00122 New F-one 120

New F-one 120

She's here!

£270 bought me this nice little board which I hope will see me taking to the air very soon.

Pity it's brutally cold out there. Guess I'll just have to stop whinging and get out as soon as the wind shifts - so far it's predicted to be Easterlies, no good for me.

00121 Thingy

Thingy

Catching up with the blog.

Went to the beach on Sunday (I think) and decided to do a big doodle. Didn't come out too bad, although next time I've promised myself that I'll be doing something a bit diffrent. I'm thinking fish.

00120 Three days on the trot

I won't draw it out, but I've been out kiteboarding three days in a row. Two short stints on Monday and Tuesday with not really enough wind and one decent session at Ladies Bay today (the first there for a long, long time).
Mike reckons I should start jumping. I told him that I'd been popping off the water without any kite movement and his reaction was "move the kite" - scary, but exciting.
In other closely related news I get my new board in the post soon (allegedly). Ieeeeeee!

00119 Birthday KAP

Tendrils

With all this Southerly and Easterly wind there's no kitesurfing, so I'm out KAPing more. Today was my Birthday, so I got special dispensation to go out and do a bit of raking.
I always wish I'd spent more time filling up the sand - there's an element of "less is more", but at the same time a really voluminous and intricate piece feels like it would look really good. One day...

00118 KAP surfers

Surfer

Put on the wetsuit this afternoon and headed into the surf with the kite. Must remember to put the camera over the place where the surfers are going to be - not where they sit waiting for the sets. I'll nail it next time.

Still, that wetsuit is unreal. It's cold out there, but I was well toasty. Bonzer.

00117 First sail of the New Year

Went out to Pembroke on Wednesday (4th) and the conditions were as good as they get there. Tried to do a couple of gybes to toeside - man, there's a fair amount of acceleration when you whip the kite through the window in the opposite direction. I'm going to need alot more practice.

No more wind for kitesurfing for at leat a week. I'll turn my attention to KAP.

0116 Back again

I think I'm finally back up to strength now after having had some unholy virus which first fills the lungs with hacking mucus and then empties the body of nutrients over a period of days using the lower exit . To administer a killer blow, I ensured an intake of alcohol and rich food kept my ebb low over the festive season. You can never be sure about these things, though, so just to be sure I limited sleep and eventually my success was assured. I was fucked.

So what's on the cards after the return to form? Well, I've considered a few options.

KAP? No wind, plus I'm pining after a D50 with a Sigma 10-20mm (at a cool £700 this should be safely beyond my grasp)
Kitesurfing? No wind and no time. Plus I'm moaning about needing this shorter board for high wind and to help initiate me into the awesome world of the jump (£400 plus p&p means I won't be seeing that one any time soon).
Board building? Although the 138x36 proved to be a great board for upwind and chop, it's definately too heavy for getting off the water. I need access to glassfibre, vaccum bags & pumps and perhaps the thing I most require, a working knowledge of board engineering and composite materials (a PhD would be dandy).
Backgammon boards? Need some more tools for this and Meriel has our alottment of woodwork evening classes shorn up (but I'm not bitter).

A new kite? Now were talking.
I may not have the D50, but I'll not be entirely happy until I've lofted a quality camera. But as is becomming painfully apparent, quality not only costs, but it weighs. So I'll be looking into a KAP Pilot:



From an original design by Peter Lynn, it's been tweaked for KAP in low winds, which is exactly what I need for lifting heavy gear in under 10 mph.

Let's just see what happens ...

0115 Wave

Wavey

KAPing last Sunday (11th), kitesurfing solo at Vazon on the previous Monday (5th).

I'll since then, can't make a fist ...

00114 Kitesurf meal

Kitesurf meal

So we went out to this indian place for the kitesurf Christmas meal and we did a secret Santa thing - and Meriel got this hat.

Which was nice.

Drunk? Me?

00113 KAP at last

Slipway by Richmond Fort

Tuesday was a perfect KAP day, so I indulged my causeway obsession. New pics in the causeway set. Low winds, but just enough to get the rig up meant super-steady shots, and with teh wind - perfect. Must get out more.

00112 Low wind upwind

Ladies for the first time in ages and it was really good. A NNW meant that we were traveling out from the beach and in to the bay. With the benefit of a little experience, I can now see why Mike yearns for a NWerly - flatter water and smooth passage over the sandbank. In the flatter sections I got to grips with the edge and release technique that I've wanted to try in these conditions. Little wake-style jumps with no kite movement. Soon as I've got that sussed I'll try a little more kite-lofting (but not like yesterday's).

00111 Vazon and the air

After deliberating whether or not to try some KAPing this weekend, it would seem that the winds have turned favourable for a spot of kitesurfing. So out we went, me and Grif, off to Vazon - which is handy, 'cos that's where we're living now.
High tide, but neap, meant Richmond end. Started with a 15 and the 138 woody and I would have been fine if it hadn't picked up and I got lofted and dropped. A first for me, and a real eye opener. The wind increased and so did my speed on the water and by some sort of misguided instinct I lost ground downwind before raising the kite, which in turn raised me. I got dropped in shallow water - but not too shallow, thankfully. Wish I'd made inroads into getting further upwind and I'll make sure I do next time, rather than pissing about anywhere near the beach. Grif lost his board as he got overpowered on his 14 and a high speed body drag ensued, followed by a mile long walk to retrieve his board - bummer.
Tomorrow looks good, mind. Hope the wetsuit dries or it could be icky.

