Garage Works - 8/23/2025

I did spend some time in the garage today.

First up was getting Marlon's foil board repairs forwarded.  I got the track block glued in place.  Tomorrow will see trimming of the glue and carbon installation.

Then I shifted over to No.42

I got the template cut out of the blank I glued up.

And I emptied the shop vac and cleaned up the garage floor.

I did that other stuff because I wanted to think about the nose rocker on this board and how I'm going to shape the bottom.  Sometimes it's good to think about other things so you can clear your mind before commit to cut foam.

Garage Works - 6/25/2025

The wind was in that blah zone - too much for good Foil Drive-ing and not enough to wing.  Instead of dealing with it all - I went ahead and committed to sanding and getting No.41 over the finish line.

First up was sanding - I started with the plugs and worked over the rest of the board.

Then I wiped the board down and started the clear coat spraying.

Oh - and here is the signature block.  I don't know when this got smaller than 5'0"...

And as luck would have it, as I was trying to flip the board into this position, I dropped it onto the metal square that I was going to balance it on to get the remainder of the decks sprayed.

Yes there is a small ding - but that actually convinced me to go ahead and install foot strap inserts before I place the deck pads.  It'll only be my strong side (regular stance) and it'll primarily support using this board with the parawing and Foil Drive simultaneously.

With the footstrap inserts now going in - this will be a few more days before this gets in the water.

Garage Works - 5/13/2024

I took a long nap after work today.  And there was a seabreeze so I thought the surf would be choppy.

After I got up but before I started cooking dinner, I went into the garage and got the window holes cut into Marvin's two prone foil boards.  I didn't take pictures of those, but I did it.

Then I sanded the laps on No.36 in preparation for laminating the top deck.

Here it is all sanded.

Then I wiped all the nonporous surfaces with alcohol to clear any dust and oils (MARLON).

I didn't take a picture of the underlayment (scrap carbon fiber pieces and a patch of innegra) - but I spent some time getting that arranged and laid out.

Then I got the cover sheet trimmed and the laps cut in.

I cut slots in all the layers where the footstrap inserts are - primarily to help the layers lay flatter and to give any trapped air a route to escape.

I used 15.4 ounces on the first pour (mainly focused on the underlayment/patch).  Then I mixed another 5.6 ounces to get the laps wetted out.

I went over the thicker areas to make sure nothing was floating.  I think doing the underlayment separately helps to keep the lamination from floating (too much epoxy) or from being to dry.

I used the extra epoxy to make a small batch of glass bubbles slurry which I poured into the top deck window holes on the two prone boards.  I may have had an ounce left over (nice!).

So far this lamination job came out really nice.  I got surprised on the bottom deck with some sneaky air bubbles on the rail.  For the top deck I stayed with the board while the epoxy was hardening.  I even placed saran wrap to get some of the stray fibers to stay down and used that opportunity to make sure the rest of the lamination was sitting tight.  

If everything turns out ok, the hard part is done.  With the seabreezes expected in the afternoons this week, I should actually get a lot of progress done - two fill coats on each side, sanding-sanding-sanding, vent and leash plug installations, and more sanding.

I'm contemplating painting tiger stripes on the bottom deck...

Tomorrow I'll sand the laps and get a layer of epoxy on to where the logos will go to get a smooth surface established.  If you've read this far you have seen this before - this is the home stretch!

Garage Works - 5/9/2024

And when I got home, La was busy making leis for Saturday - so I went to work in the garage.

First up was checking out the KD Maui DW Race rear stabilizer.  At 140 cm2, it is a little bigger than the Skinny 360/45 (135 cm2) that I've been looking at - 

Looks like it'll be a good fit with the ART Pro 1001 (now I just need some wind...)

Then I started the lamination of No.36.

Carbon patch over the boxes and where my front feet will rest (for better energy transfer).  Then a nose to tail cap sheet.  All lined up -

And trimmed up to get the laps tight.

And all epoxied up.  First pour was 16.8 ounces - then I mixed up another 4.2 to make sure everything was tacked down.

This is before I placed a bunch of saran wrap over the laps and the spots that need to be held down (corners).

Tomorrow I'll do a quick lap fairing in, and then get the top deck laminated.  I'm still debating lapping like I did the last 3 boards - or lapping short to place a rail band (to hide the edges for the top deck lap).

