Evening Foil Drive Session - 9/9/2025

Fol Drive session with Roland, Norm and Stu (Duke prone foiled later).

The wind from Hurricane Kiko was influencing the local weather - swirling wind.

Head high surf on the sets - but pretty full tide.

Same setup as Sunday - but I switched out the HA40 rear stabilizer to the Silk 142.

I didn't scratch the Silk 850 today - I did enough of that on Sunday.  I could still put another coat or two over the badly scratched areas - but for now the repair work is fine.

The tide kept the waves from breaking more consistently on the outside.  But inside - they stood up pretty vertical (super fun to carve up).

I had to do a quick partial charge on my HO battery - so I didn't have the entire battery available.  And I also thought the boost wasn't adjusted for maximum output (from switching between the regular Max battery).  And the last excuse I'll put out there is the Silk 850 vs the Enduro 900 - the Silk picks up steeper waves better, but flatter waves slower.

Went right mostly today to avoid the surfers at Fenceline.

13 rides - and the 142 stabilizer opened up the Silk 850 even more... 

I'm going to have to move the mast back a notch if I'm going to stick with the Silk rear stabilizer (it has more down force than the HA40).

Fun session!!!

W:56/FD:114/PW:31/S:8

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 4/26/2025

Really good conditions this morning - except the low tide.  Weekend crew out - Andrew, Mark, Kalani, Dennis, Roland, Noel, Marvin and others.

Similar size to yesterday afternoon minus the choppy drama.

Same setup as yesterday evening - I want to get this foil position dialed in.

HO battery - and I was gentle with the throttle so nearly 3 hours of runtime.

When the sets came, the waves were well overhead.  I think I need to switch out to a different rear stabilizer.  I felt like I had some good turns - but Marvin said I was turning the Enduro 900 tighter.  On the bigger ones, I actually felt that I was overfoiled on the Silk 850...

Looking at the speed chart, I got 19 rides.  I know I missed multiple waves, so not every line here is a ride.

Now looking at the distance chart, I still got 19 rides.  So this is a good way to corroborate the data.

Super fun session!

W:31/FD:61/PW:1/S:4

Evening Foil Drive Session - 4/25/2025

After missing two days because of the onshore south winds, I was going today regardless of the conditions.

The winds were there - and Roland and I went out anyways.

Nice high tide, pretty good energy levels in the water pulsing up from the southern hemisphere....

No.40 with some change outs - I used the original motor with the 15cm cable and the AFS Silk 850/142 rear stabilizer.

Once I got the characteristics of the foil down, this thing ROCKED!!!  The differences are well publicized - but you often don't get it until you experience it.

The Silk 850 is a devastating carving weapon - and it cut through big white water with zero drama.  I could feel the turbulence, but I never lost lift while moving through the aerated zone.  Not many foils out there that could do that.

The Enduro 900 also carves, but it isn't as visceral and it glides and pumps through the flats with ease. 

Today was challenging - the waves were really fat so they were hard to get on and stay out in front of.  And when I did get on them - they were jacking (and thus the opportunity to carve hard).

And Roland was finally getting up and riding using the Foil Drive.  He was getting up on both feet much faster.

He got even better (catching waves more consistently and riding) when the wind died back and we had moved over to the Cabins side.

22 rides on this choppy wave, challenging day.

I'm going to keep riding the AFS Silk 850 for a bit -

W:31/FD:60/PW:1/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 4/12/2025

Headed to Hickam to avoid the low tide shenanigans.

Wind was strong but swirly and full of holes.

There were waves at Seconds and occasionally at Firsts.

Zach, Matt, Prayot, Arvin, and others were out enjoying the conditions.

I did some research today.

I started with the AFS Silk 850 and the rebuilt 142 rear stabilizer.  I wanted to see if the slight ridges would make a difference in the resonance.

And after the first session I changed out the lower set to the AFS Ultra HA 750 and HA38 rear stabilizer to see if the balance point I defined last time I had this foil out was still valid, and if the tuning on the HA38 worked (the goal is to run silent).

And the wind was strong when I was setting up - not strong enough for the North Nova Pro 4.2, but plenty for the Mode Pro 4.8

Lots of ups and downs

First session running the Silk 850

The stab felt fine, but it did make some noise.  Next time I mix epoxy, I'll place some to get rid of the slight depressions/ridges where I had to splice on the carbon.

