The Re-Annointment of the Hooked SUP

BEHOLD!!! From the clutches of under-utilization due to family separation, then compounded by house hold goods shipping halfway across the Pacific Ocean, unpacking and organizing a new home, and finally (last excuse) having to re-glue down the deck pad-so-why-don't-I-just-go-ahead-and-install-the-masttrack-box-while-I'm-at-it - emerges the new and improved Hooked SUP!!! Marlon and I paddled SUPs out around Flat Island around lunchtime, and I brought along the whipping setup and a kayak spinning rig. I did manage to get a visual on two follows (papio), but unfortunately I didn't get to set the hook. I'm going to have to find the sea anchor I have so I can slow down my drift and spend more time casting. I'm looking forward to exploring the near shore zones with this board - especially under sail!!!

Now It's All Pau

I cleaned up the deck pad, cut the new hole for the mast track, and fixed the gap between the front and back pads. I can't wait to get this board back out on the water!!!

Hooked SUP Rehab All Pau

I got home with a couple of hours of sunlight left so I decided to get as far on the Hooked SUP rehabilitation project as I could. I got the mast track box opened up and beveled the edge. I even applied some touch up paint to some 'loved hard' spots (check the prior blog entries on the wind storm at Maryland on our Trail Manor trip - Summer of 2014). The paint didn't match exactly, but it adds tremendously to the character of this board. And with only a few minutes to spare, I was able to get the entire deck pad back on. The only shortfall was the pad had shrunk in it's several years of use. Lining up the important parts (Scotty Mount holes, logo pieces, leash plugs, etc) left a 1/2" gap in the front and back sections. I've got maybe an hour of additional work on the deckpad - mainly trimming and preening - but this board is ready to go!!! I can't wait to land some bigger fish from this thing!!!

I Gave In

Despite coming home later (west bound Oahu traffic) and my previous thoughts on a second layer of fiberglass capping the mast track box, I went ahead and placed it. Primarily I did this to prevent any second guessing over the life of this board. Cheap piece of mind and more reason to go hard on the board!!!

General Cleanup and the Cap Sheet

After surfing, we did minimal errands and headed back home so we could get some stuff done. La has been working on home school preps and I turned to finishing the epoxy work on the Hooked SUP. I ground the edges and high spots down from yesterday's box setting. I also decided to maintain as much of the track box as possible and just feather in the foam-to-board transition. These pictures are the finished product prior to me placing the cap sheet of fiberglass. I ended up using a single layer of 6 oz cloth instead of two 4 oz layers. I don't intend on sailing this board in high winds and the force will never be lifting "straight up", so I took the lazy route. Hopefully my hunch is correct and this mod will be sufficiently strong for what I'm looking to do. The bottom of the box is way stronger - 3 overlapped layers of 4 oz cloth - this and the sides are where the forces will be directed, so I feel better about this overall distribution of fiberglass and epoxy. As I pick up some spare time during this upcoming week, I'll feather in the cap sheet, start re-applying the deck pads, add touch up paint to some previous scuffs, and replace all the hardware (bungees and Scotty mounts). I'm looking forward to getting this board back in the water (and using it to track down, sneak up on and land some big fish!!!)

The Mast Track Box is in place

Yup - done (but perhaps 1/16" too high - I thought of adding just one more layer of 4 ounce fiberglass - unfortunately I didn't cut the hole deep enough for that last second brilliant idea. Oh well - hopefully I can spare the additional 1/16" to 1/8" and just grind the excess off. I'll measure what room I have tomorrow. After the grind to clean up today's work, I just need to put a cap sheet in place and then I can start gluing the deck pads back on and touching up the "loved" spots with some spray paint. It should be ready for the water sometime this coming week.

Committing to the Cut

I still had some sunlight when I got home from work on Friday. I figured I could get the hole for the mast track block cut out of the board, and maybe even work the first epoxy and fiberglass layers. I was able to get the hole cut out - it took longer than I thought because when I made the deep passes with the router, the waste material ended up flying everywhere - looked like a snow flurry hit. It has been awhile since I used the router - I forgot about the vacuum hose attachment. Here is the finished hole. On Saturday I'll fine tune it with a file/microplane and get the epoxy work done. In all honesty, there was still a small part of me that didn't want to make this cut. Knowing my OCD will kick in, perfection will be the goal and that means a lot of time - and less fishing and paddling. But it isn't everyday (actually every year) that you rip the deck pads off your board. And the rubber cement I'm using the put the pad back down works better than the 3M adhesive sheets - a least it becomes extremely difficult to get the pad up without ripping it. So here I am - drilling, cutting and routing my way to a commitment to enhance the versatility of the Hooked SUP (and the opportunity to drag trolling lures under sail). It'll all be worth it....

Hooked SUP Rehab

As we are finally getting the last boxes opened, and more settled into our new home, I'm starting to divert my attention to projects long overdue. The Hooked SUP I took delivery of a few years back has seen a lot of love, and now the deck pad is bubbling, the scuffs from use and abuse are evident, and I don't have the mast track installed. All good reasons why this is the first big project to tackle post move in. Step 1 - Remove the deck pad and adhesive. This is probably the hardest part. Getting the 3M off just plain sucks - even with goo gone. More to follow.

Fishing Report 10/18/2014

I took the Hooked SUP out to the Mayport Salt Marshes again - launched from the northern side of the bridges that crosses a feeder creek along A1A. That was a mistake - mid calf deep salt marsh mud from the high water mark down to a few feet into the creek. This side seemed more attractive because it had a less powdery dirt road to get to it, but now I know why (doesn't get as much traffic). I paddled down a different feeder creek than last time - took the left at the fork instead of the right and paddled toward the Wonderwood Bridge. There was a lot of flats-shallows-drainages-oyster beds along the way and I was able to use the terrain to pick a couple of good 'fishy' spots. I caught my first flounder on the fly!!!! This guy took the supreme hair shrimp fly I cast on the first shot out!!! That is one heck of a fly (I want to learn to tie them, but they look like a lot of work...). Not legal size so back in the water - with attitude - splashed a bunch of water back at me, almost as if to say "next time I'll kick your ass!" A bit later I found another spot that was downstream of a draining feeder creek. I threw a swimming Gulp mullet on a jighead and caught this nice spotted sea trout. Nice paddle, a 'first' on the fly and beautiful weather! I'm not complaining! The tackle I have been bringing out on these salt marsh trips impress me more and more each time I use them. The Epic 686 casting a full sink line and the St Croix Tidemaster are going to be hard to top.