Latest Round of Garage Work Coming to a Close

I've been back in Florida visiting my Dad - that's why the posts have been scant as of late - but I got back yesterday.  This morning I drilled out the holes to 1/4" on Roland's fuselage.  I also used the tap to thread the holes.

I'm going to get one more thin layer of epoxy on, do some fine sanding and then install the helicoils.

I also got Jimmy's paddle finalized.

Lastly - since I sold the Slingshot Hover Glide foils, I used the proceeds to purchase this fine cardbox box:

As well as these items inside - the new FV200 rear stabilizer...

And the HA1125 front foil

I bolted on the A+ 60cm fuselage (did not drill the mast holes for the barrel nut - not sure if I'm going to or not), and got the front foil and rear stabilizer mounted.

More on this...

Jimmy's Paddle Repair

Jimmy asked me to repair this paddle.  I think I posted on it earlier, but it had a bad batch of epoxy on it - and that took a while to get it off.  After that, I had to fill one of the shoulders to rebuild the part that had broken away.  I then laminated carbon fiber on both sides to rebuild the paddle.  I've been sanding the past couple of days and this afternoon it was ready for the fill coat.  I did manage to get the top and bottom covered.

I'm debating about just calling it done, but I think one more day of sanding will make this perfect.

Other Things

Today is Sunday - and I didn't touch the boards.  Instead I did a bunch of other things - put the new Starboard Hypernut together, stripped off the old grips on two of my SUP paddles and replaced them with a modern version, setup a new windsurfing boom, made two foam protectors for the windsurfing masts, and cleaned up a lot of the storage boxes in the garage (getting rid of old stuff primarily). 

I also swapped out the center fin on the TJ Everyday, charged up the Scrambler battery, fixed my pirate "welcome" sign, packed up a hydrofoil kit for Charlie Bisgard, and even went surfing (next post) - all to avoid more glassing.  Despite my aversion, I really do like glassing with the rollers - more on that later.

Breaking in the New Paddle

I took the new paddle for a surf this morning at Flat Island. The wind was up so even the short paddle over to the break from the parking lot was challenging. Even with all that, the paddle felt really good. The shaft didn't even feel like it was deflecting at all (I was hoping for a little give - makes it easier for the shoulders and elbows you know). For the next paddle, I think I can thin down the shaft diameter even more. We'll see - for now, this one is a winner.

Charlie Glassing a Paddle

Steps taken (so far) to get a stand up paddle glassed and carboned. Some weird opposition to molecular cohesion... And a little sanding in the evening!

Paddle Holster and Accessory Bungee All on the Cooler

I saw different versions of this idea on Alex Aguera's website and on other SUP Fishing blogs. I figured I needed one too. First thing I did was split a 2" PVC pipe - a little bit more than 50-50 (more like 55-45, you will obviously keep the bigger piece) - using Charlie Bisgard's table saw (I don't have one because honestly that tool scares me - kickback nightmares). Next I trimmed it to length - about 18" end to end. Then I cut an angle on the ends - the front is one inch shorter on each end than the back end of the pipe (side that goes toward the cooler). The Dremel came out of hibernation - I used it with a sanding barrel to round out any and all edges on the cut PVC - my luck I would step back and gouge the crap out of my legs, bleed all over and chum up Moby Dick - I like catching, but that would be messy now wouldn't it??? I wanted the mounting screws to go all the way through the cooler wall and into backings made out of old cutting board (similar to how I rigged the kayak anchor trolley a while back) - I ended up using 2" #14 stainless sheetmetal screws. I drilled out holes on the front and back edges of the pipe so I could tighten the screws straight on. When the half pipe was on, I added the bungee fittings (I DID NOT DRILL ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE INNER COOLER WALL _ JUST THE OUTSIDE). Now when I have to manage the rod and reel, I can drop the paddle into this cradle, set a bungee and enjoy the sleigh ride. In the pictures, you can see the bungee run through the holes in the front of the pipe that I used for lining up the screwdriver - this is so I can keep a measuring trough on the cooler as well as the paddle - one less thing to clutter the deck. Two other notes - if you look really close, you'll see the holder is canted to the left - I did that on purpose to encourage water drain off. And last but not least - this cooler was $39.99, not a $250+ Yeti. Choose wisely what you will drill into... I plan on testing this modification out this weekend - ice in the cooler, paddling around with La and the kids and landing a few fish - it ain't surfing, but it is pretty close!

Upcoming Weekend Projects

Here's the Mast Track Box that is going to go into the Hooked SUP. Alex Aguera was nice enough to build up the high Density PVC foam insert around a mast track for me so I wouldn't mess it up. Now I just need to make a router template, a foam deck pad template and find some time to do the work. Of all the things I need to do, cutting a hole into a perfectly good board so I can make a lot of fiberglass dust is going to be one of those that I will easily find an excuse not to do. But it needs to get done so I can sail the big board and then start to troll while sailing. The plastic fittings and rivets are for modifying the igloo cooler I recently got so I can drop my paddle into a secure place to keep it from getting knocked overboard while I am fighting a fish. I cut a 2' section of PVC pipe in roughly half this past weekend, now I just need to drill holes (only two) into a perfectly good cooler to mount the pipe that will function as a cradle. The fittings will hold bungees in place to make sure the paddle doesn't go anywhere while in the cradle. I need to take a dremel to round out the corners so I don't get cut up while messing around the mounted pipe. This second project will take way less time than the first. Guess which one will get done first?

Making a SUP Paddle

Next we stopped by to check up on a friend - Charlie Bisgard. Turns out he had just finished gluing up a SUP paddle blank. I showed him my new kickboard. His joints between slats were way nicer than the way I finished off that old alaia (which is now the paipo/kickboard/handplane). Looking at the paddle kinda got me thinking about making a few myself... maybe one that can double as a flats/stakeout pole - yeah right - with all my spare time.... you have to pick your battles and right now it would be faster to buy one rather than glue one up properly and carve it out nicely.