I've got a few hours to think it over...

Garage Works - 5/5/2024

And after Noe's concert, taking care of the lawn and returning Marvin's extension ladder - I made time to further No.36

I started by routing in the slots for the footstrap inserts.  Then I sanded the inserts and dry fitted the inserts.  And then I epoxied in the inserts.

I used 3.5 ounces of epoxy and 5 scoops of milled fibers and 3 scoops of thiksil.  After placing epoxy into each of the slots, I had a about a half an ounce of mixture left. 

Tomorrow (if I don't wing or Foil Drive) I will laminate the bottom deck.  

Garage Works - 5/2/2024

With some help from Marlon, I got the slots for the footstrap insert reinforcement blocks routed out this evening.

And after dinner I got the boxes set in place with epoxy/milled fibers.

The slots were a little too perfect - no room for squeeze out.  And they are about a millimeter too shallow (the blocks were proud by about 1mm).  I'll use a surform tomorrow and get those all shaved down flush.  I'll also get the footstrap insert slots routed out and get those inserts epoxied in tomorrow.

Hypothetically, I could still have this board laminated by the end of this weekend.

Surf Check and Garage Works - 4/29/2024

I had the intentions to surf the Hammah Fish this afternoon, but when I got there the wind was howling onshore.  That was not forecasted and I figured it wouldn't be worth the paddle out.  Chris and Felipe had just paddled back in from being skunked for a while.  Felipe was swapping out wings and was going to go back out.

I left to pick Marlon up from the rail station and saw Roland headed down Ku'alaka'i

With Marlon on board, we headed back to the beach to see if anyone else was going to surf, wing or foil.

Felipe was out and ripping on the 5.0/Eagle 890.

Eli was on the beach contemplating going out - but didn't; you could feel the pressure subsiding.  And Felipe felt the same thing and headed in.

And Roland was waiting to get his hands on the F One Strike V4.  This one was a 5.0 - Roland was wanting to test a smaller wing.  It felt balanced and well powered in the light wind.

Glad to see no one had to paddle in.

We got home and in between cooking and clearing some other things, I shaved down the polyurethane top block and dialed in the shape of the rear part of the top deck.

I added a subtle concave to the rear of the top deck that goes 1/2 up.

I used sanding screen again and got it all faired in, including the slight side cuts for the where my legs would go when I'm sitting waiting for a gust.

I cleaned up the little bleed through of the gorilla glue that came through a slot where the mast track block had a void (bonus).

And I remarked the center line and made adjustments to the rear footstrap placement.

There is a bias to my strong side - but that's ok since that's where I'll be jumping (the only time I'll be in the rear strap - if I even jump at all). 

I'll cut the footstrap insert reinforcement block slots tomorrow and get those epoxied into place.

I also think that I won't be using a SUP handle on this one, as I can hold the board under my arm (it isn't too wide).

Once that work is done, I'll start laminating.  I think I'll have both the decks laminated by the end of this weekend (although there is some really strong wind coming our way starting Thursday... not too much work happens when the wind is nuking).

Garage Works - 4/27/2024

After soaking the Foil Drive in its post session freshwater bath, I went ahead and set it up for tomorrow's session.  I am taping it up again (that was horrible this morning - 70% of my takeoffs had to be aborted because of the velcro drag), and I am switching to the carbon Project Cedrus mast.

And I got the mast track installed on No.36

Both bottom and top decks.

Maybe tonight (but most likely sometime tomorrow), I'll trim the excess off the top deck polyurethane block, dial in the top deck rear shape, and route out the slots for the foot strap reinforcement blocks.

I'm still debating if I want to put a carrying handle on the bottom deck...

Garage Works - 4/26/2024

And between borrowing an extension ladder and working on the gutters, and shampooing the carpet in the house - I did squeeze in some garage time.

I noticed a small difference in the top deck rails at the midpoint (one side had a side cut) - so I made a similar side cut on the other side.  And then I felt compelled to route out the slot for the mast track block.

I used the Hitachi router and got the bottom slot cut out.  Then I used the Japanese pull saw and opened up the top deck.

This will set in nicely!

I'll likely place the epoxy sometime tomorrow - if in the morning after the dawn patrol, then I'll also be able to glue in the top block (polyurethane foil block).

