Garage Works - 8/18/2023

This post actually covers a few days of work in the garage.  A few days ago I cut the mast track boxes in No.32

I got them epoxied in the same day.

Today I added layers of carbon to really stiffen up the part of the board that will be under my feet.  There is some logic to a layout like this - but I'll keep those reasons to myself.

And I kept on going by preparing the bottom laminate.

And then I went ahead and laminated it.  Normally I would wait for evening, but it was still relatively cool outside so I went for it.  It came out nice.

I used some saran wrap in the critical spots to ensure the carbon stayed tight to the blank.

I'll sand the laps and laminate the top deck tomorrow.

I also made a big push to get Ken's board finished.  Every time I touch this board, I find another thing that needs to be fixed.  I decided to should just stick to what I said I would do and finish up.

I cut the finbox slot the same time I did them for No.32

And I got the open holes closed up.  I'm going to try and get this done tonight.

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 - 4/6/2023

I have been fretting over this issue for a while now.  Cutting in the infrastructure to support the finboxes that will hold the hydrofoil in place and getting it wrong is the fastest way to ruin a board making project.

I've measured and looked, then adjusted and looked, and repeated over and over.  I've simulated paddling this board and popping up to figure out where my back foot will land and then readjusted the track position based on that.  But no matter what I did, I always felt I was either compromising on potential adjustability or adding too much weight.

Well - today I resolved my dilemma -

Instead of trying to use the 8" boxes as the augment element, I just doubled up the 8" boxes and now have a 16" track!

This is an optimized solution between the weight of a longer track and the limited adjustability of a single 10.75" box.

I trimmed the polyurethane blocks also and marked the area to be removed by the router.

I'll try and get the slots routed out tomorrow.  If I get that done, I'll also get the liners laid out.  My goal for Saturday will be to epoxy in the blocks.  Sunday I'll fair out the expanded epoxy, mark the tracks and get those slots routed.

At this point I'll take a break, and take a second look at the overall shape - this is where I'll adjust anything that nags me (usually the nose, sometimes the tail, and almost always some part of the rail).

Fill Coat on the Top Deck

When I got home, I got to grinding the laps from the top deck lamination.  Lesson learned - the front laps closest to the nose don't need the second cut to shorten the overlap.  Since I've been doing this recently in rapid succession, I've noticed do this produces a gap in the laminate that has to be addressed during rough sanding.  Oh well - next time.

After that I grinded the finboxes down.  I went ahead and set the dual single fins in just to get a preview - WOW!  I am excited for the possibilities of this board!  There were some air bubbles in the finboxes and I went ahead and opened them up with the Dremel so the fill coat epoxy can get in those spaces.

Then I taped off the rail and epoxied the top deck.  I used 5.6 ounces and got the whole board covered.  The next steps include rough sanding (40-80) the top-bottom-rails, drilling a hole for the leash plug, setting the leash plug; grinding the leash plug down, sanding (120-180) everything down, applying the logo stickers (did not laminate this time and I don't want to spray paint this one), getting a light coat of epoxy over the vinyl stickers (top and bottom so two separate runs); sand the cover coat down (120-180), sand the whole board to 320-400, write in the dimensions, spray on a coat of urethane (again separate coats for top and bottom), then outfit the board - place the leash tether, clean up the finboxes, and get a coat of wax on it.  Considering all these remaining steps, I figure I have at least three more days of work, both mornings before going to work and in the evening after I get home.

Self-imposed Rework and Some Progress

I set the reinforcement blocks in the new 4'10" - but forgot to defuse the epoxy with fibers.  So instead of moving this project ahead, I'm setback a few days.  I'm going to have to dig out the melted EPS areas, splice in a fresh chunk(s) of EPS and then sand back to the intended shape.  Luckily the damage is somewhat the same shape as the blocks so it won't be too bad (I'll keep telling myself that to make me feel better about this botched job).  Any ways - doing things right sometimes means doing them again.  No pictures of this because I'll just get more pissed.

I did not want to end the day on a bad note so I reset the Futures Longboard Box Template for the 8" boxes, then I cut out the three in the Stubby.  Those did not go without drama (and I'll have to add some filler to one and a half of the three boxes), but I'll take a small victory today.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll tape a trim line on the top deck, cut out the bottom deck laminates (carbon patch over the finboxes is done, I'll use patch of innegra and a top coat of 6 ounce fiberglass), set these boxes with epoxy and get a tinted coat of green on.  This point between shaping and glassing is where the shaped blank is pretty vulnerable - garage dings, layers of dust, bugs and other things can add irritations to an already unfun period (did I mention I hate glassing).

Afternoon Work on the Next Boards

I worked on the new 4'10" foil board yesterday afternoon.  I used the big router to try and open up the slot for the starboard track block.  After a couple of passes, I finished it up with some sandpaper.  After dialing that in, I went ahead and trimmed up some carbon and fiberglass for the bottom of the two openings.  I was postured to pour epoxy, but got a little lazy.

I moved on to the other board and marked out the three fin boxes and also sanded the stubby with 120 and 180 grit sandpaper.

I thought about cutting in the boxes, but I wanted to think about the center box some more - what is in the picture is an 8" box.  I need to bring some potential fins down to line them up - but for a 5'11" board, I'm thinking the 8" box is all I'll need.  8" boxes will be fine for the two dually tracks.

When I do pour epoxy next, it'll be for the reinforcement blocks in the foil board first, then filling some shaping voids in the bottom deck of the stubby.  Then I'll cut in all the finboxes in both boards and then proceed into glassing.