Messages

46

General Discussion / Re: EZ-Plugs

« on: December 18, 2023, 01:23:55 PM »

Ditto on the superiority of the NSI tie-downs. The only problem with NSI tiedowns is you have to be certain of the location before you let the tie-downs touch your board. Once it's on, it's on. Immediate scraping might get it off, but after even just a few minutes, the hot coat or paint will pull off before the adhesive does.

47

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Ultra Light Wind Winging w/DW Board and Small Wing

« on: December 18, 2023, 12:19:31 PM »

A few suggestions--I'm reasonably capable in light wind despite weighing 230 pounds. The keys for me in moderate wind are a big wing, low drag foil, and low drag board, or in very light wind, a huge wing, somewhat draggy foil, and the board drag doesn't matter too much. Those two choices require different techniques.

I use either an F-one 5.5, 6M CWC, or a 7M CWC. The 5.5 is not a CWC (compact wing), and I prefer it for moderate wind (10-15). Under 10, I use the 7M.

I use Axis foils, and in moderate wind, I like either the 999 or Spitfire 1010, both of which are high aspect. In light wind, I use the 1150, which is a moderate-aspect wing and, therefore, quite draggy.

In moderate wind, I use a Kalama-style downwind board (8'4" X 26", I think) and low-drag foil to get up to speed. Since the board and foil are relatively low drag, I don't need a huge wing to reach foil speed. High aspect, low drag foils require speed to get off the water. You can't just shift your weight back and pop them up; you must fly them off the water like a heavily laden airplane. As the board drag drops away, you accelerate quickly, and things stabilize.

In light wind, it's hard to reach foil speed for a high-aspect wing--there isn't much potential for creating apparent wind with board speed and reach angle. You probably need to go almost straight downwind, which means you will be moving slower than the wind speed. I use the 1150, which is draggy and slows me even more, but it's a wing designed to pump, which means it stalls at very low speeds. I don't pump for shit, but the board can be yanked out of the water with torque from the huge wing, and then a few sharp wing pumps, plus my weak foil pumps, keep it going since there isn't any board drag. Not elegant, but it works. Once you're up and flying you can turn into a reach and keep accelerating. In the lulls, raise your back hand a little and the wing tip will move closer to the board and increase the wing efficiency.

I'm unfamiliar with the GoFoil 2600, but from the pictures online, I'd guess it's probably even more draggy than my 1150. It should be OK with a huge hand wing and the second technique, but it won't work well with the moderate wind method.

48

The Shape Shack / Re: Ultralight Board II – SUP Foil Bumblebee

« on: December 07, 2023, 04:20:55 PM »

Then again Mark Raahorst told me he uses Costo paper towels as breather. I think he protects his bag with cheap painter's plastic tarps--the super thin kind that will lay flat or at least be so thin the wrinkles won't turn into lines on your surface.

49

The Shape Shack / Re: Ultralight Board II – SUP Foil Bumblebee

« on: December 07, 2023, 04:09:47 PM »

A release layer is standard practice for a number of reasons, one of many is to reuse breather. If you do a particularly wet layup, it can also save your bag. According to the video dude at Easy Composites, it prevents uneven bag pressure that happens when the breather gets too squashed.  I don't quite undertand that, but I take it as gospel--those folks have never steered me wrong.

50

The Shape Shack / Re: Chinook 16" tracks

« on: December 07, 2023, 04:02:03 PM »

It's fine that something else fails; just try not to make that easy by not introducing stress risers in critical places. An ultralight downwind board should be downright flimsy everywhere but where you stand and where the foils lift--which is, fortunately, the same general area. If you're clumsy and heavy like I am that's a recipe for disaster, but if you take care of your boards the unstressed area to the front and rear of the standing area should be as light as you can make it.

I ran into Dave Kalama at the beach recently and we were talking about his board designs. I confessed that I had Mark Raaphorst build me a Kalama-style board, which I'm fairly certain didn't bother him at all. When I was admiring one of his recent builds, he said, "These are probably not the best for you, Bill; we both know how hard you are on boards". Damn. And then the conversation pivoted to what a careless klutz I am. I guess I'm at least famous for one thing.

