Messages

2881

Gear Talk / Re: just paddled a round with my new crash vest

« on: September 20, 2013, 04:01:32 PM »

Beasho, do you ever prone with that vest? Can you duck dive?

I have not prone with it, but there are guys at Mavericks that do. 

With regards to helping the panic: YES!  It works.  Better yet you can go over the falls up to 2X OH and race up like a cork.  Its pretty unbelievable.

The reason I wear the rib protector was because I popped some ribs while just wearing the floatation last year. Fortunately while I was bobbing in the water in 1 1/2X OH conditions I thought to myself "well at least I float." 

My next worry was flopping on the beach because I couldn't climb on the board.  Fortunately I recovered enough to slither on to my board and limp home.  Couldn't cough or laugh for a few days.  Now I wear both religiously.

With regards to duck diving think of a duck.  They float like corks but dive and swim faster than we can.  If you are motivated you can duck and successfully dive.

PS:  Yes its sharkproof foam.  Rather all that fabric will hopefully keep me together enough to get to the doctor

2882

SUP General / Re: Surf Report: What would you do?

« on: September 20, 2013, 09:41:22 AM »

I brought out the GoPro the next day ostensibly to film whitey.  In my mind I would like to think I would be cool enough, and stoic enough to paddle up to the docile beast and lower my GoPro, a la Chuck Patterson, and catch an awesome clip.  If its just cruising around its probably not in stealth attack mode, I would tell myself, and all would be good.

Then again I was out last week 25 yards behind the above photo (at the take off) and a Stellar sea lion started to approach me.  These things are huge.  When they raise their heads 3 feet out of the water their necks are wider than your board.  I was on my short board and he was pushing towards me and then dove down under me close enough to where I could see his wing span.  It appeared to be 10 feet, wider than my board was long.   

When the animals get that big, unless you've really been there many times before, its hard to mentally prepare.  I don't think Stellar sea lions attack but they do get a bit punchy some times and he had me spooked.  Last thing you want would be a 1,500 pit bull to take a nip.  And that's a cuddly sea-lion much less Carcharodon carcharias.

2883

SUP General / Re: Surf Report: What would you do?

« on: September 19, 2013, 01:22:25 PM »

Epilogue:

So I paddled out on my big board and with a GoPro.  

I had heard another guy was taking a camera out to photo whitey.  He was paddling in by the time I headed out.  So I was Solo for 30 minutes.  Pretty spooky.

Then a crowd showed up including Shark Man (the spotter from yesterday).  It was almost like everyone, knowing the story, and despite the crappy conditions had to face their demons and do it quickly.

Definitely more comfortable with a crowd, looking out from inside the rocks.

Now it feels like everything has been reset. . . Back to Normal

2884

SUP General / Re: Surf Report: What would you do?

« on: September 19, 2013, 06:56:31 AM »

Should I:

1)   Take the morning off and go running
2)   Grab a bigger board (e.g. my 12 footer) thereby compromising my ideals in the name of safety
3)   Grab my fishing pole, on my 12 foot board, and head out with a chunk of meat

2885

SUP General / Surf Report: What would you do?

« on: September 19, 2013, 06:56:03 AM »

This was a text from one of my Surfing buddies yesterday at our local spot.

-----------------------------------------------

Surfed goons with Jacob.  Super high tide, but some killer set waves.  On way out I saw more seals than ever and commented to Jacob that it felt sharky, I tried to stay deep on rocks but wind and current pushed to deep channel, 4-5 super fun over head waves in challenging conditions.  On my last wave I could see a new guy on a 18' kayak on the edge of channel on same wave dropping in, behind him in the trough was a GW (Great White) at least as long as his boat.  I could see whole thing and kept watching till next surge pushed over it, I rode as far as I could tried to stay on reef as I watched kayak I decided to just go in.

Was that wrong?  I feel that it did not eat him so why worry the stoked yaker with a shark story and risk my life on my 8' (board) in 50 of water so I could chase guy down.  I sort of feel bad but figure f~ck it there are sharks (out there) ...everyone knows that right?

2886

SUP General / Re: Is this how you would repair a carbon paddle that is broken in two pieces?

« on: September 18, 2013, 03:09:08 PM »

I broke my paddle in 2 and fixed with Epoxy and Carbon - NO Dowels, NO Mandrels, NO Plug.  Total additional weight 30 grams.
 
1)  Glue shaft, with epoxy (or I suppose you could use super glue for starters).  All you are trying to do is re-align the shaft and get it 100% straight.  Strength is not as much of an issue as re-aligning and avoiding voids.  Just push the frayed carbon back together.   If you cut it it will not be as easy to get straight.
 
