No wind so what to do... hmmm
 

Oh I know how about a new board for a buddy :)

In progress...

http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board41.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board42.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board43.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board44.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board45.jpg

more to come... should look like this one when finished, but in yellow with black rails:

http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pi...ard/board2.jpg

Wow Tom that is awesome! No wonder your board is so good, you do it just like the pros. If GS see this he'll be shaking in his boots.

That really is cool! It looks great.

Thats freakin awesome, how much????

How long did that take to make?

Very cool Tom. I need a high wind board..... ;)

nice!

i need a board.. lol

all i got is my snapped one... what size is this one?

It's the same size as the one you demoed that day I took your pics.
Tom did a really nice job on that board. It's better than a lot of production boards out there, no doubt. :)

Did you ever see those pics, btw, Josh?

http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4984

It's 129x40, but I can make it 122x37.75 if that's what u ride (the yellow UG).

sent u a pm

yeah scott i saw them, they are really sick pictures! thanks.

you got any others from that day of my double s's or anything?

I'd be interested in the 122x37.75. I really need a high wind board... :cool:

Tom, when your done, let me know if you want any help testing its strength on hard 200+ lb kiteloop landings :confused:

Josh, my camera sucks, those are the only ones that turned out. The others were framed well, but blurry.

Sean, you should try Tom's board out one day. It's 40 wide.
He can hold it down to whatever. At our size, I wouldn't get all too narrow with today's rails. Tom can make a recommendation though.

i rode the skywalker 130 x 40 all season and as far as i am concerned, its perfect for all wind conditions.

i believe the flexi board thats been getting rave review around here is the identical size, maybe 1cm difference if that..

i rode in 35 to 40+ in hood river and it was perfect..

anything too small might get squirley.. dont know..
i remember going out a few times on ebones tiny board.. i swear my heels and toes almost stuck over each edge..


the board that Tom made that I've seen is AMAZING..

Tom can you write up a post on all that you had to buy, prep and do to get the results you got?

yeah, but little boards are so much more fun...

idk why everyone likes the gigantic boards... seem to sluggish... but idk.. my opinion...

Well, it would be too much to write up here really. It was really expensive and time consuming to get started. It took about 6 months and several expensive failures to finally make my first decent board. Because most board makers do not want to just give up their secrets there is a lot of trial and error (and just plain guessing) in the learning process.

Materials are not cheap either but in the end a board costs far less than the price of a commercial board if you do not count your time which includes a lot of manual labor and self abuse (being covered fiberglass dust sucks). That said, I still believe commercial boards are way overpriced but I won't say by how much.

I'm not really interested in selling boards or anything at this point (if ever) but since I will be making newer and better boards all the time, I'd be glad to give away older ones to anyone in need of a board as long as they are willing to live with any imperfections they find hah. I don't have any extras right now... but I might in a week or two.

Of course I also don't mind making a custom board for a friend when I have time to do it. Trent Hink also makes boards... several guys around here are riding his boards.

I'll take a 122 if you have an extra. I'll pay ya for it too...or if you won't take any money....I can offer you 27 virgins and a case of beer. Al-kiteah! ;)

Do you have 27 which are experienced rather than virgins? If so, it's a deal.

haha, you drive a hard bargain! I will go to costa soon and I will return with 27 experienced hookers for you. They will be disease-free and good-looking. Any other requests? Let the sultan know now because, soon, it will be too late.

Nice post!

Boards and boats! Regular craftsman!

When are we going to see photos of the sail boat you built?

http://www.floridakitesurfer.com/weekender/step18a.jpg

Here's my sailboat build diary/blog whatever:

http://www.floridakitesurfer.com/weekender/

More updates on the board....

http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board45.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board46.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board47.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board48.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board49.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board49a.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board49b.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board49c.jpg

Looks good Tom.
Are you going to demo it soon?
Does that board have the same flex (thickness/stiffness) throughout?

Needs a little more finishing.. but no, there is some flex at the tips. It's 1/8" thick at the tips and rails and 1/2" thick in the middle of the board.