51

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 400 Hours On Foil: A summer on narrow boards and the search for a perfect surf e

« on: November 27, 2023, 10:43:20 PM »

I'm officially back in the water. My infection turned out to be a leaky blood vessel, probably got squashed from kneeling on the board, and I'm on blood thinners, so it has sort of a steady trickle. Doesn't look like a typical hematoma. There's no reason to stay out of the water, but it's a good reminder that I should wear a helmet. The doctor says if I hit my head, I need to go straight to the ER. Of course, every sport I enjoy other than foiling requires a helmet--now I guess foiling does too.

Anyway, I've been doing some measurements on my Flying Dutchman barracuda-style board and realized how much it resembles one of the fastest downwind boards I ever owned, the Penetrator. the board was 28" on the deck, but had big, steep chines and a rounded bottom, so most of the time it was really 19" at the waterline. It was hard to ride because it would roll a little, catch itself as the roll made the board wider on the side I was rolling toward, and then it would roll the other way and catch itself. After it got damaged badly, I had it repaired; it was heavier and, therefore, sat lower in the water. The difference in stability was surprising.

My new long skinny board is 125L, and I'm about 105kg, so it sits fairly low. The stability is remarkable. This afternoon, I tried paddling it without a foil. It wasn't easy, but I can do it.

The prediction for tomorrow is light (10-15) winds in a good direction. I'm going to put all this theory to the test. Pumped.

52

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 400 Hours On Foil: A summer on narrow boards and the search for a perfect surf e

« on: November 21, 2023, 10:03:56 AM »

Very interesting thread, and thanks for all the detail. I have a new Flying Dutchman "Kalama style" board--I don't recall the dimensions and it's in a bag on my car, so let's guess 8'5" X 22". I wasn't impressed at first because I tried it with my usual setup for my 5'11" X 29" board. I'm heavy and old, so I tend to use larger wings more so I can get up on the board rather than needing power once I'm standing--it's either that or a walker frame on the board. A week or so ago I tried it with a 4.0m wing, 890 foil, and 400/60 stabilizer. What a difference. The 890 has always been a chore for me to get flying, though I love it once I'm up. With the long board, I was up and flying before I was ready and before I even did the first pump. The 890 is a very "turny" foil, and it felt great.

I'm out of the water for a week or so with an infection on my shin from winging in the skanky Kahalui harbor (idiot!). No cut, just probably micro skin tears from kneeling on the board. I can't wait to get back on the board. Lots to learn. I just need to stay out of the fucking harbor.

53

Foil SUP / Re: Foil Videos

« on: November 16, 2023, 10:10:09 AM »

Yeah, I should. I have two of them 90% built at my shop in Hood River. I should at least finish one of them. ADHD rules the shop--they should have been finished at least a year ago.

54

Foil SUP / Re: Foil Videos

« on: November 13, 2023, 11:04:41 PM »

Very cool video Dude. I wish I could do foil downwinds. I tried--not going to happen. I'm content with wingfoiling though Mark just made me a semi-downwind board. Hope to see you this year. We're back in Maui.

55

General Discussion / Re: 54 Year Old Headed for Bilateral Total Knee Replacements

« on: October 25, 2023, 11:31:44 AM »

My wife had both knees done this summer--by the doctor who has been refusing to do mine for at least 12 years. He says mine are not bad enough and I probably wouldn't be happy with the result since I do so much stupid stuff still (wingfoiling SUP, dirt bikes, MTB, etc.). After seeing bone scans of my knees vs. My wife's I think he's absolutely right and I'm happy to keep working with what I've got.

I can tell you a bit about the recovery since I've been the caregiver. She's less than two months into the second knee replacement and she's walking more or less normally. There's still pain, but she's more dogged about doing the PT than I would be and she's doing well. She played golf a week ago, and did well, but suffered for it the next day. I have several friends who have had both knees replaced and they are back to SUP paddling and bicycling. The only thing they don't do is run, and who wants to do that?

I think as long as you work hard on range of motion and strength recovery after the surgery you'll be fine for SUP. You probably won't want to kneel a lot, but other than that, it is probably a great recovery exercise.

