemed like good conditions for the wind to blow - didn't want to be too tired to wing....

W:18/F:32/S:10

Evening Session - 3/25/2022

After work, there was supposed to be some wind so I went to Hickam.  I had brought some additional gear thinking I would have to deal with some lighter (but still consistent wind) - the GoFoil fuselage for the Project Cedrus mast, the GL210 and the 16.25" stabilizer.  I even left the Reedins at home and had the OR A 5.0.  Well - the wind was not even marginal - I turned around and headed back home - time to prone foil.

WPB was breaking chest high.  The tide was really low - I had the 4'8", the short GoFoil mast and the NL160.  The NL is one of the best surfing foils I've used - makes foiling seem a lot more like shortboard surfing.  With the bigger waves, the break shifted further out so no contact with the bottom was had (for once).

I caught tons of waves - and even foiled from Fenceline to Two Cabins and back several times.  

W:18/F:31/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 3/24/2022

Today was the day the forecasts said would be nuking.  While driving around for work, the morning sky was full of clouds and rain, so I was beginning to think the forecast was going to be wrong.  As the day went on, the clouds began to move like the trades were back, so I began to hope today would be a 4.2 wing day.

By the time I was at the beach, I could actually feel the wind dropping - got me thinking the wind is dropping because of me...

I rigged the same as yesterday except I went ahead and bolted on the Kujira 980.

I had to schlog a bit to get to the wind line, but I eventually got up on foil and made my way out to Firsts.  I caught two great waves - full on breakers that kept walling up - lots of fun turns and drops!!!

After the second wave, I had noticed the holes in the wind and went ahead and headed back to the inside - I didn't want to get caught outside if the wind dropped off completely.

On the inside, the wind really was up and down, but it would also shift from north and east and back again.  Pretty frustrating considering the forecast was calling for nuking conditions.

Still I can't complain - on my inside speed runs, I was able to push past the 20mph barrier.  I really love the Kujira 980 - surfs really well and flys when pushed!

Towards the end of the session, I was feeling some wonkiness - I checked the foil and the mast base and had found I lost one of the front wingscrews and the shim.  It was from the same spot where I broke the t nut the day before - I'm going to pay closer attention to this.  There are a couple more days of wind forecasted - hopefully one of those will be a session with steady wind and no bolt issues. 

W:18/F:30/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 3/23/2022

Got to the beach yesterday afternoon around 3pm.  WWFB, 85cm PC mast, Kujira 1095 front foil.  Wind had fallen from the nuking strength by the time I was rigged, but I went out anyways.  

There was some schlogging, but there was also a lot of riding.  Lots of waves out at Firsts - felt good to ride on wing again.  Wind was mainly from the east, but there were some holes.

You can see it was the gusts carrying the day.

At the front end of the session, I was pretty much up on foil the whole time.  I attribute that to the 1095 - being able to glide through the lulls allowed me to connect a lot of dots.

On the back end when the wind was more up and down, the 1095 was more a detriment - needing some speed to get up on foil, I was actually contemplating going in and swapping out the foil to the 980.  I didn't have the time (or the wind in some cases) to get back in to do the swap so I stuck with it.  I did notice I couldn't get up past the 20mph barrier - I'm going to have to look at this again when the winds are better suited for speed runs.

At one point I was tightening the wingscrews and I noticed one was slipping - turns out the t nut had cracked.  Odd - but glad it happened while I was on the inside and towards the end of the session.

W:17/F:30/S:10

Fill Coat on Kalani's Board and Fixing the Armstrong 85cm Mast for Tim

The wind was forecasted to be really good 5.0 strength today.  While I was at work, flags were flapping, trees were swaying and I was getting pretty excited.  I got off work at 3:30pm and headed to Hickam Beach.  When I got there, Harris and Arvin were stuck on the water surface.  Jim was buzzing around on his 6.0 wing.  It did not look fun, so I opted to head home to keep working on the garage projects.

First up was sanding down the fill job on the Armstrong 85cm mast.  I'm selling this to Tim for cheap - but I filled the A+ holes and the crack at the back end of the mast.

Looks like new!!!

Next up was adding a second fill coat to Kalani's wing foiling board.  A necessary evil when using innegra - but the extra work is worth the benefits.  This is the first board I'm using the "Grim Reaper - Wing and Foil" logo on.

I'll get the bottom deck coated tomorrow, then sand again later this week.  After that, I'll have to install the vent plug and leash.  I'm also planning an asymmetric deck pad layout.  If the wind wasn't supposed to come up, I'd probably be done with this board before the weekend... now it'll likely be next weekend.

Evening Session - 3/21/2022

La asked me to go to the beach and teach her niece Mya to SUP surf.  La originally wasn't going to get wet, but at the beach she went straight in.  I was talking to Roland so I got in the water a little bit after her - but I said I'd catch a few waves and then come back to teach Mya.

After I taught her she proceeded to catch a few.

I got several waves - riding them in quite a distance and pumping back out.  La shot video of me on one of my last waves of the day.  The 4'8"/Kujira 1210/PC 75cm Mast was a great combo for today!