The waves were breaking better at Seconds today. 

Towards the end of the session, I did a few speed runs - this was a surprise.

And this was the second session.

Looks like I could pull a higher angle to the wind with the Ultra (not a surprise).  The other thing I wanted to get a better sense of was how well the Ultra surfs.

The Ultra can surf - but it is not nearly as fluid as the Silk (or even the Enduro).  If you are wondering - it's glide is off the charts.  That would make downwind runs a dream with this foil - but it is good to know it doesn't take ridiculous amounts of wind to get this foil up and that it can surf.

And this is a surprise - same day, nearly the same time and the Silk went faster.

I found out later than Prayot put his stabilizer into his wing strut while jumping.  He had to paddle for the taxiway, climb on and get his board secured, then went back for his wing.  Long walk.

W:28/FD:54/PW:1/S:4

Garage Works - 4/11/2025

I took the day off today (so I can whittle my use or lose down), and decided to get some progress done on some projects.

First up was adding fill to level out the slot for the track block on Roland's wing board.

Then I figured I should fix the 142 rear stabilizer.  This is the undamaged side.

Here's the tip that had a chunk missing from it yesterday.

After I got the carbon laminated onto the stabilizer, I went back to Roland's board.  I used the electric planer to get the foam leveled, so I can use the router to clear the foam.

Since I had all the tools in use, I told Prayot to bring the board he has queued up so he could get the thickness dialed in and the track box routed out.

And here is the stabilizer ready to trim. 

I already got it trimmed and sanded.  It could use a thin layer of epoxy to fill some transition lines - but other than that it came out nice and I even got the other scratches filled and the trailing edge tuned up.

I'll test it first - if it runs quiet and doesn't behave funny, I'll probably just leave it.

Wing Foiling Session - 4/10/2025

The forecast was calling for steadier winds from the ENE.  We ended up with some up and down wind from the E.

Nice higher tide.  Mushy chest high swell.

Prayot was packing up by the time I got to the beach.  He had a good session, but the wind started to falter with the rain clouds moving in. 

Knowing the weather would produce wind soon enough, I went ahead and setup.

Silk 850, 142 Rear Stabilizer, AFS UHM 85cm mast all on No.40.

With the up and down wind, I opted for the Nova Pro 5.0

And despite the seemingly marginal conditions, this was actually a really good session.

Lots of waves - tons of carving - so much fun!  The waves were a little bit slopey, and they weren't standing up like on Sunday - but still a blast!

And after an hour or so, a rain squall started moving in.  I told Roland I was going in - and like most squalls, the wind tanked right after the rain cleared.

Marvin and Norm were out on FD.  They both said the conditions were challenging.

Looking at the speed graph - 21mph on the Silk 850 - I'm betting this was on one of the larger waves.

Rinsing off at the shower, I noticed a missing piece off the rear stabilizer.  I don't recall hitting anything, but there have been a lot of fish swimming around lately.  Maybe a turtle???  I'm going to fix the stabilizer - so that means either switching over to the HA40 or HA38.  Wind is supposed to be better tomorrow -

W:26/FD:54/PW:1/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 4/7/2025

Big surf today!!!  Lower tide and lots of white water made for a difficult launch - but after about 15 minutes I was able to break through and get up on foil.

The wind was blowing the tops of the waves when I got to the beach - I pumped up the North Mode Pro 4.8

And opted for the AFS Silk 850 and the 142 rear stabilizer mounted on the 85 cm UHM mast on No.40

EPIC session today!!!

Multiple well overhead rides - 

Prayot, Roland and Duke were also out.  Prayot had his leash break and the board got away from him.  Syril finally got the board back to him.  Roland got his hat blown off his head by a set.  Pure carnage!!!

It was pure chaos - strong gusty wind that wanted to push the wing over, chop everywhere, whitewater turbulence - so epic!!!  My senses were on fire trying to keep everything in balance!

This was the first time I had the Silk 142 rear stabilizer on.  I'm pretty sure it was me pulling punches (so I wouldn't wipeout and get eaten by the giant waves), but today the Silk setup did not feel as carvey as I remembered it to be.  Gonna have to work on that -

What a way to start off the South Shore season!!!!

W:25/FD:53/PW:1/S:4