Evening Session - 6/2/2026

Noe is home from school - so we took a field trip to WP to see if her spirit animal was hanging out -

And it was!

The surf was big and pretty unruly.  I spent my first 30 minutes just trying to get to a stable lineup.

I brought the Firewire Machadocado 5'10" with the NVS Wolverines screwed in.

I caught two really good (for today's conditions) waves, and another where my feet got wrapped up in the leash.  Not many options given the conditions.

Before going to WPB, I did check out PVs to see how it was handling the swell - if the wind were stronger, it would have been fine for parawinging/winging.  The break is offshore much further and there is sufficient runway to get up on to foil.  That may be the call for tomorrow -

PF:8/W:2/PW:55/FD:41/S:18

Evening Session - 4/18/2026

I had wanted to go parawinging this morning over at Kailua... but the wind did not get to doable levels.  Skunked.

I came back and La and I went and checked out some places we had talked about going to (Kawamoto Orchid Farm, food places in Waialae, eyeglass place).

And when I got back, the wind seemed to be blowing - seemed.

The thought crossed my mind that I had all the parawing stuff still packed in the truck - but I knew better.

And that last thought was backed up by Roland sending an in person report - head high waves, nice and clean conditions.

I grabbed the Machadocado with the NVS Wolverine fins -

I caught six waves in an hour - and three of them were really good.

Late takeoff, dropping into the slot and ripping some really good turns along the length of the wave.

This board can handle!!!

PF:5/W:2/PW:31/FD:30/S:13

Evening Session - 4/7/2026

Same pattern today - came home from work, took a nap, then headed out to get a few waves.

It was breaking overhead out at Foil Drive Country -

I was debating about which board to bring - I ended up deciding on the Machadocado with the NVS Wolverine fin set.

I caught three good ones.

The first was a long right and I got in several good turns.  This board and the fins are a great pairing.

The second wave I was getting stalled up at the top, but the wave doubled up and I got an elevator drop on an overhead wave.

The last wave was another right with a few turns.

I'm happy!  Especially since wave choice becomes critical when the waves get this height and larger.

Marlon was out on his longboard (and the fin bolt got loose); Roland was out on his longboard (mid-length); and Duke was SUP foiling outside. 

The weather is going to take a turn for the worse for the rest of the week... might be a good time to get the tow boogie completed.

PF:5/W:2/PW:31/FD:25/S:11

Evening Session - 2/11/2026

The wind seems to be way up and down again today - so I opted to rest a bit to let the wind drop off, then I headed to the beach to surf.

There were 3 monk seals on the beach.

The wind was down, and continued to drop through my session.

The tide was low at 0.2'

There were waves, but they were breaking funny - somewhat closing out and they would build, stand and then back off.  You almost had to cheat inside in order to catch them.

Machadocado and the Futures Alpha 2+1 Reverse 3/2

Once my muscle memory for surfing kicked back in I was catching waves.  On one I lined up with a walling right and I got in some fun turns.  Bu tin general the rides were short and I was lucky to get 2 turns in.

In all honesty, today's conditions were not the best for testing a newish board and fins.  I think even with the Wolverines installed, the waves weren't the best for getting good rides in. 

Intuitively these fins feel like they'd be a better match for the HS Hypto Crypto - but that's another test for another day.

Tomorrow should be a better, more steady windsports day.

PF:1/PW:11/FD:14/S:8

Garage Works - 2/3/2026

I got some work done in the garage this evening.

I sanded the repair on the Machadocado and it is back to 100%

Then I sanded all the small dings on the Cymatic.  All but the tail and nose repairs came out fine.

On the nose, I added another seal coat.

And on the tail I added a couple of basalt patches.

I'll likely add a fill coat with white pigment to blend in the tail repair.

Then I got the foot strap insert blocks for Roland's board all measured out.

I'll route out the slots for the inserts.  Then I'll epoxy in the inserts.

It never ends.... which is a good thing!

Garage Works - 2/1/2026

I had traded my pristine 5'9" Firewire Cymatic for a 5'10" version.  The extra liters should help me get more out of this design.  The unfortunate thing is this board had several small imperfections.

I sanded the dings/scratches/imperfections and placed a small amount of epoxy to make sure those areas got filled.

I'll pull the peel ply, wet sand the spots to blend, then spray a clear coat.

Here is the bottom deck being prepared -

And the top deck with the fill added and covered by peel ply.

Other angle to see the other spots

And while I was at it, I sanded the "dry spot" which I think is more a slight ding from the guy who I got this from not protecting the board.

I'll do the same thing - sand and spray.

Then these two boards will be up to par with my standards.

And I also got some Marine Grip on to No.43 - this will help during takeoff.

I also got a few stickers on - this board is ready to take on the world!!!

Evening Session - 1/27/2026

Marlon and I caught the evening surf (I needed to wash off all the sanding dust).

Tide was really low.  Light onshores (that weren't really altering the surf).

And the waves were chest high on the sets (but the sets were rather infrequent).

Marlon brought out the Evo - and he caught some good waves with it.  He was mostly on the Middles break.

I brought out the Cado again, this time with the Pivot version of the Taylor Knox NVS fins.

I think I surfed this board better with the rake version - but it really was difficult catching meaningful waves today - longboarders... and closeouts

I did catch some fun ones, but besides turns to get into a better position and running a few walls, the waves weren't presenting much opportunity today.

