Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/19/2026

Dawn patrolled at Hickam again.

Was slightly smaller than yesterday - but there was less warble.

Tide was around +0.6' so no issues.

I swapped out to the AFS Silk 850/USurf 135 - this session reconfirmed this is the hardest turning/carving foil out there!!!!

I'm calling today's sessions to be two separate ones.

First session was at Seconds.

I had the foil lined up on the S850 marks, but there was a tad bit more back foot pressure than I prefer.

The waves I rode had so many hooking turns as peaks stood up in front of me.  And I'd blast off in front of whitewater sections - SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Eleven rides the first outing.  And check the top speed -

I went in to change out the battery.  I also adjusted the foil forward a notch.

The second session was out at Firsts.

Waves were a notch smaller over here compared to Seconds, but there were more people out at Seconds.

More hooking turns and ducking in front of the breaking waves.

The foil position was perfect!!!  I could drive the foil anywhere I wanted with the utmost confidence -

Eleven waves again -

Super fun session!

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:49/S:20

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/18/2026

Got in a dawn patrol at Hickam.  I was originally going to surf as Prayot was launching the boat.  But I also brought the Foil Drive setup from yesterday - and when testing the flukey remote, it completely died (would not transmit).  Ryan and Bill both offered up their spare remotes, and it seemed like a better choice to test my system to make sure it was the failing remote and not something else that was causing all the issues lately.

There was a decent south swell still pushing waves in.  And it was cleaner (but still had a funky warble to it) than White Plains.

Same setup as yesterday - wanted to confirm the mast position for the Whippit was dialed in.  I think it can actually go forward a notch still.

My first few rides felt off - still trying to get used to this foil.  It was squirrely, and then when I tried to do a hard turn the stabilizer would slip out.  And the warble in the water didn't help - I breached more than usual.

But eventually I started just going with the flow and I started to get accustomed to how this foil wanted to turn.

Early on the waves were bigger.  As the tide filled in, it started to bog the waves down.

I caught eleven waves in an hour - not bad.

Tomorrow I'm going to bring the Silk 850 or the Enduro 900 and see if it was the warble or the foil that was limiting my hard turning today.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:47/S:20

Evening Foil Drive Session - 6/17/2026

Went out to Foil Drive to test the remote.  Surf was energetic, but the chop was pretty intense.  Largely from the onshore wind that was blowing.

Nice higher tide.

Cabrinha Whippit 850/Union 160 Rear Stabilizer bolted on to the Cedrus Evolution Surf and No.40

I wanted to get the Whippit mast position dialed in on this board.

I rode the foil in the Silk 850 position for a few waves.  Then I adjusted it forward as it seemed like it needed a little more lift.

With the adjustment, the foil worked a lot better.

This foil is smoother than the Silk 850, but it needs more energy from the wave and with the 160 rear stabilizer, it doesn't seem to have the same grip as the Silk.

This was a short session really to get things dialed in and make sure the remote was working - and towards the end of the session the remote actually started acting funny again.  I called it and headed in so I wouldn't lose signal completely and have to paddle in from outside.

Eleven rides in a short session.  With the chop I fell a bunch - but there were a few really good rides!

Questionable remote makes for a distraction while foiling...

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:46/S:20

Garage Works - 6/16/2026

I got home from work and wanted to take a short nap.  I did get up - and had contemplated getting in a Foil Drive session - but I then figured I should just get another rest day in.

La was going to go to the Cactus and Succulent club meeting - I figured this would be a good opportunity to get the Tow Boogie conversion project closer to completion.

I had the reinforcement strips cut out from a long time ago - today I cut out the cap sheet from the basalt supply I have.

Once that was cut out and trimmed, I went back and taped over the tracks and sanded the area where I needed epoxy adhesion.

I also mixed a small batch of microbubbles infused epoxy to fill the voids in the seam around the block.

This took 6 ounces to properly cover.  There was probably an ounce on the roller and another ounce left in the mixing cup - so the epoxy to matrix ratio was about 2:1.

And the areas where I needed the fabric to unconditionally stay flat to the board, I went ahead and used the remainder of the peel ply and some batting to keep the work flat.

I'll let the cure, remove the peel ply, sand the perimeter, and add another fill coat to level out the new layer.

Even if this doesn't work as a tow boogie, it will definitely work as a tow device to get me on a shortboard out to the breaks that no one surfs - for that prospect alone I am pretty excited for this.

Garage Works - 6/14/2026

The Cabrinha Apollo 7m that I was asked to fixed was pressure tested today.

I went ahead and changed out more of the sprint tubes, and glued on the velcro ring at the main inflation valve.

This one is done and ready to go back to the owner.  It would be interesting to fly the two kites...

Dawn Patrol - 6/14/2026

The big south swell that is coming up from New Zealand arrived.  It was pitching lip way outside.

The tide was super low at dawn, and dropping into the mid morning.

I opted to surf -

And I got in two sessions -

First was with the Album Twinzer Twinsman.

