Garage Works - 6/29/2025

Got No.41 done!!!

Started off this morning by sanding the top deck - 40-80-120-180-220-320-400

Then I sprayed the top deck with regular gloss.  I let that dry while I got my hair cut.

This came out really nice!

I'm going to let the deck pads settle in for a day (so the bond is good and there is no slippage)

No.41 all pau!!!

Garage Works - 3/1/2025

After the dawn patrol, I went ahead and got the foam pieces sized for the 10.75" tracks with the bolts positioned for the Spitfire 960.

Ready for Round 2

And Roland came over to get some deck pads installed on his new wing board.

58 liters of fun!  Now we just need wind -

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.

Garage Works - 7/2/2024

I got No.37 outfitted today.

CI Yesterday pad for the rear foot - Octopus No.7 for the front foot. 

I didn't end up using 2K clear coat on this one - just the standard Rustoleum Satin Clear Coat.

I am interested in seeing how the basalt feels under foot.

And these 15" tracks should make experimenting with smaller foils easier (although that may make me move forward on the top deck... do I have enough deck pad???).

It's uncanny that the Octopus deck comes in this color -

As far as setting the Foil Drive up, the foil specific mounting spots should transfer over directly from No.37 - as these are both 5'0"

Stoked to have this one all completed and ready for anointing!!! 

Garage Works - 5/21/2024

I brought No.36 to work and during breaks I got the deck pads put on.

I used a drywall screw to get the footstrap insert holes put into the deck pads - it is the perfect tool to do this!

I'm guessing the volume sits between 60 and 65 liters.

And as luck would have it, as this board gets finished, the wind forecast drops off..

Maybe I'll try this out as a Foil Drive board first...

Garage Works - 3/14/2024

Yesterday I went ahead and got No.33 fully converted over to support Foil Drive Max operations.

That involved trimming up the front-most deck pad and installing a small front foot pad where the rear strap retaining insert was.

I also cleaned up the residual adhesive from the velcro that held the FDA+ battery box in place and sprayed clear coat over the vacated space.

I think it came out great!

And I also got to try out the Waiahole Poi Factory plate lunch (for dinner).  I think my laulau is actually better...

Garage Works - 1/31/2024

I was tired after work, so I skipped the surf session and I hit the garage (after my nap) and got No.34 outfitted.

I got the vent install and opened up the insert holes for a handle (if I end up using one).

Then I cut out the deck pad, stuck it on and made sure to get the insert holes marked on the deck pad.  Blogger has been giving me grief lately with picture orientation... these next three are supposed to be vertical -

I also chamfered the edge of the deck pad on this one (and I think I'll do some maintenance on the past couple of builds and do the same - this is just a nice touch).

Here is the finished top deck.

And here is the bottom deck.

With this board, the goal is to be able to use smaller wings for a given wind strength - more so than with No.30.  I installed 16" track boxes so I should be able to use all the front foils - from the HPS700 all the way up to the HPS980 and Eagle 1090.  I also want to use this in waves - if you recall the Instagram post that inspired this board, winging with this style of board and being able to use a smaller wing - I think this is a break away from the conventions of winging thus far...

Now we just need some wind!

And since I didn't go surfing, I encouraged Marlon to get some progress done on his board.  He wiped the top and bottom decks down, added his logo stickers, and then we sanded down the previous repairs to the tail/boxes.

Now he will use Posca pens and add his art - then we will place another fill coat top and bottom to level out some spots and protect the posca pen work.  That will be followed by some sanding, maybe some more filling/sanding, then hopefully he can FINALLY surf this board.

Garage Works (not in the garage) - 12/28/2023

I pulled out the set of Large Minx Diffusers that I had in the garage.  Of all the applications, I am thinking the Foil Drive prone is the most appropriate for these.

Measure, measure, measure, measure....

I used regular 5 minute epoxy - so in case these suck, it won't be too much trouble to remove them.

Here they are installed.

