Garage Works - 8/14/2025

Got some cool stuff in the mail yesterday.

This 61 liter Patagonia bag - holds all my single skin parawings.

Pretty efficient!

And I got around to gluing up the blank for No.42

And speaking of No.42, I've been doing a bunch of internet scanning to get the shape refined in my head - and the Frank DW board keeps plowing its way to the front.

I haven't done a pin tail board - I think ever.  And this one will be thicker - like around 5.5" at the thickest spot (where the foil tracks are).  The nose rocker will be shallow but extends further back than what I normally produce.  And I think I'm going to flip the board some the precut nose rocker is now the tail, including the higher spot becoming part of the tail (higher than the rest of the deck).

Experimenting is what keeps this fun and interesting!

Ground Handling - 8/11/2025

I didn't feel like hitting the beach yesterday - so I loaded up the single skin parawings and went looking for a spot to do some ground handling.

I ended up at a spot near the Wai Kai lagoon.

I spent a lot of time with all three of the PWs - getting to know more what is different about each one.

Then I finally got around to adjusting the Maliko 5.1 bar to match the line positions on the Maliko 4.0 bar.

This lightened up the bar pressure somewhat, while still having a more direct feel (which I actually prefer to the "looser" feeling of the Ka'a on its shorter, 2 point connection bar).

You can also see how keeping the A and B lines closer helps improve the "stability" of the parawing (and depowering is collapsing the back of the PW - reducing the effective lift generating surface area) - none of this is new.  But I am definitely gaining a better understanding of the controlling principles. 

And thus the importance in my mind of ground handling. Make it second nature and when you are out on the water, everything will be easier (or at least you'll know what is going on and why).

Parawing Session - 6/22/2025

High noon session.  Tide was nice and high at 1.5' rising to 2.3'.  There were some waves, but they weren't crazy big. 

The wind was nuking when I got to the beach.

I decided to go a notch smaller on everything - No.34 with the UHM 80cm mast and the Enduro 900/HA40

I even went smaller on the parawing - BRM Maliko 4.0

This spot works (I guess I had tested it previously - but I don't remember...)

Things started out great!  Once I was outside the surfline, I put the parawing up and off I went!

I did a few runs and jibes and everything was on the top end of their ranges.

I went down once, got back up and hit a wind dead zone.  I tried to get back up but the wind was too light.

I drifted out - the wind had shifted north.  I saw Prayot was also stuck in the dead zone.

Eddy, Roland and Kalani were all where I normally wing and they were fine. 

I ended up paddling back towards White Plains and despite the long distance, I was making headway.  It's definitely easier when the wing packs down to a small pack - Prayot was wrestling with his wing.

A gust came through and I was able to get back up.  I was even making headway towards getting back above the line of death (minimum wind pressure gradient).  Then the wind died on me - and all that happened was I was now even further out.

I called it, and used the parawing to get me close to the launch at Campgrounds.  The walk back sucked - but it was only half the walk that Prayot had to do.  He got blown down to Pavilions...

At least I got up onto foil three times - that's a winner (in this otherwise punishing session and ultra walk of shame).

W:48/FD:86/PW:12/S:4

Garage Works - 6/18/2025

I haven't found a good way to dry the parawings yet.

Still looking...

And I got the nose patches on Rick's board repair.

I should be able to apply a pigmented fill coat tomorrow, and this board can go back to Rick on Friday.

I didn't take a picture, but I also placed a partial fill coat on the bottom deck towards the nose on No.41.  Tomorrow I'll be able to sand a little and apply the lables/decals.

ParaWinging Session - 6/18/2025

Waves were definitely up this afternoon.

The wind was blowing on the outside - but on the inside it was swirly again.

The tide was high enough not to easily foil a foil.

Today's session was a downwinder from WPB to PV.  Marvin and Norm were on Foil Drive.  I went on parawing.

