Garage Works - 9/24/2023

After Marlon and I got back home, he was the one working in the garage -

Painting the top deck of the longboard he shaped -

He really wants to be the one getting this board put together.

Tomorrow will be the bottom deck painting.

After that will be routing in the finbox slots, epoxying in those boxes, glassing the bottom deck, sanding the laps, glassing the top deck, then placing the fill coats.  Maybe another week?  Maybe another 2 weeks...

Garage Works Sign

I've been wanting to do this for some time now.  I finally got around to doing it this past week and I just hung it up yesterday.

This is the corner of my garage where I do most of my epoxy/composite work.  So cool if I do say so myself.

Plugging Holes

After I drilled them out - today Marlon and I got the plugs (vent and leash) set into both boards.

I had over estimated how much epoxy we needed and had too much leftover - until I remembered I had some other holes to fill.  Looks like I'm getting started on the new two hydrofoils...

Back at it - Top Laminate on

I had to work today - long hours and after that Marlon and I went to pick up the new board and foil.  After all that, we did get home in time to get more work done on the foil boards (even more important now that there is another foil in the house).  First off - I actually placed another coat of spackle to fill in a few dings I placed in the blanks while getting the reinforcement blocks installed - I had done that a few nights ago, and only now got around to sanding the new bumps down.

Then the real progress - I got the top laminates on both boards.  I used a 4/5ths coverage of 4 ounce glass and a full length of 6 ounce glass.  Used more epoxy than I thought I would need (but didn't weight the cloth either - too lazy to reset it after I laid it down and cut it to size - probably 13 ounces on each board).

I'll post a picture of the finished product tomorrow - I still have to pull a shift at work, but I plan on grinding down the laps, correcting any air bubbles (I just went out to check on the boards and I saw a few offgas pockets) and then getting the boxes mounted, box patch and final bottom laminate all placed on.  Should be a few hours of work in the garage.  After tomorrow, I'll only have to drill a couple of holes - one for the leash plug and the other for a vent plug (OFFGASSING BLANKS... sometimes I wonder why I even bother with EPS blanks), install said plugs and brush on a fill coat on the top deck (let cure) and a fill coat on the bottom deck.  These boards will be wet for sure next weekend (I'll be good and let them cure a bit in my autoclave of a garage before taking them out).

Router in Use

Despite my lack of motivation, I did move the foilboards forward - I routed out the voids for the divynicell reinforcement blocks.  Lots of foam snowing around -

As you can see, I got the voids cut into both of the blanks.  I fitted the divynicell blocks into the holes - I'll likely sand them down just a bit to make room for the carbon fiber and fiberglass that will go around the blocks.  I actually had other errands to run today, so I couldn't get the glass on.  I'll try for tomorrow evening after I get back from work - at least the bottoms and the blocks glassed.

New Templates for Some Prone Foil Boards

Here they are - templates for the prone foil boards I'm going to shape and glass.  Marlon will shape the middle sized one for a composites class I'm teaching him (Hafa Adai Academy!!!  We love homeschooling!!!).

The small one will be cut from wood (it's a kite foil board, doesn't need a lot of buoyancy).

The longer one is for me - I can use the extra volume.  The two with the cutouts are not going to be used this time.  I made a couple extra just to see how they looked cut out and ready to template on a blank - the straighter railed versions ended up looking better for the purpose these boards will fill - paddling power to get the foil lifting.

Slow Progress on the Surfing Hydrofoil this Weekend

I didn't have much time this weekend to devote to progress on the hydrofoil, but Marlon and I did move the needle forward a little.  Got the base plate and mast cleaned up.

Here the bead has been poured along the leading and trailing edges.

Then got the divynicell strips epoxied together (base structure for the mast track box reinforcements).  Marlon is learning the sequence to mixing epoxy (he even corrected me about re-taring the scale before adding hardener - I'm going to have to give him credit for a composite material course - HEY I'M A HOMESCHOOL TEACHER!!!

Next step here will be to cut the two groupings into the near final top to bottom dimension.  Then trim the unused sides off.  Finally epoxying the top and bottom pieces together.  Then I can drop in the mast track boxes.  I've got enough d-cell here to make 2 sets of 2 boxes (enough for 2 foil boards).

