The Anointment of No.42 - 10/12/2025

It was blowing hard when I got to Hickam - whitecaps everywhere from the SE.

I wanted to dial in some foil positions on No.42 - and it is easier to do that on a new board with a wing.  With the whitecaps I figured I'd start out with the Enduro 900/HA40 and the North Nova Pro 5.0

It's been a minute since I inflated a wing -

I had laid out No.34 beside No.42 and transferred the foil positions for the Enduro 900 and 1300.

I started the Enduro 900 where I had marked the plotted point.

As soon as I had everything ready to go, the wind shut down.

If it wasn't for a little gust, I would have gotten skunked (and that can't happen on an anointment).

I was able to pump the board and the wing on that little puff in the middle of the red box - which was the design goal of this board - light wind pump ups.  What made it even more impressive was I was able to get up on the Enduro 900 - 

I pumped through some lulls but otherwise was able to use what wind was around (while it was around).  I got jibes in both ways and tacks both ways.  Then the wind totally dropped off.

In my further attempts to get back onto foil, I was able to stand on the board and feel how the volume reacted to pressure in the wing.  If there was no wind, I would sink while standing to above my calves.  With a little pressure I would be back at the surface without much drama.

The width was not that hard to work from - but today was relatively flat water.  Will need to assess this in waves (DW WP-PV run).

The deck pad placement seems to be really good.

And at this point the rocker and foil mounting area all seem to be working in unison.  I was holding my breath on this - and I still have to do more riding/testing. 

I stuck around in the middle of the harbor hoping another gust would come along - it never did.

I'm wondering if it would have been different if I had bolted on the Enduro 1300 to start (would I have stayed up on foil longer and gotten up faster?)

Even though this session was not long - it actually did the one thing I needed from it. 

There are a couple more days to get through before the trades come back with a vengeance.  It'll be smaller boards and smaller parawings then... if there are flat spells while the wind is up, I'll try using No.42 again with smaller parawings.  Now that I have a reference point for where the Enduro 900 balances out, I can get super close to where the Enduro 1300 should be.  

W:57/FD:126/PW:47/S:8

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 10/12/2025

A little choppier today early on - then it smoothed out a bit, but not as good as yesterday.

Waves seemed to work better earlier.  Tide still really high.

Same gear as yesterday.

With the choppier conditions, I burned through the battery a little faster today.

Eddy was out early.  Dennis came out after me.  There was another guy learning to FD.  And Roland parked next to me as I was packing up.

I tried to stay above the pack of surfers (so they could ride something if they could paddle onto one).  The better parts of the waves were further out anyways. 

18 rides in an hour and a quarter.

W:56/FD:126/PW:47/S:8

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 10/11/2025

Dawn patrol - super high tide.  When I got to the beach there was overtopping (and it was still overtopping when I left 2 hours later).

There were waves, but they weren't breaking because of the full tide.  And a lot of the energy was reflecting back out to sea.

I rigged the same gear as yesterday to glide across the flat spots - the Enduro 900 is the sweet spot for me weight - performance wise.

I also brought out No.39 - conceptually moving faster across the water will result in efficiency of battery usage and engaging the foil faster.

Efficiency wise, I came in after two hours and I still had 40% battery.

Dennis was out.  So was the Lift eFoiler.  Mark and Andrew were out and over at 5-O's.  Noel was catching on his SUP foil.  And Roland eventually came out (just got back from a trip).

I stayed out in front of Cabins predominantly.  And I would wait for the peaks to show at the outside breaks.

Almost all the rides were on running bumps.  I only had one wave with whitewater (and that one was a blast!).

20 rides - half of them were super long from the outside all the way in (deep water - no issues with bottom strikes).

Thermals kicked in nicely today - but I abstained.  La's parents are here and she had to work - I didn't want them to have to stay at home the whole day so I ran errands with them.

I'll likely Foil Drive again tomorrow morning - the swell is supposed to pick up a notch.  We'll see if the thermals pop again.

W:56/FD:125/PW:47/S:8

Garage Works - 10/10/2025

I used two cans of clear coat to get No.41's nose redone, and to get No.42 all covered.

Here's No.41

I think the nose got hot in the bag and the epoxy deformed (the clear coat).  I sanded the rough stuff off and sprayed on new clear coat.

And with No.42 being a new build, it got the bulk of the clear coat.

Bottom deck

Top deck.  I actually sprayed this portion first before I went to WPB.  When I got back the top deck was largely dry and I placed the deck pads before spraying the bottom deck.

I had to sand off some runs and respray.

And side view with the nose on the left.

Of note, the spray sometimes turned milky - but if you leave it alone it dries clear.

Now that this board is finished, the forecast shows declining wind through Tuesday.  Of course it would...

Foil Drive Session - 10/10/2025

I actually tried to foil Hickam this morning so I could knock out some errands - but I forgot my prop.

I ended up at WPB - but to my surprise it was pretty good given the conditions (SUPER high tide, small-ish waves, ZERO wind).

Enduro 900/HA40 on No.41

Was pretty good fun -

I stayed on the Coves side of Fenceline to stay away from the surfers - 

Most of the rides were going right

15 rides - so fun when the surface is clean!

W:56/FD:124/PW:47/S:8

Garage Works - 10/9/2025

I got home from work and figured the surf would be a repeat of yesterday - so I figured I get the sanding done on No.42

Went through 40-80-120-180 grits

Here's the bottom deck 

And the top deck

And a look from the side

I went ahead and rinsed the dust off the board.  I'll wipe it down one more time tomorrow morning before I spray the clear coat 

The left side is the nose, and the right side is the tail.

