Garage Works - 5/1/2021

After we got back from winging/sailing, I did some work on some projects I had in the garage.  First - I did the fine sanding on the new 4'8" foilboard.  Got the top and bottom decks done.

After that I went ahead and sealed the top deck with epoxy and thiksil.

I didn't take a picture, but I did patch the Wide Wing Foil Board - there was a small crack in the glass on the nose.  I sanded it and filled it with epoxy.

Next, I took a batch of epoxy that I had separated from the 4.9 ounces I mixed for the seal coat and mixed milled fibers ad black pigment into it.  I used that to patch the pinholes in the HS1420CS (which will require another round of sanding) as well as filling Roland's fuselage.

Yes - the fuselage I just finished fixing - he cracked it along the same line.  I went ahead and opened it up again, cleaned it out, sanded the exterior and placed a bunch of the epoxy mix inside.  Tomorrow I'll sand off the excess, drill through the fuselage (using the hole nearest the front foil), open the top to accommodate a 1/4 20 locking nut, bolt it together and add another coat of epoxy to fill in the gaps and keep the nut/bolt protected from saltwater.

I'm always up for a challenge!!!

Grinding and Sanding

Got the work on my least favorite part of the build process.  Used the grinder to clear the mast tracks and the bottom handle.  Then broke out the dremel with a carbide grinder to trim down the high spots.  Finally I used the sander with 60 grit to clear some of the excess resin.  I went ahead and drilled out the holes for the leash cups and got those epoxied in with epoxy/milled fibers.

I'll have to place epoxy and aerosil on the low spots tomorrow - then sand again.

Evening Session - 8/21/2020

Got home and ground down the laps from yesterday's glassing.  Then I went ahead and threw on a logo decal and placed a fill coat of epoxy.  After that, Marlon and I hit WPB to try and get a little surf in.  I brought the wide 4'10" and the Armstrong HS1850 - Marlon brought his longboard.

The surf was definitely set oriented - rolling in periodically.  The tide was full at 2.0' and it was washing up the beach.  The wind was low - all put together it was nice conditions.  Except for the crowd - super thick.  I caught several and I was trying out a new watch I got - Garmin Instinct Solar Surf.  Still need to figure it out.  Fun turns and fast swoopy glides.  I didn't even see Marlon  today because it was so crowded.

When we got home, I placed the bottom deck fill coat on.  I'm going to run into some trouble with the innegra that was sitting under the laps in the tail and the nose.  I'm going to have to think about how to handle this... maybe a light cap sheet?

Glassing the Top Deck of the Wing Foiling Board

I got home and was nuked from work.  I changed my clothes, and decided to take a nap instead of surf/foil.  It was also pretty windy so I figured I wouldn't be missing much (haven't gotten the wing yet).  After a short nap, I did get to grinding the laps from yesterday's work, setting up the glass layers, and laid up the epoxy.

The grinding wasn't bad - especially knowing I was going to add some cover layers today.  I did see what happens to the innegra fibers when you try to sand them - worse than carbon.  The glassing schedule was 2 layers of the 2 ounce innegra, all the 6 ounce fiberglass I had - which covered half the board, and all the remaining 2 ounce fiberglass I had.  These bolts are all 36" width to wrap the rails on this 26" wide board. 

I took my time cutting the laps out.  A cut here, pulls to see how the lap would sit and more cuts to get everything to sit tight.  The splice between the two top sheets was as easy as laying the 2 oz on top of the 6 oz.

I used 1x6 oz and 5x4.9 oz loads of epoxy to glass the top.  I had to use a hammer to get the old roller insert off the new roller - I really like this brand of roller - but I now know to take off the old roller immediately after the glassing job.

I also used some saran wrap on the back corners to get the layers to conform better - it all turned out really nice.  Tomorrow will be lap grinding and possibly fill coating.  Since that goes fairly quickly, I may try to get that done as soon as I get home and then get a session in.  We'll see.

Glassing the Bottom Deck of the Wing Foiling Board

I finally started the glassing - first layer was 4.7 ounce carbon - just kept it to where it needed to be to conserve pumping energy - so it came short of the nose.  Next was a full coverage layer of 2 ounce innegra.  This did not behave the way I thought it was going to - yes it is white, but the weave was space out far enough to see the carbon beneath.  I topped it all with a cover sheet of 6 ounce fiberglass (so I can get a better fill coat and so I can sand down the laps).

I cut slots in the fiber after laying each down.  I had to remove the tape from the finbox slots that I placed earlier - that way I could aim the scissors down in order to cut out a similar slot. 

I ended up using 6x5.6 ounces of epoxy to glass the bottom.  I also used the Home Depot thin knap rollers - these are winners by the way. 

The slots in the fiber layers over the boxes/handle worked really well to let the air bubbles out.  In fact this whole glassing job went surprisingly well (hoping I didn't just jinx myself).  Tomorrow is grinding the laps, setting up the fiber layers for the top deck (2 layers of innegra topped with a layer of 6 ounce fiberglass).  I may actually try doing a cut lap on this one (we'll see how I feel about that tomorrow).

