Johnny’s Blog

Ben Wilson riding his Aviso Celeritas in Indo….

I finally delivered the Celeritas to Oregon for the first test ride with Tony. I showed up just as Tony pulled up from a Baja trip. We got to check out all the new equipment he was testing down south. It turned out that Ben Wilson was coming to town for the weekend to premier his new movie. So it was kind of perfect that he and Tony could get some of the new boards tested at the coast.

when I arrived in Oregon Tony just got home from a Mex trip

Logosz checking out the Celeritas in different constructions

Tony and Ben at the Slingshot factory, check the back drop, beautiful

Fresh boards getting set up at the factory

Logosz getting ready for the maiden voyage

Ben getting a feel for the board

 

After the deck tool half has gone through the initial cure cycle at 120 degrees F the board pattern is fastened to the tool and taken off the fixture then turned over.

The side walls are assembled

The vacuum path vents are laid out in blue around the perimeter of the board

The seal channel is installed around the outside of the tool

Then the pattern is coated with release and wax before lamination is started.

the pattern, still attached to the Deck tool half

getting set up for the bottom tool half

the bottom half of the pattern is ready for lamination

Here is an update of our tooling progress on the 5′4″ Celeritas. 

How our tooling works is: we take the normal foam and glass board, clean it up, block sand it to make sure it is fair and smooth. It then becomes a “Master Pattern” rather than just a surfboard. There are no fin boxes or leash plugs just a clean pattern.

The pattern is then set up in a jig and a parting line or split line is established. The parting line is a flange where the tool halfs (deck & bottom) come together and it is always the farthest part out on the rail. After the parting line is set up then a box is made around the outside to add rigidity to the tool. Alignment plugs are added to this first surface and then transferred to the second tool half, this helps the tool halves stay aligned during the curing process and keep the rail lines pure.

Once the pattern is all set up then the entire surface is released so the tool half will separate from it easily. The tool half is then layed up with Carbon, Fiberglass and 300 degree F epoxy resin. The tool is then cured at 120 F so the foam inside the pattern does not explode.

We should be done with the tool half today and I can show you how the second half of the tool goes and how we finish the tool. I will show more in a day or two after more progress is made on this tool.

the board set in the slpit line fixture

pattern released and ready for start of tool half

1st stage laminate almost complete

This is Ben Wilson testing the 5′4″ Celeritas. Ben is not a small guy.

the board looks like a normal shortboard in pictures

how about paddling into this thing on a 5'4"

Here is the next board going into tooling. Celeritas: the speed at which light travels. This thing is 5′4″ X 18.5″ X 2.1875″ It is difficult to see in the pictures but the concave is Deeeeeeep which by itself can be not so good but the magic in this board has to do with the blend between rail curve and edge rocker trasitioning into the single concave. This board in testing is all about speed and release. The combination of hidden volume and low entry rocker make it relatively easy to get into waves even at 5′4″. The intended rider should be under 180 lb. I will update with some pics of this board in action.

looks small but it actually has the volume of a 6-1 pro board

about 24" from the tail

a view of the concave looking from the nose

nose rocker

bottom outline, going to be setup for tri

These are pictures of us getting the last prototype ready for testing at Hood River.

laying out the Fast Track placement

track placement compared to insert template

me sanding the board, getting it ready for paint

 

Robert final wipe down before paint

customizing the pads

 

at Slingshot HQ

5-11 Moonshine in test form

fresh traction

Logosz with the final product

 

 

We have been working with Slingshot for over a year and a half to come up with something trick that will last and withstand some the high loads being applied to the deck of these boards. Over 2000 hours have been logged on the water along the Oregon coast and the Gorge. I think we finally have something that is pretty close to bomb proof. This clip is of Tony and Amery doing the final check ride on the Cole 5′10″ FireFly. This board has the proprietary “Free Space” laminated carbon fiber strap track in the deck. There are a few features that are advantageous with the track like the ability to fine tune your stance and the ease of going from strapped to strapless in seconds.