Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

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webguy
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Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

Why, build your own foil board, of course.

Watched the first one. Don't feel that handy... I see a dozen ways I'd eff that up and end up with a $300 wad of epoxy and carbon stuck to my elbow.

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

Yep, lots of ways to mess that up. So many hours to get to the point of trying it only to find the center of lift is too far forward, or aft... but how far off is it? etc. It makes the $3k for a production one make some sense. Anybody want to go 1/2 on one for WSing? 1/3?

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?
Chris_Voith wrote:

Yep, lots of ways to mess that up. So many hours to get to the point of trying it only to find the center of lift is too far forward, or aft... but how far off is it? etc. It makes the $3k for a production one make some sense. Anybody want to go 1/2 on one for WSing? 1/3?

Horue is a lot cheaper thanks to the strong dollar (1.11 to the euro). My next visit to the blood bank is Tuesday - 54 more visits and I'll be owning one of these sweet things. Seriously, if we can get a fleet discount, I'd be up for it.

http://www.horue.fr/produits/gp

f4 is probably not that much more after customs, etc. $2200.

btw, these are all deep tuttle box like my big boards. Your boards are all power box. Sure, I'd love to share with you. Biggrin

I didn't even get as far as talking about building the whole thing and having the COE off. Yeah, that'd be a big bummer. Reminds me of when I was in high school and working at the bike shop. Someone brought in a cheapo bike that had been bent by being on a trunk rack with a camper on the hitch. One sharp turn and you can guess what happened.

Guy asked the head mechanic if we could fix it. "Yes" was the answer.

"What are you going to fix it with?" Rev. Caldwell (he was an ordained minister who did eventually leave to go full time) showed him the "persuader", a big rubber mallet.

"You're going to charge me $20 (or whatever it was) to hit it with that?"

The Rev replied, "I know where to hit it."

(Yeah, I know there are similar stories out there but this one I witnessed. It's not a forward from grandma.)

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

The construction techniques they used in the video - vacuum bagging, working with carbon fiber etc - all rank as advanced skills. I'm pretty sure boardlady could do it and do it well, but most of us will never have the skills or equipment needed, or have access to all of the needed supplies. I'm not really sure what the advantages of hydrofoils are, other than a smoother ride and being able to look down on people. So naw - I think I'll pass. Besides - I'm wondering if you can really jump one of those things, and it you do - what happens when you re-enter the water? (Kind of academic in my case, but still).

What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

Kites do it okay. I'd imagine windsurfers wouldn't have a problem.

Big virtue is planing with 2m less sail than you usually need. I'd think that would be right down your alley. Instead of wrestling with a 9.5, you'd be flying on a 7.5, etc. As washboard as Lanier gets, riding over the chop would be heavenly.

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

Once in a while, I think "Man, I was born at just the right time". The draft ended a year before I'da been eligible. Hangliding got invented (and evolved to it's safer incarnation) right when I had enough money to buy one. Now this– right when my knees have started talking to me at night: foiling. Must have. Shok

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Re: Feeling handy? Have some spare time?

Just need some old POS board with deep Tuttle. The board is irrelevant!
I imagine these are not real jumpy... geometry is too weird.
(If it ever blows hard here again, I'd go back to my usual antique gear).

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