Deck Grip on Technograin Baked Potato?

[megsy]

Hi fellow firewire'ians,

Picking up my 501 Technograin Baked Potato tomorrow & I'm wondering whether to put a tail pad on it or not?

The board looks so sick with the wood grain, it would almost be a crime to cover it but I don't want to damage the deck with my knee when I duck dive.

Apart from the aesthetic look, I'm wondering if the adhesive of the deck grip will damage the Paulownia deck?

[core personal training]

megsy, i duckdive with the ball of my foot...never used my knee..ever... that might help... your right, it would be a shame to cover it..!! .. there's clear deck grip out there... i was under the impression there is still a coat of resin that you would be adhering to... so i assume its fine... chris.. you out there..??

[megsy]

Hey Core,

It's weird because when you feel the board, it doesn't feel like there is any resin on it?

But it apparently has what Firewire call, an 'Entropy Bio-Resin Hot Coat'.

[core personal training]

haven't molested one yet....gotta love wood though...

[prjwebb]

Yeah there's 2 thin coats of bio resin rubbed on to seal the wood. At least I think I read it was two.
I tried my sweet potato without a pad and it felt odd. Never sure of foot placement and I find the extra height of the pad actually give you a little more leverage going rail to rail on that wide tail.
I would batter it with my knee duck diving too.

[megsy]

Mmmmm....might run it without to start with, taking Core's advise & using the ball of my foot to duck dive.

Guess I can always put a tail pad on after if i feel I need too!

[Goanna]

Mmmmm....might run it without to start with, taking Core's advise & using the ball of my foot to duck dive.

Guess I can always put a tail pad on after if i feel I need too!

Hey Megsy, any wax left in the woodgrain will affect tailpad adhesion later on - something to think about I suppose.

[Slowman]

Yeah I use the ball of my foot too on the tail pad and I think my front foot is in the ushiro geri position, kicking backwards pushing my weight down and forward. I also roll the board to one side into a 30-45 degree from horizontal position (one rail lower than the other) for an emergency deep dive if need be.

[suncoastslop]

any pics?

suncoast

[Goanna]

any pics?

suncoast

I'm stealing Megsy's thunder here but here is what he sent me today....

1463

[suncoastslop]

sick

suncoast

[megsy]

Goanna, you're too quick! I have no problem you posting up the pics of my new 'sick' stick.

[hawaii_boi]

sick board! I want!!!!!!!

ALOHA!!

[core personal training]

I'm stealing Megsy's thunder here but here is what he sent me today....

1463

Goanna is such a frothing grom, he posts pics of his mates new boards...next he'll take it for a spin while Megsy's out at work..!!

[nsjoel808]

so wats the verdict? are the concaves and middle spine/ all the lines still the same? hard to tell with that wood finish.
hows the weight/ overall feel of the board?

[Goanna]

Goanna is such a frothing grom, he posts pics of his mates new boards...next he'll take it for a spin while Megsy's out at work..!!

Guilty! I am a frothong grom that's for sure - and Megsy is working Sunday. mmmmm thanks for the idea Core

[cuttlefish]

Versa traction.
Made in The US.
Available in Aus from Riley (balsa surfboards).
A funboard full deck kit will cost $75 (Aus) and will leave you with almost 2 big panels left over to use on another board.
You could then later put a normal tail pad on the versa traction if you wanted to.
Check the Riley site or the listings on Aus Ebay to see how the traction looks on their balsa boards.
I've used them on a couple of black carbon fibre boards and just bought another one for a new board.
No wax is brilliant.

[megsy]

Cheers Cuttlefish, I might go check them out. They're at Miranda, which isn't too far away from me.
Goanna, I'll be bringing the board with me to work just to make sure you don't break it in before I get a chance to, sorry!
nsjoel808, I will give a detailed report of how it rides once I get it in the water. I'm hanging to ride it as conditions are perfect for a groveller board at the moment...1-2ft ENE swell, with light NW winds (nice & glassy). Unfortunately I'm working today & tomorrow but I'm going to get up for the early tomorrow before I start work...stay tuned!

