Garage Works - 11/30/2022

When I got home from work I went ahead and started working on No.28.  I sanded the high points on the bottom laminate down - these were mainly on the rails.  Then I measured out the rail tape, cut it to fit the curves, and went ahead and laminated it on.

There are a few spots where the weave spaced out, but this job was good enough for this project.

I did wrap the rails to keep the carbon tape as close as possible to the board.  

Tomorrow I'll sand a little where the logos will be applied, apply the logo stickers, then add a fill coat.  That'll leave Friday for the opposite side of the board (stickers, then fill coat), and sanding over the weekend.

There is supposed to be wind filling in on Sunday - I'm glad I got this far on this build (time to be distracted again...)

Garage Works - 11/28/2022

I prepared the carbon fiber for laminating the bottom deck today.  There are strips under the spine sheet I'm trimming here.  With the nose to tail cover sheet, that makes three layers of 5.7 ounce carbon around the mast track boxes.

Here are the burping cuts in the spine sheet (and also the cut to access the SUP handle/vent).

Here's the nose to tail cover sheet all trimmed up with cut laps (and the same cuts made into this sheet as well).

And here it is all epoxied into place.  

Tomorrow is rail tape application day.  I'll sand down the carbon laps and prep the rail tape.  With everything prepped, I'll laminate the rail tape on.  Then it'll be fill coat, sanding, labels, fill coat, sanding-sanding-sanding.  Should be ready after this coming weekend to test and make sure it doesn't have any pinholes.

Dawn Patrol - 11/27/2022

Dawn patrolled this morning.  No wind so the waves were pretty smooth.  The tide was really high at +2.5', but some waves were making it through.

I have Jeff's demo Reedin 1280 on the 85cm mast (so I needed the super high tide to avoid touching bottom).

This foil is pretty loose.  It turns really well and feels like surfing on a shortboard.  But as expected of a lower aspect ratio foil, it did not pump back out as easily as some other late model foils.  I imagine the new Axis Advanced Fuselages will give the ART a similar "looser" feeling.

I needed to mount the mast full forward to get the center of lift and center of gravity lined up.

I actually stayed out for 2.5 hours (I thought I was out less than that).  I bet this setup will be fun on the wing...

W:117/F:95/S:39

Evening Session - 11/26/2022

After the yard work, the epoxy layup and preparing No.28 for the bottom deck lamination - I decide to wash off all the stuff I picked up today by getting in a late surf session.

I brought the TJ Everyday expecting some small surf.  I was pleasantly surprised by the chest high, fairly consistent and really clean surf that was coming through.  I bet this is a wrap from the big swell that is hitting the North Shore - I'm glad it is here.

I caught the three that I came for - long, fun rides with nice hard turns.  Enough to keep the stoke engine running!!!

W:117/F:94/S:39

Garage Works - 11/26/2022

I went ahead and laminated No.28 this morning.  I first mixed up a smaller batch of epoxy and poured that over the 3rd layer patches (heel placement).  While that was soaking in (to ensure saturation and contact with the blank below), I went and mixed up the big batch.  I added the pink pigment and laid it up.

Here it is post top deck lamination.

I already grinded down the burrs and the errant epoxy.  Tomorrow I'll set the mast track boxes in place, place the box reinforcement layers on and then the nose to tail cover layer of carbon fiber.  If I can get to this point tomorrow, I'm still ahead of schedule.

I'd like to get the rail tape on and the first fill coat on the top deck on Monday.

It's coming together!

Wing Foiling Session - 11/25/2022

I had to work most of the day yesterday - and like you would expect, the wind was blowing.  I got home and loaded up.  It was still blowing, but not as hard - and I didn't want to have to drive back out to Hickam, so even at the low tide I winged WPB.

The wind was blowing from the north and north-east.  The conditions looked pretty good for surfing (if there were waves - in fact, it was pretty sparsely loaded).

Winging at WPB on any tide lower than 1.5' is automatically default to the Kujira 1210.  I think I could have gotten away with the RS5.1, but since I was going to be the only one out, I opted for the RS6.1 (and I was pretty much perfectly powered the whole time).

Not a surprise, but I had to swim further out than normal to get to the point where I could flip the board.  Other than that, I was up on foil for nearly the entire session.

I caught a few waves on the inside - and even with the wind blowing nearly offshore, I was able to jibe and book it back to the wind line.

This is pretty much the last of this latest wind event.  Although I didn't milk this one as much as I would have liked, I did get out and got to try some new things.  It is probably a good thing too so I can laminate Prayot's board.

W:117/F:94/S:38

Wing Foiling Session - 11/24/2022

Thanksgiving morning session.  I brought the winging gear, but given the conditions, I should have brought the Viking.

Offshore wind made for pretty clean conditions - but this being winter, there wasn't much surf coming up from the south.  There is a big swell coming down from the north - and I'm surprised there wasn't much wrapping around to WPB.

This guy had a KT Ginzu board.

Originally I pumped up the 6.1 - but the wind that was forecasted to be present early on did not show.  I had to cook for Thanksgiving so I had limited time.  I asked Marlon to go to the garage and bring the NLW 8.0.

