TOG Proto 120cm by 45cm wide

[V]

Tim, the proto worked better with the grommets on the handle. The wind was up and down at Wolf Lake Friday so it was hard to get a good read. In flat water it worked nice. Spongy feel/Flexy, which I like, but not too much flex. The ride was nice and soft. By riding it a bit more flat it seemed faster and I didn't have any problem keepig the nose up. It had good pop, but I wasn't used to the width and length yet. I landed one fairly decent jump (15foot?) on the board pretty flat and it made a loud pop, so I think it was a good smack. The board stuck a bit with the flat bottom and didn't seem to have an issue with the force at all. Seemed to be a good balance of flex when the wind picked up and the board absorbed more wind.

But with the higher winds, the width and the chop affected my riding. It was a bit too wide to hold the edge 17-18kts and when the chop increased, I tended to pearl when I wasn't paying attention which happened several times.

[tim]

V,

Board I built for you has a 1/4 inch balsa top for looks and to withstand heel dents from jumps and because I like the wood look. It as a 1/8 inch divinicell core for flotation and a carbon bottom for flex and toughness. It has a flat bottom a Peter Nordby shape and is 17.5" wide and 47" long. I built it wide for early planing in light winds. Because of its short legnth I think you will have no trouble digging in against gusts in overpowered conditions. I'm riding a similar all balsa shape 19" wide and have no problems digging in in gusts.

For future boards I'm going to a concave for upwind and early planing and am going to try a 1/4 inch of balsa on top with a carbon bottom. The concave adds a whole other level of complexity. The board I took to Corpus had too much concave and while it absolutely ripped upwind, it proved tippy on flat water. I've modified the concave on the new board I'm building leaving the concave in the center and flat on the edges.

I'm riding a flat board similar to yours and it works fine, but think concave offers definite advantages. I think what seperates TOG's from most other boards is the wood look I took from Peter Nordby who brought in from his home in Norway as well as the flex and wider shape. I think in our gusty low wind conditions we need wider boards and plenty of flex in the chop of our inland lakes.

I'm hoping you ride the Hell put of your TOG proto and see if you can break it landing one of the tricks that I can't do. I'm hoping your TOG proto holds together. If it does then I know we're OK to go ahead and built the next level of protos of 1/4 inch balsa with a carbon bottom and a conave. Right now I'm building a 3/8 balsa board with a concave carbon bottom, but have gotten delayed with soccer and work. Hope to finish it in July and test it in the Fall when we get our best winds.

Regards,
Tim

[V]

Yeah, rode the TOG proto again in Little Point Sable this weekend. It was a great board in the 13-16kts range. Once the wind kicked up, it was a bit wide. It works really well in the lighter wind ranges. Smooth and soft riding for sure. Hadn't had any problems yet so the carbon is making a difference I think. Even the glass is holding up well. Hope to get some riding on it today after work.

[V]

Rode the 120cm two more times now. Both very short sessions. Planing up it is a dream. Fast planing due to the width, but the chop may be a problem. Still need more time on this board but my feelings for it improve after each session. I may ultimately want to taper in the tips to give it a better edge in the chop, pulling the leading tip a bit outta the water reducing the tendency for me to pearl it. I'm wondering if offsetting the straps about 1/2" to the heelside might help as well. Does anyone else ride a superfat board that has offset strap locations to the heelside?

[V]

Tim, the board is still holding up well. I noticed the pads are off center more toward toeside. I think this is causing me problems, especially with my thoughts that the board was too wide. I think the fact that my feet are located closer to toeside, rather than the middle, or more heelside, this is making it difficult to ride in powered up conditions. I'm not talking overpowered or high winds, just powered up, I am really pulling up with my feet on the straps and my shins get worked pretty early going. I've been shifting my feet more toward heelside when this happens, but my feet are not in the the straps as much and its way too loose a feel. Next time, I am going to ride the board backwards and see if that does anything. Maybe I'll just reverse the straps so they fit the other way, but leave the pads on.