Garage Works - 11/16/2024

I mowed the lawn and edged the back lawn.  I also cleared the backyard of the plant debris that had been building up - then I hit the garage to do some shaping.  This is No.39 - a 5'8" foil drive/winging board.

Here is the blank cut out from the billet foam.

And here it is rough shaped.

It's easier to dial the shape in when the sun is out and it is bright.  I'll do this tomorrow.

And while I was in the garage, this is Prayot's AFS Pure 900.  He drove it into the reef yesterday.

I had to pick sand and rock out of it.  Then I sanded the areas that needed repair.

This will get fill and the tip will get a layer of carbon.

Filled and patch attached.

I'll trace the unscathed wing tip and get the patch grinded down to the same outline.

I'll need to add more epoxy to get this solid.

Garage Works - 10/15/2024

I worked in the garage before going winging - but I had those pictures uploaded first.

I got the clear coat on Norm's board - I'll let it harden overnight and tomorrow I'll get the deck pads on it.

Then I sanded and filled (and sanded) the repair on Kalani's board.

Filled and sanded more times than I thought it would take (all because I didn't use peel ply up front).

With this one cleared, I started the repair on Greg's beat up board.  I'd like to get that done before starting No.39 (thinner 5'8")

Next Board????

Kalani saw this board while the owner was carrying it from his car to the edge of the setup area.

We went over to check it out.

This is a prototype KT Pro Carbon 2

Nice flat bottom - this thing looks fast just sitting there!

I need a thicker blank....

Garage Works - 4/15/2024

I got a crack in my windshield this morning - a rock strike while driving on the freeway.  That will come into the story shortly.

These are the two templates that I've been working on that made the final cut.  These are the 5'0" x 22" April 2024 B and C templates. 

When you line them up together, you can more easily see the differences - the one on the left has a more pulled in nose and tail - and that's the final choice for No.36

I needed the apply the UV resin to fix the chip in my windshield in strong sunlight.  I was getting that all sorted out and the instructions had distinct time periods where you were just waiting.

And that's when I measured the blank, found the centerline and transferred the template.

I really like how this one turned out.

My current plan is to use a similar bottom deck profile as the latest Foil Drive board (No.33 - flat tail, square rail, subtle chines from the tail to 2/3s the way up to the nose where the rail softens).

You may be asking yourself - "Vic, why do you need another wing foiling board - don't you already have a few?"  

Well, No.36 is going to get the 16" tracks so it will be able to support the smallest foils I have - F One SK8 750 and Eagle 690, the Axis HPS 700 and maybe even the Triton T-1

And the boards I have now tend to be at extremes.  No.25 has a lot of volume (for me now - I guess time in makes you able to use smaller stuff).  And No.32 needs more track forward.  This template will take the best of both and fit it in between the two.  At 22" width (or less) it'll move across the water faster (for earlier takeoff) and it'll have less volume (more manageable while winging on a wave).  The nose shape should fit steeper waves better and will feel more familiar to Foil Driving (bringing the two disciplines closer for me).

The color scheme is going to pull from one of my earlier prone boards (the tiger striped 4'10" No.17) and what I just did with Matt's board (No.35).  And I'll use the rail tape trick to keep the transition clean.

I'll put footstrap inserts into this - and I'm thinking of placing a centered rear foot so I can use it only for jumping.

Lots of design criteria for this one - should be a good build!  

Garage Works - 11/22/2023

I had a long day at work and did not want to contend with less than perfect conditions at WPB.  Instead I opted to work on No.33 - specifically I sanded the board top and bottom.

This is the top deck

Top deck again -

And here is the bottom deck of the board

And almost a profile shot of the bottom deck.

This board is a slightly longer, slightly narrower version of No.18 - the design goal of this one is to go faster onto plane.  The faster you can get a board going, the faster you can get up on foil, the faster you can get off the throttle (and the longer your battery will last you, and lastly the more waves you can ride).  The wide tail will really help get the board moving faster.

This is basically my standard wing foiling board shape made narrower and thinner.  I'm guessing this will end up around 50 liters in volume.

Next step is to rout in the slot for the SUP carrying handle and the track boxes.  I'll get those glued/epoxied in, then start the carbon lamination.  I had considered placing footstrap inserts on, just like No.32, but have since changed my mind as I'm pretty sure I won't be using this as a wing board (why would I - wrestling a low volume board is futile and with all the sharks swimming around lately, its even dangerous).

I'll have the boxes in place tomorrow.  I'll have the bottom deck on either tomorrow or Friday.  Top deck will get laminated on Saturday.  At least that's the goal...

Garage Works - 10/20/2023

I got the urge to start No.33.  This one is going to be a slightly longer and narrower prone Foil Drive board.

