Dawn Patrol - 3/21/2025

Dawn patrol on a surfboard this morning!!!

Got some fun rides on the Pigfish - once I got through the initial paddling adjustment (winging and Foil Drive-ing I frog kick the gear out, not paddle).

Next outing I am going to switch out the Machado Quads for an upright twin and a tiny trailer.

W:22/FD:44/PW:1/S:4

Evening Session - 10/26/2023

Marlon and I got a session in yesterday evening to catch the peak of the current swell.  Epic conditions for the South Shore!!!

We brought the same boards and fins as the day before.

There were a lot of people in the water and they were mostly really proficient surfers (not Bobs).

We both managed to catch our share.

I felt like I was turning the Pigfish the best that I have ever to date.

I love surfing when the waves are good!

W:104/F:97/S:52

Evening Session - 10/25/2023

Marlon and I got in an evening session yesterday.  The initial look was meh... but Marlon took a second look with Kaylani and it was actually pretty good sized.  The wind was minimal and the tide was dropping - so we paddled out.

Marlon brought his Seaside and placed the Ono Convertibles in.  I brought the Pigfish and already had the Noriega Keel and Machado Quads on the board.

I caught some nice lines that stood up on the inside - perfect opportunity to gouge some turns and get close to the wall.  This board does that perfectly!

After a handful of great rides, the sun set (clouds on the horizon stopped the green flash from our perspective) and that finished off the session!

Today is supposed to be bigger!!!

W:104/F:97/S:51

Evening Session - 10/18/2023

Late afternoon session with Marlon yesterday.  There was some wind blowing around - so the waves weren't as clean as Tuesday.  The waves were bigger than Tuesday - but not as well formed.

Marlon and I both caught some fun ones.

I absolutely love the Pigfish!

W:103/F:95/S:49

Evening Session - 10/17/2023

I got home from work a little bit later than normal.  When I got home, I grabbed Marlon and we headed out to the beach.  He brought his Seaside and I brought the Pigfish.

The last time I used this board, I had in the Hess Noriega Keel and the Machado Quads - I figured that would be a good starting point.

The waves were around head high on the sets and with no wind - and they were staying open for the most part.  I caught several and rode for long periods, pulling turns galore and trying to get covered up.

Roland deliberately dropped in on me once - saying he was "sharing" the wave.

The Pigfish performed flawlessly!!!!

W:103/F:95/S:48

Evening Session - 11/2/2022

The wind had been up and down all day - I didn't have my sights on winging today, I had been planning to jump on the rising surf on the Pigfish.

The waves were bigger today - but they were also pretty closing out.  Taking off on a bigger wave just for the drop is a blast.  Any distance and turns that result are gravy.  Not a foiling day for the dumpy waves and the really low tide.

The pigfish delivered!!!  I caught a handful of waves, then called it so I could go and pick up Marlon from school (or at least the bus stop).

Roland was out with a board he borrowed from his co-worker.  He took off on a few then the pin pulled from the leash plug.  He made one po-ta-gee leash by wrapping the leash tail around the GoPro mount at the front of the board. 

The swell is supposed to be bigger tomorrow...

W:105/F:93/S:35

Evening Session - 10/13/2022

Evening session.

Marlon brought his longboard.  I surfed the Pigfish again.

There was some wind - enough to make me think about winging, but then it would slack and the surf would glass out bringing me back to the present.

The swell was good.  I got several really good rides - made me remember just how fun surfing a board can be (those foil things can take you far and away very quickly)...

Really nice sunset to go with the great surf session!

W:96/F:85/S:32

Evening Session - 10/11/2022

Roland texted the waves were good and clean this afternoon.  I was going to stay home and rest, but that text was too tempting (especially knowing what the past few days have been like).  Marlon was in a nap - but I woke him up and told him the surf report was good.  We were at the parking lot by 5pm. 

I brought this board out - the Pigfish I made a while back.  This board goes really well with the right fins.  I've tried multiple sets of fins to get this board to hold/release/drive and run the way I thought it should - but for the longest time I wasn't feeling it.  Until today.

The Machado Quads on the heel side and the Noriega Keel on the toe side.

I was able to work this board and put it exactly where I wanted it while riding.  Tight cutbacks and sweeping carves - yup to both.  And it screams down the line!!!  

This session totally reinforced the brilliance of asymmetry and using science to get more out of surfing.  What a blast this board/fin combo is!!! 

W:96/F:85/S:31

Evening Session - 8/27/2020

After applying the epoxy this afternoon, I set up dinner in the slow cooker and then went back to WPB with Marlon for an evening session.  I knew the tide would be lower so I brought out the Pigfish thinking the inside waves would be the call.

I totally got my share of waves - and some of them were really good!!!  It's been a while since I've surfed this board and I forgot how fun it is to go front side on it.  The crowd was pretty thick - but I just stayed inside of them all and picked up wave after wave of juicy fun!

Evening Session - 6/20/2020

Happy International Surfing Day!!!  To celebrate, Marlon and I went surfing (not foiling - surfing).  We opted to checkout WPB - super crowded, but manageable.  The tide was high at 2.0', the wind was up, but not fast enough to shred the surface, and the surf was overhead as a new swell was hitting.