I figure they can't chop me up any worse than the propeller or the foil.

So minus a few more stickers, No.33 is all setup!

This board is probably 10 liters less than No.18, but it does feel faster going through the water (so much so that the last session I knew I had the board over water while motoring out to the line up).

Camouflaged diffusers. 

With the surf coming back up (albiet marginally) over the weekend, I'll be testing this over the next few days.

Garage Works - 12/17/2023

I get to take my time setting No.33 up (since there are no waves on the south shore).

I got the battery box placed.  Now I'm trying to figure out where all the deck pads will go.

I'm thinking of custom up front (as no one make production ones for this purpose) and for the rear foot (since my boards are wider in the back).  

I did get the bottom traction for paddling out placed.

Still some work yet to get this one finished.

Garage Works - 12/16/2023

Yesterday I had some time in the afternoon - so I took out No.33 and got the clear coat sprayed on.

Turned out really nice!

I ned to get the traction strips installed on the bottom deck.  Then I'll flip the board and get the deck pads and Foil Drive mounts placed.

I can't wait for the surf to come back up on the south shore!

I've got this board lined up with No.18 (the skinny 4'10" prone I had converted to my prone Foil Drive board).  I will transfer the foil placement markings so starting out will be quicker (less gross experimentation to dial in the foil positions).

Without the deck pads and mounts, this board is super light.  It was designed to go fast out the gate, to build speed quickly to get the foil to engage.  Now we just need some surf to test it.

Garage Works - 10/9/2023

Dewaxed took off the deck pad on this 5'1" fish

I personally prefer not to get straight polyester and polyurethane boards - primarily because the heel dents and pressure dings that seem to easily emerge on this construction.  But for $250 - I'll pull this into the latest round of experimentation.

You can see the pressures on this picture of the top deck.

The bottom deck is nearly in flawless condition.

The Octopus deckpad came off, but some residue didn't come up.

This was the biggest heel dent.  I am nitpicking here - in general, this board is in great condition (again - at $250!!!!).

This is the point where I stopped cleaning and turned to outfitting.

I put on a Retro Fish deckpad - it actually provides really good coverage.

And I waxed the deck - two coats of tropical/base coat and two coats of warm water wax.

I'll keep the weights on the deck pad for a few hours to get a good foundation on the adhesive.

I'm going to start out with the Hess Noriega keels on this one.

At 5'1", I do have some concern and being able to get this situated, but it is 34+ liters (so the same as the Cymatic).  More fun experimenting!

Outfitting the Slingshot 5'9" Shred Sled

All the cash-o-la from recent board repairs got me this!!!  Bigwinds in Oregon had these on huge sale.  I've been looking at this board for many months now and everything finally lined up.

Here are the specs - I covered this up with Marine Grip so I can belly paddle it out into deeper water.

And here it is all dressed up.  So with a wave and wind starved weekend, as long as I can paddle this out to deeper water, I'll get a bunch of practice in using the smallest SUP board I've ever been on.

Garage Works - 4/28/2023

I got home from work and was super tired (long week at work).  I took a short nap, then remembered I wanted to get No.30 finished up so I can try it out this weekend.

I ran it through the normal sanding regime - 40-80-120-180-220-400(ws).

Here's the finished product pre clear coat.

I'm happy with how this one came out!

I also sanded No.31 - but I could see a few pinholes that I need to fill around the vent plug and towards  the tail of the top deck.

I did go ahead and spray clear coat on the bottom and sides.  I'll get the small amount of epoxy on the deck tonight, then I'll do the final sanding tomorrow.

Then I went ahead and got No.30 all decked out.  Here it is with the deckpads installed, the leash cords on (and it is kinda setup to function as a handle... I'll have to dial this in more), and the vent plug in place.

Tomorrow before lunch there should be some light wind to go and test this out for winging out at Hickam.  I'm still debating if I want to bring this out on the dawn patrol and try to prone foil it... the tide is low at 0' and there are waves - might be a better longboarding day...