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Messages - PonoBill

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22276
Gear Talk / Re: Longboard as Substitute for SUP??
« on: August 30, 2010, 08:14:17 PM »
51, Ah, I remember when I was that young, fresh out of high school and looking forward to my first legal beer... Hmmm maybe that was a little earlier, it all kind of lumps together.

I love skateboards, but I have a nice assortment of non-functional bits as a result of them. Worst is my right ankle, which is aching right now, as I type this. My recco, if you aren't an expert by now, wait for your next life. There's dues to be paid, and it's best to pay them when you heal rapidly.

22277
Downwind and Racing / Re: World Exclusive: Starboard 14' DW (video)
« on: August 30, 2010, 05:36:25 PM »
Looked like the SB was about 50 feet ahead for most of the run.

22278
Downwind and Racing / Re: Average times for 9 mile races
« on: August 30, 2010, 05:25:45 PM »
If you're averaging 5 MPH you're doing very well on a 12'6. Six mph is cooking on a 12'6" -- I was pretty pleased to see 6.4 MPH on the Hovie Race board I paddled at the CCBC--but I didn't see that for long. But let's say six--that gives you 1.5 hours. Realistically, probably more like two hours.

22279
SUP General / Re: Clueless Shops....
« on: August 30, 2010, 12:24:58 PM »
I'm finding that people with a paddle background are way more open than people with a surfing background, Downwind, flatwater & racing is where I see the sport going. Surfing is going to be part of it sure, but only a part.

Cheers SupV.

You got it. I did a race in the straits of Jaun de Fuca that was mostly kayakers. They were all very knowledgeable about SUP and were extremely interested in the race boards we brought. All of them were talking about SUP--taking lessons, getting boards, etc.. I compare that to showing up at a surf spot where half the people want to tell you how much you and your board sucks.

I've always thought the growth of SUP would shift over substantially to inland and non-surf water. Two reasons--no serious opposition to the sport, and a much bigger market. I'd love to see what the sales figures are like away from the ocean. I hear rumors that the inland market has already proven to be much bigger, but the folks with the numbers are being understandably close-mouthed about them. No question in my mind though that surf shops that are not participating will come to regret it. Turnover for SUP boards has to be similar to or greater than than turnover for surfboards, if only because the inventory of surfboards has to be so much larger. I wonder how long it takes to sell $1000 (wholesale) of surfboards vs. $1000 of SUP and what the margins are.

22280
Events / Re: Connor Baxter, again
« on: August 30, 2010, 10:27:49 AM »
Yeah, what a kid. Pretty amazing how quickly he's progressing. When he gets some meat on those arms and shoulders he'll be tough to catch. Karen sent me his writeup on the event--I posted it on Ke Nalu:http://www.kenalu.com/2010/08/connor-who/] [url]http://www.kenalu.com/2010/08/connor-who/[/url]

Of course all you Maui folks remember Connor when he was even skinnier and smaller, and was still amazing. Here's a shot from the first SUP showcase we did three years ago of Connor upholding the honor of pesky little brothers everywhere by shoving Ashley into the drink:




22281
SUP General / Re: Sign of the Times
« on: August 28, 2010, 04:10:44 PM »
You can hit the water any time in hood river and see folks on SUP boards. All the local shops carry them, and there's a huge rental fleet. I think Big Winds does a lot better on no wind days renting SUP than they do on windy days renting windsurf gear. Wind or no wind, there's always at least a handful of SUP out at the event center.

There are not all that many people doing downwinders yet, though there are enough that I don't know everyone doing it. Hood River is about 130 miles from the ocean.

22282
Random / Re: 4th ticket in 14 months in CA
« on: August 27, 2010, 07:49:36 PM »
So here's the interesting part. If you look at any state organization (or county, or national) you find that the ratio of management to foot-soldiers (ie. administrators to teachers, management to beat cops, etc.) is at least 1 to 1 and in many cases two to one management vs. workers.. Lots of reasons, but none of them matter. The reality is that we are paying for a lot of management in government. When you hear the government whining about budgets and how they must cut services just remember why that is. Their political power comes in great part from the management positions that we pay for. Increasing class sizes and laying off teachers when there are two administrators for every teacher is simply punitive. The budget could be cut in half without any effect on services, but the politicians owe the entrenched bureaucrats too much. No real business, anywhere, operates with a one to one ratio of management to line worker unless management is right in there lifting the bales. Ever seen a GS7 lift anything other than their fat ass?

At the farmers market a few weeks ago there was a guy from the health department out harassing the folks selling baked goods. Inspecting their sanitation. They can't sell breads with cheese in them anymore because of some theoretical health issue. Some other customer was asking the inspector why they were hanging out at farmers markets. "So the citizens understand that we're here to help them" he said. I interjected "If I needed you to help me I'd just shoot myself. Don't you have some little kids lemonade stand that needs to be closed down".  Always trying to make friends.

22283
SUP General / Re: A sickening ssscccrruuunnccchhh!
« on: August 27, 2010, 07:26:43 PM »
C'mon guys, you gotta suffer a little bit for love. I just spent about 500 man hours (okay, geezer hours) grinding down my F18 and re-covering it. It's worth at least $30K now--that's how much labor I have into it--at a discount!!  really it wouldn't have been that bad if the first hotcoat hadn't gone sour. Probably just $20K. Final result, I have a somewhat heavier, spectacularly ugly F18 that can probably withstand nuclear attacks. At least I don't have to worry about anyone stealing it.

