No.28 - Prayot's Wing Board

And even before I'm finished with the two boards on my rack, I'm starting to plan out and procure blanks for No.28.  This is Prayot's Wing Board.

As documented in the blog, I build these slow and meticulous, all the way from templating to final glassing.  This is not the fastest way - but good things are not necessarily done fast.

4'6" length

24" wide

This is moving along the flat rail - square tail concept currently in the market (which is what I built in the first two prone boards I made - fastest shape in the water at the speeds we are at achieving hydrofoil lift).

I really should finish No.26 and 27 first....

Wing Foiling Session - 8/28/2022

 I did not do a dawn patrol this morning - but I did work on epoxy based projects in the garage instead.  I filled in the voids on the sides of the reinforcement blocks on the two new prone boards.  I also placed epoxy on the rear stabilizer repair for Eli.  And lastly I fixed the small delamination on the 4'7" wing foiling board.  All while I waited for the thermals to kick in.  

I got to the beach around 1:30 and Brian and Kalani were already out.  There were whitecaps on the outside so I pumped up the RS 5.1 (I'm still babying my left elbow, both shoulders and I guess my right elbow - I want to take the smallest wing that will work for me for the foreseeable future).  I brought the WWFB, the 85cm PC mast and the 1210/178.

At the onset, the winds were pretty good.  I had fun cranking turns and was able to stay high up in the wind field (out in front of Coves).  The swell was on the small side, but every now and then there was a set that had breakers.  I am having a much easier time dropping the RS wings down to the luffing position - they aren't pushing down any more.  

Then Brian went in and the wind got erratic.  There were spells where I just sat on my board and looked east to site any gusts coming through.  Later on the beach, Kalani told me Brian told him that he had been out for two hours already by the time Kalani launched.  And the thermals were kicking hard the whole time.  Note to self - come earlier...

You can see the ups and downs in the wind speed graph.

And even more telling - the large plots of no forward speed.

I am eternally thankful that this sport got developed in my lifetime!!!  

W:87/F:72/S:19

Wing Foiling Session - 8/27/2022

Got to go winging after a little bit of a hiatus (a trip to the Philippines to visit relatives as we all remembered my Mom - it was a wonderful trip, but I'm also glad to be home).

Trade winds are back with a vengeance!!!  I loaned Kalani my ART 999 so I bolted on the ART 899.  I also used the Project Cedrus 96cm Clydesdale mast that I received before I left for my trip.  To round out the equipment, I used the Wide Wingfoiling Board, the 420HA rear stabilizer and the Ultra Short fuselage. 

Lots of wingers came out for this new wind event - me, Kalani, Jesse, Arvin, Bill, Matt, Harris and Ryan.  Harris, Jesse and I were out at Firsts.

The wind was coming strong out of the East.  There was a good base level of wind, but the gusts coming through were really strong.  At times the 5.2 was fine - other times I could have used the 3.6.

This was the track of the first session (5.2 SWX/420HA rear stabilizer).

I caught lots of waves - and they were fun, but generally weren't standing up.  A few did and they were standouts!!!!  Harris was up and riding, but Jesse had a 4.5 Ensis Score, 30l Armstrong sinker and a 925HA front foil - he spent most of the time I was out waiting for a gust to get him going.

I went in to check the bolt tightness and to swap out the rear stabilizer and wing.  I swapped out the 420HA for the 375P, and the 5.2 SWX for the 4.7 SW2.

I headed out to Firsts again to ride some waves, but the tide was rising and the waves were starting to dampen out.  Jesse made it back out with a bigger board for redemption.

I think the wind did actually pick up also, but my top speed jumped up a notch with the new setup.

I managed to get several outbound tacks in (and jibes both ways) - so the 899 delivered without issue.  The new mast was really fun to use - riding up high was more relaxed, but I did ventilate a few times and I wasn't able to recover from it (like I can do with the 85cm mast - going to need to learn to recognize this; and maybe the mast height is a factor in the recovery...).

Good testing day and super fun riding!!!

W:86/F:72/S:19

Evening Session - 8/26/2022

Marlon and I hit WPB again in the evening.  Swell was slightly smaller than yesterday - tide seemed higher (which was good - no chance of grounding the foil) - and the wind was starting to convert to trades (but not enough to have a comfortable winging session).

I bolted on the ART 1099 thinking the smaller waves would be the dominant factor.  The waves ended up having nearly the same power as the previous couple of days (so I could have managed easily with the ART 999).

I caught several waves - and if going left, I was able to go far and even got a triple.  But if I went right (and into the wind) the going was much shorter.  On a few rides I also popped the tail (and ate it).