2)  I built up a layer 6" long (wide) that was going to end up ~ as thick as original base (e.g. 4 wraps Pie x Diameter).  The benefit here is you are laying up carbon outside of the shaft, so you get extra a bump of moment of intertia from larger diameter.  Key is to tape up a specific distance from break to be sure to know where center of break is.
 
3)  Then I layered up another 4 wraps 1 1/2" on either side of break (e.g. total 3").  
 
A trick I learned from some epoxy Zone Yoda was to load up the fiber with resin ON A SHEET OF BLACK PLASTIC.  Laminating the cloth this way ensures that the cloth only picks up the amount of resin it can handle, and you don't over-pool the resin.

(DW trick here: http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=19921.0)
 
Then peel off the carbon (1st piece was ~ 18" X 6") and using gloves wrap the shaft around the break.  Once dry the fix should be pretty bad-ass.  The final 18" X 3" was used to doubly reinforce directly around the break.

My repair added just 30 grams of weight (20 grams fiber, 10 grams resin).  It has held up to 6 months in the surf (so far).  I was wary at first then just forgot it was ever broken.

See my string of photos.  Note:  02 shows the two halve mashed back together, glued and sanded.  It looked pretty good right off the bat, but probably pretty weak at this point.  Shaft went from 202 grams to 226 grams (1st layer of carbon) to 224.6 sanded, then final 233.3 grams.  Note: the ratio of fiber to resin should be 2:1.  This was made possible by laying up on the black plastic.

2887

Gear Talk / Re: just paddled a round with my new crash vest

« on: September 18, 2013, 02:19:47 PM »

I approve so much I made a video.

After breaking a few ribs, a few times, I added a rib protector to the mix.  Here is a combination of Rib protector and float.

Note:  Given all the padding you can afford to go with a thinner, cheaper wetsuit.  So pay $100 for the suite and spend the rest on the float and impact protection that will keep you both healthy and alive.  I wear this get-up religiously in surf from 2' to Infinity.

2888

SUP General / Re: Any input from you vets. on surf only paddle length.

« on: September 18, 2013, 02:13:16 PM »

Paddling from peak to peak or paddling between sets with a paddle thats optimized for wave performance is going to be very tiring.  You get a lot more leverage from a longer paddle, so its easier to balance, and you don't need to lean quite as far to get the same results.

I agree with this, and it did freak me out at first.  But lately I have been doing longer paddles with my short paddle and I think I have gotten used to it.  

For a true 5 mile paddle I would go with ~ 8" overhead but my regular break requires an 8 minute paddle out.  And I have paddled the 1/2+ mile (12 minutes) from one break to another several times on my short board and short paddle and I actually forgot about the length.  I tend to bring my lower hand up to reduce the necessary back bend.  Like anything else give it a few (10) tries before you conclude it isn't working.

Much to learn, bring on the foil SUP!

2889

SUP Gear Reviews / Newly Acquired / On Order / Re: Red Paddle Nine Six Inflatable Review

« on: September 16, 2013, 01:04:14 PM »

How would the 9' 6" stack up as an all around board for:  1) Travel  2) Cruising 3) Fishing

Clearly you report it as an ideal inflatable for surf.  I would like to have a board that I could bring anywhere (e.g. tropical) and use to cruise around and potentially fish, as well as surf.

At 32" wide I would assume there is a great deal of stability. 

To give perspective I weigh 175# and typically surf a 9' X 28" wide board in all but the biggest (>2X+) and windiest (>15 mph) conditions, so I am comfortable on less stable boards in the chop. 

I was just wondering if I would want to compromise and go bigger for better cruising / fishing / family or just stick to the advantages of the 9' 6"? (I know tough to answer, but thought I would ask).

2890

SUP General / Re: Any input from you vets. on surf only paddle length.

« on: September 11, 2013, 03:54:50 PM »

Shorter – 2” Overhead or less for Surf.

People may say it’s a matter of preference but I will wholeheartedly disagree.  

When I learned to SUP 4 years ago the mantra was 6 – 8” overhead with Laird and Dave Kalama reaching for the sky and bending their hand over their paddle (more like 10”+++ OH).  9’6” was a short board. . . .

