Garage Works - 8/11/2026

La and Marlon were not home when I arrived.

So I got to work in the garage and got the fill coat on the top deck of No.44

First coat was 9 ounces resin and 3.6 ounces of hardener (fast).

Second coat was 10 ounces resin and 4 ounces of hardener (again fast).

Next up is sanding... I may just sand where the logo decals are gonna go, get those on and coat with clear epoxy.  Then save the bulk sanding for this weekend (when Hurricane "Lala" comes to town).

Garage Works - 8/6/2026

After an awesome dinner La made - I got some time in the garage.

I got two fill coats on to the bottom deck of No.44

This will harden overnight, and then I'll get the top deck done tomorrow.

This leaves sanding top and bottom on Saturday, placing the logo decals, then one last fill coat to even things out more and to protect the logo decals.

That leaves the opposing deck fill coat early Sunday, followed by drilling out the holes for any inserts.

I'm thinking about placing four leash plugs up front on the top deck so I can bungee some stuff up there - like maybe the spare parawing.

Anyways - lots more epoxy to be placed... and more sanding.

Garage Works - 8/5/2026

I skipped out on surfing again today.  I wanted to get further along on No.44.

I sanded the laps from the top deck lamination

And prepped the board for a fill coat.  But when I went looking for it, I didn't have any international orange pigment.  I stopped at this prep point.

I'll grab some pigment tomorrow and I'll try to get a fill coat on when I get home (then go foiling), and maybe a second coat before I go to sleep.

I'm not going to get this board to a point where I can get it wet this weekend - and the next wind window will likely be the following weekend - so I can slow down and focus on getting things perfect.

Garage Works - 8/4/2026

I got off work later than usual - so by the time I got to the beach the waves were pretty drowned out by the high tide.

I decided to cut my losses and head back home to work on No.44

I sanded the lap -

Then got the top deck reinforcement layers set up - two layers of innegra, and one layer of carbo

Then I got the top sheet of carbon placed and trimmed.

Break time - and cooked dinner.

Then 18.9 ounces of epoxy (split fast and slow hardener) to get the top deck wetted out, and another 2.8 + 4.2 ounces to get the laps and the rail wetted out.

There is a spot where the bottom deck rail wrap did not seem to adhere.  That is under the weight you see in the picture.  If it doesn't stay down, I'll cut that spot out and epoxy down a patch.

The rest of the laminate looks to have behaved nicely!

It is only Tuesday and I've gotten through the lamination.  I could do a fill coat tomorrow, the opposite deck fill coat Thursday, get a bunch of sanding done Friday while getting the labels situated and the final fill coat on one side.  Saturday would see the other final fill coat and the plugs.

So despite what I feel is faster accomplishment of activity to get No.44 in the water, I still won't have enough time to let the epoxy harden the way I prefer and 24 hours for the deck pads to set.

I think it'll be a week from now before the anointment -

Garage Works - 6/16/2026

I got home from work and wanted to take a short nap.  I did get up - and had contemplated getting in a Foil Drive session - but I then figured I should just get another rest day in.

La was going to go to the Cactus and Succulent club meeting - I figured this would be a good opportunity to get the Tow Boogie conversion project closer to completion.

I had the reinforcement strips cut out from a long time ago - today I cut out the cap sheet from the basalt supply I have.

Once that was cut out and trimmed, I went back and taped over the tracks and sanded the area where I needed epoxy adhesion.

I also mixed a small batch of microbubbles infused epoxy to fill the voids in the seam around the block.

This took 6 ounces to properly cover.  There was probably an ounce on the roller and another ounce left in the mixing cup - so the epoxy to matrix ratio was about 2:1.

And the areas where I needed the fabric to unconditionally stay flat to the board, I went ahead and used the remainder of the peel ply and some batting to keep the work flat.

I'll let the cure, remove the peel ply, sand the perimeter, and add another fill coat to level out the new layer.

Even if this doesn't work as a tow boogie, it will definitely work as a tow device to get me on a shortboard out to the breaks that no one surfs - for that prospect alone I am pretty excited for this.

Garage Works - 5/19/2026

Window install on Tim's board got sanded -

And covered today.

I'll try and wake up early to sand this and get a clear coat sprayed on - then it can go back to Tim tomorrow afternoon (and I can get more working room back in the garage).

Garage Works - 5/18/2026

The projects have been piling up in the garage.  I just haven't been in the mood to tackle some of these (plus it has been warm and humid lately).

I got approached by Tim yesterday - he wanted another single window on his Amundson board.  I actually cut this hole yesterday - I thought I ran out of milled fibers and said I'd get some today.

I did get another container of milled fibers - but when I pulled out the epoxy bottles, I found the existing container of milled fibers....

I got the fill mixed up and placed.

And I had enough material leftover to get some onto Stu's mast repair.

I placed mold release on the fuselage, then added the epoxy.

Hopefully the parts release - if yes, then I'll shape the mast foot and even add more material to make the front section more hydrodynamic.

I'll likely be in the garage again tomorrow evening - trying to get these two projects completed.

Garage Works - 4/14/2026

Stu smashed the crap out of his AFS UHM 80cm mast.  The damage looked more hydrodynamic and less structural - so I figured it couldn't hurt to try repairing it.

Clamped and hardening.

