Garage Works - 4/3/2025

And after Foil Drive-ing, I gave an impromptu class on how to fill scratches and tune a foil.

I got this AFS Enduro 900 with a far from perfect repair job.  There was even clear coat sprayed on (ugh).

I filled it to show Norm and Marvin how I do it.  Then when I got home I sanded the foil.

This session produced an almost perfect repair/finish.  Yes there were some scratches on the top...

Here is the bottom - all refreshed!!!

There are still a couple of spots that need to be filled again and sanded - but I'll wait until I get more rubs that I have to repair before tackling the minor work.

Tomorrow may be a winging day....

Garage Works - 3/5/2025

I've been work on the signal window installation on No.31 for the past few days - I just didn't post on that work.

I probably have one last day of sanding and spraying, then this one will be ready to hit the water again (when the wind dies down - lol).  The goal here is to not have to pack the tracks with foam, and to not have signal cutouts anymore.

And as a result of hitting all the high points over at No Man's Land, I had some filling to do this evening.

I filled and sanded both the front foil and the rear stabilizer already - save one spot that could use another filling-sanding on a wing tip.

I can't sleep unless scratches are filled and the universe is in alignment.

Once these projects are finished, I think I am going to work on changing out the tracks on No.32 - it never ends (but I love every minute!!!!)

Garage Works - 12/21/2024

Got in some garage time also yesterday.

I focused on finishing Marvin's boards (installing signal windows).

Done - one on the Appletree (to add to the two I had done a while back), and 3 new ones on the Majek.

And I got the tip rebuild furthered -

Sanded down the fill and got the carbon patches cut out.

I'll epoxy these on today.

Garage Works - 2/6/2024

And because of my OCD, I had to fix the Spitfire 840 after I got home.

I filled in the scratches with the solid paint marker, let dry and then started wet sanding.

Like always - 320, 400, 600, 1000

I kinda needed to wet sand this foil anyways to get rid of surface imperfections and put on a Donaldson trailing edge.

Better than new!!!

This is the reason I hate foiling on low tides.

Hydrofoil Stuff

And another stop had me meeting Ruben - who I bought this F One XXS fuselage from.

I also picked up the Progressive 350 rear stabilizer I had sold Kalani (back from Kalani).  He had used it a couple of times - and it had a few scratches in it.

Nothing that the solid paint marker and some sanding can't handle -

Here it is all painted up.

And here it is sanded through 400-600-1000-1500

Better than new!!!

Garage Works (actually Standing at the Kitchen Sink) - 9/17/2023

In the last post I mentioned hitting bottom while trying to get out of the impact zone.  Out on the water, when I checked for damage I didn't see anything.  It was after I had landed, rinsed the gear and was in the process of breaking down the equipment I finally saw the scratches.

If you know me, you know that I couldn't leave those be.

I filled the scratches (which were all miniscule - yet I was compelled to fix them) with a solid paint marker, then started the sanding regime.

Since I was already sanding, I went ahead and did the whole surface of the foil.  I got a Donaldson edge installed on both the SK8 950 and the Carve 200. 

Even though this foil and rear stabilizer have been pretty silent while in use, it was no more work to get the trailing edges dialed in.

All done (and I can sleep no problem now!)

Garage Works - 9/7/2023

I got my second shingles vaccine shot this afternoon, so I figured I should stay home this evening.  But since I was staying home, I figured I should sand No.32

I got through the whole sanding regime (40-80-120-180-320) - so I'm down to installing the leash plug and vent, spraying clear coat and placing deck pad on.

I'm really happy with how No.32 turned out!

With the Foil Drive tie down points up front (another set of footstrap inserts), I'm going to have to think about where to put the vent (maybe at the back).

And this board will be for use with the smaller front foils - I moved the boxes up almost 2"

This one also came out pretty light.  I'll have to bring the scale down to get the weight, but handling it is a breeze (yeah carbon fiber!)

And I also got to knock down the high points on Roland's Uni Hyper 190 repair.  And I also cleaned up the Axis ART1099.

Productive day!!!

Fine Tuning the Vyper 170

I let Roland borrow this foil yesterday.  He wanted to see if the additional 20 square inches of surface would make a difference in low end.

When turning it over to him, I saw some scratches (I did buy this one used).  When I picked it up today, I figured I should clean this one up and get it back to top performance shape.

I used the solid paint pen, filled in the scratches and let the paint dry.

And I actually just finished sanding the foil.  I went with 600-1000-1500 on both sides to get an even surface finish.

Better than new!!!

This is one of my favorite front foils for prone surf foiling in sizable waves.  It carves like no other and I can even pump it back out.  Super progressive lift so I can takeoff in critical sections without having to worry about a blow up.

I want to see if this will translate over to Foil Drive prone surf foiling... unfortunately for that plan, the wind is forecasted to get stronger over the next several days - wing, wing, wing!!!

Tuning Up Front Foils

It's no secret that I can't stand scratches on foils.  Well - having bought this HPS 980 used, it wasn't really finished to my preferences - but neither did I have the time to getting it dialed in.

On the Sunday run at Hickam, launching from the boat ramp I inadvertently assumed I was in deep water a little bit too early.  I ended up with a couple of really minor scratches (which in turn activated my OCD and then I looked very closely at the subpar finish).

With the weather turning south (at least less than ideal).  I went ahead and used the solid paint marker I had bought and used it to fill the scratches that I placed on the foil along with the other minor scratches from the previous owner.  These were all really minor and wouldn't affect performance in the range these foils are usually used in - but these represented things I needed to tune up (I've been an engineer for way too long).

This evening I wet sanded the foil through 400-600-1000-1500 grits.

This is way smoother now.

And I even placed a Donaldson trailing edge on.

Since I proved to myself I can pump this foil back out after riding a wave through the good parts, I want to go back to the ART999 and see the differences.

I'll actually go through and use the solid marker on both the HPS700 and the ART999 this evening and sand those in the next couple of days (as the surf is forecasted to drop).

Garage Works - 4/18/2023

I picked Marlon up from UH today and after we got home, I got to work in the garage (since it was storming outside).

I grinded the boxes open on both boards.

I sanded the laps on No.31

I used 1.4 ounces of epoxy mixed with aerocil and dyed black to fill the voids around the tracks (from now on I'm going to laminate one layer at a time around the boxes....).  I used the rest to smooth out the rough areas.

Then I got the fill coat on the top deck of No.30

I was in a waiting mode at that point so I shifted over to filling scratches on Kalani's ART999 and my Kujira 1210

The ART was pretty beat up

But they are both smooth again.

I also broke down the setup I used yesterday and the looked Kalani's SUP foiling board over.

The boxes are not secured to the board and there are some delimination points.  This will be another box job.

I actually get a lot done when it's raining.