00110 Maiden voyage

She goes! I took out the 138x36 (or 35.5, to be accurate) and she really flies upwind and scythes through the chop. Much better speed control than my other board - because of the flex I guess. I went down to Pembroke with Mike and started on my Mauricio Pro, thinking that if there was less swell I'd take out the ply board. I was imagining that one decent landing after hitting a wave might snap her in two and that might nearly break my heart. In the end I thought f*** it, and off we went. In a word, beautiful. And if there was a down side to the first outing it was that my Mauricio Pro just didn't perform as well - although the epoxy coating on the ply board isn't UV resistant and might break down over time, I like it much more - more flex and sharper rail and I'm sure the longer deeper fins had something to do with it. I'll look into UV-proofing any boards I make in future.

00109 Stubby 120x38

Stubby 120x38

Should I really be thinking of doing this when I haven't even taken the finished 138x36 on the water. Guess I'm just a boardbuilding slut. Spank me.
This time there's the allure of using glass fibre to keep down the weight and improve the strength.

00108 The First Kitesurf Board Project Index (FKBPI)

This collects together the posts relating to the construction of my138x36 Marine ply kiteboard:

00080 New project -plywood kite board
00081 First design - the proposed 138x38
00082 The next iteration - 141x36
00085 The Fins are here
00086 Plywood arrives
00087 138x36
00088 Outline stuck to board
00088 138x36 in the wood
00089 Testing testing
00090 138x36 - Test run's dun
00091 Holey mid ply
00092 Laid up
00094 Thoughts on the layup
00096 Out of the jig
00099 Board n' bits
00101 Filling in
00102 Fin hole test
00105 The final coat
00107 138x36 finished

There - stick that on your feet.

00107 138x36 finished

138x36 finished

So this is the finished article - it just needs a maiden voyage, which will hopefully be without a snappage. Now that would be a bummer.

00106 Hungover at Pembroke

Kitesurfing at Pembroke

After staying up to gone four o'clock in the morning, I was off to Pembroke for ten. Seven kites out there were, that's alot for these parts.
Wind was good, although it got gustier as the morning went on. Too choppy for trying any tricks, so I concentrated on controlling my speed and dealing with the random waves which kept trashing me. The good news was that going upwind was a no-brainer, it's totally there, so now I can concentrate on other things.

In board news, I'll be fitting the fins and pads today and the next session I'll try to take her out and see how she goes. Really wish I'd built a smaller board now - and the offcuts just aren't big enough.

00105 The final coat

The final coat

The final coat of epoxy is on my new board. It's not the best job in the world, but it's not half bad either. As soon as it's dry I'll fit he fins and straps and we'll be good to go.
So that's pretty much it. I'll try to take it out tomorrow if there's not too much swell, otherwise I'll wait until the wind changes direction so I can surf it at Ladies Bay where it won't get a baptism of waves.

I know I missed blogging the first coat, but what can I say? I put it on and sanded it when dery with 120 grit - wish I'd had 80 grit to start with, to take out the mottled bits.

00103 Rippin' kiteboard sesh

Mum & Jennifer - rippin' kiteboard sesh

This picture of my mum and her guest for the week, Jennifer. They walked past the beach right after I finished kitesurfing at Ladies Bay in good, but slowly deteriorating North Westerlies. Just in time to help me get my gear back to the car. It really did look like two ladies of a certain age walking back from a rather pleasant outing with their Flexifoils - no doubt dialing in some most singular backloops before a nice cup of tea.
The session was excelent, as moving and staying upwind, I managed to turn some 180s and then jibe the board as I turned the kite, carving round onto a new tack - just superb. Also started the edge and release technique that I've been reading about as a preparation for learning to jump.
Had a go on Mike's Wipika Serum in powered-up conditions and it was a reall eye opener. It really ran smoothly over the chop and handled the extra power superbly. As soon as the wind dropped a bit, it came to the end of it's usefulness and I started going futther downwind. so I switched back to my Mauricio Pro and off upwind again. It's made me think that if I evr get round to making another board, it'll be a 120cm model for higher winds.

00102 Fin hole test

Fin hole test

Today I just thought I'd see how easy it is to drill three holes equidistant in a perfect line to fit the fins. Not, as it turns out, but at least I know that before I try it on the board itself. The idea of drilling and filling the fin bolt holes with epoxy/microbaloons is superb. The first coat of epoxy also worked a treat and the epoxy that spilled onto the top surfaces after the lamination give an idea of how smooth and shiny two coats of epoxy are going to look. It's really worth having this little test board as it's definately saved me from messing up the simplest things (which I am liable to do). I'll definately be recommending it to anyone starting a plyboard build for the first time. I'll also be recommending that when filoling the drilled out bolt insert holes that they stick the masking tape to the bottom of the board, not the top. Sounds intuitive I suppose, but for several reasons I did it on the top side and now regret it - although it's not going to cause any major headaches.
I sanded down the board today, taking a tiny bit off the topside of the rail and leaving the bottom edge sharp. I'll now be coating the board in two layers of epoxy and then drilling out the fin holes. I already drilled and countersunk the strap bolt holes with the intention of glueing in the bolts and filling over the countersunk bolt heads on the underside of the board. But now I think of it, it doesn't really matter and if I fill over the bolt heads and coat the board, the coating will most likey crack as I tighten the nuts to attach the straps. I'll fit the straps first and if it bugs me that much then I'll fill in over the bolt heads at the very end.