On It's Way -

I sold No.18 to Nick as part of the Foil Drive Assist Plus package.

Tricia was in town and she brought one of his travel board bags for me to pack the board in.

Here is No.18 all armored up.

And tucked into Nick's board bag.

The tail is nicely secured.

But the board is only 4'10" in a 6'1" board bag - so there is a gap in the nose.

I think Tricia will end up putting in a duffle bag to take up this space.

This board has pulled triple duty - it started life as a prone foil board, carrying me into some gnarly sized surf with the GoFoil GL140, and through COVID closed beaches.  Then it served as a high wind wing board - my first sinker attempts (looked what that lead to - now every board I wing with pretty much is a sinker).  And in it's last incarnation it was the board that opened up the possibilities of the Foil Drive to me.

I really don't like seeing boards leave the hangar - but if they go to good homes, that is a good thing.  And I beet it can pull triple duty for Nick!!!

And that makes room for more boards to be made and ridden!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 2/25/2023 - 2nd

After Kailua, I stopped off at Hawaiian Watersports and picked up some kite bladder valve traps so I can fix my kitesurfing kites - after being able to water start No.26 with a wing, I now have the inclination to kitefoil using that board.  With that long standing errand out of the way, I made a beeline to Hickam to get in a second session - on No.26.

I took the Stringy fuselage and placed it on the 85cm mast - I figured I'd give this setup a try and see if it was any harder to get up on foil.  I replaced the 980 I had on earlier with the 1210 - I didn't want to handicap myself too much.  I figured with the larger front foil, I could afford to go smaller on the wing - I pumped up the SW2 4.2 again. 

From my tracks, it looked like the wind over here was from the NE.  On the water I did notice I had to make runs that had me going side to side more than top to bottom (like on an East wind).

I forced myself to water start a lot today.  The blue in the tracks below are the waits I had to go through waiting for the gusts (or sucking at water starting - this is 100% an activity that the more you do it, the easier it gets...).  Strong side is ok - goofy is a little tougher.  I drew blood on my left shin at Kailua today - and the middle screw holding the front footstraps down on No.26 didn't help.  I'll pad those screws before taking No.25 or 26 out again.

I got in several heel to toe tacks, some of which were completely dry.  A few I even whipped into (grabbing the bottom handle earlier allows you to power through the tack and not just glide).  I got in a partial toe to heel tack - I leaned in too hard and lost it.

I had to pull the Kalaeloa data because the airport sensors are still out.

Using the 85cm mast was not any harder than the 75cm mast.

I'm going to need to fix the small ding on No.25 and cover the screw heads on both No. 25 and 26 - so tomorrow I'll setup the WWFB and hit Firsts.

W:20/F:12/S:12

Wing Foiling Session - 2/24/2023

I hit Hickam after work.  The wind was good - I pumped up the Reedin SW2 4.7.  For the board/foil I had brought No.25 and the Eagle 1090 - but I also brought No.26 and the Kujira 1210.  From the picture you can see what I setup.

I've been using the 75cm mast so I don't have to manage getting more mast out of the water while I'm learning how to get up using this sinker.

I purposely forced myself to start more than I needed to so I can figure out the best way to position the board/wing to minimize the energy I use to keep position and get up.  Nose aimed slightly downwind, front foot in the footstrap (which needs to be slightly loose so my foot can flex) and back leg shin down and foot on the rail (or even hanging off).  Some runs I'd stay in this position and manage the wing overhead to develop muscle memory.

Getting up was easy as long as a gust was blowing through.  I need to put a few more strips of deck pad in between the front pads and between the front and back pads.

I didn't head out to Firsts today - I didn't want to risk getting stuck out there.  Insteead I mowed the lawn on the inside, but focused on seeing what was different with this setup.  Once up, nothing was different at all.  I even got in some dry heel to toe tacks on the outside, and a toe to heel tack.

If I takes this out again tomorrow, I'm going to place the rear strap and try jumping this rig.

The anemometer was still messed up - but I was up when the gusts hit, and was riding until I forced myself to drop and start again (this is the only way to make starting a sinker easier).

I did pay some dues today... the GoPro 9 is gone and I lost yet another wingscrew...  hopefully I'm paid up for a while.

W:18/F:12/S:12

Prone to Wing Foiling Board Conversion

So I was able to finish the conversion of No.26 today.

This picture shows where my feet were placed when all was balanced.

I stripped the wax and placed markers where my feet would go, so I could place the NSI stick on footstrap inserts.

Three of the insert plates had the adhesive on it - unused.  I went ahead and used JB Weld on the last one.

And I went ahead and got the footstraps installed also.

I'll be itching to test it out - just need some good wind (like today's wind).