This is the first time I had the 6.1 and the 8.0 together - here is the size difference.

Rounding out my equipment was the WWFB, Kujira 1440 on the 85cm Project Cedrus mast and one of the stabilizers I built last year.

Kalani, Tim and Roland were also set up.  

Although not nuking like it was supposed to, I figured this session would be a good test of the lower limit of my equipment.  I paddled out at Fenceline in really light offshore wind, and drifted over to Cabins.  Eventually a gust came along - probably 10mph and was able to get up on foil.  After a couple of runs, I was back in front of Fenceline.  I made a few more runs, had gotten upwind of Fenceline - by this time I was short on time and headed in.  I managed to pick up a wave and rode it like I ride the inside at Firsts (goofy foot, carving the face like windsurfing).

At least I got in a session.  Roland didn't make it out, but Tim and Kalani were still there when the wind did hit and they said it was nuking - definitely echoed by the chart data.

W:116/F:94/S:38

Garage Works - 11/21/2022

I cleared off a bunch of extra epoxy from around the mast track reinforcement block.  Then I went ahead and routed out the slots for the fin boxes.

While I was at it, I also got the shaped dialed in.  Now the board is ready to be glassed.

I'm going to glass this one the same way I've been glassing recently.

I'll try to get this glassed before the weekend is done.

Wing Foiling Session - 11/21/2022

Midday winging session at Hickam.  Jim was the only one out when I pulled up.  Lots of texture on the water - meant the wind was blowing steady up past 20mph.  Forecast called for more - but I was limited on time so I setup equipment to make sure I could make it back at will.

I ended up using the Reedin SW2 4.7 (rigging for the steady wind, not the gusts), the WWFB, and the F One Eagle 890/Foilparts.com Short F One fuselage/15" KD Maui Rear Stabilizer.

Small front gets set far forward in the mast tracks.  This was a good spot for this front foil.

Today was about testing the 890 - with all this wind, it did everything I thought it should.  It got up pretty quickly (I had plenty of power in the wing), it was fast (but I think I can go faster with a smaller stabilizer), and I was able jibe and tack both ways (although it obviously didn't have the glide/carry that bigger foils have).

I knew the 15" rear stabilizer was bigger than what I needed, but it was all I had in the truck that would bottom mount.  Part of today's run was to also see whether the DW210 was the culprit (in generating all the noise I experienced when I used the Eagle 1090).

This setup today was way quieter than the 1090/210/XXS setup I ran last time - the culprit has been identified (I'll sand the trailing edge of the DW210 to get it to quiet down).  There was still some singing going on, but it was much quieter.  I'm not sure the 15" rear stabilizer was meant to go as fast - that'll be another test.

I only had an hour - but some winging in nuking winds has been pretty rare.  I'll take what I can get!

I love it when the wind is nuking!!!!

W:115/F:94/S:38

Wing Foiling Session - 11/20/2022

Epic session today at WPB!  The wind was nuking!!!

I got 31.2 miles in -

This was the wind graph from the Airport - the Kalaeloa one doesn't read the wind at WPB - the wind was stronger and steadier than this.

I had the Reedin SWX 4.2 up.  I was well powered for most of the session - only a couple of lulls where I was waiting for a gust to come up on.  SMOKE ON THE WATER windy today!!!

The wind swell was coming in - not exactly lined up, but really fun.  There were a few waves that were chest high - you needed to be at the right place and the right time.

Using the WWFB made riding in today's conditions easy.  A smaller board would have made jumping possible (the big board doesn't have straps - so no chance), but the chop would have made starting much harder. 

W:114/F:94/S:38

Garage Works - 11/20/2022

I routed out the bottom deck handle and the mast track reinforcement block this morning.

I gorilla glued in the handle (it isn't structural so it doesn't need to be epoxied in - and the laminate will go over it).

I put carbon and innegra at the bottom to keep the block/finboxes in place.

I'll rout out the finbox slots tomorrow - then it's on it laminating.

Wing Foiling Session - 11/19/2022

Hit Hickam early yesterday with Kalani.  Wind looked strong, but at the surface, it was acting a little funny.

I bought No.26 out, and to make it even more challenging, I setup the Eagle 1090.

Here's where I had it set up

I also pumped up the RS 5.1 (basing my choice on the way the flag was flapping and the texture on the water).  The plan and the expectations were great - but the execution was way off.  I was able to balance on the board, but there wasn't enough power in the wing to get up on foil - except once during a big gust.

I paddled back in from the reef line (UPWIND the whole time - it took forever) and swapped the foil over to the WWFB.  I had better luck on the bigger board - but the wind also went wonky and it also turned hard north.  While the wind was good, I headed out to Firsts.  When I got out there, that's when the shift happened and I spend the rest of the session just trying to get back to the launch.

Eventually I did make it (so I didn't have to swim twice).

Another example of the actual wind not coming anywhere near the forecast.

Not the best wind -

This was from the session with the WWFB.  I didn't even record the first session.

W:113/F:94/S:38