AFS Enduro 1300/HA43/Evolution Cedrus Surf 77.5cm foil all bolted on No.34 (I wanted to start getting used to riding smaller boards)

Power provided by the BRM Ka'a 4.8m 

This was a fun run - but the wind was way up and down.

There was wind at the start - in fact I was able to get up pretty quick.  Then the wind lost its punch and I had to drift for a while (all while trying to get back up).

I'm trying to force myself to get up at least once each session going goofy.

Out in front of Campgrounds I got back into stronger wind and was able to get back up.

I made sure to try out the harness hook on the V2 bar - it did make it easier to manage a fully lit PW.

Looks like I covered more ground on foil.

I also made a beeline for the landing spot - I didn't want to get caught outside and have to paddle in.  I got greedy, pulled a jibe and headed back out.  I didn't make it too far because the wind died.

At least the paddle was relatively short.

You can see the shifty wind - both direction and strength.

So based on this chart and the track above, it looks like the beeline was quick (I spent more time lollygagging off foil. and what time I was up on foil I was booking).

There were two wingers making their way down - they were on Unifoil wings.  When I was up on the beach rising down, they were drifting on through to No Man's Land...  there is a reason why the WPB foilers say "If you can foil here, you can foil anywhere" 

W:47/FD:84/PW:11/S:4

Father's Day Parawinging Session

Happy Father's Day all you Fathers!

I spent a portion of my day parawinging - and I was able to have Marlon tail me with the drone.

I swapped out the AFS UHM 80cm mast for the Evolution Cedrus Surf 77.5cm mast - otherwise I used the same gear.

There were waves, but nothing critical.  The tide was rising, but I still had to paddle out to deeper water.  And the wind was blowing stronger than it has been and more consistent - perfect parawinging conditions!

After an initial series of unbalanced starting attempts, I finally got up.  And then it just kept getting better.

I was able to stay up for long runs and I easily pulled up wind.  I used the Stringfellow harness hook and it made a huge difference when the gusts came through.

Easily my best day on parawing.

In fact - this chart looks like I was winging.

Nothing but jibes today.  I'm just trying to develop muscle memory for staying up, pumping and jibing - I can wait for tacking.

And there is a switch start in there somewhere.

Pretty strong winds - I'm pretty sure I would not have been able to hold on to the Ka'a 4.8.  And I'm pretty sure I should have been on a smaller parawing (but I don't have a smaller one - yet).

This chart also looks like I was winging!

Prayot and Roland were out winging.

They both buzzed passed me at one point, but were mostly down in front of the cabins.  I was on the other side of Fenceline.

This is the second time I managed to stay upwind - and it was the second time I did it with the Maliko 4.0 (post bar modification).  I think there's something going on with the V1...

Great session!!!

W:45/FD:84/PW:10/S:4

Parawing Session - 6/11/2025

Wind was not as strong as yesterday - recipe for disaster...

But the waves were not large and the tide was high - I went ahead and setup to parawing.

I am forcing myself to do things I prefer not to - using the Dragonfly (7'/100L) and starting switch are at the top of the list.

Rounding out the equipment for today - the BRM Ka'a 4.8 (with the BRM rigid harness line), the AFS Enduro 1300 and the HA43 rear stabilizer.

I paddled out anyways because any experience is good experience.

The wind was actually ok when I was paddling out, but then it started to lull out a bit.  And it was blowing either E or even a touch SE, so that meant fully committing was heading out to PV.  I didn't have a ride back from PV, so I focused on not drifting too far down.

After a lot of waiting, I did get up on foil on a gust - but it was short lived

Fast forwarding, I did get up 3 other times.  And one of them was going switch (as I said something I do not look forward to doing, but I know I need to get better at this - get up on foil can get easier if you learn to incorporate the push from the incoming waves)

Really shitty wind - so getting up and going was definitely a series of victories.  I'll take them all - many small victories lead to large wins.

W:43/FD:84/PW:9/S:4

Parawing Practice - 6/9/25

The pau hana session was split into two today.

