Garage Works - September 13, 2018

Got the board shaping racks put together.  Still need to cut up some carpet and tack it on, get the sand/buckets and do a little sanding.  The two blanks are sitting and waiting for these to get finished.

I got the fiberglass squares cut out for the mast-fuselage joint.  The table is setup for the epoxy work - will try and get this part done soon.

Bouncing Around In My Cranial Space

Here is something I've been trying to research - a Windsurfing/Surfing (SUP) Foilboard.

Wide for stability while paddling and reduced swing weight and windage.  We'll see if this ever rises to the top of the to-do list, but at least it is out of my head and down on paper (virtually).

I've Been Looking for this for YEARS!!!

I have finally found the holy grail of shaping accessories - a 10" jigsaw blade!!!

Just look at it!  It is magnificent!!! 

It makes a normal blade seem like a toothpick!!!

Cutting out a blank was fine with a regular jigsaw as long as the blank thickness wasn't over 2.75" or so.  Even then, chances were you would have to make some passes with a hand saw.  

As I've gotten older, I prefer my boards to have meat on them so that meant I'd have to cut the templated blank with a hand saw.  That's fine, but it takes time and it is challenging to keep the blade straight up and down as you cut curved lines over long distances.  This is a 5.5" thick blank and this blade changes everything...

No issues at all - I wish this was available 10 years ago...

Both blanks were trimmed in 20 minutes - that is start to complete finish including cleanup -  unbelievable!  I know these days with CNC routers and CAD this is not really relevant, but for garage hand building this greatly speeds up the process by enhancing the consistency up front.  Not having to correct cut errors through the entire shaping process is big.  Mahalo nui loa Bosch or whoever thought this blade needed to come to market!!!

Moving Forward Again on the Surf Hydrofoil

I've been walking past this project for a bit now - coming up with every excuse why not to work on it.  "It's too hot", "I'm really tired", "there is surf to be ridden" are the most popular ones.  But yesterday, after knocking out a bunch of errands from the to do list, I finally got back to work.  I cleaned up the mast-mounting plate joint, exposed the bad glassing areas and filled the voids with epoxy and milled fibers.  I was able to sand that down also (since the weather really was hot) and got the mast-fuselage joining operation bouncing around in my head.

Next I also templated out the blanks.  Here is the 5'2" (combo kitefoil and prone surf foilboard)

The old fashioned way of doing this - nowadays it is a computer that scans the blank and controls a router to carve out the board.

And here is the 5'6" prone foilboard

And as the sun started setting on a really fun and relaxing weekend, I went ahead and routed out the divynicell blocks so the mast track boxes can be prepped and epoxied in place.

So three simultaneous projects going on to get a foil and foilboard in place.  It may seem like a lot of work and effort to avoid a $2500 pay to play fee, but really it is more about having the satisfaction of being able to make something with your own two hands and make it all rip in the surf!!!  There are very few feelings of accomplishment that can top that!

Sunday Dawn Patrol - September 9, 2018

We went on the dawn patrol again yesterday.  It is still down right hot and humid, but you can sense fall conditions are starting to come around.  The sun is moving southward and first light is coming just a little later every morning.  I mention all this because the water was a little less warm jumping in.  I took the Starboard Element SUP out and Marlon took the longboard.  No wind so the faces were really glassy.  The swell seemed about the same as Saturday, but bigger on the sets.

The GoPro had the field of view on narrow so these pictures suck - but filler they are no matter how bad they suck.  Lesson learned - verify your settings are good to go before paddling out.

Catch Up Posts from the Weekend - Saturday Dawn Patrol

The next few posts are catch ups from this past weekend.  On Saturday Marlon and I went on the dawn patrol and scored some fun ones.  We were both on our longboards. 

it's funny how much smaller the waves look while you're on the beach.  The wind was down and there was a fun sized swell, but the crowd was pretty dense for White Plains.  Still a great time!

Mokuleia on Labor Day

We spent the afternoon up at a friend of a friend's house at Mokuleia/Waialua.

Uhhhh - anybody see any oama around here???

La brought one of the hammocks we got (in anticipation of building a gazebo in the back yard) - it is awesome!!!  I took a solid nap in it after booting the kids out of it.

Fun time!

And the Other Foil

This is where the slow down really occurred.  Instead of grinding down all the excess and getting the fuselage attached, I only poured the bead to fill the gaps in the lamination.

Again - had to do other things and the high humidity are the reasons (excuses I know) that I'm citing for this delay.  That said, good things take time -

Labor Day Weekend Work on the Foils

I didn't get as far along as I had wanted to - lots of surfing and other events (time well spent), as well as some pretty humid days (I don't like placing epoxy in high humidity), but I did get some time in to the kite foil.

Two separate sessions sanding away with the random orbital sander - I was able to finish two fuselages and a main wing.

The kids couldn't tell the difference between the original parts and the ones I replicated.

Now to get these put together and out in the ocean -

The New SFO

The Surfboard Factory Outlet in Kapolei changed locations.  Stop by if you haven't been in a while - the new digs are pretty cool!

Foils in Ewa Beach

I see more guys picking up the foil out here in Ewa Beach. 

I still want to wait out the development rush for a bit - let all the designs mature before shelling out some cash.  In the meantime, on the DIY surf foil front (just because I want to save up for the foil doesn't mean I don't want to foil), Marlon and I were able to get the mast and mounting plate joined up yesterday.

This is a major step - we are now over the hump on getting this foil finished.

The carbide cutting tools for the Dremel are totally worth the investment if you are going to be working with fiberglass - cuts like a hot knife through butter!!!

It's raining today, but if it dries out (humidity and epoxy are not good friends), I'll try to get the mast and fuselage joined.

Hurricane Miriam Swell

Marlon and I went on the dawn patrol this morning to see what the Hurricane Miriam swell was doing.  While the tide was out, the swell was breaking head high.  And the wind was down... really nice conditions (except for the crowd...)

We'll try again tomorrow (even earlier to beat the crowds).  I took some pictures of guys walking their foilboards across the beach - I'll update this post with those shortly.