Da Travel Surfboard Challenge

In mid October I took a trip to Hawaii with Kristina and we brought along our ULI inflatible surfboard and our Pope Bisect to see which one is easier to travel with and also to find out if we would get nailed with the infamous United Airlines surfboard fee.  It was a really big risk. United Airlines charges $200 per surfboard one-way.  So if we got nailed with that fee we were looking at a potential $800 charge.  When checking in the boards, the Uli which was bagged in a huge duffle and was check in with no questions asked.  When I checked in the Pope Bisect, the ticket agent measured it with a tape measure and claimed that it was too large and needed to be classified as an "oversized baggage" and to be assessed a $125 charge. (Any baggage over 61 inches in length is classified as oversized).  I recalled checking on this before hand and measured the bag myself before hand and it was definitely under 61 inches in length.  So I challenged the ticket agent and measured it myself.  Yup, sure enough I measured it under 61 inches while the ticket agent watched.  She sheepishly agreed that it was not oversized.  So we checked in our luggage 2 per person and we were each charged $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second (which were the surfboards).  Wheww!

On our return flight back we decided to have the Sky Cap dude handle our bags.  I figured that I would run into less hassles than dealing with the counter person.  Again the ULI inflatable board went through the system with no questions asked, however the agriculture screening dudes were really suspicious of the Pope Bisect after putting it through their scanners.  They kept asking us whats in the bag and then decided to open it up.  After telling them it was a sign to avoid a surfboard fee the Skycap said "Aha!, I knew it was a surfboard".   He then said "well its under 61 inches so I won't charge you the surfboard fee."   So that was a close call.  

Based on this "experiment" it seems that the ULI board encounters less hassles at the ticket counter.  My only issue with the ULI is that it is twice the weight of the Pope Bisect.  To deal with the weight we had to purchase one of those colapsible mini hand cart to cart it around.

Frustration with box skeg screw system.

So I was trying to secure the center fin on my surfboard with the screw with a small screw driver and I kept fumbling with the screw.   The screw would fall into the fin box channel and I would struggle to dig it out.   So I finally got fed up with fumbling around with the screw with my screw driver and I did some research on the web to find alternatives that do not require a screw driver. Here's what I found.

1. Quick Fin Release system (QFR)

2. Wonder Bolt

The QFR system looked pretty cool.  No screws involved.  You attach it to your fin and it has a fin box "plate" that is designed to slip into slot and you apply a quarter turn and it locks into slot.  There is a spring in the assembly that supposedly creates enough tension to lock the fin securely in place.

The Wonder Bolt system is simply a screw and plate system with a tab to tighten.  No screw drivers needed,  just simply use your fingers on tab to tighten.

Now the Wonder Bolt system is simple and straight forward.  On the other hand, the QFR took a rocket scientist and an expert machinist to get it to work.   Yes, I was able to use the directions to assemble the QFR system on my fin, but my fin (Proteck) probably did not have the "standard" dimensions that the QFR system was designed for.   Well, I'm not exactly a "rocket scientist" but I did work in the aerospace industry as a R&D engineer.  My uncle is an expert machinist.  He helped me modify the QFR hardware so it would work with my fin and fin box.  He machined additional holes for the roll pin and fabricated two way washer.  These additions were done to make the QFR system somewhat adjustable.  Eventually we got it to work but only after experimenting with all the different combinations and permutations of the pieces.   I think I am going to write a letter the the folks at QFR.  I want them to disclose exactly what type of fins the QFR was designed for.   After this fiasco, I tried to come up with my own design.  I came up with a locking system that was more user friendly and compatible with all types of fin box screw systems.  One day when my design is refined and patents filed, I'll post an picture of my concept here.

DIY $29 SUP paddle

I wanted a back-up "thrasher paddle" that I could abuse on river rocks etc. I went online on e-bay and found a two piece kayak oar on sale for $29 plus $7 shipping. The shaft is aluminum and the paddle is made out of plastic. When I received the paddle I removed the paddle blade from one of the shafts and replaced with a pvc pipe t-connection to create a "T" handle grip. Here are pics of my modified paddle. Note: I'm real short (5'3") so the total shaft length was right size for me. For ave height/taller people you want to make sure that total shaft length will be appropriate for you.

SUPing on the 10' Uli from Uli Boards.

Kristina and I drove to the Taos Junction bridge to test out our new 10' Uli. The weather was nice and sunny and the Rio Grande was actually flowing pretty good. The water level was higher than the last time I was here. The Uli floated really well and was really fast paddling upstream. I was tempted to make a run down the river, but since we weren't expecting the water level to be high enough, we were not properly equipped to go downstream. So we both took turns paddling upstream for awhile and then returning to our launch spot downstream.

Our little puppy Dobby kept a watchful eye on us when we were in the water.

Tech notes on ULI:
Pumping it up was a breeze. I am currently disabled and lost a lot of weight due to chemo-therapy and removal of parts of my pancreas. So now I don't have proper enzymes to break down protein that I consume. (I have colon cancer that metastized to my liver). I am only 87 pounds. My normal weight is 125. Well even with my low energy level, I was able to pump it up really quickly. I'd say less than 10 minutes. Even though the Uli is an inflatable it is not light. Its around 40lbs. I won't complain because its weight is due to its use of very durable materials and rugged construction. Because of my loss of musculature I did have to have help carrying to the launch site (Thanks Kristina). The Uli felt really good in the water it was buoyant and paddled really fast. Manoeuvrability was great, easy to turn around on a dime. The grip deck felt great and was nicely grooved. Of course the pictures show me standing up, but when I get fatigued I paddle sitting down.

