Garage Works - 5/20/2024

I passed on an evening session today to get No.36 over the finish line.

I sanded the last fill coat down and got the leash plug and vent leveled out.

Then I went through the whole sanding regime 40-60-120-180-220-and 320 wet sanding.

I opened up the mast track slots and faired them in.

Then I sprayed clear coat - a can and a half.

This thing is sick!!!

I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out.

I lined up the deck pads - going to use the Creatures of Leisure pads.  And I cut some filler strips also so I can spread out the factory pieces.

The wind is forecasted to come back to trade flow sometime this week - I'll get the deck pad on, drill a hole and install the vent, and get the leash loop on - anointment coming soon! 

It feels good to get this one done!

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.

Garage Works - 2/5/2024

I wet sanded the 350P - truthfully I bet this goes faster now.

And I got these fins in the mail today - Quobba Carbon Glass

I got the set with the large side fins and the medium center fin.

I got these for the Airush Amp kitesurf board.

Way different than any set of fins I have - I need a day of nice steady 20 mph trade winds and a single front foot strap to motivate me to try kitesurfing again.  Then when I'm all dialed back in with the kites, I'll try kitefoiling (my resolution this year is to get proficient at kitefoiling).

Garage Works - 11/7/2023

I needed to get a few things fixed from nicks over the last few sessions.

The 4.7 SW2 needed to be dried first, so that is differed until later.

Next up was the 350P rear stabilizer.  I hit bottom yesterday and I hit the shower base today.

Nothing that a file, a solid paint marker and 180-220-320-600-1000 wet sand paper couldn't address.  As good as new again.

And I addressed the mast pod for the Foil Drive.  I had filled a gap that looked like it was opening up (just used free flowing super glue).  I started getting rid of the glue bead by filing.  Then I used the same sand paper regime as the 350P repair.

It's super smooth now!!!

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!)

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).

Garage Works - 4/17/2023

Before I went to the beach, I had spent an hour setting up the carbon for the top deck laminate.  After trimming the carbon and cutting the laps, I folded the carbon back and made sure to fill in any gaps from the bottom laminate and the carbon/innegra patch (observation from laminating No.30).

I used a 10.5 ounces on the first pour.  I focused on the area with the carbon/innegra and carbon heel patch first.  I made several passes with the roller to make sure the epoxy made it through all the layers.

Then I mixed a 7.7 ounce batch to make sure the rail laps were good.  I kept pouring the epoxy over the top laminate and rolled it onto the top laminate to saturate the roller and then I went on to wet out the laps.

I used saran wrap to make sure the edges stayed down (and to minimize what sanding I have to do prior to the fill coats).

Not bad!

I went ahead and wet sanded the KD 15" Marlin rear stabilizer because if I didn't I won't be able to sleep.

All better now.

The weather is ssupposed to get rainy soon.  That'll give me an excuse to get the final steps done on these two boards.  I also have to fix the mast tracks on Kalani's SUP Foil board.

I have to start saving up for the next piece of gear!

Front Foil Fairing

The next few days are supposed to have crazy nuking winds plowing through.  I packed all the small stuff I have (Cabrinha Mantis 2.5, Reedin SW1 3.6) and I made a point to repair this Axis HPS 700.

I watched the Delta Foils YouTube channel and saw they filled imperfections in wetted surfaces with Bondo glaze.  Here I am giving it a go.

It needs to be spread pretty thin and fairly quickly - this mix is solvent based and it evaporates as soon as it is exposed to air.

It gets into the crevices fairly easy. 

This is the tube.

After about 30 minutes, I sanded with 320/400/600.  The bondo comes off easy.  I went ahead and wetsanded to whole front foil to make sure the surface has a uniform texture (smooth).

And since I was sanding, I figured I'd put a Donaldson Trailing Edge on the back edge of the foil.

This foil is ready to rip!!!

No.29 All Pau

After unpacking from this morning's dawn patrol, I hit the garage to get No.29 across the finish line.

I sanded the vent and leash plugs flush, and also the small resin patches I applied a couple of days ago.  Then I ran through the 80-120-220 sandings, followed by the 320-600 wetsanding.

Then I hung the board up and sprayed the clear coat all over the board.

Marlon and I ran some errands while the clear coat was drying.  Once we were back I measured out the deckpad.  This is a three piece - straight middle spacer with sides to match the asymmetry.

This one came out really nice.

I got the leash tie on, the marine deck sticky patches installed, and waxed the board up already.  I forgot to drill out the vent and install the vent plug - I'll do this before heading out tomorrow morning (to anoint this board!!!)

Fairing in the Eagle 1090

This front foil has been singing up a storm.  Sometimes it emits three tones (but I think one of them was from the rear stabilizer - which I also sanded already).

The designer at Levitaz has a video out that demonstrates how to put on a Donaldson Trailing Edge on to the foil.  I went ahead and sanded this in hopes of eliminating the really loud noises.

I used 180-400-600-1000-1500-2000 grit wet sandpaper on some new sanding blocks.

I have some high hopes that this is going to work... now I just need some steady winds.

Garage Works - 10/17/2022

I skipped surfing today so I could get the sanding done on these two boards.  I took both of them through 40-80-120-180-220, then 320 and 600 wet sanding.

No.27 is a 4'5".  I'm guessing this is in the 40 to 45 liter range.

No.26 is a 4'2" - this is likely in the 35 to 40 liter range.

Tomorrow I'll spray the first of several layers of clear coat on these.  I want to take my time finishing these out.  These will be the test units for me to demonstrate the flat rail - square tail on short prone boards.  I built my first two foil boards similar to this - but those were longer.  I believe these will paddle easier and lift off faster - but that remains to be seen.

I have one deck pad (Dakine Wide Load) - I need to get a second one.  And I have the Marine Grip strips ready to go.  Now that I'm past the sanding, these will definitely be ready to get wet before the weekend (but there is also wind in the forecast for the weekend - typical).