After those two pieces get installed, I'll shape the top deck where the block is (removing the excess and integrating it into the top deck shape).

Sunday will likely see the footstrap insert blocks going in place and possibly the carrying handle.

Another thing that got done was La was able to trim these velcro straps for me.  Hypothetically I should be able to stop using electrical tape to hold the motor cable steady.  We shall see - I'll test these tomorrow morning.  I've used narrower velcro straps in the past - but I didn't feel that they were really working.  These are 2" wide each - I'm pretty sure  these will fill the bill!!!

Garage Works - 4/20/2024 (part 1)

I spent a bunch of time in and out of the garage getting No.36 dialed in.  I chased several high points leftover from the rough shaping.  Then I used 180 grit to do the fine sanding over the whole board.

These pictures are not of the board as it stands now - I played with several iterations of where the inserts would go.

The back footstrap inserts will end up going where the polyurethane fill block will go so I won't have to use the divynicell - that'll help save a little weight.

Instead I ended up pushing the d-cell blocks out towards the starboard rail for my strong stance (regular foot) - should be able to jump this one, but I'll have to experiment with what feels better.

I'll cut out the hole for the track block and the footstrap insert blocks tomorrow.

This one is definitely looking more like a mashup of No.34 (front end and rear deck) and No.32 (rear half of the board).

I'll try and get these inserts epoxied into place this week.

Garage Works - 4/17/2024

I passed up a surfing session today so I could get some work done on this next board.

I originally had the intention of cutting the blank out of the billet foam.

Then I figured I might as well get the nose rocker cut in.

And why not go ahead and get the chines in place.

And why stop now - dress up the top deck.  And then I used the dragon skin to blend in the interfaces and remove more bulk material.  And I figured why not use the rough sand paper and get the shape dialed in.

This was definitely a lot further than I was targeting today - but after two hours I had a 90% shaped and sanded blank.

I like the lines on this one.  I still have more sanding to do to get the symmetry dialed in.  Then I'll mark the centerline again and determine where the track block will sit. 

This is a detuned nose - no slight bow shape on this one.  But it also isn't a straight surfboard nose either - with some volume, this part of the board will contribute to the overall stability and will also not drive to one direction or another when it goes underwater (like after coming down from a jump).

Tomorrow I may be helping Matt dial in No.35 - but I'll at least remark the center line and get the track block situated.  Getting a board to this point in two hours... this might be a record for me - I don't want to lose the momentum!

Garage Works - 4/15/2024

I got a crack in my windshield this morning - a rock strike while driving on the freeway.  That will come into the story shortly.

These are the two templates that I've been working on that made the final cut.  These are the 5'0" x 22" April 2024 B and C templates. 

When you line them up together, you can more easily see the differences - the one on the left has a more pulled in nose and tail - and that's the final choice for No.36

I needed the apply the UV resin to fix the chip in my windshield in strong sunlight.  I was getting that all sorted out and the instructions had distinct time periods where you were just waiting.

And that's when I measured the blank, found the centerline and transferred the template.

I really like how this one turned out.

My current plan is to use a similar bottom deck profile as the latest Foil Drive board (No.33 - flat tail, square rail, subtle chines from the tail to 2/3s the way up to the nose where the rail softens).

You may be asking yourself - "Vic, why do you need another wing foiling board - don't you already have a few?"  

Well, No.36 is going to get the 16" tracks so it will be able to support the smallest foils I have - F One SK8 750 and Eagle 690, the Axis HPS 700 and maybe even the Triton T-1

And the boards I have now tend to be at extremes.  No.25 has a lot of volume (for me now - I guess time in makes you able to use smaller stuff).  And No.32 needs more track forward.  This template will take the best of both and fit it in between the two.  At 22" width (or less) it'll move across the water faster (for earlier takeoff) and it'll have less volume (more manageable while winging on a wave).  The nose shape should fit steeper waves better and will feel more familiar to Foil Driving (bringing the two disciplines closer for me).

The color scheme is going to pull from one of my earlier prone boards (the tiger striped 4'10" No.17) and what I just did with Matt's board (No.35).  And I'll use the rail tape trick to keep the transition clean.

I'll put footstrap inserts into this - and I'm thinking of placing a centered rear foot so I can use it only for jumping.

Lots of design criteria for this one - should be a good build!