@dirigible makes sense on the battery. Simplicity is a virtue when you really don’t know what you’re doing, good advice!
Thanks for the insight on constructing a board versus modifying. I seriously laughed out loud at the rifle case build—humans are amazing. And to go through all of that work to foil in German winter is outrageous. Love it.
@Foliengriller huge help, thanks for the details! I was reading about blanks and found @deeprootbuild and learned about Greenlight Surf Supply. He has a board designed with AkuShaper. It’s 165 cm, so just over the 1.6m you suggested. But the dimensions sound about right for me. Going to grab the file and get a blank, then we’ll see how the cutting and glassing goes. I’ll read about batteries some more, but let me know if you have experience with a plug and play set up that works.
Hey man, looks like your post was deleted, but I was able to read it last night. Thanks for the encouragement! Good to hear that Greenlight Surf Supply has been good to you, it looks like I’ll be spending some $$$ with them. I’m actually a little caught up on one part—the shaping and glassing tools. For the shaping, which of these tools do I really need for a pre-cut blank? Same question for the glassing tools and supplies. What can I skip on those? Just hoping to learn more since it’s all adding up fast.
Uggg… I intentionally deleted it, because after reading Foliengrillers very nice post, I didn’t feel like mine really added a lot of helpful information to the forum that hasn’t already been said. I love this forum and so I was trying to keep it rich with useful info instead of adding a not useful post I guess I didn’t realize that it would leave behind a note that I had posted and then deleted it. LOL. Anyway below is the original post, and I personally loved the Stanley 21-115 Surform Shaver. That is the only moderately aggressive tool that I used for shaping, beyond that I only used sand paper LOL.
Hey Bro, I’m up in Michigan and I have had nothing but really great experience with Greenlight Surf Supply. They were quick to respond if there is any delays, and very fast shipping in the US. I am just a few steps ahead of you, but similar story that I won’t bore everyone with. My build is 96% done, and from reading through all of the post here over the past 6 months. I would have just these recommendations (most of which just concur with previous posters):
Either the Maytech or the Flipsky 120k motor with plans for a 12s battery
Definitely either a VESC or a quality clone, I went with the MakerX, b/c I couldn’t get past the paying part on the Trampa site with PayPal or my US credit card - But the MakerX site worked quick and easy, and so far so good. Hoping to test it in the water this weekend (Hooded wetsuit here in Brooklyn, MI)
Check out crazyfoil in Canada for your mast and fuselage and wings. I live less than 45 minutes from Canada, and I couldn’t ignore the prices. They were also great to work with a few months ago.
It seems like all else is based on user preference - I personally put some 2040 aluminum beams in a foam surfboard and nice thick aluminum plate to mount my CrazyFoil to, but otherwise, I am confident I am on the right track. I hope you are as well.
I told my wife earlier tonight. I don’t know what hobbyist like us used to do before the internet forums came along… (Sorry I’m also almost 50 years old and a nurse LOL… but I eat up all of this great info).
Good Luck in Texas! The ice just cleared from the lakes here a couple of weeks ago, so I hope to get in this weekend,
Todd
Dexter, MI
@tritodd There’s a thread here somewhere describing issues with CrazyFoil (material strength, manufacturing inconsistency). Being in Canada, I was tempted by the price as well–but decided to play it safe by getting a Gong for only a little bit more.
Seemed useful enough to me to reply, that’s saying something! Thanks for the tip on the shaver, just got one from Amazon. Gonna also get some sanding blocks too. From there, I guess I’ll wait for my blank from Greenlight and hope the motor gets in soon. Probably time for me to go back to the glassing threads and figure all of that out.
@SoEFoil that’s the best step by step breakdown I’ve seen yet! I agree that you’d need a wiki or something to really do it right. And, from my perspective, a glossary too. More acronyms than the military around here.
Thanks for sharing that, the thread took me to a couple other places that helped.
@torqueboards I’m in north Dallas, about the same distance between Lake Lewisville and Ray Hubbard. White Rock is also close. Figured any of the three would be a good place to start.