W:16/F:30/S:10

Sunday in the Garage

I spent most of the day yesterday in the garage working on various projects.  First up was shaping the new 5'0" Wing Foiling Board.  I wanted a board in the same range as the other two bigger ones I have, but with flat rails and a square tail.  I got this knocked out in a few hours.

It got a little narrower than I had wanted (actually is almost the same width as the 4'7" I recently finished), but the tail feels better on this one.  Easy part is over... mast track block, footstrap inserts, deck reinforcement, laminating... lots of work ahead.

Then I did the 40 grit sanding on Kalani's board.  Going to need to add another layer of epoxy to fill a few depressions and the areas where the innegra had been shallow.

I also stripped the wax off the 4'8" and rewaxed it.  The old wax was clumpy and a little on the dirty side.  I've been meaning to do this for quite some time now, but didn't set aside the time until yesterday evening.

I also filled the mast that Tim is buying (the one I broke) - he didn't want the A+ holes.  I wetsanded the 1095 and 1210 front foils (to smooth out the reef kisses).  I filled the small holes in the tail of the 4'7" wing board. And lastly I finished the 15.5" rear stabilizer I was setting up for Prayot.

Made lots of headway on lots of projects!!!

Dawn Patrol - 3/20/2022

Yesterday morning I got in a dawn patrol.  4'8" prone foil board, Kujira 1095 on the 75cm PC mast.

Kalani was out on foil - I saw him catch a few so he is definitely on the road to recovery.  I saw Andrew break another paddle.  As I was leaving I saw Roland getting a triple.

I had to go outside to pick up a breaker, but I'd get to ride it over a long distance.  Super fun session!

W:16/F:29/S:10

Noe Racing - 3/19/2022

Noe was racing her Laser today.

She got second overall and first in her class.  Noe kicks butt!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 3/19/2022

I took La and Noe to Kaneohe Yacht Club this morning so Noe could race her Laser (she got second place overall and first in class).  I also had to take Marlon to the airport today so he could fly out to Lanai so he could participate in a hydrology study.  In between, the wind was forecasted to be at 5.0 wingable levels - so I hit Hickam.

Marvin was out there already practicing.  I picked up a gust and was out pulling up towards the runway.  I kept to that side because the wind was hugging over there.  Then I figured I'd go downwind towards Marvin so I could give him some advice.  After he made some hand placement changes, he was getting powered up better, and he headed in to take his son to a game.  I tried to get going again, but the wind dropped to almost nothing.

The blue in the middle of all the red was me drifting for a long time waiting for the wind to come back up.  I did not want to paddle in so I kept trying to pick up gusts.  Harris came out and he stayed high (close to the runway).  He eventually headed in and I was still trying to get out of the dead wind zone.  I could see the wind on the surface, but it would dissipate before getting to me.  Finally I picked up some wind and got back to the launch. 

I packed up and headed off to pick up Marlon.  I'll consider today's session to be valuable light wind schlogging training.

Lots of holes - you can see the correlation on the wind graph.  There's always Tuesday to look forward to...

W:16/F:28/S:10

Wing Foiling Session (if you want to call it that) - 3/18/2022

The wind had been blowing all day - so naturally I grabbed the winging stuff, but headed to WPB (so Marlon could also go out and surf).  I brought out the OR A 5.0, the NWFB, and the GoFoil PNL185.

Roland had already launched - I watched him get up on foil twice, so I decided I'd go ahead and launch.

As soon as I got outside, the wind dropped below the strength I needed to get up on foil.  I kept heading outside trying to get to stronger wind, but it wasn't happening.  Twice when I had turned back in, I was able to use the waves and a slight puff to get up on foil.  But I was still too far away to land on sand.

I decided to would just try to land at Campgrounds.  I did manage to get up on foil one last time and got to ride a wave in most of the way to the sandy spot.

Marlon did see me beach at CG and he paddled in to come grab me.  Good thing he had the key this time...

You win some, you lose some - just glad to get wet!

W:15/F:28/S:10

No Windsurfers

I donated the last two windsurfers I had to Noe's sailing program.

I also donated the inflatable sail and two booms.

Truthfully, I still have the Hooked SUP and the Starboard Element - both of which can accept a windsurfing mast, so I can still windsurf if I really want to - which really is the question.  Why windsurf when you can wing foil???

Anyways - hopefully some kids get to learn from this stuff.

Evening Session - 3/16/2022

Evening session yesterday.  Marlon was teach Mya to surf.  Waves were waist high, tide was deepish and the wind was onshore.

I got my share of long rides, but not many double dips.  The chopped down P18W stabilizer helped - didn't have to pump much.

Marlon saw this cat yesterday - he thinks it is the one that used to hang out pre-COVID - that seems like a long time ago.

W:14/F:28/S:10

Evening Session - 3/15/2022

I got in an evening session with the skinny 4'10" and the GL180.  I bolted on the 27.5" mast since the tide was on the low side and only dropping more.

Roland was out and we were pretty much trading waves.  The crowd was manageable (still had kooks that were dropping in though).

I caught more than a couple of handfuls of waves - pretty long rides, lots of turns and a few pump outs.

Not a bad way to end a work day!

W:14/F:27/S:10