After the clear coat dries, I'll give it a few more hours and then put on the deck pads.

Saturday the wind is supposed to come up again!!!  I'll get the foil positions dialed in using the wing, then I'll parawing the crap out of this board!

Unless is sucks - 

Evening Foil Drive Session - 10/8/2025

Onshore winds, low wave energy and a board that needs to be sanded were all reasons I wasn't going to go out today.  But Norm is back and I needed to burn a battery down to storage levels, so my arm got twisted to go Foil Drive-ing.

The conditions were not good - choppy and bumpy short period small waves...

Good thing I had the Enduro 900 - easier to connect the dots.

The rides were on the short side.  And to get some good turns in, you had to ride a bit further in to where the waves were standing up.

The curves indicate the rides where I got to carve a bit.

I know I missed several attempted rides - so I'll call this 17 rides.

It was good to get in the water regardless of the conditions.  I think tomorrow I will need to sand No.42 and get the clear coat sprayed on.  Marlon and La should both be working when I get home so the garage will be clear.

W:56/FD:123/PW:47/S:8

Garage Works - 10/7/2025

The surf was tiny and the wind was onshore - I kept to the garage.  Besides, I really need to finish this board so I can get it put through its paces this weekend.

I resanded the patched areas and faired everything in again.  I filed the track box fill (where the router took too much).  Then I wiped the board down and taped up the perimeter.

I used 7.5 ounces of ProLink epoxy for the last fill/seal coat.  I got the rails and the bottom deck coated.

Then after a few hours, the epoxy was pretty much hardened.  I taped up the bottom perimeter and then mixed up another 6 ounces of the Pro Link.  I got the top deck and the rails coated. 

Tomorrow I'll sand the board - top, bottom and rails through the whole regime.  Then I'll get the vent and leash plugs installed.  I'll try to get through all that shortly after I get home from work tomorrow.

Once the epoxy placed in the leash and vent plugs hardens, I'll sand those down and then spray clear coat on the bottom deck and the rails.  This is where I start to question whether I'll have enough time tomorrow...

Ideally I'd then get the top deck sprayed.  Then Thursday morning I'll place the deck pads and let those set for 24 hours.  If I can get all that done in that schedule, the board will be ready for use on Friday.

The forecast is kinda shifting a bit - but Saturday afternoon looks to be the point where the tradewinds return.  So I've got an extra day or so....

And with the crappy conditions, I'm actually getting to rest my body from the nearly non-stop foiling (parawinging and Foil Drive-ing).  I actually need this break!

Update - I headed back to the garage after dinner and got the plugs installed.

Measured out position on the board and drilled out the pilot holes.  Switched to hole saw bits and got the openings drilled in.

Used about 0.2 ounces of epoxy to set these two plugs in place.

Today's work got me ahead of planned schedule.  Wednesday should be sanding and clear coat spraying.  And Thursday will be deck pad application.

The trades look to be solid on Saturday - I'll likely head to Hickam to get the foil positions dialed in on wing, then try parawinging it!!!

Garage Works - 10/6/2025

I definitely needed to rest today - and the weather helped keep me home.

I guess I'll count working in the garage as resting.

I sanded No.42 - both sides, top and bottom to 40 grit.

I signed the board and pulled the dimensions - 6'6" x 18.125" x 5.125"

It's narrow - but the point of this board is to get up on foil faster.  There should be so stability from the length and the mast below - we shall see.

Then I opened up the tracks.

The corner of this one got opened up a tad too much - so I rigged this mold to get it filled back in.  It really didn't need it patched - but the board is new and I'm placing epoxy anyways...

I was going to put a coat of Pro-Link epoxy over the bottom and sides, but I figured I should fill in the slightly low spots with the excess pigmented/milled fiber infused epoxy I had left over from the track fill.

And here is No.42 - low spots filled and through the first sanding.

Tomorrow I'll fair in the fill and then place a Pro-Link seal coat.  I'll try to do that early, so after a few hours I can go back and install the leash and vent plugs.

That means Wednesday is the next sanding day.  And If I'm lucky, I can go ahead and spray the clear coat on.

Thursday will see the deck pads go on and Friday I can get the board anointed.  I'll first take it out with a wing so I can get the foil positions dialed in (Enduro 900 and 1300, Ultra 750).  Then I'll take it out with the parawing!!!

Getting close!

Parawing Session - 10/5/2025

Did a bunch of yard errands around the house and got some long term 'to-do's" finished... all the while the wind was blowing...

I got the green light to go ahead and get a parawing session in!!!

When I got to the beach, it looked bad - light wind...

I stood and watched it for a bit and periodically gusts would come through - it had a bunch of north in it so that explained the "light wind" look.

I figured this is all I got - might as well go out...

Same gear as the past several sessions

This session was actually pretty fun!

I had to look for gusts to get up onto foil, but I could feel the threshold that I needed to cross to get up was getting lower. These last several sessions having a go in lighter winds is starting to pay off.

I also got in several takeoffs going goofy in swell

Lots of north is an understatement

Definitely a low wind session - and definitely pushing the lower threshold.

Prayot was also out - and he got up on foil multiple times, but with a smaller foil and smaller parawing, he was not up on foil as much as I was.

The front end of the session turned out to be the better part.

The second half the wind was twisting and faltering - jibes were hard to get the PW to bank - but I ended up back where I started so this was a good session. 

\

The wind is supposed to back down for the coming week, and the surf is also supposed to be smaller.  I'll likely finish fixing Felipe's mast and finish No.42

And my golfer's elbows could use the rest.

W:56/FD:122/PW:47/S:8