Garage Works - 5/30/2023

This is how I ended up working the rails on Jimmy's board - thin layer of epoxy to fill, and peel ply to take up the excess.

There were some creases in the eopxy post hardening, so I went ahead and sanding the entire repair area to get more excess epoxy off.

The finished product came out really nice!  And it was super solid through the repair area.  This board will be in a race next month - Maui to Molokai - and I feel confident the board will serve Jimmy well for years to come!!!

Evening Session - 5/30/2023

In between finishing off Jimmy's Downwind SUP repair and getting the board back to him, I got in a quick evening prone foiling session to wash of the carbon dust.

I was considering a winging session - but I knew I wouldn't have a whole lot of time.

The high was high at 1.5' but it was dropping fast.  There were some small waves around, but the wind - which was just below good winging and above tolerable prone foiling was the dominating factor... and it was making the session pretty frustrating.

I caught three really long waves where I got in a bunch of cutbacks and pretty much rode to the inside.  I think the Sweet Potato would have been a good call too - but those rides would have been shorter (although more frequent).

Don't get me wrong - even though the conditions were not epic - I still had a great time!

W:47/F:46/S:28

Dawn Patrol - 5/29/2023

Marlon and I dawn patrolled this morning.

Third Foil Drive session in a row (and fourth session).  I am starting to get the muscle memory down, and I made way more waves today than I wiped on.

I switched to the Axis ART 999/400P today.  This foil is even faster than I remember it being - 

Kalani suggested I step down the rear stabilizer to the 375P to lessen the initial lift (I'll try that next time).

Foil Drive crew!

I got some ridiculously long rides today - chip shot starts way outside, and the ability to ride through the flats made for incredible fun!!!

I definitely won't be doing this on the weekdays because of the setup and clean up.  But really - the Foil Drive is best at getting you out of the crowds and into a different type of wave.  Most after work sessions I don't have to fight crowds of the same magnitude (as are present on the weekends).

W:47/F:45/S:28

Dawn Patrol - 5/28/2023

Third session on the Foil Drive.  Things were much better today - I was taking off with more success.  With the advice I got from Dennis and Kalani (moving way forward on the board and stalling on getting up) I was able to ride move waves.

It was definitely crowded - this gear helps get me out of the frustration zone and tapping into energy that almost no other group of wave riders can use.

The swing weight is still something I have to learn to contend with.

I used the neck setup for the first half of the session (I put deck grip on the remote and have been biting down on this and using my tongue to actuate the throttle).  What I really liked about the neck strap was being able to let go and use both of my hands to push off and get to my feet.

The second half of the session, I used the wrist strap that Kalani made.  It also is good - but when paddling in I have to stash the remote somewhere so I can paddle efficiently through the break zone.

This is a totally different sport - almost like tow foiling, but not.  It is a ton of fun regardless.

W:47/F:44/S:28

Garage Works - 5/27/2023

And just when I was going to try and place epoxy on Jimmy's box, Dean called and asked if he could drop off a repair.  This is another Amundson John-O SUP foiling board.  Handle of the paddle hit the nose of the board.

Could have been a lot worse.

I sanded all the cracked carbon and removed anything loose.

I used chopped carbon to make the fill.

And here it is with a carbon patch on top of the chopped carbon.

Just have to wait for the epoxy to harden and this one may actually be done (we shall see)

I got all the sanding done on Jimmy's SUP.

There are some pretty soft spots on both rails.

I'll place strips of carbon along both rails tomorrow.  If that goes well, I'll also lay the cap sheet.  My goal is to get this back to Jimmy on Monday evening.

Dawn Patrol - 5/27/2023

Second session on the Foil Drive Assist Plus.

With the smaller board, this was MUCH easier today.  Also - I have a ton of time on the Kujira 1210 - so I was able to dial in the correct mast setting pretty quickly.

Still have to work through some issues that are not sitting right with me (belt leash, handling the remote, timing of takeoff) - but I was up and riding on several waves and even pumped back out on a few.

This is definitely a good tool in the tool box.  Tapping into different energy and it is a different ride for sure - but it will fill those low tide, smaller waves breaking way outside days (like today).

W:47/F:43/S:28

Garage Works - 5/26/2023

Yesterday evening after prone foiling, Kalani stopped by to pick up his repaired board.  I was setting up the older higher volume prone foiling board to be the new Foil Drive board.  He made some really good suggestions to get the board setup efficiently.

Jimmy also stopped by to drop off one of his racing SUPs so I could repair it.

This is a really long board - I'm going to try and knock out this repair quickly (so it can go back to his house - I honestly don't have the room to store this here ;)

Evening Session - 5/26/2023

I got home yesterday from work and Marlon and I headed out to get some foiling in.

It was actually windy enough to wing (Brian had been winging for a couple of hours prior), but Marlon has been asking to foil so I obliged.

I brought out the Unifoil Progression 170 and he was on the Kai Go Foil.