First I had to break down the 4'x8' EPS panel.

This foam looks to be nice and strong!  We will soon see.

I transferred the template onto the blank.

This template actually is a variation of the one I've been using on most of the pointy nosed, fast moving boards I've built (wing boards).  I like the wider stern because it adds planning surface, which in turn gets the foil engaged sooner (which gets the system off the water surface faster - which in the big picture is the main goal).  Tied to this is the straight rails - also goes through the water faster.

This picture above is the new board next to its predecessor.  I am going to move the boxes up 2" and also add a handle in the bottom deck (just to make carrying the system easier).  This could also double as another wingboard (just like No.32 - which is a wingboard, could double as a Foil Drive prone board).

Since I'm going to try and keep volume on this one, the shaping should go pretty fast.  I'll try and have this board done before Thanksgiving (which should be possible if the wind stays light...).

Garage Works - 3/29/2023

I've been contemplating the rail and tail shapes on No.30

Yesterday I marked up the blank with navigation points (where to cut) and today I went ahead and started shaping.

The shaping actually went pretty quickly.

Bottom deck

Bottom deck

Bottom deck

Top deck

Top deck is on top

Bottom deck is up in this picture

And this is the top deck again.

I may let this sit a day or two - just to go back to it with fresh eyes.  I'll start the blank sanding process and get the mast track reinforcement block mapped out.  With this one being the first long prone foiling board I'm making, I'm probably going to use two sets of Futures one shot boxes - just debating if it is going to be a 8.5" and 10.75", or 2 10.75" boxes.

Garage Works - 1/7/2023

I worked on trimming both the slot and the block so the block would drop in easily, but still have a close fit to the sides.

After that I took some scrap fabric and got the slot dressed up.  Innegra on the bottom and carbon on the sides with some overlap.

Then I mixed up 5.6 ounce of epoxy - half went to the slot straight and I used a brush to wet out the fabric.  The rest got thickened and I coated the block with the slurry.  I slipped it in and then waited to see where the remainder needed to be added.

Saran wrap went on and got taped down to smooth out the fabric.

I added the weights to make sure the block did not rise up (but it probably won't because of the way the epoxy was spread out - not too thick in any one spot).

I didn't get to spread a slurry across the bottom like I had hoped (but that nap sure was nice).  I'll get that spread in the morning - and perhaps the top deck filled/sealed in the evening tomorrow. 

Garage Works - 11/4/2022

I was tired from work when I got home - so I skipped out on surfing (I did hear it was cleaner and bigger than it has been - oh well)..  Instead I worked on shaping No.28.

I cleaned up the planer lines and made sure the template was as close to symmetric as I could get it rough shaping.

I've been trying to determine how to get this board down to 60 liters (that what Prayot wants).  At 4'6" x 24", this needs to hover around 4" to be around the requested volume.

I'll dial in the nose rocker, the tail rocker and the bottom deck tomorrow (rough in).  Will likely be doing the fine tuning of the shape and the final shaping sandings on Sunday.  Inserts to follow, then cutting out the mast tracks.  After that, laminating/glassing/sanding.  I've got a month to finish this board - should be plenty of time.

No.28 - Prayot's Wing Board

And even before I'm finished with the two boards on my rack, I'm starting to plan out and procure blanks for No.28.  This is Prayot's Wing Board.

As documented in the blog, I build these slow and meticulous, all the way from templating to final glassing.  This is not the fastest way - but good things are not necessarily done fast.

4'6" length

24" wide

This is moving along the flat rail - square tail concept currently in the market (which is what I built in the first two prone boards I made - fastest shape in the water at the speeds we are at achieving hydrofoil lift).

I really should finish No.26 and 27 first....

Garage Works - 8/6/2022

I spent the morning yesterday shaping these two blanks.  I broke out the Makita planer and took the bulk of the foam off to get the nose rocker defined and took down the deck near the tails (artifact of cutting a longboard blank in half).

I worked on the mini version of what I'm currently riding.  I wanted to use the square rail/flat tail concept on prone foiling boards - so this is taking a shape I'm familiar with and I'll be able to tell if this is beneficial to this discipline. 

Then I switched over to the Bash template.  This one is to test (for me and my paddling/weight) where a chopped nose (shorter), higher volume board can work (again - for me).

If the wind doesn't come up today, I'll fine tune the shape on these blanks, and I'll try to get the slots for the mast track reinforcement blocks cut out.

The thing that keeps driving me back to this concept (square rail/flat tail) are the first two prone boards I made - those had a much higher volume and longer length, but they caught waves super easy.  Was it the length, or was it the rails???