The rails are stepped down to 1/4" at the sides and 1/8 at the tips.

http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board50.jpg
http://www.floridakiteboarder.com/pictures/board51.jpg

any concave?

itz hard to tell

Yeah, 1/4".

dude tom thats pretty sick, can't wait to see it at the beach

No Wind...the 66 Mustang is always calling.

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...o/DSC00260.jpg

Well might as well keep it going... anyone else building anything?

This is my sole remaining Unimog. A little brake work and I'm in the middle of adding a turbo

We have a lot of talented builders in our area.
I have been building up my tolerance to constantly changing wind forecasts.
Has anyone actually been reading this one: http://capmel.com/marine_wea1.htm ??

If so, remember... it's for entertainment purposes only.
They changed the wind direction 4 times and the wind speed 7 times yesterday on the forecast for Thursday.
I lost track of Friday's changes.
Funny stuff, changing a forecast that is 5 days out every 3 hours.
Anyway, I feel for you guys that do read it and don't have the tolerance built up that I have built. :)

I just realized, this must really drive the people involved with the Pier to Pier race insane. Sorry for that. :(

Bob- That one seems to have a shorter wheelbase that the white one did. Didn't you end up selling that one or something? That thing was INCREDIBLE!!!!

You guys are all super talented- props to all of you for your skillz.....
Big G- Can you post a before and after of your kitchen if you get a chance? Jayson and Julie do some very high quality work.

Gladly!!!! We enjoy sharing the pics and the new kitchen made hosting Thanksgiving, a blast! Enjoy!

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...eo/Before3.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...o/DSC01775.jpg

And Another Angle

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...o/DSC01635.jpg

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...o/DSC01750.jpg

Be sure to contact Julie and Jason if your considering any Kitchen remodling. You can't DIY your own kitchen for what they can do it, for with minimal construction time.
Good Luck!

I am finally coming to the end of a year-long remodel. YEAH!!!
Here's some pics of the nearly finished master bath and shower.
The shower is 7 foot by 4 foot with nearly 200 sq feet of tile and 5 showerheads.

Awesome work Jayson.

Man, no wind.... no kidding..... WTF? :(

Who makes these dumb forecasts, anyway? :rolleyes: :confused:
There were 8 of us hanging at EB for hours today, just waiting, shooting the sh.it (not the breeze, cuz there was none).
Even Superintendent Wilson came out and hung out with us for awhile (he felt bad for us and our skunk, I think).

LOL...... ;)

Oh, he did have some words of advice regarding Sand Key Park, so that was useful.

aaand......? Help those north county'ers out. ;)

Basically -- Ask to speak with Julie (maybe Judy) Cummings, I believe was her name. She is second Big Cheese at SK, was my impression.
Mr. Wilson said he thought a reasonable compromise to propose would be to rig at the most northern part of the park (near the jetties and outside the designated swim zone) Then, once on the water, stay outside the swim buoys. When ready to land your kite, land up near the jetty.
That's the best place to ride is near the jetty. The further south you go, the harder and harder it gets to hold your ground. Also, it's fairly flat and the "waves" are good near the jetty too.
He said this seemed like a reasonable proposal to put by them.
At bare minimum, it shows we are wanting to do the right thing.
I am all for being proactive and talking in a friendly manner to those in charge, first, not after something happens.
It's been my experience that once you show your face and it's a smiling and reasonable one, you are way better off than staying a stranger until a "rule" is made.

Anyway, I know Jim hates to have anything in writing, so these are simply suggestions he made, off the record and in passing. He wasn't in his office, but was out just talking kiting with us, non-formal like :).

If you decide to go in and talk with them, I am very confident you would do a great job representing the kiters and getting the skinny on the situation up there for us, Sean.

Awesome work Jayson!

I just ripped up all of my carpet and put down bamboo flooring. Advice for anyone considering this job: pay someone else to do it. Man what a pain in the butt (on cement floors). Looks great tho!

Unfortunately no before and after pics, sorry :(

Thanks Tom.
You can't see it but there is bamboo flooring in our master bed and bath.
Free Advice: Buy the manufactured bamboo that snaps together. No glue and no nails.
We put down both rooms in 3 hours and havent had any problems since.