Then things evolved.  Boards got shorter and Connor Baxter introduced a choked down stroke that he used to blow away the competition in the Gorge.  I started to use the “Connor Stroke” on paddles range from 6” to 11” overhead to catch waves and found that I substantially increased my wave count (e.g. catch).  Then we read about people with head high paddles, COLAS, and watched videos of Zane Schweitzer, Mo Freitas and others tearing it up with short boards and short paddles.
  
The Connor Stroke permits a racer to have multiple gears.  The Choke Down is first gear.  When surfing you want first gear all the time because you are launching from a stand still to full speed ASAP just like Connor at the start (see below).  So I decided to cut my paddle to head high.

The Short Paddle has been a game changer in the waves.  My paddle is head high and I no longer need to choke down because I am already there.  The secondary benefit is lower swing weight and maneuverability on the wave (some might claim this as primary).  Try doing a Crossbow turn with a paddle thats 10" overhead!

In summary when learning, cruising or racing 6”++ is fine but if you want to push your performance in the waves a short paddle is like a short board and it is the best way to help maximize your potential.

Gorge Paddle Challenge-start

2891

The Shape Shack / Re: Epoxy in Microwave Trick

« on: September 06, 2013, 11:11:26 AM »

Agreed, you don't want to boil the epoxy.  Just keep your eyes on it and heat it until it liquefies.

I hear you on the old stuff but I have never had an old batch, that I had nuked, not cure.  I do typically throw the stuff out after nuking it 5+ times.   At that point it is likely 5 - 10 years old.

2892

The Shape Shack / Epoxy in Microwave Trick

« on: September 05, 2013, 01:28:05 PM »

Had a repair to do and found my Resin a nearly solid paste in the bottle.  It was ~ 2 years old, but I still had nearly a quart left.

I did a trick that I learned years ago when I was a kid and had some solidified Epoxy but didn't have the time to drive 1 hour to the hobby shop, or money to buy any more, I put the Resin bottle in the Microwave.

Took 1 minute but the stuff was flowing like new again. 

The hardener seems to stay liquid, just the Resin needed the hit this time. 

Might help you get a few more years out of your Epoxy resin or help in a pinch.

2893

The Shape Shack / Re: Deck delamination --How to Fix?

« on: September 02, 2013, 09:27:39 PM »

Stretch (William Reidel) turned me on to Gorilla Glue years ago for board repair.  I have been using the white stuff because it isn't quite as ugly as the yellow.  

That said the density seems to match the core of the board.  It also expands to 4X its original size meaning it fills in voids very well.  It is 100% waterproof and lighter than epoxy (as a filler).  

As an alternative repair approach here are some shots of a delamination I fixed on my Paddle Surf Hawaii.  I didn't want to go to the hassle of peeling everything off and trying to match the paint, rather I just drilled out small holes every ~ 3/4" to 1", filled with Gorilla Glue, covered with Saran wrap and then sandwiched it back together.  Vacuum probably would have been better (if you have one).  The sandwich technique was rather 14th century but it worked pretty well. (picture 02).

In this case I drilled 1/2" into the foam.  I was thinking that little roots of Gorilla Glue would hold best.  Picture 03 shows what it looked like after cutting off the excess Gorilla glue.  Then my additional glass layers, with best color match over holes, and final resin coat sanded (09).

PS: Granted this was on the bottom of the board (odd place) and not prone to much stress.  Might be worth a try.  Stretch used to fixed heel dents on windsurfers like this.  Pump full of Gorilla glue and then add 3 layers of carbon as a patch with a 'factor of safety.'

2894

SUP General / Re: what a difference 2" makes!

« on: August 29, 2013, 11:16:01 AM »

I just bought a QuickBlade Kanaha Magic 90" blade cut at 80". My other is a Werner M1000 cut at 82".

We don't have much reference here without knowing how much overhead?  From XX to YY?

2895

Fish Tales, Stand Up style / Re: 3 days in paradise

« on: August 27, 2013, 06:44:45 PM »

I have tried multiple methods of Paddle stowage.

Last year I was given the advice to treat my board like a boat, and cover water rather than just using it as a mobile casting platform.  This involved trolling for Stripers meaning I had to figure out how to manage the rod, the paddle and motion.

The solution: Use a paddle tether.  A short loop of pvc tubing just large enough to tightly stretch over the handle.  I typically tuck the rod in my belt and paddle to troll.   When a fish hits just throw the paddle and grab the rod.  

Fish count went way up.  The paddle is out of the way, but immediately retrievable when necessary.  This was often used to avoid rocks or steer the board when the fish was sleigh riding me somewhere I didn't necessarily want to head.  Here I was throwing the paddle with my left, battling fish with right hand while dog watches the action.