Marlon was able to get up a handful of times.  A few more sessions and he should be turning.

I had some good rides, but the wind was adding turbulence to the water and riding was difficult.

I also nicked the bottom with the Progression... I'll wet sand out the scratches.

Definitely a different weather pattern setting up...

W:47/F:42/S:28

Favor Favor Favor

Prayot asked if I could pick up a board from Kailua for him.

I should have brought my wing gear - it was windy!!!

Nice board - and he got a good deal on it.

I'll bring this to the office and keep it there until he gets back.

Garage Works - 5/24/2023

I sanded the fill coat from the other day (I think yesterday???) - but then had to fill two more pinholes.

Then I sanded some more, and sprayed clear coat on.

Now this repair is done.

Just in time because Jimmy is going to bring his downwind SUP over tomorrow.  That repair is just deck lamination - so that should go fast.  After that I'm going to redo the track on No.31 and add a little spray paint to it.  I'll also help Marlon paint and glass his longboard.  Then after all that, I'm going to start on No.32 (a Foil Drive specific prone board, that can also double duty as a wing board).

Wing Foiling Session - 5/24/2023

Tough conditions today - rising tide (that was still a little low as I paddled out - a much longer paddle than usual where I had to fight through sets), light winds with a strong north component, and rising surf that were coming through in sets.

If I had know it was going to be this light (hardly any texture on the water...) I would have brought the 5.2

I still managed to get some really fun rides in - the Eagle 1090 made lemonade from the tough conditions.  Roland didn't have the same results - he used his small Nugget (40 liters), his Ensis Spin 4.0 (that is losing tension in the canopy and thus power), and a Vyper 150 - all good if the wind was up, but he spend a bunch of time waiting for the gusts.

Not a whole lot of blue (down off foil) - With the NE wind, there were bands of doable wind that you can see (where the orange and red are concentrated).  With more east in the wind, the higher speeds are usually more spread out.

You can totally see the correlation above and below.  I was stuck outside when the lull dropped.  I thought I had a long paddle ahead of me (definitely not the first time, and certainly wouldn't be the last), but the wind did come back up.

At some point I had a good gust and lined up for a run in - I cut my losses and headed in.  Roland got stuck again.  SO much so that when he finally made it in he said "I'm done winging - until next month"

I guess we will be prone foiling tomorrow (or if the wind is up we'll just forget the comment and remember it as "I'm done until next time"

W:47/F:41/S:28

Garage Works - 5/23/2023

I skipped water time today to get some rest (naps are awesome!!!).

When the sun went down and the garage cooled down, I went in and knocked out what I believe will be the last fill on this repair.

Tomorrow I'll do a light sanding and get the clear coat on it and call it good.

I've got another repair due in this weekend (Jimmy's racing SUP - he is crossing the channel with it), so I need to move this one back to Kalani.

Wing Foiling Session - 5/22/2023

Hit WPB after work.  Brian was finishing up his session as Roland and I pulled up. Eli was setup and getting ready to head out.  He had his 6.0 pumped up.  Looking at the water, I decided to pump up my 4.7 since there was some up and down.  With the Eagle 1090, I figured I could get through the lulls and still keep control during the gusts and coming down the bigger wave faces.

The tide was high so swimming out was not too bad.  The swell was really fun - on the sets it was head high (and that is with the foil high up in the water column).

I had multiple big waves where I could luff the wing and just go - and this front foil kept pace.  The wind seemed to be coming more North today.  There was also a lot of cloud cover - so I was a little surprised at the consistency of the wind.

  

This is such a great wing - power, control, speed and predictable behavior... what more could you ask for???

I got in over 14 miles in an hour and 15 minutes.

When the wind was up, it was good.  But periodically it would drop and I'd just take a break sitting on my board.  The red box got messed up again.  I was out from 4:15 to 5:30

The spikes were taking the drops on the bigger waves.

Great session!!!

W:46/F:41/S:28

Wing Foiling Session - 5/21/2023

The tradewinds came back today - I pulled a second foiling session over at Hickam (since I had to stop in at work anyways).

The wind was on the light side - there were times I could not get up even with the Eagle 1090 and Reedin SW2 5.2.  Still really fun session!

Nice wind direction.  Harris was out when I pulled in to the parking lot.  Ken was just finishing setting up.

I headed out to Firsts when I started the session.  Nice waves would come in periodically, but eventually the wind started faltering.  I was lucky and made it through the lulls and pulled upwind towards the taxiway.  The F One Eagle 1090 is an incredible foil for winging - I pulled several dry tacks without even really thinking about it.

The image got altered a bit while being saved as a png - I was out from 2:30 to 4 ish so I had decent wind.

Not a bad top end speed considering the wind flowing through the area.

This is Harris's new wing - the F One Strike V3 5.0

Harris was saying this wing was a little light in the low end, but really good at pulling upwind - typical for wings with shallow drafts.

The Strike 5.0 replaced this - the Sling Wing 5.0

W:45/F:41/S:28