Garage Works - 9/7/2025

I got more work done on No.42

Mast track aligned and marked up.

I'll probably route out the slot tomorrow.

And I refined the rocker and the tail volume some more.

It seems more balanced now (but still rearward biased).

And after a lot of wet sanding and 3 fills, I got the Silk 850 back to top hydrodynamic shape.

I could actually put a couple more fills and sand some more... but this is good enough for now.

Garage Works - 8/27/2025

I sanded the last epoxy/carbon add to bulk up the rake on the tip.

Better now than when I got it!!!

The tip is more solid (that is one of the criticisms I have of AFS front foils - the wing tips are fragile...)

It's already been out on the water!!!

Garage Works - 7/1/2025

I went ahead and repaired the crack in No.41 yesterday evening.

You can just see the crack here -

Not sure why I added this picture - kinda the same thing as the first.

And this is the peel ply over the 2 ounce patch placed on with epoxy.

I already pulled the peel ply this morning, sanded the repair and sprayed replacement clear coat.  I'll post more pictures of the completed repair shortly (since the wind is in that "in between" level - I figured I should rest up today after yesterday - that way when the wind comes up tomorrow, I'm better prepared - I'm not doing anything else... might as well oogle over the board and stick some more stickers on). 

Garage Works - 6/29/2025

Got No.41 done!!!

Started off this morning by sanding the top deck - 40-80-120-180-220-320-400

Then I sprayed the top deck with regular gloss.  I let that dry while I got my hair cut.

This came out really nice!

I'm going to let the deck pads settle in for a day (so the bond is good and there is no slippage)

No.41 all pau!!!

Garage Works - 6/28/2025

And also from yesterday - I spent some time in the garage trying to get No.41 over the finish line.

After remembering I had a trench in this board, I looked to see if the area I cut to place the back foot strap was clear of the trench - NOPE.

That made my decision to fill and patch easy - so no foot strap inserts on No.41 

After thinking about the repair, I figured it was easiest just to fill with milled fibers/epoxy, then add carbon patches above the cut areas.

And here it is all patched and waiting for the epoxy to harden. 

I had already pulled the peel ply and added the fill coat last night, and this morning I sanded and sprayed clear coat - but that's for another post.

Garage Works - 6/25/2025

The wind was in that blah zone - too much for good Foil Drive-ing and not enough to wing.  Instead of dealing with it all - I went ahead and committed to sanding and getting No.41 over the finish line.

First up was sanding - I started with the plugs and worked over the rest of the board.

Then I wiped the board down and started the clear coat spraying.

Oh - and here is the signature block.  I don't know when this got smaller than 5'0"...

And as luck would have it, as I was trying to flip the board into this position, I dropped it onto the metal square that I was going to balance it on to get the remainder of the decks sprayed.

Yes there is a small ding - but that actually convinced me to go ahead and install foot strap inserts before I place the deck pads.  It'll only be my strong side (regular stance) and it'll primarily support using this board with the parawing and Foil Drive simultaneously.

With the footstrap inserts now going in - this will be a few more days before this gets in the water.

Garage Works - 6/23/2025

I didn't feel like hitting the beach this afternoon... all that paddling yesterday kinda spoiled it for me.  So I decided to make a big push on No.41 

I got the rough sanding finished and noted that there were a few spots that needed some fill - the transom and the walls of the trench in addition to those on the bottom deck. 

Slow and steady, with light pressure when using the random orbital sander makes for great results. 

 The sanding looks really good - but there's more to be done.

I just got in from placing the fill in the trench walls.

I used aerosil and milled fibers to get the epoxy to thicken (so it would hold on the vertical walls).  And I got the low spots on the bottom deck filled with another coat of epoxy.

After sanding, I'll get the plugs installed (and I'll likely go surf tomorrow).  So that leaves sanding the plugs on Wednesday and getting the 2K clear coat on.  Thursday I'll get the deck pads on and then No.41 will be finished!

Whew!

Garage Works - 6/22/2025

I got this sewing machine for Father's Day, but today was the first time I plugged it in.  I also organized the feet and other accessories.  I'll have to practice on it a bit later - need to finish No.41 (as Miles is asking for a board to be made).

Speaking of No.41 - yesterday I sanded the top and bottom - and for the most part there weren't any real surprises.  It wasn't perfect - there were still some low spots, so that meant another fill coat.

I taped up the board for a bottom deck coat first.

You can see some of the low spots.

I used Pro-Link for the bottom fill - that won't be hidden by deck pads so it's worth putting it on the bottom.

And this evening I found some time to get the top deck coated.  I used regular aluzine epoxy for this coat.

Tomorrow I'll sand both sides through the sanding regime, then place another fill coat on the side of the trench I hadn't gotten to yet.  After that hardens, I'll get the leash plug and vent installed.

This one is getting close to anointment!

Garage Works - 6/20/2025

I got a lot of work done on No.41 today.  I sanded the top deck, cleaned up the signal windows, placed a fiberglass patch over the windows, and got a fill coat on the whole deck.

Then I sanded the bottom deck, got some label decals on, and got a fill coat on it as well.

Tomorrow I'll sand the edges, try to identify the remaining low spots, then add another fill coat (or two). 

If the fill is looking good, I'll try to get the vent and leash plugs in also

Garage Works - 6/19/2025

And I got some time in the garage today.

I drilled in two signal windows on the top deck of No.41.  I also sanded these down later (but don't have a picture of that).

Then I sanded down the nose repair on Rick's board.  I went ahead and placed a pigmented fill coat on and sanded that down as well.

All done.

I need to get a fill coat on the top deck of No.41

Lots of fill-sand-fill-sand in the near future.

Garage Works - 6/8/2025

I opened up the port track again today.  Then I sanded the edges of the fiberglass.

And then I put another layer of epoxy to even everything out.

I mocked up the drive -

And this is pretty much straight (as I'm gonna get it).  The level shows the mast at the same bubble as the vertical legs of the rack (which means this is good to go).

I was going to wait to do this, but I just kept going... I got the offcuts glued back on to the main board.

It's two hours under weights to get the clamp force on long enough for a first curing of the glue.  It'll still need 24 hours for full cure - but I think tomorrow I'll dial in the shape of the top deck, then do a fill layer at the inner seam of the offcuts.

This is definitely turning into a much larger effort than I originally thought.

Garage Works - 6/6/2025

I sanded the bottom deck again - and there were a few pin holes that are still open (so yet another coat of epoxy goes on).

Then I went ahead of opened up the tracks.

I went ahead and mounted the drive and mast to gauge the plumbness of the bottom deck.

Relatively speaking, this looks straight.  But if I stare at it long enough, it looks like it has an ever so slight lean to the right (looking at it this way).

I went ahead and added a thin layer of epoxy biasing to the right (and closing up the pin holes).

I'll sand again tomorrow.  If it is good to go, I'll glue on the side offcuts and maybe laminate the bottom of the board (or finish shaping the top under where my rear foot will go).  I'm trying to get this one across the finish line so it can get into the rotation.

Garage Works - 4/29/2025

The repairs on Roland's wing board are complete.

Here are the mast track replacement and the bottom signal window.

This is the repair of the nose cracks

This is the added footstrap inserts

And the top deck signal windows - in case he ends up using this for Foil Drive applications.

New lease on life for this board.  How long that lasts... Roland pushes his gear harder than almost anyone I know - this will be a good test of my repairs.