Garage Works - 11/25/2023

La was working on stuff so I had an opportunity to work on No.33

I cut the slot for the SUP handle - I am putting this on the top deck because carrying the board with a foil and the Foil Drive attached will be easier holding the handle and the mast (vice holding the handle and leaning the board on my hip like a wingboard).

I glued the handle in with Gorilla Glue.

Some of the tools I used today.

And I even had enough time to measure and cut out the slots for the mast track.

These are in perfect position!  Measuring multiple times and cutting once - 

I'll try and get these epoxied into place tomorrow morning.  The wind is coming in stronger tomorrow - I'm going to skip the dawn patrol and wing mid-morning.  That'll give me enough time to get the boxes set.

Next up after that - laminating.  I'm actually still debating what the laminate will be... all carbon, carbon bottom and fiberglass top, innegra somewhere... decisions, decisions, decisions.

Garage Works - 11/12/2023

I got back in the garage to forward one of the two projects I have - replacing the mast track boxes on No.30

I used the Makita planer to level off the high points on the reinforcement block, then I went ahead and cut in the slots for the new boxes.

And while I was on a roll, I went ahead and even got the boxes epoxied into the slots.

Tomorrow I'll get the carbon layers on.  Tuesday I'll sand a bit and place the fill coat.  This should be finished before the weekend - then I'll switch over to No.33

Garage Works - 4/13/2023

I passed up a surfing session because I wanted to get more headway on the two boards on the rack.

I started by cleaning up the expanded epoxy from around the polyurethane blocks.  I used the Bosch planer, but then switched to the Makita.  I had to use the microplane after to clean up, and went ahead and resanded.

I ended up with a shallower back side on No.31 - I'll level it by using more carbon fiber back there to reinforce the tracks - problem solved.

Then I went ahead and cut the tracks out for both boards.

Measure twice - cut once.  For No.30 - this was the first time I spliced two boxes together - so far so good on this.

I'll get the boxes epoxied in tomorrow, and likely will add the carbon patch around the boxes, another to cover the area where my feet will likely be - and if I'm going that far, I might as well get the bottom deck cover sheet on as well.

I'm going to laminate these the conventional way, since I'm not using innegra as a top layer on either of these boards (carbon all the way).

You can barely see the shallower area where the tracks are - but again, that will accommodate the carbon reinforcement patches.

This board has lost a lot of the original volume it had as a result of the extra sanding I've been doing.  That was kind of one of the design criteria for this one - longer length, but lower volume to see if there is a difference in paddling power, wave catching ability, swing weight, and ease of use.

It's been a while since I've done an all carbon fiber board... I think this will go faster than the past several boards (no innegra should equal faster laminating and sanding).

Garage Works - 6/9/2022

The board I have in the garage to be repaired was still giving up water - when I got home from winging, there was a good deal of liquid where I had the board sitting.  I decided to go ahead and just open it to allow the water to drain freely or even evaporate.

I bet these high-density foam pieces go all the way to the top deck.

These boxes kinda just fell out once I trimmed the bulk of the foam away.

Now to let the interior dry out.  I should be able to sand the edges where the bottom laminate will hang over tomorrow, and possibly even epoxy in the reinforcement block.

As long as the interior drys out... there was a LOT of water in this board...

Mast Track Replacement for Eddy

I was talking to Eddy after foiling on Sunday evening.  He said he cracked the boxes on his board.  So now the board is in my garage getting ready to have the track replaced.  This is the before - the top had a delamination and the bottoms were cracked.

Here's the reinforcement block measured out to fit in this area - there is the tail kick at the back end of the board and the signature area - this is going to be a tight area.

This is the area I'm going to cut out.

And I marked the centerlines of the track boxes so I get the alignment back to the original.

Same info, different angle.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and get the repair area outed open and cleared.  I'll need to let it dry (it's been draining for a couple of days and it still feels moist around the cracks) for a couple of days before setting the reinforcement block.

Garage Works - 5/18/2022

It was raining today - when the winds blow from the south, we become the windward side of the island - and that usually means rain.  I opted to get this board over the finish line (so I can get it back to the owner and open up space in the garage).  I had taped off the board yesterday, but didn't have the yellow paint (I had mistakenly thought I had a can - but that was back in 2014 I think).  I picked up the paint today - and proceeded to get adequate coverage on the repair.

And here it is with the tape removed.  I just need to wetsand the painted area to blend it in with the rest of the board and I can get this board moving.

And I went ahead and did the math on where the inserts will go on this board - I've got a spreadsheet that correlates all the boards I've built with straps and I can input the length to get the ratioed locations.  Yes it is a tiny bit asymmetric to benefit my regular foot stance.

I'll rout out the reinforcement block slot before the weekend and try to get it installed.  I'll need to build up some more footstrap insert blocks before I can rout out those locations.  

With all the jumping that Roland keeps doing, I think I am ready to give it a go again (but I'll need this board).

More Garage Works - Naish Foilboard Track Repair

I sanded the Naish Hover track repair this afternoon after I got home from work.  First up was grinding the boxes open.  After that I looked for air bubbles around the open boxes.  I then sanded the whole laminated area and cleaned out the areas I found by the boxes.

