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Messages - StellaBlu

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31
The Shape Shack / Re: Maximum Displacement Hull Speed
« on: April 04, 2023, 06:26:48 AM »
I'm currently waiting for the build of my DW board to be finished, and the tail design was a real headache. I opted for a Gong/Casey inspired, more displacement style tail with the hard chines ending just behind the box. The original drawing from my shaper had the hard chines finishing in front of the box, but I worried it might be too sticky on touchdowns.

The main reason for going for a more displacement style tail was I felt that as this was my first DW board I'll need all the help I can get in getting up, so a planing release edge wasn't going to be the answer there. Also, all the 3 boards I borrowed were pin style tails, and I wanted to pull in the max width as far as possible but keep that width out wide along the rail for as long as possible for stability which is the opposite to a pin tail. Volume is relatively aggressive for a first DW board with no SUP background being +20 my wet weight.

Board dims are 6'10 x 20 x 90L. Have another 10 days or so to wait to see how many design mistakes I made. Haha!

Care to share any pics of the design?  Sounds interesting.

Im getting a downwind inspired wingboard made, and am struggling with a few of the features.  I was thinking hard chines and V Tail, but now I'm second guessing it.  The purpose will be for (a) lightwind winging, and (b) downwind winging allowing me to use smaller wing sizes.  I don't intend to paddle up on it, and will probably have more power than a paddle (with the wing), but the design theories are largely overlapping.  Im probably going 6' x 19.5 / 80 Liters or so (Im 80L and daily driver wing board is 60L which I can get up in 8-10 knots). 

32
The Shape Shack / Re: Maximum Displacement Hull Speed
« on: April 04, 2023, 05:23:36 AM »
There is a similar chat going on at one of the other forums and there are a few firsthand comparisons between harder chine boards (barracuda) vs softer chine displacement hulls (Appletree, Chapman, Gong) and several people say the speed of the softer chine board makes it easier to takeoff than the hard chine.  Perhaps designs like the barracuda  overstating the impact of “release” and compromising speed too much?  Early days here…

33
Foil SUP / Re: Kujira II
« on: April 03, 2023, 03:52:47 AM »
For anyone keen on Takuma, I’m selling a Takuma 85cm aluminum mast and fuse (warranty replacements, both used once) and will include a home chopped ~75cm mast as well. $175 for the whole kit (works with all of the current stuff but doesn’t appear to work with v2). Buyer pays shipping from Massachusetts.

34
The Shape Shack / Re: Maximum Displacement Hull Speed
« on: March 30, 2023, 10:34:29 AM »
There is a ton of interesting content in this thread for a design newb like me (thank you to the contributors). 

One thing that I'm trying to better understand is how to compare hard chines vs a more rounded hull on a pintail downwind board.  I generally understand the pintail, but more designs have very hard chines in the rear portion of the hull leading into the pintail (Baracuda, FFB Dagger, Sultan, Axis, Etc...).  There are some exceptions with more rounded features (Dale Chapman and Sunova), but they are not the norm.

Wouldn't the harder chines create eddys and drag?  wouldn't softer chines allow for better water release and perhaps less wetted area?

Please help a newb understand the hull design philosophy!  Thanks again.

Just the reverse-  water likes to stay attached to curved surfaces as it flows. Not only is water moving longitudinally along the length of the board but, it is also moving laterally as the board slaps down onto the waters surface as we pump and hop. These hard chines allow this lateral moving water to relaease .  When hulls are curved, the water will ride up along that curved hull trying very hard to stay attached to the hull.  All this added water weight is detrimental to an easy and clean separation of hull from water. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply - this is helpful.  If I understand correctly, my assumption that the hard chines were disturbing the flow, wasn't wrong, but it is an oversimplification (assuming linear flow).  My oversimplification didn't take into account the priority of releasing the hull from the water surface. 

So basically if the board weren't on a foil, the rounded chines would be faster, but because the board is on a foil and needs to release from the surface, the hard chines are a beneficial compromise.  But in that case, why do foiling monohull sailboats generally have rounded hull features (AC36)?

