Garage Works - 8/3/2026

I took a rest day from the beach - and spent it in the garage.

I got the gorilla glue trimmed away from the track block.

And I got the top deck connection block trimmed away and the top deck faired in.  I made a slight depression in the top deck to mimic the ARC - but only subtly.

I started chasing ghosts again until I said enough.

Normally I would have stopped here and waited a day to get started on the next step, but I had sufficient daylight...

Laminating is definitely tricky to get right.  Weird air bubbles that want to pop up, having to mix multiple batches of epoxy, getting loose strands to sit down - in a nut shell no time for anything but babysitting the lamination while the epoxy is hardening.

Here's the bottom deck all trimmed up.

This is 4 ounce carbon nose to tail with three strips of carbon rail tape lining the tracks and spanning where my feet would be on the top deck.

Here's the rail tape underneath.  This is what ties in the boxes to the deck of the board.

And after 21 ounces of mixed epoxy (and losing maybe 3 ounces to fast summer time hardening), here is the bottom deck laminated.

I had to flatten a few bubbles that spontaneously formed well after the epoxy application.

Tomorrow evening I'll sand the burrs on the lap and setup the top deck laminate.

I'll use carbon and innegra weave patches where I expect to be on my knees, and a nose to tail cover.

That'll have me sanding and placing the first fill coat on Wednesday.

At this rate, I may be getting No.44 anointed this weekend!!!!

Garage Works - 7/8/2026

This is why I was late getting to the beach.

It is pretty rare when the garage doesn't have any cars in it!!!!

I've had these two blanks templated now for multiple days - but haven't had the opportunity to get the excess cut away.

I think I may have a similar opportunity tomorrow - if yes, I'll use the electric planer to get the template tight and skin the top and bottom decks.

It's been a while since I've worked on two boards simultaneously - and I recall not liking that process....

I may focus on the midlength - and if it works better than No.34, I'll bring the older one to the gorge and keep it up in the NW staged and ready to go.  This one will preserve the majority of the blank foam by keeping flat surfaces (instead of the rounding I have typically been doing), and also giving the tail more rocker.  I'm thinking blending what I did with No.34 (and 40 and 43), with some Appletree Skipper and Duotone Paradox.

And then I can work on the new prone board when I get back.  Which is going to be a modern version of No.24

I also received two Flysurfer POW V1 parawings today - I found a lightly used 1.7 and 2.5 at Green Hat Kiteboarding - and I needed something I would feel familiar with, yet would work in screaming winds (without me having had time on them).  And knowing when I get back, it will be rare that I actually use these small parawings (except maybe for trips to Maui) so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them.  These seemed to fit the bill perfectly!!!

I'll post pictures later.