Garage Works - 11/30/2024

I spent the evening getting the top deck laminated.

I sanded the inserts down and got rid of any burrs.

Then I sealed up the insert holes with surf wax.

Then I laid out patches where my heels and knees will go.

The cap sheet was falling short so I had to splice the last foot.  I opted to put the splice at the back since my foot will never go that far back.

And here is the board all laminated.  Whenever I place footstrap inserts in a board, I have to pay more attention to getting the laminate tight against the board/insert.

This effort this evening keeps me on schedule.  I'll likely sand laps tomorrow and get the first (of possibly four) fill coats on.  If I'm lucky, I could get the second coat on in the evening (just have to start earlier in the day).

I'm thinking with all the sanding, filling, sanding, filling, logos, filling, sanding and then spraying I'll have to do before I get the board outfitted, it'll be next weekend before I get this board anointed.

Dawn Patrol - 11/30/2024

Today's dawn patrol saw bigger waves - at least double the size of yesterday.  And there were plenty of them the first half of my session.  There was also some wind bumping up the faces - but it was still manageable.  And another good day tide wise.

It's hard to see it, but it is breaking well over head out where we normally wing.

I used the same setup as yesterday - the only difference was my right knee was sore and I couldn't pump like I could yesterday.  With the waves way bigger, I didn't necessarily have to pump - but the second half of the session got a little weird.  The waves still had size, but they would back down and even though I had initially caught the wave, if I didn't pump it would pass me by.  That's when I could feel my knee and I'd just back off.

That's all nitpicking - this was still a great session with really good conditions.

Not so much of a pattern today.  Initially the waves were breaking out in front of the cabins.  Then they started breaking all over.

I got 18 rides - less than yesterday, but it was more crowded today and the SUP guys were hungry (and would take off on waves I was already riding - but whatever, I rode way more than they could catch).

Too bad I loaned the SF900 and Skinny stab to Erik... I could have used them today I think.  I may try to set up the SK8 950...

W:145/PW:2/FD:86/F:5/S:23

Dawn Patrol - 11/29/2024

Yesterday morning's dawn patrol was fun.  Favorable tide, near zero wind were good factors - and with patience there was a good set coming through periodically.  The front runners of the inbound swell.

Beautiful sunrise - you can see the other islands.

I did switch up the rear stabilizer - this is the P325.  I was a little concerned about loss of glide and pump - but this thing actually livened up the ride.

Lots of carving turns yesterday - this set up is so good!!!

Definitely a pattern to the break

22 rides - and a few of these were good repeats.

Super fun session!!!

W:145/PW:2/FD:85/F:5/S:23

Garage Works - Thanksgiving

I have a really long weekend - I managed to take Friday and Monday off.  And with that comes the opportunity to get significant headway on No.39

After we got back from La's cousin's house (Thanksgiving), I went ahead and got started on the next steps.

First off was trimming the basalt oversheet.  I also wanted to check if I have enough to laminate the top deck... not quite with a single sheet (I might still splice the overlay...).

Then trimming the lap and cutting the relief slits

To laminate the overlay, I initially used 13.3 ounces - then I added another 4.2 ounces to laminate the box cap sheet (way thicker longitudinal carbon)

This one came out tight!

I marked the t-nut hole in the cap sheet and added the remaining epoxy to the front and back edges of the cap sheet.

Tomorrow I'll start by sanding the laps, then I'll settle on the footstrap positions and route out the foot strap insert slots.

I'll glue the reinforcement blocks in place, wait for the glue to dry, then route out the foot strap insert holes.

I'd like to get the inserts epoxied in and then I'll work out the laminates.  Whether I laminate the top deck depends on what else I end up doing tomorrow (Foil Drive-ing on the dawn patrol, and if the wind comes up parawinging in the afternoon).

Worst case - I laminate Saturday morning.  If that's the case, I should be adding fill coats Saturday evening.  If I keep to this schedule, I should be riding this board (wing and Foil Drive) later next week.

Dawn Patrol - Thanksgiving 2024

The morning crew was all present this Thanksgiving morning - Andrew, Dean, Noel, Kamaka, Dennis, Matt (long time no see), Scott, Sam and others I haven't met.

Waves were small again.  But there was no wind and the tide was decently high.

Same setup as usual with the exception of the rear stabilizer.  I'm letting Erik try out the SF900 and the Skinny 365/55.  I bolted on the P350.  I really couldn't tell much difference in drag or speed - but that's more likely from the lack of energy in the waves.

The first half on my session had very little battery consumption - glassy conditions and the decent tide helped in this regard.

Then the waves started to back down - had to use more battery to get on the smaller waves.

I'll call this 24 rides in the almost 2 hours session.

Tomorrow will be more of the same - but the forecast is calling for some wind - I may FD in the morning and parawing (try to) in the afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

W:145/PW:2/FD:84/F:5/S:23

Garage Works - 11/28/2024

Getting ready to laminate No.39

I'll get the bottom deck laminated this evening.

Evening Session - 11/27/2024

Yesterday evening the wind was up and down, the tide was lowish and the waves were small - I ended up bringing the Sweet Potato.  I could have brought the Mode Pro 6.8 and the Dragonfly - that for sure would have worked, but I opted to play it safe.

I actually got up on several waves - but there was so little energy it was hard to get maneuvers in.  At least I didn't get skunked.

Roland and Prayot on the other hand did take out their prone foil setups and had some good rides.  Three-peats were common.

This was Roland's last wave of the day - he took it all the way in.  But it wasn't sand on the inside....

Hopefully the wind comes back soon.