Marlon brought his shortboard and I used the asymmetric fish.  I caught a couple of bombs and had a blast going right.  I can lean in to the bottom turn and project out.

I watched Marlon on a couple of waves - the board suits him!  Hope you all out there got a chance to get wet today!

Evening Session - 4/21/2020

There was supposed to be a little bump up on the south shore this evening, so Marlon and I went to check it out.  We hit Lots and it was an upcoming high tide at 1.2'.  There was zero wind.  And.... there was a bump up in the swell - chest to head high on the sets, waist to shoulder on the in betweens.  Marlon brought his longboard and was killing it - he was picking up a lot of the set waves at the peak and riding them all the way in.  I could not compete with the longboards (or the pretty intense crowd) as I brought the Pigfish for a second session.

This board flies going front side - as it should because it is a fish - long straighter rail line, harder, thinner rail mid board back, keeping some of that bite all the way up to the nose - it's the simple recipe for speed.

Going backside is a different story.  I may have made the rail a little too thick.  Or I may not have the right fins in the heel side.  Long story short is the board is loosey-goosey going left.  I will probably go another session with these Ryan Lovelace Quads in - but I may swap them out for a twinzer fin for more bite.  That said, cutting back from going front side, you bleed all that speed instantly in a non-binding heel side rail with loose fins - I had one turn just like this on a chest high wave - if I thought about it a little bit more, I think I could have done a 360... I still need to get the feel for this board before I can start doing things like that on instinct - that is what makes shaping your own boards so exciting - finding out what works and dialing in towards an optimized solution.

I think one early take away is asymmetrics work - and they work well.  I have a long way to in this experiment, but I'm sure it will be fun.  I have a Stubby dual single fin currently on the rack, but after that board, I think I'll just be shaping asymmetric surfboards from now on.  

Dawn Patrol - 4/18/2020

Marlon and I hit a dawn patrol with Jimmy - Chun's Reef.  This was Marlon's first trip to unsheltered North Shore energy.  And since he had his longboard, he was out and riding before I even got to the lineup.  His first wave was a really good one, as were most of his other ones.  Head high or slightly bigger on most.  I was totally stoked for him!!!

I brought the Pigfish out and it took a few waves to get synchronized with it.  I did have three longer waves with it and the fish side (my toe side, also the starboard side) really wants to fly.  On my longest wave I was able to outrun a plunging section to get out to clean face and wrenched an off the top turn - there is some huge potential with this board.

It was great surfing with Jimmy again!  I used to dawn patrol year after year with this guy 20+ years ago!!!  Some things never change - great times!

Pigfish is Done

I sprayed the clear coat on yesterday.  Coated both sides.  Today I signed the board, added a little more clear coat, waxed the top deck, and installed the fins.

I'm hoping to get this wet this weekend - might help with dealing with my Mom's passing (let's catch some waves Mom!!!).

The Recent Boards Getting Very Close To Being Done & My Mom

I installed the leash plug and filled in a couple of low points on the pigfish yesterday while Marlon ground down the laps on the bottom deck and got his bottom deck fill coat on.

My mom passed from heart failure in the early morning of April 16th.  This has been a tough day for me.  It's been almost a year that she has been battling from complications of her Type 2 Diabetes.  Mom - I am glad you can rest now.  The main reason I started this blog was so my family can see what Marlon, Noe, La and I have been doing - for that reason I'll keep writing and posting.

Sanded Down to 120

Continuing on with the weekend board building, I sanded the pigfish with 40 and 120. It's getting really smooth.

Tomorrow I'll sand it with 220 (after I fix my sander - I think I need to replace the random orbital shim).  I'll also install the leash plug.  Once that's all down, I'll spray the whole board with clear coat and let it set for a few days (just to let everything settle it).  I'm hoping all the foiling I've been doing will give me the muscle memory to surf this board (sub 6').  With just over a 2.75" thickness, it has some meat to it - but so does my trunk...

Grinding the Top Laminate Laps

Grinded the top deck laminate laps this afternoon.

Had to do it relatively quickly to make room for Marlon - he laminated the bottom deck on his board tonight (next post).

Pigfish Top Lamination

Yesterday afternoon I grinded the bottom deck laps, then in the evening I got the top lamination on.  There were some irregularity areas from my grinding the bottom laminate laps - so I filled them with cabosil/epoxy before laminating the top layers of fiberglass on.

If I didn't mention it on the last post, I'm doing double 6's on both sides.  Nothing wrong with a little bit of weight if it'll get you a ton of durability.  It's not like I'm going to do a bunch of air-360's anyways so why not go a bit heavier (we're talking ounces not pounds).

The labels came out nice if I do say so myself.

Next post is the lap grinding.

Asymmetric Fiah Bottom Lamination

Got the bottom fiberglass on.  Noe helped out with the finboxes, while Marlon mixed plenty of epoxy.

Glassing is my least favorite aspect of making my own boards.  Tomorrow I'll grind down the laps and laminate the top deck.

Asymmetric Fish Labels

Printed these out today when I got home from work.

Will laminate the bottom deck this afternoon.