Note: One of the main reason why I got interested in doing SUP is because I have had massive surgeries which makes it painful to lie prone on a surfboard. I've already had 4 surgeries. My latest surgery was in March and I was in the hospital for 6 weeks because they removed part of my colon, lower stomach and also cut out parts of my kidney, pancreas and liver. After surgery the doctors claimed that I was 100% cancer free but two months later a CT-scan revealed that the cancer spread to my liver. My last CT-showed a little shrinkage but as for now I have 3 golfball sized tumors in my liver. So after the surgery I've been back on chemo for the past 4 months. Hopefully my next CT-scan will reveal more shrinkage of the tumors.

Checking out our test site.

Today we will check out the river at Orilla Verde.  River report - So I checked out the river and the water level is really low.  Lots of exposed rock and floor at various sections of river.  I'm not sure if a river run will be possible.   Maybe we'll still try it out anyway.

Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that I took out my 9'6" Pope Bisect for a spin in the river.   I launched downstream of the Taos Junction bridge.  I didn't have a shuttle set up so I paddled up stream and cruised back to launch site.  My Pope Bisect was equipped with pontoons attached to the rails to increase buoyancy.  Its an invention I've been working on for the past couple months and I have already submitted a patent so right now its in  "patent pending" status.   The purpose of invention is to allow users of a standard longboard to add buoyancy to allow stand up paddling.   Although this invention is not performance oriented, it will allow surfers to stand up paddle on their longboards without having to rent, borrow, or buy an SUP board.  Right now I'm not revealing photos since its in the  prototyping stage and may include changes for which I may have to make ammendments to patent.

My 10ft Uli SUP board shipped out today!

               

The first picture is the ULI fully inflated and held up by Chris.  In the second picture the ULI is deflated and rolled up to get ready for packing and shipping.  I can't wait to try it out.  Big Mahalos to Jim and Chris at Uliboards for making this happen!

My 10' SUP ULI under construction.

Here are some photos of my customized ULI currently being built in San Diego, California. I requested additional D-ring attachment points to allow rigging of "grab" ropes.
Thanks to Jim and the folks at ULI! It should be shipped out next week. Oh, I just want to note that another main reason for getting an ULI is that you can deflate it and pack it into a duffle bag. So it is highly transportable. Next time I go to Hawaii, I will also take this along.

This is a photo of the ULI SUP 10 ft. Steamroller. I've ordered one and expect it to arrive this week. I also specified additions to the board to allow me to attach a grab line around the front half of the board. The grab lines were required since I will be using this board to float down a river. The main reason for acquiring an ULI is that it is constructed using similar technology of inflatable rafts and its rugged construction allows it to survive bumping river rocks. Using a conventional fiberglass or epoxy board would be a recipe for disaster. Below is an ULI board in action. ULI stands for Ultra Light Inflatable

Do it yourself (DIY) accessories for your SUP board.

Okay so you spent over $1000 for your SUP board and around $300 for your paddle. The last thing you want is to hack the rails of your SUP board with your paddle. You also don't want to chip the edges of your paddle. Several companies and SUP manufactures sell rail guards and paddle blade guards. Most of these cost at least $20. Of course $20 dollars is a small price to pay considering that your board costs $1000 or more. However what gets me is a lot of these accessories probably cost $2 to manufacture/package. Some industrious DIY SUPers have found cheap alternatives to whats available on the market. In my case I used clear postal packaging tape (something I already had on hand) to protect my rails and Scotch Linerless Rubber Splicing Tape (purchased on Ebay for $7) to cover the edges of my paddle blade.

Adding a deckpad to the Pope Bisect

I searched around for a deckpad and found the most inexpensive pad on Ebay. I paid $59.95 plus $10 shipping fee for a blue deckpad. Since the width of the deck pad was designed for an SUP board it was wider than what I actually needed for my 23" wide Pope Bisect. The pad was one piece, 23.5 inches by 86 inches so I had to cut it for customization. Before I purchased the SUP deckpad from Ebay, I spent some time mocking it up on a computer model. The digital mock-up was done to determine how and where I would have to cut the deckpad to fit the two-piece Pope Bisect. To do this I got a pic of the deckpad from Ebay and imported into a 3D CAD software (Solidworks) to use as a template. also did the same with a pic of the 9'6" Pope Bisect which I used as a template to create a 3d model of the surfboard. Sounds like overkill but I thought it was a good exercise. Anyways, I already needed a 3D model of a surfboard since I was currently working on a patent that required 3D perspective drawings of a surfboard. Below is a photo of my actual board with deckpad applied.

The Pope Bisect

The Pope Bisect is a two-piece assembly. It was designed as a travel board to reduce size and improve convenience during air and land travel. I purchased this board because I got tired of paying $100 one-way fee for surfboards when flying to Hawaii. The bisect packs down to half its size and hopefully next time I fly to Hawaii I won't get nailed with the $100 surfboard fee, however I suspect I will get charged some kind of fee since Airlines are now charging for cargo luggage. But hopefully it will be much less than $100. By the way Pope also have 2 SUP models however because of its size it comes in 3-pieces and is called the "Pope Trisect". Check it out on the Pope Bisect website.

Maiden Voyage in Hopewell Lake, NM

I tried out my 9'6" Pope Bisect in Hopewell Lake. This board is a longboard and not a SUP board. I'm light so it barely floated me but it worked okay. At first it was a little wobbly since the width is only 23 inches. I actually fell in the water once, but once I got used to it I was okay standing up and paddling. When I got tired I went down on my knees and paddled. I'm using a C4 Junior paddle. It has a carbon fiber shaft/handle and a fiberglass blade. I wonder if this is the first SUP venture in the State of New Mexico. I'm currently awaiting shipment of an ULI SUP board. Once it arrives I will test it out on the Rio Grande. If you are curious about ULI boards check out their website: http://www.uliboards.com