Taking this one step further, why do these boards then have soft chines towards the nose?  On a touchdown, isn't release a priority again (in which case harder chines would be beneficial)?

Am I understanding this correctly?

35
The Shape Shack / Re: Maximum Displacement Hull Speed
« on: March 30, 2023, 05:58:23 AM »
There is a ton of interesting content in this thread for a design newb like me (thank you to the contributors). 

One thing that I'm trying to better understand is how to compare hard chines vs a more rounded hull on a pintail downwind board.  I generally understand the pintail, but more designs have very hard chines in the rear portion of the hull leading into the pintail (Baracuda, FFB Dagger, Sultan, Axis, Etc...).  There are some exceptions with more rounded features (Dale Chapman and Sunova), but they are not the norm.

Wouldn't the harder chines create eddys and drag?  wouldn't softer chines allow for better water release and perhaps less wetted area?

Please help a newb understand the hull design philosophy!  Thanks again.

36
I have an ultra, but I use it differently than I used the Garmin.  When I had the Garmin I pretty much only used it for sports and didn't wear it as an everyday watch.  I use Apple watch every day and find a lot of the features handy (Siri texting, tap to pay, etc...).  Those are the features that i bought it for, and it does them a LOT better than the Garmin did. I like being able to go for a run and buy a coffee or text my wife without carrying around a phone or a credit card.  I also like having the ability to make an emergency call on the water (although I haven't used it).

That said, I think you would be hard pressed to get three days out of the battery (it can be done, but you would probably have to change some settings).  It also isn't quite as good as the Garmin for some activities (running for example), but with some apps like Waterspeed and Workoutdoors I have made it almost as good, but the wrist HR sensor is unusable and totally inaccurate so you have to use a chest monitor if you want those features.

Overall I really like it.

37
Not sure what I hit but it brought me to a quick and violent stop...
https://youtu.be/96e0QEJtB48

Maybe a turtle, judging by how many I saw down there

38
I was winging in the grenadines about a month ago. What an amazing spot.

I was staying in/around Union and found some really nice waves beside Palm Island.  There was a really easy reef break (just enough depth for a foil mast) that wrapped the western end of Palm - soft, fun and perfect for foiling although I hear it gets big with the right swell.  There were also some really fast and fun bumps in the channels on either side of the island (particularly south of Palm Island).  Also did a fun downwinder from Tobago Keys to Union with lots of fun downwind bumps to connect.

I often thought of the Grenadines as nice flatwater spots (and they are great for that), but I was surprised to fund some waves / downwinding (nothing big, but very fun).  Wind was consistently 14-20 for 5 days straight.  Maybe the conditions were unusual when I was there?

39
I definitely feel that adjusting my balance and foil position to be more front foot oriented helped my foot switches.  For me, that meant moving the mast forward and keeping my feet in the same position.  That way, when you unweight the back foot and overweight the front foot (for a moment), you don't dive.

Another thing that helped me was adjusting angle to go downwind slightly, thereby depowering the sail.  This will center your balance more and simplify things.  Contending with the balance, while having the sail pull you is too many inputs to manage.

This is counter to what @ponobill says, but I found that being aggressive with the board pop was helpful.  This is going to be even more important if you have a back foot oriented setup.  If you don't pop, your foil is going to dive.  The timing also helps me.

40
One example is a proprietary cloth welding technology that does away with all seams

My favorite board shorts are welded seam O'Neils. I don't see any in their current lineup but the ones I have are super flexible and comfortable.

Years ago I had a pair of welded seam boardshorts that i loved.  Wore them a lot - probably more than I should have....  On their last use, I took them waterskiing with a bunch of friends.  The driver punched the gas, I popped up, and my shorts had blown out all of the crotch seams and turned into a sort of loincloth.

I (and my friends who were on the boat) hope the technology has improved!   

41
General Discussion / Re: 4/3 Wetsuit - 2023?
« on: December 23, 2022, 08:14:27 PM »
It’s all about what fits you. A well sized mid tier wetsuit will be better than a poorly sized top tier wetsuit.