I'll rough shape this and see if I can get it to fit on a fuselage.

You can see the main issue below - the front end got smashed and split open.  I think the epoxy-milled fibers fill will hold - it's the reshaping that I'll have to make sure gets done correctly.

Garage Works - 3/21/2026

I hurt my lower back while moving some stuff around in the yard (we have some work being done to the house this week) - so no water time today (and maybe tomorrow...)

But I did try to get more work done on this board (for Noel to Foil Drive).

I got the fill sanded down.

Then I got the fiberglass patch fitted and epoxied on.

Tomorrow will be a light sanding to fair everything in, then a spray with primer gray.

Garage Works - 3/17/2026

Got these signal windows sanded CAREFULLY

And covered in fiberglass

And pressed to optimize the epoxy-fabric ratio

Top deck - same deal

I used 0.14 ounces of epoxy (with slow hardener to buy time) and it was just enough for the 3 windows

I'll still likely have to feather in the edges, and then I can spray with clear coat

This should be done tomorrow

Garage Works - 3/15/2026

Tim just got a Foil Drive and his board has zero connectivity in the water.

So here it is back in my garage getting signal windows.

Here's the bottom deck window.

The two top deck window holes.

Windows filled

Bottom deck hole prepped

And filled.

0.1 ounce resin and 0.04 ounces of hardener per window.

With this epoxy work done today, I can sand and get the fiberglass patch on tomorrow.  I'll have to be careful sanding because that purple is a sticker under the fill coat.

I may have to keep the patch a tad bit proud to preserve the lam.

Regarding the Modification of No.26, I just ordered a new big router and vacuum collar - I kept staring at the cut I was going to have to make to clear the block slot and I didn't want to have to clean up all the shavings.  This new tool should be in on Wednesday - and this board should be done by then.

Garage Works - 3/8/2026

I took a long nap this afternoon - 

When I got up and wasn't groggy, I hit the garage and got Roland's board modification sanded down.

Unfortunately, I found a couple of spots that needed additional epoxy fill.

I got those spots filled - so tomorrow when I get back from work, I'll do the final sanding and get the clear coat on.

This one is pretty much done -

Garage Works - 3/7/2026

I got this modification request pretty close to the finish line.

First I sanded the fill coat down to 400.

Then I looked for any soft spots from the lamination.  I found two and opened them up.

Then I went probing for the insert holes and opened those up.

One the front insert for the back foot, I missed the insert - but that's ok since I had to fill the soft spots I found, I was mixing epoxy anyways.

Black pigment and milled fibers used as fill for the holes/voids.

I'll sand this down tomorrow and get a layer of clear coat on the deck, and this footstrap insert installation request is all pau!!!

I didn't take a picture of this, but I also outlined the cut for the block slot for No.26 (converting to Tow Boogie).  I'll also try to get that cut out and the slot routed tomorrow.

Garage Works - 3/5/2026

I sanded the carbon lamination this afternoon on Roland's board modification job.

Then I used acetone to clean the surface in preparation for a fill coat.

I used 2.5 + 1 ounces of epoxy to get the fill evenly spread

And I let it bake in the sun for a good setup.  It came out pretty nice!

I'll do another sanding and possibly one last fill (tinted???) depending how this fill coat comes out.

And I brought the next project out - this is the prospective tow boogie (Foil Drive based).

I identified the center line and eyeballed where the track block would best fit the rocker line of the board.

This is pretty similar to the footstrap insert installation I just finished - measure and mark where the slot will go, cut out the slot, glue in the block making sure there are no voids in the sides, then do a light sanding and laminate.  From there I'll route out the slot and this old board will have new purpose and will likely see a whole lot of action coming up -

Installing a handle in the back, I can use it to ferry me out to the offshore breaks.  And I can add a bungee net up top - towards the front to pack away a tow rope and a windowpane lead anchor.

I'll have to go through another learning curve, but using it as a tow boogie is an easy call.

I can use it as a powered boogie board also - 

On flat days I can use it to drag me out on a longboard with fishing gear and a cooler.

I am pretty eager to get this upcoming project done and across the finish line.

Garage Works - 3/2/2026

This evening I sanded the excess glue off the inserts.  I also sanded more around the edges to make sure the epoxy would have a good mechanical grip.

The gorilla glue did a great job filling the gaps around the insert blocks.

And I cut out the carbon patches and taped up the insert holes.

I used patches to focus the layers in the areas under Roland's heels.  And patches work just fine since a majority of the carbon will be under deck pad (so you won't see it).

I used 7 ounces of resin - but probably an ounce and a half was on the roller.

Tomorrow I'll sand all the laps flush then add a tinted layer of epoxy to get everything smooth and level.

With that add, this will likely be done Wednesday evening.

Garage Works - 2/22/2026

This post was from yesterday - but I didn't get around to posting it.

I got the patches on to the delamination spots on the board I'm dropping footstrap inserts into for Roland.

Prepping -

In place -

All pau.  Next is routing out the slots and gluing in the blocks.

I also finally got this rusted cargo hook out!!!!

I took the one above it and relocated to this spot.

I also ordered a vertical hook set for the rear - that'll make securing stuff in the bed easier.

And lastly I tested the repaired parawing - works perfectly!

And I even got in a grocery run!!!!  Productive day!!!