First up was parawing practice.  I actually look forward to the times where the conditions are good for winging the parawings.  The more you handle this equipment, the more you develop the muscle memory to get the most out of them when you are on a board.

I put the Maliko 4.0 up first.  I wanted to make sure the new bar was tuned nicely and the wind was strong and steady enough to get it to fly nicely.

The bar was tuned well.  My front hand in between the A and B connection points actually felt really good.  The rigid harness line from BRM also worked perfectly.

I took the 4.0 down and went to the truck to grab the winging harness, and then I put up the Ka'a 4.8 

If I were to have gone out today, I would have used this PW.  I didn't PW today because the waves were bigger than I prefer while PWing (still a noobie).

Here's where the harness line balanced out - just in front of both the connection points.

Practicing flying the PWs on land is a good thing!

Parawing Practice

I sanded down the repairs on Stu's wingboard before heading to the beach.  I brought parawing stuff - but the conditions were better for FD or even conventional surfing.

I figured I'd pass on time in the water and instead practice flying the parawings

The wind tends to swing north in the late afternoons at PVs - so I went there to put up the parawings.

Up first was the Ka'a 4.8

This PW did not seem as responsive as the Maliko 4.0 (modified), but it was still well behaved.

Then I put up the Maliko 4.0

This PW is really nice.  I think it is the smaller size that makes it move better.

It also seemed to have similar power to the Ka'a, and it was controllable (not like the unmodified Maliko 5.1)

This is definitely one of those disciplines where the more you handle the tools, the easier it becomes to use them effectively

And not hitting the water today freed up some time to work in the garage...

Evening Parawing Session - 6/3/2025

Nearly perfect conditions for parawinging (with the modified Maliko 4.0) today at da' Plains!

And I stopped being a chicken with regards to using the Dragonfly with the parawing.  The AFS Enduro 1300/HA43, Project Cedrus 78cm mast rounded out the gear selection for today.

Zach was already out on his windsurfer.  Duke pulled up in the parking lot while I was getting the mast bolted on.  And Roland came out closer to when I headed in.

The wind was good - I probably would have been on a 4.8 wing

The parawing was actually really good - wider range, more responsive, stayed in the air way more easily, and a wide sweet spot.  That mod was a game changer.

This was the first time I parawinged and didn't have to do a massive paddle back to shore!!!

Takeoffs were easier.

I jibed and rarely messed up.

I was able to switch over after jibes, and switch back on the inside to jibe back out.

The only thing that would have made this session better was using a harness - when the gusts blew through, my grip was definitely tested (and my forearms are still sore as I am writing this).

The takeoffs were less tractor pull and more positioning (which was probably the case all the time - I'm just realizing it now).

This was the best parawing session I've had to date!!!  The chart actually looks almost like a winging session (which means I was up on foil more than I was down).

W:42/FD:80/PW:8/S:4

Modified BRM Maliko V1 4.0

I didn't feel like getting in the water today.  But I did hit the beach to test out how the BRM Maliko 4.0 with the modified bar connection worked.

I really like how this parawing flies now!

Well behaved

More range

More agile than other parawing brands (the Flow D Wing - now I'm going to have to do a back to back)

It flies a lot like the BRM Ka'a 4.8

Where I used to have a ton of hesitancy in bringing out the parawings, I'm actually excited to get this out on the water now!!!

Garage Works - 6/1/2025

Got some project work done today.

I had watched a video from Greg at BRM on how to redo the bar on the original Maliko parawings.

And here is my 4.0 all redone.  Now we just need some wind to see if this configuration makes a difference.  Either way, it is neat to be able to make adjustments!!!

And I sanded all the filled spots on Stu's wing board.  Then I got the ones on the top deck all patched up.

I still need to get the big ding refilled (there are voids) and patched with carbon.

Then I cleared all the tape and peel ply from the side cuts of No.41

I also sanded the track deck and went ahead and got another fill coat on.

No.41 is starting to come together... slow and steady wins the race - and there are a lot of details to get right on this one.