I swear by O’Neill because the sizing is perfect for me. If the sizing works for you then I recommend both the Psycho and Mutant Legend.  The psycho has amazing flexibility and feels super light on me. The Mutant Legend is much warmer and more durable and the hood feature makes it extremely versatile (but slightly less flexible).

Need Essentials is pretty impressive for the money but not as good as O’Neill quality.

Budget - Need
Warmth - mutant legend
Flexibility - psycho

42
Foil SUP / Re: Another revelation about the Barricuda style Kalama board!
« on: December 21, 2022, 05:50:52 AM »
No one I've seen is riding these things as sinkers. The boards are deep from the first third to the tail, and 7' X 19" boards are in the 120l range. And those are the small ones (though I've seen a few 14" wide ones). I'm sure someone will try a sinker barracuda, but they don't really make sense. From seeing how people are riding these things I think the days of tiny boards and sinkers are numbered. Given the way the boards can be constructed the nose (the front third of the board) probably weighs a pound or two. Overall they're practically weightless. A sort, wide, thin board is mostly skin (heavy), and a long, narrow, deep board is mostly foam. They turn like a lunch tray, foil smoothly, and get up on foil with a breath of wind. There has to be a downside, but I haven't seen it, other than they probably aren't for geezers like me, though I just ordered Mark Raaphorst's latest ideas in a board with similar dimensions (7' X 25" 125l) that he's aiming at geezers like me. I hope to see it before I'm 77. Mark has a hideous waiting list.

We might be talking past eachother. When I brought up sinker I was referring to winging.

Look at the FFB Nugget or yet to be released Armstrong boards (and more on the way). Lower volume, shorter wing boards with barracuda inspired tail features. I agree that there is a market for long and narrow east takeoff boards for downwind and lightwind but I disagree that lower volume sinkers are going away. Guys riding wing freestyle and doing serious wave riding aren’t going to be on a 7’ board. They are just going to be two categories.

43
Foil SUP / Re: Another revelation about the Barricuda style Kalama board!
« on: December 19, 2022, 06:32:00 PM »
In my mind, the theory works well for a neutral or positive buoyancy lightwind board, but I don't really see the benefit on a sinker like the FFB Nugget.  On a sinker, I feel like most of the resistance is in bringing the board to the surface - and I can't see the barricuda tail helping there.  If Im powered enough to get the board onto the surface, I generally don't have much struggle pumping up onto foil from there (which is where the barricuda would have the most benefit).

I suppose if the board has less resistance on the surface, I might be able to ride a smaller foil - if thats what I was after.

I would love to try one and my suspicions could very well be proven wrong.

I think that's because you're "overpowered".  Now try riding on a day with not enough wind.  I can imagine that a low resistance hull can get up to foiling speed with very little pull from the wing allowing you to ride with a much smaller wing or on a day with what others consider not enough wind

That’s why I said it would work for a neutral of positive buoyancy lightwind board. I’m still skeptical on a sinker. If you aren’t powered on a sinker you aren’t going to get the board to the surface and the tail isn’t going to help with that.

44
Foil SUP / Re: Another revelation about the Barricuda style Kalama board!
« on: December 19, 2022, 01:30:20 PM »
In my mind, the theory works well for a neutral or positive buoyancy lightwind board, but I don't really see the benefit on a sinker like the FFB Nugget.  On a sinker, I feel like most of the resistance is in bringing the board to the surface - and I can't see the barricuda tail helping there.  If Im powered enough to get the board onto the surface, I generally don't have much struggle pumping up onto foil from there (which is where the barricuda would have the most benefit).

I suppose if the board has less resistance on the surface, I might be able to ride a smaller foil - if thats what I was after.

I would love to try one and my suspicions could very well be proven wrong.

45
Theres a diluted shoe goo concoction that kiters use.  If you search kiteforum.com you can find it.  Kites and wings definitely come coated with something to repel water.

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