Marlon had plenty of rides, but none were particularly long.  Seemed to be a common theme today...

Kalani was out (and hammering as usual).

And Bobo was out also - out of the water resting.

Tomorrow will be a winging day!!!

W:85/F:72/S:19

Evening Session - 8/25/2022

Marlon and I hit WPB for the evening session.  The conditions were pretty much the same as yesterday - with the waves down just a notch in size and frequency.

The crowd was a little more of a factor today (but we did come out earlier today).

Marlon had a bunch of fun looking rides.

I got more than a handful of long rides and got a few double dips (and almost a triple - but I bailed because of the crowd).

I'm still fighting jetlag (I took a deep nap this afternoon), and the crud - but this session I worked my lungs enough to break loose a lot of phlegm - so this is definitely helping to get me back to 100%.

Still waiting for the wind... but the past couple of sessions has been a nice way to get my wings back!

W:85/F:71/S:19

Evening Session - 8/24/2022

I got back yesterday from a week long trip to Luzon (Makati/Pasig/Cainta/Binangonan/BGC/Manila).  I was there for a memorial for my Mom (lockdowns for COVID prevented us from doing this earlier) and it was a wonderful time.

Well - I'm back, fully jet lagged and trying to shake the crud I picked up the last day I was there (there is a lot of air pollution that I'm not used to).  I hit WPB yesterday evening to get a session in to get my body realigned (the whole trip was spent pretty much eating).

There was a dropping swell, dropping high tide and onshore winds - I decided to assemble the ART999 - I had the foil assembly setup for the ART1099 (and just took off the front foil - the new setup was Crazy Short Fuselage, 400P rear stabilizer, ART999). 

It was already getting dark so I didn't have much time.  I caught 5 waves and only botched one (#4). One week isn't really a lot of time, so I was right back in the groove at the get go.  Lots of gliding, turning and some pumping back out (but the crud I got - not COVID, I checked with a rapid test - was making it hard to pump aggressively).

Nice session to get back into foiling!  Saturday is forecasted to have good winds... that gives me a few more days to nurse my left elbow. 

W:85/F:70/S:19  

New Clydesdale Project Cedrus Mast

Today I received the Project Cedrus Clydesdale Mast I ordered back in June.  These are made to order and take 8 weeks to get to you - but they are totally worth the wait!

I had contemplated the need for a mast this tall when I noticed I was breaching more than I thought I should be - the last session I was winging out at Jump City (Kailua) got frustrating when I would jibe onto a large, steep faced wave only to breach.  I also noticed during the downwind race, I would breach when I was jibing on a wave face.

Here's the unboxing:

Sticker, Axis fuselage adapter and the Clydesdale Mounting Plate still wrapped up.

The mast -

The checkboard pattern is a dead giveaway that this is Clydesdale.

This extended mounting post is an upgrade to the standard mast.  The mounting plate also has three M8 holes, so this was designed to handle the higher loads imparted by bigger (than prone or kite foil boards) wing boards.

At 96cm, when the mounting plate and the adapter/fuselage are bolted on, this is a meter tall mast - over 4 additional inches over the 85cm mast.  I'm counting on this to stop the breaching (but it'll probably be a pain paddling it out to even deeper water...). 

Garage Works - 8/15/2022

I decided to truly take a break from surfing/foiling today - so I used the time to get these two prone boards advanced.

First I routed out the slots for the reinforcement blocks.  Then I cleaned up the edges so the blocks would fit in snug (not too tight - need room for the fabric).

These first pictures are the carbon layers added in.  I use offcuts from the bottom laminate from previous boards (this stuff is not cheap - I try and use all of it).

On these boards, I did something different than previous builds.  I broke up what would normally be a combined step into two separate ones.  In the single step version of getting the fabrics wetted out and then placing the reinforcement block immediately after, the top fabric usually pulls.  Even though this part of the board is never seen in the finished product, I still wanted to do it so the fabric doesn't pull.

This first of two separate steps was to wet out only the top part of the fabric that would stay above the routed out hole.  I placed saran wrap over the fabric, placed the blocks in place to hold the fabric in place and added soft weights to help keep the fabric down.  

The next step was to add some more fabric to the bottom - this is scrap innegra (even more expensive than carbon fiber), then I wetted out the bottom and sides of the hole, added a layer of epoxy thickened with Thiksil, and then placed the block in.

I filled the gap with some straight epoxy (flows into the gaps easier), then covered the blocks with saran wrap and placed the weights on the outer edges of the blocks.