[cuttlefish]

o
The thing about Versa traction is it comes in multiple panels and you can trim them to fit.
So a clever customer who knows they like it will simply buy one longboard kit which isn't much more and be able to fully cover a couple of shorter boards.
Tip of the day.

[core personal training]

Yeah I use the ball of my foot too on the tail pad and I think my front foot is in the ushiro geri position, kicking backwards pushing my weight down and forward.

yeah, my left leg does some sort of demented chicken dance too...every successful surfer has a signature move....unfortunately, thats mine... !!

[megsy]

nsjoel808,

Just a report on the performance of my new 5'1" Baked Potato Technograin.

Surfed it in 2-2.5ft waves, slightly onshore winds in the morning. Had FCS K2.1 quads set up. This board flies!

It paddles as good as the sweet potato but definitely has better response in the critical part of the wave by holding it's rail line in the face of the wave (not sliding out like the SP does).

Later in the afternoon, I surfed it in 2.5-3ft waves, light offshore winds. Added the FCS knubster to the quad set up to give me a bit more control through the tail. The boards rail to rail transition is so smooth. I was surprised at how hard you can drive off the bottom of the wave. It performs round house cutbacks like a breeze without losing any speed & no problems putting it up late into the lip of the wave.

The board is surprising light. I think it is lighter than the 5'0" sweet potato I once owned.

The board turns plenty of heads out in the line up (& on the land), mainly due to how amazing it looks with the Paulownia deck skin.

I know i'm going to have some great & memorable sessions on this board....Firewire, two thumbs-up!!!
so wats the verdict? are the concaves and middle spine/ all the lines still the same? hard to tell with that wood finish.
hows the weight/ overall feel of the board?

[csarqui]

Nice to hear megsy. I think this model is getting close to the top of my shopping list.

[Chris]

stoked Megsy. I have been riding my 503 the last few days and am just blown away by it. So super responsive and durable!! love it. might be my favorite potato yet...

Cheers

[pmorgan]

1524

Hey megsy I don't know if you fitted a tail pad to your BP but this tail block could be the way to go. Not covering too much of that cool finish.

[megsy]

Ok, so I have put Versatraction on the deck of BP technograin. First tried it wearing boardies, no top. When you're paddling & sitting on your board, you tend to slide around a bit, doesn't grip like wax does. But when your up & surfing, your feet do grip somewhat but different to wax grip.
Second time I used it, I had a wetty on & put a little bit of wax on the versatraction & it felt much better grip wise, I wasn't slipping & sliding around like before. Maybe that's the key, a light layer on the versatraction that gets into the grooves of the grip & it's good to go. If you want to maintain the aesthetic look of the board, then versatraction isn't too bad an option.

[FW - Fan]

Ok, so I have put Versatraction on the deck of BP technograin. First tried it wearing boardies, no top. When you're paddling & sitting on your board, you tend to slide around a bit, doesn't grip like wax does. But when your up & surfing, your feet do grip somewhat but different to wax grip.
Second time I used it, I had a wetty on & put a little bit of wax on the versatraction & it felt much better grip wise, I wasn't slipping & sliding around like before. Maybe that's the key, a light layer on the versatraction that gets into the grooves of the grip & it's good to go. If you want to maintain the aesthetic look of the board, then versatraction isn't too bad an option.

If you have to put wax on it...doesnt that defeat the purpose?

[megsy]

Here's a pic: 1529

[megsy]

FW-Fan, I agree, it does defeat the purpose but I'm going to try a few things with it to make it work.

[prjwebb]

Try a little sanding

[megsy]

Thanks for the suggestion pmorgan, I thought about one of those but I decided not too because it would still cover, even just a bit of the beautiful deck of the board.

[Chris]

i am track pad all the way!!
but i fall off while surfing without one...

[fokaiHI]

haven't molested one yet....gotta love wood though...
thats an innuendo if i ever heard one

[ferchizzle]

Chris - can you please tell me how to remove a trackpad from a Techno Grain board?

