Garage Works - 9/15/2024

I got the coarse sanding (maybe the only sanding) done on No.38

This is the top deck

And this is the bottom deck

I'll cut in the slot for the track block tomorrow and get it glued in.  Then I can get started on glassing this blank.

I also got the patch completed on No.34

The enamel clear coat didn't like something on the repair - that's fine, I don't need to chase ghosts.

And while the crew was winging today - every time I passed Prayot, it sounded like a 747 was going through a landing sequence.

And here it is going through a tuning to try and get rid of the really loud noise.

There were a couple of deeper gouges - I filled these (some twice) and sanded to 1000

And here it is all sanded.

I'll look at the front foil (AFS Pure 900) tomorrow and see if it needs some sanding.

Tuning Foils

I skipped out on beach time today - I was kinda tired and I also wanted to get some projects started/finished.

First up was tuning the AFS Pure Race 50.

The trailing edge of the front foil had a couple of chips and an edge that was less than perfect.

I used the wetsanding regime and got a Donaldson Trailing Edge on the front foil.

The trailing edge is nice a tuned up now.

With stronger winds coming later this week, I'll get to test this again.  I may make two runs at this - first will be No.36 but without footstraps (or maybe not as I don't want to necessarily have to reset the footstraps), and second - using No.34 to address the balancing issue (smaller foil - set more forward, needing my feet further forward to balance out the foil).

If the foil still sings (and mind you it wasn't that bad - especially compared to the F One Eagle 1090 I first tried - the foil screamed), I'll address the rear stabilizer.

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!!!

Garage Works - 7/20/2023

I got some work done yesterday on equipment in addition to the winging session.

I sanded the ART999

And got the mast track reinforcement block epoxied into place.

I actually sanded down the HPS 700 also.

More Front Foil Tuning

And I couldn't help myself.  I went ahead and got the fill coat on the spots where I had used the solvent based fill (which dries red) on the HPS700, and some uneven spots on the ART999 tips.

I'll wet sand these tomorrow.  Looking at these two front foils, I'm pretty disappointed with the sanding job I did previously (the work I just did on the HPS980 is way better - I'll get these up to par tomorrow).

Knowing the conditions of the other foils I use, I'll likely be doing this on the following:

- scratch fill on the Progression 170

- scratch fill on the Vyper 170

- Donaldson Trailing Edge on the Eagle 890 (this foil sings pretty loud)

- scratch fill on the Eagle 1090

- scratch fill on the Kujira 1210

- scratch fill and Donaldson Trailing Edge on the ART 1099

There are times when I wish I weren't so OCD/anal.  But after these are done, I'll definitely be glad that I am!

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).

Wing Foiling Session - 1/11/2023

The wind was forecasted to be up today (unlike yesterday where it came up with complete disregard for the forecast).  The wind was supposed to shift to more of s trade wind pattern - but instead it stuck from the NNE.  The strength was good, but it was still up and down.  The tide was really low... glad I had time to go out at Hickam (instead of having to paddle way out at WPB on a really low tide).

I had to take La to an appointment, so I had two goals today - first was to see if the Donaldson trailing edge I put on the DW210 and the Eagle 1090 worked to eliminate the high pitched tones produced by the foils at winging speed, and second was to be back on the road by 3 to get home ahead of traffic.

Offshore conditions are tough to read from the beach. 

The great news is I pretty much got rid of all the speed induced vibration noise.  I would hear a slight tone, but it was negligible compared to the three tones that were being emitted last time I winged the foil.  This foil will be ridden hard this year (now that I don't need to wear earplugs).

For such a relatively small surface area, this foil does well across a wide range.  It glides really well and that makes turns a lot easier.  I got two heel to toe (post switch) tacks in today (first ones of the year), and I could also draw out my jibes during lulls and still have enough speed to get through the turn.

I was out in the water before 2 and out 40 minutes later (I made it home with plenty of time to spare).

I felt that I was going faster than 20mph - but according to my watch that was not the case.

Glad to have been able to get out on the wing again (and that the Eagle is now dialed in).

W:2/F:2/S:6

Dawn Patrol - 1/7/2023

Dawn patrolled this morning.  Air temp was 59F... burrrr.  No wind, nice full moon high tide and a surprisingly fun sized swell pushing in.  Marlon brought his longboard, and I brought the 4'8" with the short Cedrus mast and the F One 1090 Eagle (and DW210 rear stabilizer).

Surprisingly also, I didn't have much of a reset (I haven't been prone foiling in a bit - mostly surfing).  First wave was a good one and this setup was sure footed.

I had a double pretty quickly in the session (didn't get a triple) - I still need to find the sweet spot on this foil for pumping.  The pumping I did do was not tiring - I just need to move faster I think.

About mid-session, I did have a really unexpected takeoff - jacked up wave, super steep - I stuck the takeoff and was rounding over to run the wall, but I hit some turbulence from the previous wave and ate it.  Super nice to have one of those in the middle of winter!

Having spent some time putting a Donaldson trailing edge on the front foil (1090) and the stabilizer, I was listening for any vibrations/whistling.  I didn't hear any this time (unlike the last time I brought this foil out - even at prone foiling speeds I could hear a high-pitched tone).  This is a good sign - but I'm going to have to drive it at winging speeds/loads to see if the sanding worked. 

I was considering shimming the base - but it turns out I didn't need it.

Based on this positioning, I am going to move the mast tracks forward on No.29.  It seems as if I need move adjustability up front and less out the back.  I think an inch and a half forward should be sufficient.

The swell started to back off just after 8am.  I caught a few more and hit the showers around 9.

Fun first prone foiling session of the year!!!  I'm going to keep using the F One Eagle to get it dialed in.

W:0/F:1/S:6

Tuning DW210 Rear Stabilizer

When I've used the Eagle 1090/XXS Fuselage/DW210 combo, the setup sings in two to three tones.  The harmonics are pretty impressive, and the people foiling around me say they can hear me from far away.  Kalani tried sanding last time I had this setup out - but it seemed like it actually made the third harmonic resident.

I've been plying YouTube and I found a couple of references to the Donaldson Trailing Edge (where the flat side has a rounded edge).

I got the edge tuned on the DW210 this evening.

I'll have to wait a few days or so before the wind comes back and I can take this out to test it.

Prior to this week, I had never heard of the Donaldson trailing edge.  This is pretty much the opposite of what Alex Aguerra was doing in his video from a couple of years back (he sanded down the edge from the low pressure/suction side at a 45 degree angle).

This is the side where the "curve" is imparted.

Always - it all done for a first pass.  I'll test this on the 890 to see what the difference is.

I did check the 1090 trailing edge and there were two anomalies that seemed like that they could cause some vibration.  I'll take this one item at a time.

Getting Back on the Horse

It has been a while since I have gone windsurf foiling - since before my trip to Virginia Beach/San Diego back in January.  The wind forecast called for marginal conditions so I packed up the Hypernut, some sails and the Maliko 200 in case I had some time after running a bunch of errands.  After running said errands (mostly getting more materials to build a deck in our backyard), I did get a chance to checkout the sailing spot.

Really glassy and really flat.  Nice for paddling and flyfishing - but the opposite for windsurf foiling and surfing.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better (more wind) so I'll try again.  Since I was over there with a bunch of equipment, I figured I'd at least rig up the sails, take some measurements and record the optimal outhaul and downhaul lengths.

I need to get wet...