DIY Paddleboard Bungee System

Tomorrow, I'm paddling in a 7 mile "fun paddle challenge" to benefit the Ulumay Wildlife Sanctuary in Merritt Island. It's a good cause on the shore- that is, until the horn sounds, then it's on, and it gets real like a roller derby. I'm going to be in Camp Fun Race tommorrow, though, enjoying the run.
Most people will be on their SUP's, but I'll be on Seadragon, my 14' prone paddleboard, my most beloved of my quiver.

Seadragon

Several years back, I was doing a lot of paddleboard races, but there were not a lot of requirements for things to have on board, even for races that were offshore 7 or 8 miles. It hasn't been until recently that a lot of races have started requiring paddlers to carry things like water and safety whistles, which is good practice.
I have a mount on my board for a water bottle and GPS, but if I wanted to carry anything else, I'd have to strap it to myself somehow, which would be annoying paddling prone (or even if I was standing up).

My water bottle and GPS mount

So, I wanted to make my own simple DIY bungee for my paddleboard that could hold a small pack of "just in case" items for a short or medium distance race.
First, I went up to the local hardware store and picked up a pack of 4 small suction cup hooks, like what you'd find for hanging decor. In fact, my pack of 4 came packaged in green and red Christmas packaging!

The first thing you're going to do is slip the metal hook off of the suction cup, and save the hooks for some other project. Take a look at the suction cup knobs on top after you take the hook off- they have a little place under the knob that will allow some elastic to fit under perfectly, which will be forthcoming:

Next, clean off the area on your board where you are going to place your 4 suction cup mounts. I'm going to place mine right in front of my water bottle so I can get to it easily. I took a pencil and marked four dots on either side of the center line where I wanted the plugs:

To glue the suction cups down, I used E6000 epoxy cement.

 I placed plenty of glue around the inside of the bottom of each cup and smashed the cup in place over each mark, using the suction to help hold and secure each plug. I let the plugs dry in place for a full 24 hours without touching them.

The next day, I came back with some 1/8" flat braid elastic and a cord stop, both of which can be found at a craft or fabric store.

I used about a yard of the elastic to make a taut criss cross pattern, finished off by running the ends through a cord stop (for loosening and tightening), then making a knot to prevent the ends from slipping back out. Then, I trimmed off the excess:

I was lucky to find a small dry bag at Goodwill for .40 cents, so I packed that with sunscreen, an energy bar, my car key, and I wanted to attach a safety whistle to the outside:

So I used the ties on the bag to lash it to the elastic (in case it slips out if I capsize), and I used a Lark's Head knot to tie the whistle to the elastic, so I can easily get to it if I need it with plenty of cord, but I can also keep it tucked away too:

I just realized that my water bottle holder can double as a raw cookie dough holder in case the requirements ever change. Well, you never know....depends on the FUN level.

Fix A Ding

I haven't done a post on doing basic ding repair on a surfboard. I know some people who read this blog know how to fix a ding already, but maybe some don't, or haven't had the opportunity (thank goodness).
I recently picked up some sun curing resin that has cut up bits of fiberglass cloth in it suspended inside. The stuff I bought was made by Phix Doctor (Dura Rez Kit), but I suppose you could make your own by buying some fast cure epoxy or 5 min epoxy and mixing in some 4 oz finely chopped up fiberglass cloth.
I watched the video Phix Doctor recommended with the kit and here's my two cents:
1. Wear a mask when working with the stuff and not a tank top.
2. Wear nitrile gloves if you've got 'em.
3. The magic "Magnifiers" are just Mylar scraps.
4. Of course, Popsicle sticks, bamboo sticks, etc. can be used as the spreader sticks.

Ok, so, given that, here's a tail on my 7'6" that was looking really bad with a bad chip out of it:


Yikes!

OUCH!

 

The yellow wasn't going to come out, unfortunately (I was too late), but the rest, I think I could save. I used the 100 grit sandpaper that came in the kit to remove the grime and smooth out the damage:

 

Much better.
I applied the resin using the given sticks in section one (left side) while in the shaded garage:

 

 

Following the instructions, I used my finger over the Mylar piece to make sure the resin permeated into the board and the excess went onto the Mylar above and below. I took the board outside into the sun and held in up to the sun for 4 minutes. I know the directions said 3, but I went overboard.. I brought it back inside. The resin still felt a little tacky even then, so I waited a few extra minutes in the garage before moving on to the next section in the middle.
Here's the final section (right):

 

And here's the completed product:

 

 

I was happy with the outcome, especially compared to the nastiness that was there before. I was not happy with the instructions given on the website- I found them to be a bit on the hazardous side, in my humble opinion, but that's just me.

