Sunday, April 28, 2013

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Your Carolina Cup Winners Here

Jacky stopped by the race and took these. I was busy shaping her new board







Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Best Down-the-Line Surfing Windsurfer EVER

All true, for my local conditions. Blowing 12 mph and getting long, multi-turn down the line wave rides. So many, Jacky had to follow me in the truck. Downwinding on a windsurfer now rivals doing it with a kite and surfboard. For me, it feels better. More like SURFING with sail, and less like KITING with a surfboard. More of a surfing feel in my opinion. Really fun. Disclaimer, this not Hookipa. This is a more fun combination for here. I think it would probably be fun for most places. Not counting the known epic windsurfing places around the world.

The board just flies when a swell rolls up behind you. Unlike a windsurfing SUP, which dogs. Rocker is everything.
134 L Strapless ONLY twin fin windsurfer




Sorry, everything shot with an iPhone today



Sunday, April 21, 2013

The New Board Curse

 The wind keeps trying to kill me. Rigged the 4.5. Way over-powered. Weather stations nearby report gusts to 36. Off shore buoy reporting gusts to 56. I just want a normal day to confirm the board is dialed in perfect, before I shape a second one for Jacky. The board does feel great so far.

On Beach Reading

Off Shore Reading

Friday, April 12, 2013

Epic Fail

Hit Corncake this afternoon. Blowing sand like I haven't seen in years. Easily 3.7 to 4.2 sailing. Dummy me, shows up with 5m. So mad I haven't been able to connect with the right wind and sail to test this board.
Can't sheet in. The wind is trying to kill me.

I know this is going to be a disaster, but have to try anyway.


Yeah right, no way I can jibe this over-powered.




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Strapless Tonight

The new board continues to exceed expectations.

This board wave-sails, so much better in typical summer conditions, than a true windsurf wave board, or a windSUP. Imagine the typical SW conditions at Corncake. Light on the inside, honking outside. Side off wind. You come smoking in toward the beach. Searching for a wave, find one, and try to surf it. It turns into a lame ride, as the sail power goes away, and the true wave board, bogs like a dog.

This is where this new board kicks ass. It doesn't bog on the inside. The tail floats and flies. I could get on the tail, spin without bogging, flip the sail, sail clew first out of the bottom turn, smack the lip and redirect and the board takes off again. Repeat, again and again. Jibe in light wind right in front of a set, and still not bogging down. Just effortless and fun. So ideal for our summer conditions. This is not Hawaii. I don't need no stinking straps. I don't need a tiny 7'6 windsurf wave board.

I think a lot of industry have been puzzled by the flop of the windSUP. Most thought it would be a big hit. Now most brands have dropped the windsurf option from their SUPs. Well its the rocker folks. Change the rocker to a windsurf rocker and strapless rocks.

FYI, the board is 15.5 lbs without pad.

The twin fins feel so good!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Strapless Windsurfing Done Right?

That is the question. So far, I think I'm onto something. Windsurfing SUPs are OK, but not really right for windsurfing. Pretty lame actually. So this looks like a SUP, but instead of a SUP rocker, it has a real windsurf rocker. This board flies. It has the get up and go typical of a real windsurfer, while having the width and volume of a SUP. So it jibes and tacks in no wind, like a dream. It goes upwind in a northeaster like a kiter. Look out you kiters. I just made kitesurfing obsolete. haha!

Unfortunately the side-on wind of a northeaster isn't a good test for down the line surfing, so we didn't get a good feel for that.

The wind started out 11-13 mph. So I rigged the 6.9m Ezzy Tiger. Then the wind built to 20-23, so trying to actually surf became impossible. A 5.5m would have been ideal to try. But it was home in the garage. Stoked for an awesome summer of windsurfing strapless in the SW winds of corncake.
134 L   8'9 x 30

Dwight



Unweight, stay attached. 



Brian McKenzie trying my board



He made it



Friday, April 5, 2013

My Deck Pad Design - Vac Bagging it Down

Anybody want to clean my garage :-)
Notice the toe kicks for strapless windsurfing

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

windSURFmachines

Post Cure in the laundry room at 110 degrees