I set the kicker too far back and realized this after a sesh.



i am track pad all the way!!
but i fall off while surfing without one...

[ferchizzle]

Megsy - did you have to do anything different to remove the wax from a TG board?

Also does anyone know the best way to remove a traction pad from a TG board? I don't want to lift off any wood w the removal.




Ok, so I have put Versatraction on the deck of BP technograin. First tried it wearing boardies, no top. When you're paddling & sitting on your board, you tend to slide around a bit, doesn't grip like wax does. But when your up & surfing, your feet do grip somewhat but different to wax grip.
Second time I used it, I had a wetty on & put a little bit of wax on the versatraction & it felt much better grip wise, I wasn't slipping & sliding around like before. Maybe that's the key, a light layer on the versatraction that gets into the grooves of the grip & it's good to go. If you want to maintain the aesthetic look of the board, then versatraction isn't too bad an option.

[ferchizzle]

What is the safest way to remove wax and a traction pad from a TechnoGrain board?

I put my traction board too far back on my TG BP.

Many thanks in advance!!!






i am track pad all the way!!
but i fall off while surfing without one...

[FW - Fan]

ferchizzle...you seem a little anxious about this....

[prjwebb]

Also I don't think there is such a thing as too far back. Especially on a BP. You can always move your foot forward, but not further back than the pad allows.

[iggy]

Also I don't think there is such a thing as too far back. Especially on a BP. You can always move your foot forward, but not further back than the pad allows.

Agreed there, besides those boards like to be ridden with the back foot way back!

[ferchizzle]

prjwebb - I placed the traction pad right up against the leash plug and found my self slpwing down a little tp much when my foot would engage the kicker portion of the traction pad.

I want to ride the board without the pad (something should have done in the beginning) to figure out my foot position.

I am anxious about this because even though the TG construction is structually stronger, I have found the surface to be soft and susceptible to having small pieces of wood lift off if you are not careful. So, I want to be cautious about removing the pad.

[prjwebb]

I'd recommend having your foot a little forwardoin the pad when working through a slower section and then you're still able to jam it back against the kicker when a steep section presents its self.

[ferchizzle]

Prjwebb - I feel you. Will give it a few more sessions. Right now the kicker is behind the rear quad fins. Thinking it shooild be over the rear fins instead. Know what I mean?

[prjwebb]

My kicker starts at the back edge of my rear quads so when my foot is against the kicker it's right over the fins.

[ferchizzle]

My kicker is about a half inch behind the rear quads.

[prjwebb]

Can't see that being an issue but whatever feels right for you!

[guigoon]

Do simple: you cut the back of the pad gently to the cutter so as to have a flat surface, and voila! You can put your foot where you want without having to take off the pad.

In the opposite case, if your pad is too far back, you added just before a small strip that you cut into a bath mat shower the same color as your pad. it works very well, it is simple, safe and cheap (but it will probably be a little ugly on your BP TG ...)

[megsy]

ferchizzle, I removed the wax the same way as I normally do, apply a little heat via a hair dryer just to soften the wax, then scrap off with a wax comb.

[kdropin]

prjwebb - I placed the traction pad right up against the leash plug and found my self slpwing down a little tp much when my foot would engage the kicker portion of the traction pad.

I want to ride the board without the pad (something should have done in the beginning) to figure out my foot position.

I am anxious about this because even though the TG construction is structually stronger, I have found the surface to be soft and susceptible to having small pieces of wood lift off if you are not careful. So, I want to be cautious about removing the pad.
u find the surface of the techno to be soft?

[ferchizzle]

Yes. As I was removing the decals pff the board, I used the corner of my fingernail to lift the sticker up and I took a tiny speck of wood with it.

[cuttlefish]

Megsy,
It may take a little while to get used to the versa traction but I've used it on a few boards now so I've got no need for wax.
The only negative is when the water's dirty with run off the traction can get a bit slippery as it's more sensitive to slime than wax.
Best to avoid surfing in dirty water anyway.
Looks much better than with wax aesthetically and no wax migrating around all over the board.