New Surfboard - 11/20/2024

La let me get a new board for my Birthday (really Christmas).  I placed a deposit on an inbound Firewire Revo Max - and it came in today (on my 53rd birthday)!

We waited for Marlon to get back home from work, then headed over to Hawaiian South Shore to pick up the new board!

Yes I can build surfboards - but sometimes it is nice to ride boards shaped by other people - just to get different perspectives.  This board has a ton of different attributes - the quad inside single/double channel, the resulting spine that goes almost up to the nose, and the twin fin positioning - all super interesting.

There are not that many boards that catch my discerning eye these days - but when one does...

This one caught my attention due to a series of youtube videos - roundhouse cut backs in shitty waves...

Well - here it the board outfitted with rear foot deckpad, the leash tie and a nice coat of wax.

Hopefully there are some waves tomorrow to try this out in.

21st Anniversary Present

Yesterday I was able to sell one of the foils that I had not really bonded with - goodbye Lift 150 Surf V2 and the 25 Glide rear stabilizer...

And today I picked up what is officially my 21st Anniversary present!!!!  Introducing the 6'8" Firewire Sunday!!!  I already have plans in my head to surf this as a twin using the Futures EN keels, then the original Akila Aipa Twinzers with a tiny trailer, then dropping in the Greenough Power Blade and Power Glide with and without side bites, and the Greenough High Speed... you get the picture!!!

As much as I love foiling and winging, those disciplines have conditions that suite them best - when it is low tide I would rather surf and this board will really help keep surfing fresh and new for me.

I brought Marlon with me so he could take a look at the multitudes of really nice surfboards.  He was almost going to buy the 5'2" Firewire Seaside in Seafoam (with the black rail stripe and wood reveal - BEAUTIFUL BOARD) - but he is definitely more disciplined than I am (I would have left with the board).

There is a swell forecasted to arrive on Monday - and the tide will be low in the daylight hours so I'm looking forward to anointing the Sunday!!!

Checkout Clips Surf Shop near Ala Moana - really cool shop!!!

Evening Session on The Viking - 2/20/2020

The wind was way up, but I figured I needed to paddle to shake off the stress.  The swell was waist high - so nothing really to complain about.  The tide was pretty low, so I brought out the Viking (I would have brought it out even if it was a high tide - it's a new board).

This board is a wave catching machine.  I haven't pearled, but the waves haven't been big enough to dig the nose in - I just make sure to adjust my fore and aft positioning before committing to the paddle.

This is the first time I've had room at the back of a board to set the Go Pro behind me.  When I looked back, the camera had nothing but spray on it - I guess I was lucky to get this picture.

This board is awesome!  And it really doesn't feel like an 11' board...

And This Happened - The Viking

I've been eyeing this board for a while - and I wanted to get one before they go out of production (as they sometimes do).  La got this for me on our 19th Anniversary - welcome The Viking!

This board is 11' long, 23 5/8" wide, and 3 1/2 thick - 96.55 L of volume.  For its length and girth, the board doesn't weigh what you think it would - EPS core helps a lot.  But it does have some good weight to glide in and keep moving in the flats.  There have been days where the TJ Everyday hasn't picked up waves - small days mostly, but I wanted to have this board to be able to ride anything - ankle high snappers all the way up to overhead rollers.  And with this glider, I can catch waves earlier than most now.

The guy at the shop said to use a regular fin - something not over 9.25" - and if possible something in the 8.5" range.

On the truck, it actually doesn't seem like an 11' board.

I really like the Firewire Timber Tech construction - I'm expecting this board to last a very long time !

4'6" Foil Board All Finished

Here is the end product.  I'll get it in the water tomorrow and work to figure out placement for the foil - I'm going to start with the Go Foil Iwa on the 29.5" Mast (which is +3" with the mast track adaptor).

I put the leash plug in the back of the tail (like everyone else is doing).  

The bottom rail is chamfered - just enough to release, but not so much as to drop volume.

I have high hopes for this board, but really the last two days were probably better for this board (more energy in the waves - supposed to drop off a notch as the new decade starts up).

Nephew Got a New Board

La's sister's son ask me to check out  aboard he was interested in buying - a 7'6" Torq funboard.  Needless to say, he got it.  Taught him how to properly apply wax (we'll see if that lesson sticks - it didn't with Marlon...)

Wax Job

We had time to kill waiting to pick up Marlon from music practice - so what better way than to wax up a new board.

Amy's (Charlie's) New Longboard

Charlie and I went out to Kapolei on Saturday to check out Surfboard Factory Outlet. These guys are one of two spots where Hawaiian Island Creations make their surfboards, and several other shapers also work out of this factory. They had a huge selection of boards, and their prices were really good to boot. After a long comparison, Charlie picked out a board that Amy would have an easier time learning on - a 9'6" Kahanamkou Brothers Cruiser. Nice flat rocker, fuller nose and tail, this thing should be a breeze to paddle - which means a world of difference when you are learning. All strapped on and ready to go!!! Congratulation Amy (Charlie) on your new board!!!! It is always fun to go out and pick up a new surfboard - something that you can grow to trust and have a ton of fun on!!!