Repost

Here's an entry from last week I failed to post correctly...it's out of order, but shows how the rebuild progressed.

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote on the old blog. Been real real busy, lots of waves over the last month, some really great days. Throw in the the beginning of the semester, and all the other stuff going on, and the schedule fills up pretty quick. I've finally got the rebuild sorted and glassed. Now just some sanding, a clear coat, add the vent, and its good to go. Looking forward to riding this one, should be ready go by next weekend. 

 sanding

 glassed

 Had a BBQ down at the beach last week with the Kako boys (a send off for one of the crew heading to Sudan for PKO). We said we'd do a bit of a parking lot clean up, and Chiba-san shows up with this! No messing around with these guys!

Another shot from Mark, I haven't taken any wave shots this last month...too busy surfing, time to dust off the camera.

Finished the rebuild

Finally got the rebuild done. Now instead of sitting in my office, this board is actually in my rotation. It was way more work than building one from scratch, but it feels good to rescue it. I took it out Saturday evening in some fun little beach break peaks and it went well, drawing nice single fin lines, but being a bit slow on the cut backs. Overall, very pleased with it.   

View from the kitchen window. Four of these little guys live in the mountain behind the house. This one is pretty bold, and is always munching the grass in the side yard.

End of March

It's the last day of March, the snow is pretty much gone, the sun is shining, and the waves are up. It finally feels like we made it out of winter. Here's some pics Mark took this morning, really fun, and only two of us out. Hopefully the swell lasts into tomorrow...I'm too tired out to write any more, so I'm off to have a beer and rest up for an April Fool's session..

Finished skate...

I just got the hardware for the skateboard deck, threw everything on, and enjoyed an hour riding the board. I haven't spent an evening on a skateboard in over 20 years, and it was a blast. I can't believe how the reverse kingpin trucks carve (I got Paris V2 180s), they're so much different than the old school Venture trucks I used to ride in the 80s. A great way to stay in rhythm for surfing. Here's a few shots of the finished board. I'll have to make a few more of these.

Spring is in the air...

Spring is in the air, or so it seems...despite snow still being on the ground, and occasional flurries, the days are warming up. We've had highs up around 5 or 6 this week, which feels downright balmy compared to what we were dealing with a few weeks back. And the waves have returned, I've been out 4 times in the last week. The best day was last Saturday at Kako, some really nicely lined up lefts peeling off the tetrapods. Fun stuff, but the low water temps really takes it of out of you...

 

I'm still busy with the board rebuilds, but took the time to build a jig and make a skateboard...the jig worked pretty well and the veneer I used glued up well and the tail kick came out OK. The mahogany strips on the bottom look pretty old school cool, really pleased with how that came out. I've got the hardware on order, and it should  arrive just in time for the snow to melt off the sidewalks.

 

Decent February waves

We've had some decent waves this month, and a couple of huge days as well.. I was out four times last week, which is pretty good for February. The waves at Gyokyo were really fun, not big, but lined up really nice. The dredger was out dredging the entrance to the fishing port. Unfortunately, less sand means less wave action at Gyokyo, and while I got it good on Thursday, the clean left will probably turn to closeouts the more they dredge. Oh well, I still have Kako in Noboribetsu, but I'll miss the "warm" sheltered goodness of Gyokyo as a winter getaway spot. 

  

Speaking of Kako, it was full-on Hawaiian style a couple days last week. Mark took this picture below of huge stand up barrels peeling off the tetrapods; good luck paddling out and dodging the ice chunks flowing out of the river mouth. Yesterday was even bigger. The two low pressure systems that brought Tokyo its most snow in 20 years rolled up to Hokkaido producing unreal short period swell action. Some of the old timers said the conditions were "once in ten years", but they lasted less than a day each, with the waves going from huge to flat in a matter of hours. 

Nice pic Mark

A belated happy New Year

We're into February, so I guess it's time to update the ol' blog. January was busy with a trip to Hawaii (and a crackin new board from the factory on the North Shore), and getting back and finishing up the last month of the academic year. There's been some surf, albeit bitterly cold, but fun nonetheless. And, well, it's been uncrowded, so that's a good thing.

In terms of my board building, I have the one rebuild ready to glass, but I've got to wait for the air temp to go up a before I can glass it. I started what I cleverly call "Rebuild 2"; it was the second board I made, and while it was aesthetically pleasing it was an absolute tank (which is why it sat decorating my office for over a year). Well, the board kept staring at me, begging for a better fate, so I decided to rebuild it into something more ridable. So I sawed the board in half along the rails, ripped out the internal frame, and now have a glassed top and bottom. I'm putting together a new lighter frame, reducing the length and weight, and will build up lighter rails. Hopefully it will come out better this time around.
I'm also trying to make my own fins this year, learning how to make fins is kind of my New Year's resolution. I've got a set of plywood speed dialers ready to glass, and can't wait to see how they turn out. I threw up pictures of the set in their current state.