I caught a few of the bigger reforms on the middle break.  There was a lot of water moving around - with the current dragging to the east.  I launched from the single cabin and at one point was out towards Coves.  I was lucky and my last wave I was able to take towards shore almost to Fenceline.

The twinzer was fun - especially when picking up the bigger ones, but with the amount of water moving the fins didn't feel loose.  On the rides it felt a little tracky and not at all like a twin.

I came in a swapped to the J Splee Hammah Fish

For the given conditions, this board worked so well - 

First wave had three top-bottom turn combos

And I had a few more like it.  Pure fun!!! 

The swell should peak this afternoon - and tomorrow will likely be manageable on Foil Drive outside.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:45/S:20

Garage Works - 6/13/2026

Got through a few projects today.

First up - I got the Cabrinha Apollo leading edge bladder valves installed, the last strut bladder inflation valve re-glued, the whole thing put back together, inflation stems set, and the bladder strings removed.

I'll pressure test the kite tomorrow, install zip ties and try and get these kites/wing back to their owner.

La got the sunshade for this garden space completed and I helped her hang it up.

Looks awesome!!!

And I pulled the Twinzer Twinsman off the racks and waxed it up.  This is the vehicle of choice for the bigger waves expected tomorrow.

I've been waiting for waves that will do this board justice!

And to finish off the day/evening, I got a sheathing of heat shrink over the 'd' line pigtail on the Triple Seven Hybrids

Th e thermals/onshores should kick up tomorrow afternoon - I'll test these two wings then.

I feel productive!

Foil Drive Session 2 - 6/13/2026

Phil, Elan, Bill and Arvin were all out with Stu and I.

Lots of kayak fishermen also launching this morning.

I swapped batteries and headed back out.

I did not check my remote battery charge level.

When I got out to the channel, I figured I should foil over at Seconds to mix things up.  Plus the crowd that was there earlier had cleared.

I caught two waves (the first one was phenomenal) - and then my remote went dead.

I had just spoke to Bill about this and he said if I needed it, he would tow me in.

Well - I'm glad he offered.

Hopefully my remote is not dead and it just needs a charge.

With the surf getting big tomorrow and Monday, I'll likely surf anyways so I'll get the remote settled out.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:45/S:18

Foil Drive 1st Session - 6/13/2026

With the King Tides this week, dawn patrolling WP meant a long shallow paddle out to wher you could flip the foil over without grounding.  I figured that was enough reason to do the dawn patrol at Hickam.

I swapped the boards this morning - from No.43 to No.40 - I wanted the extra waterline to make getting in and out a bit easier.

And I opted for the AFS Silk 850 v1) and the USurf 135 rear stabilizer

There were waves - but the good ones were separated by a good wait.

The bigger ones were a ton of fun.

Both peaks at Firsts were breaking with the really low tide.  And the inside bowl by the channel was awesome for getting in roundhouse carves.

15 solid rides, with only a couple missed.

There was less drag on this system.  And towards the end of the session I was feeling the boost differential again.

Went in for a battery change.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:44/S:18

Garage Works - 6/12/2026

I decided to take a day break from fixing the Cabrinha Apollo.  Instead I worked on two parawings.

The D line pigtail on Kalani's Triple Seven Hybrid 5.7 popped about a week ago.  I ordered some adjustable pigtails to use to replace the popped line.

The pigtails came in and I tried to use them - but they were too thick and too long.

This picture is for reference and it was from the Hybrid 4.3

Line orientation is important.  Twists can shorten lines -

I ran the extra line through to keep the bridle lines properly lined up.

There were a few more steps to get to this point, but here is the new line in place.  I repeated everything on the Hybrid 5.7

Tomorrow I'll undo the bar end and run a sheath line over the D line pigtail - just to drastically reduce the possibility of line wear.  The sheath is only really needed at the bar.  I'll post an update.

Foil Drive Session - 6/12/2026

Today's objective was to see if the Zip Pod and streamlined bolt nuts made that much of a difference in drag.

When I got there, it looked kinda small which is what I was expecting.  But every 15 minutes or so a good set would roll through.  The tide was really high though so the beach was reflecting the wave energy.

AFS Enduro 900/Mako 130 + AFS UHM 80cm mast onboard No.43

Side note - the E900 mark is the correct mark... 

Robby, Stu, Kalani and Roland were all out on Foil Drives also.

The reflected backwash made things interesting - lots of pop tart moves (wipeouts).

More straight runs today just to make sure I didn't breach.  I had the Enduro 900 a notch too far up so the foil was a bit more lively.  I actually should have used the Whippit 850 again (it would have been better suited).  You can see the tracks don't have as much carve in them today.

Needless to say - the Zip Pod and the lower profile nuts made for way less drag.  I still felt there was some sluggishness when trying to get up to speed.  I'm wondering now if it is the 5 pounds of fat I have been dragging around lately.

14 rides.  I did miss a few due to the bogging down I was mentioning.  But I did come in with 50% left on the battery.

The surf this weekend is supposed to get up to 7' again... might be time to surf again.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:44/S:18