Nose Protector ??

Lately on the forums {iwindsurf, SB and the auzzie one} there have been discussions about "nose protectors". They started to make me wonder whether they actually did anything to save one from a "nose job".

This is obviously what we are trying to avoid !! {foto from the board lady}



So, I wrote to a local rep, Bruno of 2-rad. He makes me smile because he is so matter of fact. He says if you take 170 liter board out in over 25 knots of wind and do a few catapaults, you are bound to bust a nose. Either yours or the boards. He says the protector will protect the rider, butt not the board. He used the analogy of protective bags in the car. In an accident all the cushions will protect the people, but not the vehicle.

Have seen other people and discussions about boom sleeves/bras, mast base pads and the such...There are those strange animals called deviators, but they just make me nervous. How much stress can a mast track endure ?
 



Somehow I get the feeling these issues are just a fact of life. You ride dangerously and risks or personal and equipment injury goes up.

One can start with the boards covered in foam like the AHD ZEN and i have seen polyethylene boards like the BIC Techno that seem to survive almost all minor incidents and still look almost new. Everyone seems to consider these boards "okay", but lacking in performance.

I have learned to live with chips in my fins and repair them during "downtime". My AHD FF 160 is very "sensitive" and looks beat up. It still rides really well and planes up quickly.

So, as i said earlier, i just learn to live with it and take the risks.

However, the "board lady" says to avoid the rigid nose -pads, but YES do get the padding and here is an example:

In the comments the Canadian guy, back from Provenance, swears by deviators and pads.
Bruno says the deviators pull on mast track and cause delamination.
Yvan of AuVentFou says deviators are "passés".

Transporting boards on roof

Always thought there was an obvious way to put the board on the roof rack.

Since the bottom is flat , the top rounded and sensitive, I always put the bottom down on the rack.

Once that is decided, I think it is logical to put the board facing the back in terms of aerodynamics. If it was facing front, there would be wind resistance and loss of fuel efficiency.

Then there is talk on the SB forum about leaving the fin on or taking it off. My fins cost me over $150 each. They will stay IN the van and in their protective sleeve !!

I also donut like to pile boards on top of each other since this stresses the footstraps - unless i put some tennis balls in the straps and keep board bags on.

The craziest thing i have found is this image. In other words - donut overload #$%^&* [:)]

It looks like they either set this up just for the picture or had an accident where the door was blown off and thus crinkled the roof. ODD ...

Too bad there NEVER is any wind in Montréal :-)

Yesterday, Sunday the 2nd of October 2011 was a cold FALL day with winds out of the NE. There were stories of super waves and super jumps at Quebec City. Locally there were guys out on their 4.x sails and 90 liter boards. They were all VERY excited - and i did NOT get to go out at all : ( Would have liked to go to Vaudreuils or at least do one hour on the local river - even WITH the rock danger !!!

Check out these pics !!!!! as usual - "item may no longer exist" in link below  $%^&*()

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=A63846FAED2A8C07&id=A63846FAED2A8C07!5569#cid=A63846FAED2A8C07&id=A63846FAED2A8C07!5641

and here is an excerpt



COBRA factory in Thailand

There seems to be an interest lately in the COBRA plant and also a renewed interest in custom boards. I am guessing part of this is due to the information available now AND an interest in boards like the Phantom longboards which are more difficult to mass produce well. Here is a clip with pics and some pics ...
As usual - pictures and videos are disappearing - pictures I can download, but I am unsure what to do about disappearing videos - for now - wish i could download and put them under my name and give credit #$%^&*()


Since the COBRA factory video disappeared, here's one in a SUP factory :