Top Deck Lamination on the New 4'10"

I got the top deck lamination done yesterday.  I am still a little concerned about the voids that developed when I dropped in the reinforcement blocks with straight epoxy (DON'T DO THAT - cut it with aerosil or milled fibers), so I added some additional fibers - left over carbon and innegra.

I took my time cutting the laps and it paid off - not perfect but really nice.  I really like using the dense 4" dense foam rollers from Home Depot to laminate - more so than the ones I used to get from FGH.  The only problem with them is the epoxy tends to collect on the tip of the insert - and before I finish the lamination, the epoxy starts setting (and since it is concentrated - smoking).

I left everything cure and in the afternoon I went ahead and grinded the laps and added the logo stickers.  I am going to see how these last under the fill coat (should be more durable than the logos on the Dually Stubby - but that's what this is all for, figuring out what works best).

Today will be addressing the voids around the tracks and the two fill coats.  That'll leave sanding and the plug installs for after work the next few days.  This should definitely be ready to ride next weekend.

Laminating the Bottom Deck of the 4'10" V2

At the start of this Memorial Day Weekend, I got started on the last part of finishing the new 4'10".  First I set the finboxes in and then I got the bottom deck lamination on.  Each 10.75" box took about 2.5 ounces of epoxy.  And after that the bottom lamination took 4x 4.5 ounce cups (but some of that got soaked up into the roller pad and half of the last cupful didn't go on the board - so call it a little over 12 ounces of epoxy.  The lamination was a nose to tail layer of 4.8 ounce carbon fiber and a cover sheet of 6 ounce warp fiberglass.

It went on without drama (as it should).

Tomorrow morning (Sunday) I'll grind down the laps and get the top lamination on - another 4.8 ounce layer of carbon fiber, a layer of 6 ounce across the contact area and a second cover layer to wrap the rails.  If all goes well, I may even try to grind the top deck laps and get one of the fill coats on.  That'll leave the other fill coat for Monday morning, cutting out the vent and leash plug holes, getting those plugs installed and then sanding the board.

And then there is the logo and gloss coat (clear coat acrylic) applications.  Honestly this board will likely be ready to ride by next weekend.

Tweaking the Mast Tracks on the 4'10" V2

This is one of the most critical parts of making these foil boards.  If the tracks aren't aligned, you'll lose some adjustability fore and aft of the mast.  And worst of all, you'll have to look at tracks that are not straight.

It took me two hours to tweak these in 2 mm.  My OCD was firing on overdrive.  But the good news is they are straight (and now I can sleep at ease tonight).

If the surf is still up tomorrow, I'll hit it, but if it comes down I'll try to get these epoxied in place (and possibly get the bottom deck laminated - carbon layer around the boxes, carbon nose to tail, and a 6 ounce warp fiberglass layer nose to tail).  It sucks having OCD (but things are done correctly).

Glassing the Bottom Deck

Yesterday the kids and I got the bottom deck laminated.  I started by cutting out the fabric - full coverage of innegra and full coverage of 6 ounce cloth.  I folded back the cloth and set the fin boxes.  Then I dragged the kids out and hand Marlon mixing epoxy and Noe working the fin boxes to prevent air bubbles from developing.

Of the two decks, the bottom is always harder because of the fin boxes and the epoxy doesn't have a hard edge to grab on (like the top deck laps do grabbing onto the cured but still rough bottom deck).

The other issue with laminating the bottom deck is the laps often do lift - and that leaves air bubbles under the glass - especially on the tail and nose.  I went back before the epoxy fully cured and pushed down the bubbles (even though they really don't have any where to go since the epoxy has saturated the glass).  This is the first time I'm using innegra, and it is also the first time I'm using resin tint.  Why not - better to keep learning.

Did I mention I hate glassing???

Final Work on the Pigfish & Marlon's Top Deck Fill Coat

The title says it all.  I went ahead and worked on the boards for a little bit today.  I grinded down the excess resin around the leash plug, and then sanded the whole board to 220 and a wet sand to 400.  After that I sprayed clear coat over the whole board to fill in the tiny gaps left from sanding (and despite my best efforts - there will always be tiny gaps left from sanding...).  I still have to label and sign, put the worm screws in the three Futures boxes, set the fins and wax it up!

Marlon got his top deck fill coat on.  Now all that stands between him and surfing this board are good swell (out of our sphere of influence), rough sanding with 40/80, leash plug install, grinding the leash plug, sanding to 220/400.

He says he wants to spray paint the exterior and draw on his logo.  In theory, his board could possibly touch saltwater by the end of the weekend.  We'll see...

Grinding the Top Laminate Laps

Grinded the top deck laminate laps this afternoon.

Had to do it relatively quickly to make room for Marlon - he laminated the bottom deck on his board tonight (next post).