56

Random / Re: SUPs make awesome rescue devices

« on: October 21, 2023, 09:57:43 PM »

True. I've pulled several people to shore with my SUP, and once with a boogie board. Not a lot of people learn to self-rescue, which is fairly weird. The other weird thing is that no one I've helped has ever thanked me. Not a big deal, but it seems odd. Embarrassed I guess.

57

The Shape Shack / Re: Chinook 16" tracks

« on: October 21, 2023, 09:25:45 AM »

Chinook tracks are milled out of a single piece of injection-molded ABS. They're in Cascade Locks, 20 miles from my house. I got to see how they were made once. Accept no substitute. I wonder what the fuck people are thinking when they use some two-piece POS in their boards. A good friend of mine uses the crap ones and says "I've never had a problem with them." to which I always mentally add: "Yet".

I like your reinforcing structure. Those look like 15MM tubes, which I have a bundle of, so I particularly like that. I might add some deck tubes a bit longer than the tracks, but I really don't know if it's necessary. You could feed the structure from the deck side and then glue the tracks to the tubes at the same time you set them. You can notch the vertical tubes to join them to deck tubes with a holesaw the diameter of the tubes. I have a tubing notcher for building roll cages, but you can eyeball them with just a drill press and a vise pretty well.

I think if I did this I'd route the installation holes for the 45-degree braces full depth and then backfill with two-part foam, which is nearly as strong as PVC and is closed-cell. Or just ditch the 45 degree braces which means you could install the structure with just simple holes and a bit of gorilla glue. Incidentally, Gorilla Glue is like welding on carbon tubes. I'm not sure why, but you'll break the tubes before you break the bond.

58

Random / Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming

« on: October 13, 2023, 09:14:58 AM »

Then again, I've never thought our species was wise enough, or smart enough to survive in the long run. Every technology we've ever invented ultimately gets turned into a weapon to kill each other.

59

Random / Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming

« on: October 12, 2023, 07:13:03 PM »

Sam Altman is pleasant to listen to. So smart, and so reassuring. I still think we're all fucked, but I do agree that the stuff people were initially worried about is backward. It isn't people installing gutters that have to watch their livelihood go away. It's lawyers, coders, and doctors. They won't simply have a nice tool to apply to their jobs. They'll be toast--soon. The electricians and carpenters have nothing to worry about, and they'll have a nice labor pool of doctors, lawyers, and coders. Would you rather listen to a doctor who left medical school thirty years ago who struggles to manage his practice and keep up on a storm of new knowledge, or an entity that knows about everything going on in their field? in detail, updated to ten seconds ago. If you work with complex issues that require research, access to information, and transforming concepts into tools, then you need to pay VERY close attention. There's an entity that works 24/7, cheaply, never has a bad day, or goes on vacation, and is WAY better at your job by almost every measure that is aiming straight at your livelihood. 

The notion that this leads to a world of plenty is probably correct, but is this the plenty that people will enjoy. UBI seems more to me like being kept as a pet.

Actors who are concerned about AI clones of themselves don't understand the real threat. The next gen will take all the aspects of a person that make them relatable to an audience and create an artificial entity that is MUCH better at those connections than any human is. Coming soon to an auditorium near you--Taylor Swift 3.0.

60

Random / Re: GPT 5, Sam Altman, What's coming

« on: October 12, 2023, 07:04:54 PM »

Yeah, I've done a lot with Chat GTP, Jasper, Fotor, Midjourney, and UIZard. Thank god I'm just fucking around, these things are an insane time sink--horrible for ADHD freaks like me. I start yawning and realize it's 4 ayem. And what have I accomplished--nothing. I've designed hundreds of logos for a business that doesn't exist--and never will. Just playing. Clearly that isn't how people in Biz are using these tools, but they are SO seductive. I almost can't believe people are doing anything but sending queries into Midjourney. This YouTube banner is 100 percent Midjourney generated with a ridiculously simple script. It literally took me less than a minute to create. Brother Bob (stoneaxe) is lightyears ahead of me. He can make these tools bark like a dog. Like Admin with Fusion 360, though Brother Bob is also lightyears ahead on that too.