The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[LaPerouseBay]

Very cool SB.  I'm so glad that boat fit you.  Joel takes very good care of his stuff.  That's a score. At under 19 pounds, that boat will respond to your inputs very quickly.  And it's super strong due to the seamless construction.  Very, very nice boat. 

Bill Foote tried a ski and loved it.  He may get one.  PB belongs in a V-8 too.  Then HM can inherit his outrigger!

SB, you are going to have so much fun at maliko on light days.  Your mind will be completely blown.  A few downwinders then back on the standup is also very interesting.  Your vision on the standup will be different.  It's a cool sensation.  Hard to explain, but you will see it right away.  Nothing to think about to make it happen, it just does.  You will be more efficient at choosing smart lines on the standup. 

[covesurfer]

^^^^Agree with LPB, OC1 makes you read the water. My stand-up downwind has improved dramatically. Less effort, more glides, faster average speeds.

[covesurfer]

Smokin' today? No, but definitely smokin' hot. In fact, Kahului set yet another high temperature record today. It has just been brutally hot now for days and days and days. Almost no trade wind. Well, today, we got a little - maybe 12 to 16 knots for a couple of hours in the mid afternoon. It blew out on the ocean anyway; I doubt there was much in town.

A handful of us rallied for a Maliko run about 12:30. I would say the general attitude was something like, ok already, it's sweltering hot and no water time for days, I'm going no matter what!  What little wind there was came up after a glassy morning so the bumps were going to be on the smaller side. There is a tiny groundswell from the N/NW but it just adds a little interest to the surface. Not anything to get excited over.

Since it was so light, the four of us that were desperate enough to go took boats: LPB, Kathy and Richard were on their skis, I was on my OC1. I have only paddled the canoe once, a couple of evenings ago, since mid July, so I'm a little rusty. I mounted my canoe at Maliko and promptly hulied, right in the brown water of the gulch. Lovely. Remounted, paddled to the clean ocean water at the mouth and jumped in to cool down again and at least rinse off.

Even though it wasn't very windy, it was a nice run. Lots of fun waves to catch, pretty much the entire way, and a fair amount of wind push for a good portion of the run. The skis were gone as soon as we turned downwind. Within 10 minutes, I couldn't even see them any more and I really needed to concentrate on my own run anyway. 

It's interesting how much crossover there is between stand up and OC1. In the boat, I found myself paddling less intensely and trying to use the rudder to extend my glide times. I'm happy to say, it worked! I got more connections today than I've gotten in my canoe before and my speeds, while likely not impressive to an experienced oc-1 paddler, were respectable and certainly a good deal more steady than I'd have managed on my standup. But I've been doing a lot better using the rudder and connecting glides on the standup and that skill translated directly. So that was cool. And, I didn't huli again for the whole run. But, while I was steering and reading the water better, my ama flying was weak so I just concentrated on trying to be smooth, especially when setting, not smacking, the ama back down. I worked on paddle technique and balance too, but in the end, I felt a bit spastic. Definitely rusty and out of practice.

By the finish, I was sweating like you can only sweat on a really humid, hot day when you're actually exercising with some effort. It almost felt good but not really. Even the water feels almost too warm. When I got to the beach and got out of my boat, it wasn't really even that refreshing. The nice outdoor shower felt pretty good though.

Well, that's it for today's report. Felt like it needed to be done! Tomorrow, I'm hoping for another OC1 run. Trades are supposed to finally return Tuesday. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[headmount]

Wind finally returned yesterday but still hot as, out there.  Water felt sticky and figured a three week lay off was the culprit but younger stronger guys than me echoed the same thing.  Certainly felt out of shape but good conditions can make you feel like a champ.  Looks better today.  Two in a row?  Yippy kay yeah

[Southbay]

So jealous. The report this week looks awesome. Best we have had in quite a while. I'm off to Tahoe where the whole place has been on fire for weeks. That should be fun!  Hope you guys get it really good this week. Post some photos!  Pretend you're JR for a day, maybe it will make you faster!


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[covesurfer]

Today looks better than yesterday. I had what felt like a terrible run, although my time wasn't awful. Still, it was so sticky, it felt like I fought the whole way. I fell five(!!!!!) times. Hope I can do better today.

[Southbay]

It was a tough day. Kathy "almost fell".... Haha!


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[covesurfer]

I know!  Hahaha!

[headmount]

Don't know how many days we'll get but today was back on.  I'm still out of shape but conditions stoked me so much that things went pretty well. No falls anyway.

[covesurfer]

Had a stellar run. Four stupid falls but other than that, one of the most fun runs I can think of. Kanaha on was all surfing. Lots and lots of  bumps.

[LaPerouseBay]

South shore has been excellent late afternoons.  Here's a video for you Ericspin. 

I've been very busy at work, very little spare time for videos, still paddling each day.

Mike's insert has transformed the 10 in a very positive way.  It steers much better and allows total freedom of the hips to slide in the bucket.  My arms feel fine even after a session of full gas intervals.  The load is on my legs now, boat really zooms.  All the construction details are in the surfski.info forum.  I may start experimenting with lifting it higher yet in preparation for a 14.  That seating position and bucket was the inspiration for the insert.  I'll need two boats though, the stability of the 10 is a must for very big north shore days.

http://youtu.be/TMXSZhHu8xU

[supLaz]

Mike's insert has transformed the 10 in a very positive way. 

Hi LPB,
whats the new  seat height difference with the insert,
between footwell and lowest point of the bucket?

[LaPerouseBay]

^ I've never measured that difference.  I did take very accurate measurements of the insert before and after.  The insert raises me 13/16" and moves me forward 5/8".  The boat has more roll to it, but the old 10 hull is predictable.  It feels more stable because it steers better.  I'm going to try and scoot it forward, hoping the fore and aft balance improves again.

Here's a clip of a good save yesterday.   Skis don't need no stinking amas.  That's what legs are for! 

http://youtu.be/-MQH0rmiPG8 

 

[Southbay]

That is awesome LP!  Cat like reflexes for sure!  I had to rewind it to catch it the first time.


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[Tecpartner]

LPB:  Nice technique, I never saw that move before.  "Surfski Right foot brace"?

SB:  Nice OC, and beautiful dog!

I've been trying the Epic seat pads to improve my balance, so after 5 years I can move from my V10S to a narrower ski.  It's a set of 4 seat pads stacked with velcro. You start with one pad, and then add a second, then a third, then the 4th.  I'm up to 1 pad on the ocean, and 3-4 pads on flat water.

I'll be interested in researching Mike's seat insert.