No.37 All Pau

I had set foot in the garage to clean up a bit.  I was throwing the mixing cups away and noticed the epoxy was pretty darn hard.  I figured I could go ahead and sand the boards and be done with it.

After sanding I even went ahead and washed the sanding dust off the board.  Here's the top deck all done.  I need to still cut up the deck pad and get it applied (after I go to Napa and see if they have matte clear coat).  But this is essentially done.

Bottom deck all cleaned up also.

And here are the dimensions.

I lined this one up to No.33 to see where the differences lie - I pulled the tail in on this one and it's apparent.  Not so much to make the tail sink more - but enough to see what the change will actually do.  I will definitely get this anointed this week!!!

I also sanded the repair on No.19 and I'll bring it back to work tomorrow.

Garage Works - 6/30/2024

I got a lot done in the garage today.

First up was sanding No.37.  Here's the top deck all sanded.

And here's the bottom deck all sanded and the tracks routed out

And the vent and leash plugs installed (plus a little epoxy to add material to some thin spots).

I just need to sand down the plugs, clean up the new epoxy spots then spray clear coat.  I'm trying to work out the deck pad layout.  That's another couple of days of work (about two hours a day because of drying and adhesive sticking time).

I also broke out No.19 to get a repair that was sitting under duct tape fixed properly.  There's been a few people hinting at wanting to learn - I figure I can sell off my old stuff (GoFoil and Takuma, and the bigger Reedins) if I can get them through the learning curve.  And Nick uses this board when he comes to Oahu.

It just really needed a little sanding and a patch of 4 ounce fiberglass.

Then I addressed the multiple harnesses I have in the garage.  The wing harness has seen better days and I have a T9 that has just been sitting there - so I transferred all the modifications over from the T8 to the T9.

I also put the new kiting hook on the Pyro that I had sitting around.

These have been with me for a long time - letting go of things like this is like saying goodbye to an old friend.  Thanks for covering my ass for all these sessions -

Dawn Patrol - 6/30/2024

Dawn patrolled WPB again.  This time the tide was really low at -0.2'

The wind was lower than yesterday - so that made for cleaner condiitons (but not glassy).  And unfortunately the swell is starting to fall off also. 

Same stuff as yesterday.

With the cleaner conditions, it was way easier to catch waves today (duh).

Looking at the chart, you can see I would kick out where the water started getting shallow, and that my takeoff spot was almost at the same point.

The way the waves setup, I tried to go top to bottom on them (going right) - super fun!!!

A few of these were aborts (pitching tops), so I'll put the count at 20 waves.

There are daily wingable wind events showing up in the forecasts, but those look to be thermally influenced (so not strong trade flow)... there might be large wing winging or more Foil Drive-ing in the future. 

W:78/FD:46/F:4/S:13

Dawn Patrol - 6/29/2024

Dawn patrolled WPB with the Foil Drive this morning.

There were good, fun sized waves coming through.  The tide was on the low side and there was a breeze, but it was light (when I first paddled out).

Typical gear I take Foil Drive-ing.  I had the Spitfire 960 on today (not the 900).  I also kept the 80cm mast in play (not the 90cm - since the tide was low).

It has been a little bit since I have used the Foil Drive - but I got up and had some really great rides right from the get go.

I think I ended up with 45% after an hour and a half session.  I could have stayed out longer, but needed to get home to run errands.

The Spitfires are pretty pitch sensitive, but I really like the way these turn in the pocket.  The ride is less predictable and actually keeps me on my toes more.

The conservative count is 14 waves today - not bad for getting back in the saddle.

I'm going back tomorrow morning - same same.

W:78/FD:45/F:4/S:13

Evening Session - 6/28/2024

And to wash off the sanding dust, Marlon and I headed to WPB to catch some of the running surf.

The tide was low - and I didn't want to deal with cleaning the Foil Drive post session, so I brought the TJ Everyday.

This board is so much fun!  I caught a couple of handful of fun waves and figured I should call it (the lineup was really crowded - not something I am used to dealing with anymore).

Marlon had his new longboard out, and with me riding a longboard also, I was close enough to watch him ride it.

Sometimes I forget how much fun riding a longboard is -

W:78/FD:44/F:4/S:13

Garage Works - 6/28/2024

When I got home from work, there was some thermal winds swirling around.  I did not want to get tempted to wing, so I waited a bit.  That waiting manifested itself in the garage.

I sanded No.37 through the 40 grit rough sanding.

Here's the top deck -

And here's the bottom deck.

This board sanded down nicely.  I went ahead and got the bottom deck labels on before Marlon and I headed off to get a surf session in.

And after we got settled once we got back, I got 4.9 ounces of straight aluzine brushed on as a sanding layer and protectant of the labels.

Tomorrow after the dawn patrol, I'll get the same done to the top deck.  By the afternoon, I should be able to drill out the holes for the vent and the leash plugs.  

I'll leave the sanding for Sunday to let the epoxy harden up just a bit.

