Friday, August 29, 2008

Got wind!

And was laid out, again, and again, and again..then I chilled out, and caught some decent rides, set an edge, and even made it upwind a bit. I remember learning the basics of windsurfing, that came much more naturally to me than kiting(so far)... If I had video/pictures of some of my face-plants(was low tide, and the seaweed had some funky algea on it) I would have a more popular blog.. ie: My kiteboarding session often led me to having a great resemblance to swamp thing... Oh, and the fun is just starting as the next week brings much wind!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Got bored! So bored, I found myself making a board!

Last night I became a happy lil' wood-shop elf and made myself a drop-through carve board. An old pair of Randal II's and some very old street G's keep this puppy planted! The construction is about as basic as it gets, a 3/4" x 3" spine, with a 6 3/4" wide deck, overall length is 30" reinforced the platform with epoxy and a denim/epoxy layer. (yes, a lil' redneck engineering). Pros: steers well, short wheel base is great for pumping and tight turns, did I mention I made it in 5 hours? drawbacks: the deck flexes on the rails, absorbing much of the weight input for steering, this sucks, as I don't want to add to the board to get it carving more easily but it seems I'll have to. The cure: 1. Adding a sheet of fiberglass/epoxy to the top of the deck then re-applying grip tape 2. Replacing the yellow(medium/hard) bushings with some Khiro whites, oranges or blues, but more more than likely a combination of white and orange will get it carving nice and loose! Going to have to do both... This is going to make a nice garage racer when I buy some good bearings and bigger wheels, and knock out the other mods previously mentioned..Next deck is going to be an experiment in lamination, so I'll be building a steam box, a jig, and setting up a vacuum bag for more efficient epoxy work....Some pics of the quiver..



Saturday, August 9, 2008

Fishy Photography Fun


Playing with my digital camera, acclimating myself to the multitude of shooting styles. Subject matter: Oceanic Aqua Scape. Models : SnowFlake Eel and Broomtail Wrasse.