After that I hit the surf for a foiling session.  I went over to Home Depot after foiling so I could purchase some bolts to fix Noe's Laser dolly (and I went ahead and fixed that).  I finally got motivated to fill coat the repair area.  I used straight epoxy all around the boxes, then mixed a small amount of epoxy with aerosil to fill the void spots.

Here it is all done.  Tomorrow I'll do the finish sanding and spray paint the impacted area.  Should be able to clear this one from the garage by Sunday.

Garage Works - 5/6/2022

I had the rental car loaded with winging gear yesterday afternoon, but I got the call that my truck repair was completed.  Needless to say, I aborted the winging session and went home to get ready to pick up the truck.

When I got home from picking up the truck, I reloaded all the support gear (towing stuff, spare wing pump, roof racks, etc) back into it.  With that finished, I figured I should get more work done on the garage projects.  First up was the mast track replacement.  I routed out the hardened high-density foam I sprayed in to fill the gaps left by the destroyed finboxes.

After that, it was time to get the track block in and all the carbon reinforcements.

I need to sand down the residual resin, then I can rout out the finbox slots.

SInce I was using epoxy, I also filled a small void in the 4'7" Wing Board.

And filled in an air bubble in the 7'4" asymmetric.

The filling and the sanding never end...

Garage Works - 1/8/2022

After a bit of eating, relaxing, and resting - I did finally get into the garage to work on the boards.  I got the boxes set into No.23.  Later in the evening I also got the innegra trimmed up for the top deck lamination (I'll do that tomorrow).  I also got the peelply cut out to support fiberglass free lamination of the innegra - I'm going to try and keep this one relatively light so I can jump it.  The laminate is nose to tail innegra with the same innegra patches under where my heels will be.  2 ounce innegra.

Then I sanded the repair/fill areas on No.20.  I found more air bubbles and did one last fill - you can chase ghosts forever - or you can call it good and get the board wet.  I'm calling it done. 

I'll update this post shortly with pictures of the finished repair on this board.

Here's the update -

Garage Works - 1/6/2022

I actually only stayed out surfing long enough to catch five good waves - I had my fill and headed back home.  I actually wanted to get this board repair done.  I broke out the sander yet again, and got the fill coat sanded down.  In doing so, I found a couple more air pockets along the tracks.  I opened those up so I could fill them with epoxy and aerosil.  Here's the third fill (usually is the last coat).  I'll sand tomorrow and get through the grits, and then spray acrylic on to the board.  Then I just have to wait for wind (none on the horizon for now).

I actually mixed a batch of epoxy (0.7 ounces), mixed the aerosil in and filled in the EPS bead voids on the 4'8" Wing Foiling Board - then with a little mixture left, added black pigment and fill the voids on this repair.  This should be done by tomorrow (finally).

Handling this board again, I noticed the weight is up forward.  That is a good thing since this board was made to ride waves - the added weight up front helps with the drop.  It has been a long time since I've ridden this board, I kinda forgot that trait.

Track Boxes in on the NWFB

I had some time yesterday evening - so I got the boxes set and capped them with a layer of carbon.

I actually placed another carbon layer around the boxes before capping the whole thing.

Finally getting close - just need to open the boxes, sand everything flat, place a sealing coat, then sand one more time through the multiple grits - then IT'LL BE DONE!!!!

Garage Works - 1/1/2022

It rained hard the whole day.  I didn't have a chance to park the truck out on the street to get the garage cleared until late.  When I did, I measured, setup the template and cut out the slots for the boxes.

Perfect!  I pushed these up a little further than the previous set since I installed - should be better for the smaller front foils.

Next up is taping, adding more carbon, epoxying the tracks in, epoxying on the carbon cover sheet, curing, grinding out the box slots, fill coating, and final sanding.  Yeah - easy....

Garage Works - 12/31/2021

Marlon and I tried to get a dawn patrol in yesterday - but the gate was locked at WPB.  We even looked at Campgrounds but it didn't look like it was worth it.  So we headed back home - I made omelettes and coffee for breakfast, then I got started on a project I had been stalling on for a very long time - fixing the Narrow Wing Foiling Board.  I had toyed around with the idea of drilling a hole under the cracked boxes (front of both of them) and placing epoxy to shore up the damage - but I figured that wasn't guaranteed and it would add weight.  At this point I committed to the removal. 

Before I started on the NWFB, I cut out the slots for the new 4'8" Wing Foiling Board - these were pretty easy to do.  My only concern is relative position on the board.  The trends have been boxes moving forward - but with the flat tail and the shorter overall length, I'm not quite sure if these needed to go more forward.  I took this placement from the Go Foil website - over the boards I've made, that never steered me wrong.

Back to the long neglected repair (see - even now I'm trying to avoid this).  First step was measuring and placing landmarks for the new box placement.

Then came the really tricky part - demolition.  If something is going to get ugly, it is in this step.  I was able to cut around the boxes and loosen them up.  Thankful that I didn't have to route through the broken boxes.  I also had to remove the stickers in the tail area.

Fitting the HDF box.  Had to take the edges on the block down so I could fit it in with a carbon sheet around it.  Also took the top down so it would sit flush with the deck.

Carbon sheet cut, trimmed and ready for laminating.

And the block in place with epoxy and peel ply to take up the excess epoxy.

This was the hard part.  The rest should go fast.