Seriously though, a broken board is not that much different from a blank. If you're not qualified to shape then maybe at least you can glass and sand. I like my modified version of the A.S.S. steering a lot (centering batten back on the rudder instead of on the pedal). It's really way better. Kind of funny that Mark didn't do it this way to begin with. And then everyone else copied Mark's somewhat goofy approach.

22284
Gear Talk / Re: how much difference can a paddle make?
« on: August 27, 2010, 02:56:15 PM »
I doubt you'd see the difference on a GPS, but that's not the ultimate test. The question in racing is "can it help you win" and the answer could be "yes" whether it's paddles or board shorts. I was thinking about that yesterday when I couldn't catch Mark Ribkoff even though we were on the same board (14' glide). Mark weighs a lot less than I do and he's in great shape, but I think I paddle better. No matter--he was ahead and pulling away. Could it be his carbon board vs. my heavier one. Could it be the spare tire around my waist?

The bottom line is that he was about 100 to 200 yards away from me, and our course was about nine miles. That's about 16,000 yards. 160 yards is 1 percent of the distance. A one percent difference in speed, assuming 5mph average is 5.05 mph. Could a paddle increase your speed by .05 mph--yes. So could skipping that beer at lunch.

22285
Random / Re: 4th ticket in 14 months in CA
« on: August 27, 2010, 02:45:14 PM »
Revenue Generation. Expect a lot more of that.

22286
Gear Talk / Re: Who paddlesurfs without a pad?
« on: August 27, 2010, 02:37:08 PM »
Wax as much as you like, it's easy to get off.

22287
SUP General / Re: A sickening ssscccrruuunnccchhh!
« on: August 27, 2010, 09:33:06 AM »
Here's what I would try--might be wrong, but what the heck:

Rinse off everything with lots of fresh water. Maybe even soak the pieces a bit. Salt water leaves behind stuff (minerals?) that seems to be hydrophilic. Stick it in the sun for a few days with the break down.

Glue the bits together with gorilla glue. Use sparingly.  A thin coat on both parts and then mist the glue with water. The joint will be stronger than the EPS but it will penetrate a bit and make a decent bond.

Get out a disk sander--preferably a 8" body grinder with some 120 and fair the glass back about ten inches on both sides You want to see weave. No big deal if you grind through to the eps in a few spots, but try to make it all very even and nicely tapered.

Take a clean sheet of glass--an old window is fine--cut carbon fiber strips a few inches wider than the board edge and an inch shorter than the faired section  and bands for the top and bottom an inch shorter than the faired section.Coat them with medium set epoxy on the glass. Work out most of the resin with a plastic scraper. Place the CF on the edges and work the bubbles out with a brush slightly dampened with epoxy. Do the same with the top and bottom.

Once that is hard, sand lightly to clean up any bumps, then glass the break top and bottom with a layer of 6ox glass the width of the faired section and a layer of 4oz a half inch wider. Do a full lap on the edges. If you want to be anal you can do a layer of 6oz alternate lap and a layer of 40z alternate lap, but I think just putting down both layers works fine. I cut the cloth to fit, lay it on and smooth it out, cut the next layer to fit, smooth carefully by hand, trim to the bottom of the rail with electric scissors. Mix up the epoxy and pour it on the board. Spread with a scraper, working slowly but decisively. You want most of the epoxy scraped off--don't leave the glass looking wet. Don't leave any air bubbles. Use a brush to clean off the excess and scrape it off the brush into a container. Get all that you can off the glass. Let it harden, sand off the bumps.

To Hot Coat, mix about half as much epoxy as you used to soak the glass, only this time use fast hardener and use a bit more. Pour it onto the repair as soon as it's mixed so it won't go exothermic on you. Spread it out with a brush so it's smooth. Once that is hard you sand it off right to the level of the glass. Try not to get into the glass-you don't want to see fabric, but if you get a little of that it's not a big deal unless you cut through the 4oz. I use an 8" body crider with 220, then finish with an orbital with 400.

Done. Rattle can it if you want, but I think raw glass looks great. My F18 is either ugly as sin or really cool looking, depending on your perspective.

I think glassing is a worthwhile thing to learn, as long as you wear a good mask with canisters rated for organic vapors and wear gloves all the time. 

22288
SUP General / Re: Looking for a Spinal Doctor in So. Cal
« on: August 26, 2010, 09:04:37 PM »
What a great response ODJ. Very kind, very useful. Just nice to see.

22289
SUP General / Re: A sickening ssscccrruuunnccchhh!
« on: August 26, 2010, 08:58:31 PM »
Jeez, you're hard on equipment. You could probably do it yourself, a good learning opportunity. Of course as I say that my F18 has been laid up for nearly a month while I fix it. Learned a lot though. Of course one of the things I probably learned was "take it to somebody".

22290
Technique / Re: The river kicked my butt today...
« on: August 26, 2010, 08:54:59 PM »
Or you could come to the Columbia and get some downwinding in. We had a good 'un today. First half was probably a record, though I was screwing off too much to be fast. Gusting past 40. For some reason we had swells that look like swells today--in lines instead of peaks. First time I've really been able to get down inside a swell and ride the face. I was dry until our midway stop, and fell in making the turn into the slot.

About the time we got to wells island Mark was way ahead of me and I saw him go shooting off at an angle at unbelievable speed. The sandbar was kicking off some swells with faces. What a hoot. Hard to stay in, but when you did they were super fast.

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