Linking the last post with this one, I have a big, wide SUP blank coming in.  Originally I was planning on making two prone foil boards with the blank - one at 5'2" and the other at 5'5".  After looking around the Kailua shops and a little on the internet, I'm rethinking the plan -

I may now go ahead and make a 5'2" (or even a 5'0" - after the learning curve, most people are converging on shorter prone boards - I still want a board that has float to make catching waves easy, but now I'm thinking the shorter the better since I'm going through all the effort to make a foil board from scratch).  But the second board can likely be a 6'0", as wide as possible foiling SUP/Windsurf Foiling board.  I'm comfortable now with placing a mast track in the top deck, and am not apprehensive about the boxes that would need to get dropped into the bottom deck for to support the foil - so why not???  Inexpensive option to get to try out the "holy grail" I was referring to earlier...  It's is at least worth the thought...

New Router

Makita 18V - I'm looking forward to cutting with this!!!  Gonna coming in handy making a new magnetic knife rack for the kitchen and making mounts for the hydrofoil.  Stayed tuned!

The Start of Something New

Or perhaps a better way to classify this is "A new way of doing an old thing"

 I'm getting ready to take a new look at surfing and SUP. I'll keep this mysterious for now...

Really Nice Kiteboards Built by an Old Friend

Nick Yamodis has been a featured guest on this blog in the past. He and I go back over 20 years now - we went through basic together for CEC officers. We've been surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUPing and boogieboarding on and off all this time as our paths crossed. We paid the Yamodis family a visit yesterday and I got the update on what boards he's built over the past couple of years. His last batch of kitesurf boards turned out awesome - nice tight rails and bamboo laminate in a clean, smooth epoxy package. These are better than almost any board I've seen for sale at any shop. Makes me want to break out the planer again (almost - but not quite because nothing makes me want to breakout the sander...). It was great seeing you guys - looking forward to the next get together!!!

By my own two hands...

Your long-lived pet. Your all time favorite car. The first surfboard you ever shaped... When these things go bad, you need to have the courage to put them down. Two words to demonstrate my point - PET CEMETERY. Don't hang on to them if they are in pain, not being used, rotting in some forgotten corner of the garage. Their dings won't repair themselves and if you do not have enough love to care for them correctly (maybe because you are spread too thin with other surfboards, surfing SUPs, flatwater racing SUPs, kite gear, a fancy trimaran and even paipos), cull them and cull them quick. Here's me practicing what I preach - this was the first board I shaped, but over time the movers have abused it and I've grown wider. I took the jigsaw to it and ended it's pain.

Nose Art

If this were my board, there'd be a flying grim reaper or a shark getting electrocuted by a bolt of lightning emanating from a horrible storm...

But this is La's board and it has some of the flowers/plants she loves the most (from Hawaii of course).

I'll still paint on a skull and a trident though ;)

Finished painting La's Board

These are the paintings on the bottom - updated from the last post before I left for Seattle.

Glowing Goodness

Ready for painting - Noe's, Marlon's and La's in descending order.

Blanks

I need to call to see what the shipping costs are but I am close to pulling the trigger on the blanks I posted about the other day.

OF COURSE I HAVE TO CLEAR THIS WITH ADMIRAL LA...

But the next best thing to playing in the surf is shaping boards to play in the surf! And she knows well that kept in drydock too long, I'll get dryrot and start to come apart at the seams (that is going stir crazy to you landlubbers out there).

Should be fun!!!

Second to last fidgeting

After sanding yesterday, I cleaned up the fin boxes, placed the worm screws in and took a look-see.

I saw small, narrow channels of "shiny" - areas not hit by the sander.

Instead of more sanding (and risk of oversanding), I placed a gloss coat on (bottom first).

Tomorrow I'll do the same to the top and fill in the void around the leash plugs.

Thursday will be vent and pad install day leading into...

Friday and the liquid christening!!!!

If I had to shape this board over again, I would thin the tail out more and increase the exit rocker.

Any how - one step closer!

Almost finished...

Sanded the board today.

I think I am going to squeegee one last coat of epoxy onto the board, just to get a gloss coat on, instead of living with the matte look.

Those steps will slow down the christening, but what are a few more days for a project that will last for a long time (remember the glassing schedule - 2x 4oz on bottom, 2x 4oz on top of the bamboo and a layer of 6oz all with epoxy resin - bullet proof).

I also have to fix a small slip up with the leash plugs, add the decking pads (front and rear foot only - either monster paint or wax in between), and the last step will be the vent (since the core is EPS foam).

If I can put the time I want to into the board this week, I should be surfing MEGASHREADZILLA on Friday morning.

A-LO-HA!!!