Also, I wonder if there's some other cheaper option:

Can clear shipping tape folded over onto itself serve as the Mylar bits?

You know, there's got to be something better to use in the Renaissance Fair Jousting Tournaments, or I'm going to have to do this over and over again.

 



 

A Surfer's Valentine Gift

Here's a quick and easy Valentine's gift to give the surfer in your life!
I used a plain t-shirt box (maybe you've got one left over from the Holidays), some cupcake liners, and a bit of red ribbon and 12 bars of wax to make a mock candy box with a bar of wax in each cupcake liner. I did add Valentine's Hershey's Kisses in between the liners to fill out the box and keep the wax from moving around. I even found a pink wax comb to add in to the box (not recommended for the insecure surfer).

An old Valentine's heart shaped box would be even better, but get some wrapped chocolate to add back in between the wax- otherwise, your gift may be perceived as "Hey, chunky, instead of candy, looks like you could use some exercise. Perhaps surfing?"

DIY Surfboard Car Rack Pads

OK, so I broke down a bought a new car after 11 years and nearly 225,000 miles. It was about time. One requirement was that I had roof racks installed on this vehicle, of course. I had to get Yakima permanent mount type, so I paid through the nose to get them installed. I at least could save a bit my making by own rack pads to go on the bars so it wouldn't damage the boards. Ok, like $40 bucks, but hey, better than nothing.
I thought a lot about the materials I could use to make the pads out of, and I decided on using an old yoga mat I didn't use anymore since I got a new one. For the sides, I had some flag fabric, which is essentially heavy duty nylon cloth, used to make those outdoor decorative flags. It can be found at any fabric store, but I already had some in my fabric stash.
First, I measured the width of the bars across. I came up with about 27 inches. I decided to round this down to 26" for my pads to leave a bit of room. You will have a different measurement depending on your racks.
Next, I took a pool noodle and measured the circumference using a tape measure. I came up with 8 inches. Since I'm going to use Velcro as a closure, I added 1 inch to each end, to make it 10 inches to make an overlap. This made the dimension 26" by 10". This is what I cut out twice from the yoga mat for each pad.
I was going for pockets on each end of the yoga mat to fit the pool noodle into- therefore, I cut four squares of the flag fabric into 10" by 10" squares using a rotary cutter on a cutting surface. The width is the same, but I wanted some space inbetween to fit the pool noodle into.

I then overlocked each edge of both squares using a standard overlock stitch on my machine set at 5.0 width, and 1.0 wide. I used a J foot, used for overlocking.
Next, I stitched the stitched the squares to each end of the yoga mat, placing the squares ON TOP of the mat. Here's a diagram of the stitching pattern:

Here's the layout on the floor:

 

When you stitch, keep the edges just overlapping- try not to overlap too much. Use a straight stitch and preferably a roller foot to make the pass.

When you've stitched both squares down, lay the piece down right side up and fold each half toward you.

I acquired some blue 3/4" Velcro from the store to use for this project. Laying it up against the long edge, staple it along this edge to secure it for sewing.

 

Sew lengthwise along the edge of one side of the Velcro, then sew another line along the other side of the Velcro lengthwise. Here's a sewing guide for this stage:

 

                                            

 

 

FLIP the piece to the other side and do the same thing. Don't forget that the Velcro needs to be on opposite sides since the piece will be wrapping around a cylinder.

 

Finished!

Now, I've got to cut the foam noodle. I'm cutting it to 26" inches. I mark the point with a pen.

For cutting foam of any kind, I use a electric knife like for cutting turkeys. Yep, they work great. They cut though foam like butter and make a mean turkey sandwich (well, when I used to eat meat).

 

I need to cut the foam noodle down the center (but not all the way through, just to the hole in the center). To help keep it straight, I chocked the noodle with a couple of heavy books:

 

Once the noodle was cut lengthwise, it was placed into the yoga mat pocket.

 

With the noodle cut side up, I tucked the flag fabric into the slit. I did not close the Velcro yet until I got the pads over the rail.

Slip the pads over the rail slit side down and with the fabric tucked in. Close the Velcro around the rails. The nice thing about these pads is that they have a slight sticky quality, which helps to keep the board from moving around.

Here they are installed over the rails:

 

Spiffy! Now my rail pads match my seat covers. I'm officially a total kook. Here's to sorta keepin' it real....kinda.