@torqueboards Thanks, I’m excited too. It’ll be a slow grind, no doubt. Try not to wait on the edge of your seat. PM me and let me know what brings you to the site and if you plan on doing a build. Some local company wouldn’t hurt.
Thanks for the kind words Emenel! I did my first trial run yesterday, and I have to say that I could not have been happier with the result. I am a nurse, and felt way over my head at several times building this, but it was really sweet when the board (that I was lying on) would gain enough speed to leave the water surface and then almost complete silence, and the speed quickly increased. Very rewarding yesterday, it wasn’t perfect, but it awesome after the many many hours I worked on this not knowing if it would even work at all.
Good luck to you! As for me, I am ordering more board building supplies shortly (the board I have weighs a ton and was sorta a conversion for this project to save money - encapsulated existing foam board into a shell to include the electronics).
Thanks for this info @dirigible My first trial went really well on the Crazy Foil Mast, Fuselage, and rear wing (I 3d printed / carbon fibered my front wing). I am a really new newby, so I certainly did not test the CrazyFoil extensively at all yet. I will definitely check out the Gong equipment for my next build, and I really appreciate your input - I saw a lot of Gong posts previously, and after looking at the website, it definitely is a nice option price wise (also since a lot of the commonly available .stl files fit those without the modifications I have had to make for the Crazyfoil Mast). PS - Go Maple Leafs in the playoffs!
@dirigible How’s your build coming along? I think I’m going to follow down the path of buying the battery you mentioned. Have you received yours yet and done successful tests with the motor and VESC?
I got my Flipsky kit a week ago, Gong Allvator L foil came today! Waiting on my blank from Greenlight Surf Supply, should be here in the next couple of days. I’ll post pictures after all of that comes in.
@tritodd nice! You get any video, by chance? Or maybe some pictures of the build and finished product? Would love to see how yours developed over time.
@Emenel Build is slow going, just because of competing priorities. I have everything I need (batteries, Flipsky kit, foil, foam, battery enclosure…) except marine epoxy, which has so far been lost in shipment twice by Amazon.
My foam is cut to basic size with hole for battery box, with aluminum rails installed in bottom for mounting the mast. Next I think I’m going to be cutting a lip around the foam battery hole so a lid can be nested into it, then moving on to final shaping and fibreglassing.
@dirigible I hear you on competing priorities…my kids are 4 and 2.
You’re definitely making progress though, battery box looks like a clean fit. Aluminum rails make sense for mount mast. No idea how I’m going to do that part yet. I asked about the battery specifically because a few people said in another thread that they weren’t ideal. So now I’m thinking about tackling a battery build. We’ll see.
@Emenel My kids are 7 and 9. While I wouldn’t trade parenthood for anything, I really cherish the free time I’ve slooowly been getting back as they become more independent.
I agree that building a battery pack is the way to go, if you’re so inclined. My concern was that if I didn’t seize the moment and buy some batteries I’d never finish the project. I can always go back and tweak things after I’ve got a proof of concept.
Now I’m trying to figure out what to do about a battery. I thought about getting the Turnigy 20000 mAh battery to save time—but as I mentioned above, some people on another thread suggested against. So I think I’ll TRY (key word) to build one. I might be owing @torqueboards a lot of drinks soon since he’s offered to help me NOT blow my hands off.
Right now trying to figure out how many 18650 30Q’s to buy and what type. They seem similar but vary a lot in price. These are $5/each, these are $1.93, and these are $2.40. Is there some big difference that I’m not picking up on?
The expensive ones lock genuine, the cheap ones look like knock offs. Stay with genuine quality cells from a reputable seller. Too risky to get a burning pack.
Samsung 40T 21700 and Molicel P42A 21700 are also good cells and less spot welding.
I guess I didn’t realize that it would leave behind a note that I had posted and then deleted it. LOL. Anyway below is the original post, and I personally loved the Stanley 21-115 Surform Shaver. That is the only moderately aggressive tool that I used for shaping, beyond that I only used sand paper LOL.