W:145/PW:2/FD:83/F:5/S:23

Garage Session - 11/25/2024

I already alluded to the work I got done with today - Roland's two boards.

After I got back from surfing - in preparation for laminating No.39, I went ahead and placed new tape on the shaping rack.

Now that I've clear the garage of the side projects, I'm going to focus on getting No.39 across the production finish line.

Starting Wednesday afternoon, I'll have 5 days straight where I can focus on this.  I'll need to laminate the bottom deck, then figure out where I want to place the foot strap inserts, get those cut and glued in, laminate the top deck, get the fill coats on, sand, fill, sand (and maybe fill, sand).

I need to get some more epoxy before Thanksgiving...

Evening Session - 11/25/2024

I finished fixing Roland's boards this afternoon - then headed to WPB to get the mold release from Norm, get Prayot's Pure 900 back to him, get Roland's boards back to him, then hit the beach for some more low tide surfing.

When I went to check out the surf, I could see Norm out in front of the Cabins riding wave after wave after wave.

Roland was setting up his prone gear.

I opted to play it safe with the Sweet Potato (outfitted with the BMT fins)

I also was out to try this new rashguard from Aloha Xchange - half the price of the Xcel ones I use.  And this actually did a decent job.  It's true to size in case you want to grab one.

Once I figured out where to line up with this board, I actually had a great time!  I caught five waves that I got in a bunch of turns on.  Made for a great session!!!

I love twin fin boards!!!

W:145/PW:2/FD:83/F:5/S:22

Dawn Patrol - 11/24/2024

Dawn patrolled WPB again.

Slight wind, rising tide and slightly bigger swell!

Marlon longboarded - but didn't stay out for too long - it was actually cold this morning.

I set up the same gear - it's just that good!

With the near glassy conditions, the rides were phenomenal today!!!!

Super hard carves -

And repeats - a couple of 4x and even a 5x!!!!  You can see them on the left side of the tracks - the rounder loops.

Kalani, Noel, Dean (and another guy I don't know were out SUP foiling (no motor) while Dennis was out SUP foiling with the FD.

I got 20 solid rides - and could have probably stayed out another 30 minutes (but Marlon was waiting)

Awesome session!!!!

W:145/PW:2/FD:83/F:5/S:21

Evening Session - 11/23/2024

La went to an awards ceremony for the Hawaii Yacht Racing Association (I'm totally not interested in yachting community) and Marlon and his girlfriend went up to the North Shore for the evening.

So after I finished placing epoxy on the repairs, I headed over to the beach to see what the waves looked like.

Pretty low tide, light wind, and small but ridable waves. 

I knew the waves would be on the smaller side so I figured I'd try the Sweet Potato or this - the J. Splee Boogie Fish.

The Boogie Fish got the nod.

I was having a text conversation with Norm today about surfing - he doesn't surf much these days because he doesn't want it to mess with his foiling.  I said I surf when the waves are either super good, or if the tide is super low.  Today (like most evenings in the winter) fell into the tide too low category.

At the onset, I was having trouble catching waves that still had a face to work.  After a few missed waves, I finally got a good one - and three turns later I was stoked.  I caught several more after, and the sun set.

Landing any surfcraft over towards fenceline right now is risking cutting your feet - zero sand in the area right now.

Fun session!!!  I'm glad I still surf - if you look for the good sections and try not to dwell on the length of the ride, surfing is actually really fun!  And groveller boards notch things up also!

W:145/PW:2/FD:82/F:5/S:21

Garage Works - 11/23/2024

I started the repairs on Roland's boards this afternoon.

First up was the foil board.

I used the carbide wheel and grinded out the area he had circled with a marker to show where the leak was emerging.

The clear filled circle was the original repair I did where the leak was originally coming from.  After grinding around the track box, these holes were exposed and the slits right by the top of the track.

Here is the entirety of the area I dug out.

I placed some straight epoxy on the dug out area to let it run into the holes (and finally plug them).

Next I moved onto prepping Roland's 7'0" surfboard.  This thing has gotten beat up in the back of his van.  I sanded depressions where he had punctures, and lightly sanded the dings that did not break the fiberglass.

There were 20 of these areas.

This was one of the worse ones

Even on the tail

I cut patches of fiberglass and placed epoxy over all the spots I need to repair.

I made two batches - and the end of the second one I mixed in milled fibers and filled the remainder of the dug out area by the track box.

And I also filled the drain hole that I asked him to make (the board was drying at his house since I've been working on No.39 and Harris's repair)

Tomorrow I'll sand these areas, fill where I was short, and place a fiberglass patch over the drain hole area.

On the foil board, I'm also going to fill all of the footstrap insert holes with epoxy.  This is why I don't jump...

Dawn Patrol - 11/23/2024

Dawn patrolled WPB with Marlon.  There were small waves coming through - good enough to ride and keep a smile on your face!

Wind was light, and the tide was favorable for foiling (even though I did touch bottom once kicking out of a long ride).

Marlon foiled - and I saw a couple of his rides - he's definitely getting better!

I rigged the same gear.

Dean, Kalani, Andrew were all out on SUP foils.  Marlon said a guy named Vince was also SUP foiling - and Regan was out also.  I saw Makana prone foiling. 

Takeoff spot was pretty defined.

25 waves in less than an hour and a half!!!!

Calm water helps a lot with that.

Most were not super long - I opted to kick out if the wave was petering out - but the long ones were really long.

I already fixed my stabilizer - and as I'm writing this I just finished placing some epoxy to fix Roland's boards.  I'm going to get a surf session in - and then I'll document the ding repairs and surf session.

W:145/PW:2/FD:82/F:5/S:21