The next step on these will be to rout out the finbox slots in these blocks.  Then I'll flip the boards and rout out a thin layer of foam on the top deck where my left heel goes - I'll press on a thin sheet of divynicell.

From there I'll laminate on the top deck fabric, then flip the board and epoxy in the finboxes and laminate the bottom deck.

There's more (a lot more), but these prone boards get done faster than the wing boards.

Evening Session - 8/14/2022

And I hit WPB for a prone foil session this evening.  4'8" prone board, ART 1099/400P on the crazy short fuselage and the 68cm Project Cedrus mast.

There was some wind again from the thermals, but it wasn't as strong as yesterday.  And I want to give my arms a break.

The waves were waist to belly high and were fairly consistent.  I started out by the surf shack, and rode further down towards the cabins, then on another wave I'd make my way back to the first lifeguard stand.  I didn't have to worry much with the nice full tide (+2.0') 

I caught plenty of waves.  I'd botch a few, and on the other side of the scale I'd pump forever and pick up more waves.  On a few of the rides, I'd do S turns all the way in - so much fun!

This session definitely made up for the lack luster surf session this morning.  Loyal to the foil!

W:85/F:69/S:19

Dawn Patrol - 8/14/2022

Dawn patrolled with Marlon.  Based on the forecast and some of the waves coming through yesterday, he brought his Seaside and I had the Toots 7'2" Asymmetric.  It was pretty good when we first got there - but it just kept getting worse the whole time we were there.

Not to mention the droves of newbies showing up for social hour.  I came in after a few waves to fly the drone.

I might go back for a prone foiling session later today.

W:85/F:68:S:19

Wing Foiling Session - 8/13/2022

 The thermals kicked in yesterday afternoon (when the forecast called for nothing).  Despite my arms screaming at me for a solid rest, I was compelled to head out.  Roland and Brian were already out - Roland on his 4.0 Score and Brian out on his 5.2 Score.  The wind didn't look that strong - so I pumped up my RS 6.1 and bolted on the Kujira 1440.  I didn't want to jump or get frustrated trying to get up on the board - so I used the wide wing foiling board - perfect call on everything!!!

There were waves coming in every 15 minutes or so.  This day something else clicked - I was able to luff the RS wing without any issue.  Whenever I had tried to do that before, the wing would start to push down in an ugly way.  Maybe it was the wind direction - maybe it was the wing material breaking in - whatever it was this wing is now one of the top 3 I've ever used!

Marlon was flying the drone for a bit, but he had to leave - at which time I proceeded to catch a monster wave on the outside.  I luffed the wing and rode it going right all the way to the inside of where the surfers were lined up past Fenceline.  I was up high on the foil and the wave was still a few feet overhead.  I only saw three of these sized waves come through - and I got the biggest one.  Luffing was key to being able to ride that wave so long - everything came together for this one (the wave pictured below was not the monster I'm describing - it's just one of the pictures Marlon was able to take while he was there). 

Brian was ripping as usual.  Roland had a harder time with the 4.0 wing.  They said when they got there earlier, the wind was nuking - lots of whitecaps and the trees were pegged.

My watch died halfway through the session - so I don't think any of this data caught the big wave ride.

The wind direct was good for WPB winging - runs were straight in and straight back out with the more easterly pattern.

Yesterday was a magical session that will be burned in my brain forever!

W:85/F:68/S:18

Dawn Patrol - 8/13/2022

Dawn patrolled yesterday with the 4'8" prone foil board and the ART 1099 (68cm Project Cedrus mast/400P rear stabilizer).

Marlon brought his longboard.

 I had a several rides, and lots of pump back outs - but the waves seemed to get weak and they weren't breaking spreadout.

W:84/F:68/S:18

Wing Foiling Session - 8/12/2022

Knowing the waves were headed down in size, and that the wind would be iffy - I headed to Hickam after work.  The mission today was to get the Kujira 1440 dialed in on No.25.  The last time I took this setup out, it didn't feel right.  It was drifty and the foil didn't feel like it was engaging properly.

I set the mast back a little further, and I took off the plastic rear stabilizer shim.  Well - that did the trick!

This setup works perfectly now!

There was a lot of north in the wind today - made for a lot of up wind hauling to get close to the launch point.  Besides trying to dial in the lower set, the other objective I wanted to hit was some inbound, toe to heel tacks.  I tried three times and half landed one.

There were some significant lulls in all of this wind.

For a testing day, the conditions were great.  But with just tiny waves at Firsts and the lulls throughout, I'll credit this day with getting the Stringy direct mount fuselage all dialed in!

This was probably the last day with wind - time to rest my arms....

W:84/F:67/S:18