Wing Foiling Session - 6/27/2024

Thermals kicked in today - they were on the light side, but a doable levels.

I had been contemplating going out on the Foil Drive, but with the wind forecast for the upcoming downwind race not being super strong, I felt I needed to get some time using the North Mode Pro 6.8

For insurance, I also bolted on the F One Eagle 1090

This session actually turned out to be really fun!

Lots of North in the wind today.  And there were sets from a new swell coming through.  I had a couple of handfuls of really good head high waves.  And with the 6.8 - I jibed and had plenty of pull in the wing to get back out.

Roland came out with a 4.1 and Duke had a 6.0

On more than a few waves we were all stacked up - I'm so used to smaller wings and foils... top turning the 6.8 and 1090 was hard!!!!

Nice to know the 6.8 works well in these lower wind conditions!  Of course it helps using the Eagle 1090 - that is an incredible light wind foil!

Apparently there was a pretty big shark over at Coves - I had already come in (I could feel the wind subsiding).  Lots of chatter on the beach - considering the death up Laie, its obvious why people are focused on sharks.

W:78/FD:44/F:4/S:12

Garage Works - 6/26/2024

I skipped out on water time today to get some work done at the house (our kitchen faucet - automatic - had it's valve sh!t the bed and flooded the sink compartment - I got the new valve in the mail and went to fix that and cut out the water soaked particle board).

After that, I went ahead and got some garage time in.

I got the fill coat on the top deck first.

And after that hardened, I got the fill coat on the bottom deck.

I should be able to start sanding this board tomorrow (or maybe not if the waves come up).

Wing Foiling Session - 6/24/2024

Great wind this afternoon!!!  Also had some decent windswell to ride - overall a great session (one of the better ones from the recent run - mainly because of the consistency today).

I pumped up the Reedin SW2 4.7 and bolted on the SK8 950/C200 onto the Evolution Wind mast on No.36 - perfect gear for today!

I only went down a few times, and when I did I was able to get back up quickly - so my average speed was pretty high (14.0 mph).

The waves today were really lefts - windswell that would run along and standup all along the shoreline.  You can see the path in the chart below.

I did do a weak side jibe (jibed goofy foot) - stayed with it after the turn and then switch feet - that was a first for me.

I saw Kalani do a power slide - pretty much everything except the windward side of his front foil was out of the water.

The only thing that would have made today's session better was a ground swell.

Lots of blue today (thank you consistent winds!!!).

I think I'm going to rest tomorrow (but there is supposed to be wind...).

W:77/FD:44/F:4/S:12

Wing Foiling Session - 6/23/2024

Hit Hickam with Kalani today.

There was wind - and it was more consistent and stronger than yesterday.  But there were some epic lulls.

I set up the Ezzy Flight 4.0, and No.36 with the 90cm Aluminum PC mast, ART Pro 1001 and the 350P.  This setup was great when the wind was coming through - but sucked in the lulls.

I was hesitant early on to tack this setup - trying some tacks on the inside to work up, I would drop off foiling speed and had to start over.

But outside in the ridiculously strong wind, I would throw tacks on incoming waves, and tack on the inside of the channel marker to head back out.

I ended up catching a few of the better sized waves - super fun stalling just in front of the breaking section, swooping around and hooking a turn, then cracking a turn back in front to repeat it all over again.

Out running whitewater -

Not as bad as yesterday, but when the downs were around - nothing to do but sit and wait.  I think with the Spitfire 840 it wouldn't have been an issue.

When the wind was up, the lower foil set was making a lot of noise.  I'm going to have to tune these to get rid of the vibrations.

When the wind wasn't up, I was just drifting around.  Looks like I spent about a third of the time drifting.

W:76/FD:44/F:4/S:12

Garage Works - 6/22/2024 - Round 3

After dinner - I went ahead and got the top deck laid out and even laminated.

I used 4.8 ounce carbon fiber with an overlap where the glue seam is, and patches of residual basalt to provide near total coverage under the nose to tail basalt layer.

15 ounces of epoxy and I've got myself a laminated Foil Drive board.

Tomorrow I'll sand the laps and place a fill coat with pigment.  This one is getting close.

Garage Works - 6/22/2024

I got a bunch done in the garage today.

First thing this morning I laminated the bottom deck of No.37.  I pulled back the basalt cover sheet and the carbon reinforcements, then poured the epoxy to get into the track slots (so everything is chemically bonded.

The basalt is halfway between carbon and fiberglass - so it goes in place pretty easily.

And after I came back from winging, I also sanded the laps - so now it is ready for the top deck lamination.  Before I go to sleep tonight I'll cut out the carbon and basalt so I can laminate tomorrow morning.

And I sanded the first fill coat on the big SUP foil board mast track.  I then got the second fill coat on.

I'll do the final sanding on this tomorrow morning, then flip it and get a new SUP handle installed.  Then this board will be ready to get back to Uncle Joe.