Roland was out on Foil Drive.

I think I'll use the Boogie fish next session - or the Sweet Potato with the Alpha Vector 3/2 quad set.

PW:5/FD:9/S:6

Garage Works - 1/23/2026

I worked on a couple of different projects this afternoon.

First up was getting the starboard finbox on the Firewire Machadocado to get tighter.  This finbox had the Wolverine fin loose yesterday, and when I fitted this fin set, the same thing was happening.  The looseness was lateral.

I used a strip of aluminum duct tape placed on the outside wall of the finbox and "done"!

Nice and tight now.

Then I sanded the entire surface of No.43 to make sure the next layers of epoxy would adhere.

I placed the tape dam, mixed up a batch of slow hardened epoxy, and used a new batch of International Orange pigment.

And this is the color I was going for.

I let the first coat get tacky, then mixed another batch of epoxy, this time with fast hardener, and more pigment.

This second coat really filled in the color to be nice and solid - similar to No.39

Tomorrow morning I'll get a last fill coat on to the bottom deck.  That'll have the first rough sanding happening Sunday morning.  I'll get through to 120 grit, clean the board of dust, place the labels and get a clear sealant coat on one side.  That'll have Monday seeing the other deck get clear coated, Tuesday the fine sanding and plugs day.  Then Wednesday as the final clear coat day.

Thursday I'll get the deck pads on, then the board will sit for a couple of days to get all gelled together.

It'll likely be next Saturday morning when this board gets wet for the first time!!!

The Anointment of the Machadocado

After working on No.43, I figured it would be nice to get some exercise in -

The waves were chest high on the periodic sets.

I didn't have much time so I opted to surf -

And instead of bringing the Sweet Potato, I brought the Machadocado out for its first session (with me - I sold the straight Helium Sweet Potato and got this board).

For it's first outing, I fitted it with the NVS Taylor Knox Wolverine Twin + trailer fins. 

My first few waves were awkward - and even planted seeds of doubt in my mind.  But I made a more conscious effort to focus on my footing and the rides got way better.

I had a few rides going right where the face got a tad steeper and the wave lined up - and I got in several great carving turns on these runs.

I had one left where I got three backside schwacking top turns - super fun!!!

This board is definitely a keeper!

But it isn't without a couple of issues.  There is a spot just ahead of the port side fin that looks to be a dry weave spot.  There is balsa/paulownia perimeter rails underneath that area so I am not really worried about water infiltration - but my OCD is kicking in (so I'm likely to do a light sanding and fill job to negate the issue).

And the starboard fin box is a little larger than the fin base.  I end up having to tighten the worm screw more than I normally would - and even after that there seems to be some lateral movement.  I am going to try adding a strip of aluminum duct tape to take up the gap (just like shimming front foils in ferrule setups).

All considered - this is going to be a super fun board!  I've already got the NVS Taylor Knox Pivot Twins loaded up on the Cado - 

PW:5/FD:7/S:5

Garage Works - 1/19/2026

I finally stopped starring at No.43 and got back to work on it.

I decided on using the basalt fabric instead of carbon.  This was mainly because of the Foil Drive duty it's gonna pull.

I cut out the fabric, got it trimmed and pulled it back.

I mixed the epoxy - 18 ounces - and added epoxy to the track boxes (they had slots).

Then I placed the carbon strips back in place, covered the remainder of the board with the basalt, and started laminating.

I had to mix up another 4.2 ounces to get the laps wetted out.

Everything was nice and flat.

And there wasn't any drama with the tail.

Tomorrow I'll get the footstrap inserts set in place, cut out the top deck reinforcement patches, prep the basalt cover and laminate - hopefully.

I took a break and flew the drone for a bit.  Wanted to scare away any pigeons hanging out on the roof.

Then I tested out the new scale I bought from Costco - this thing will handle up to 30 pounds!!!

I measured the weight of the Machadocado - almost 7 pounds with the deckpad (and no fins or wax).

And I wanted to wax this board up in case the waves are decent this week.

And these are the fins I decided to try out on this board first - NVS Wolverines

I'll weigh the board again once the wax is on and the fins are in place.

Nice new tool!

Garage Works - 1/17/2026

I recently sold one of my 5'6" Sweet Potato boards so I could pick up this Machadocado.

I cleaned up the board of wax and the deck pad from the previous owner.

Then I got this Firewire 2+1 deck pad placed on.  I kept it under the soft dive weights for several hours to make sure it has a good start in it service life.

Same liters as the Sweet Potato, but 4" longer.

The bottom contours remind me of the Seaside and Beyond - just more extreme.

The tail is really thin on this board - should make things really interesting.

I also cleaned up a Dakine 6'0" thruster board bag, and got the Hayden Shapes Hypto Krypto nicely tucked away in it (no pictures of this).

Then I cleaned up the fill on No.43, did the last of the fine sanding, taped over the track slots and cut the reinforcing carbon tape.  I was going to laminate the board today, but decided on cooking dinner instead. 

And while cooking dinner, I took the opportunity to put together the Zip Pod I got for the Evolution Cedrus Surf mast.

I'll test it tomorrow morning to see how it feels compared to the regular Foil Drive mast pod.

Working on these projects is pretty darn therapeutic.