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Old     (surffresh)      Join Date: Jun 2010       08-08-2011, 12:16 PM Reply   
does anyone have a Flyboy that you are willing to part with ? I have a customer here from overseas that will be here for almost 3 weeks and the next shipment will not be here until the end of this month. PM me if you think you can help. Thanks !
Old     (slimjim44)      Join Date: Feb 2009       08-08-2011, 12:17 PM Reply   
There's one for sale in the classifieds.
Old     (surffresh)      Join Date: Jun 2010       08-08-2011, 12:34 PM Reply   
yep PM'd but no word yet, thanks tho
Old     (packrat)      Join Date: Mar 2005       08-08-2011, 12:39 PM Reply   
PM Sent. Packrat
Old     (ilikebeaverandboats)      Join Date: Jul 2007       08-08-2011, 1:05 PM Reply   
anyone know when IS will be selling them? i want one next summer...
Old     (surffresh)      Join Date: Jun 2010       08-08-2011, 2:05 PM Reply   
shipment is coming in at the end of this month, dealers should have them after that
Old     (ilikebeaverandboats)      Join Date: Jul 2007       08-08-2011, 6:59 PM Reply   
are the flyboy boards as brittle and as sensitive to the heat as the shred stixx boards? I love riding my elevation, but the thing keeps getting small cracks everywhere, im convinced its because of the heat out here in AZ, because I baby that thing. 115 degree days and the board is either on top of the tower or in its bag in the bed of the truck on days we go out.
Old     (johnboyy7)      Join Date: Apr 2011       08-08-2011, 8:49 PM Reply   
i have a new IS flyboy for sale if you are interested in it. 750.
Old     (trash4life)      Join Date: Jun 2005       08-09-2011, 7:42 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilikebeaverandboats View Post
are the flyboy boards as brittle and as sensitive to the heat as the shred stixx boards? I love riding my elevation, but the thing keeps getting small cracks everywhere, im convinced its because of the heat out here in AZ, because I baby that thing. 115 degree days and the board is either on top of the tower or in its bag in the bed of the truck on days we go out.
That's one of the main reasons I bought a flyboy instead of a new Shred stixx. I have a comp 1 that I have loved but it is sooo fragile and I wanted something that would last for more than 2 seasons. My new flyboy looks and feels as if its going to be much more durable but only time will tell. I'm still getting used to the differences between the two boards but enjoying the new challenge.
Old     (johnboyy7)      Join Date: Apr 2011       08-09-2011, 9:02 AM Reply   
How do y'all feel the new IS compares to the original as far as ride durability?

Last edited by johnboyy7; 08-09-2011 at 9:04 AM. Reason: Left out sentence
Old     (ilikebeaverandboats)      Join Date: Jul 2007       08-09-2011, 10:05 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by trash4life View Post
That's one of the main reasons I bought a flyboy instead of a new Shred stixx. I have a comp 1 that I have loved but it is sooo fragile and I wanted something that would last for more than 2 seasons. My new flyboy looks and feels as if its going to be much more durable but only time will tell. I'm still getting used to the differences between the two boards but enjoying the new challenge.
Think you could let me know how it holds up, sometime down the line? That sandwich construction they use looks pretty trick and durable, but I cant drop another $700 on a board thats not going to last. I cant avoid leaving the thing in the sun so its just gonna fracture more and more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnboyy7 View Post
i have a new IS flyboy for sale if you are interested in it. 750.
Ill keep it in mind, but theres no way I can spend the money on a board at the end of the season.
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-09-2011, 12:05 PM Reply   
The original flyboy construction is very light and durable, but its still a performance board and so is designed for best performance not durability. Our original flyboy definitely resisted heal dents very well but RJ eventually did put his heal through the back of the board just from riding it. Dennis said he saw another one do the same thing in the same place. That doesn't make it a bad board, still a great board, but if you ride it hard its eventually going to get damaged in some way. It seemed with our experience it showed much less of the small heel dents, then damaged in more of a big way, but it seems repairable. It is being repaired right now. I imagine after a repair it may go another season. So RJ's board lasted one full season before any damage that hindered his riding. I am sure other's experience will vary.

I have no clue on the new one. Maybe the carbon rails will make it more durable, or the new board is better constructed, no idea. I don't think the carbon rails would have helped so much with RJs dent.


SANY0008 by wake9, on Flickr


SANY0011 by wake9, on Flickr
Old    surfdad            08-09-2011, 1:44 PM Reply   
Oh that's too bad for RJ. You can see where that board took a hit on the rail, the indentation and multiple fracturing at the impact site is the cause, if left unattended they will fracture like that. I'd bet the fracture that Rag references by Dennis was when James slammed his board into the hardware on the back of the boat, not from riding. Just won't stand up to that being used as a hammer.

The external skin of the boards is a closed cell foam, Corecell in this case. You can tear the external fiberglass without taking on water, but if the skin is broken, into the interior EPS, it can take on water and weaken the structure. I can see the Corecell in the impact area, so most likely it pentrated through into the EPS. Might have all happened in one session.

On the original Flyboy, we guaranteed all the boards for one year and fixed or replaced without question, unless you obviously ran it over with a truck, for the original owners. Stuff happens, we wanted happy owners, or at least not pissed off ones. I don't think anyone else in the industry offered that on contest ready boards.
Old    surfdad            08-09-2011, 1:56 PM Reply   
BTW, If you're within the warranty period, send us a copy of the repair bill, we'll reimburse up to our agreed upon rate with Eric for such repairs. We negotiated for all of that with our builder so that it would painless.
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-09-2011, 2:08 PM Reply   
Thanks, this was def from riding. As soon as he noticed, we stopped riding on it immediately. You can see the crack goes all the way under the traction. If you look at the damage up close, you can see its deeper under his heel. He is goofy, thats right where his heel was. He came down from an air, and felt it under his heel. Granted, I think he came down harder on his heels that a good air should be done... If you look at the picture you can see the center of that large crack is under his heel, under the traction. I think the board held up well for a performance board, but I also don't think its going to last more than 2 seasons without needing repair of this kind. RJ did this basically in one full season, since he got the flyboy halfway. I guess it depends on how hard you ride it or how long your season is. Obviously this is one example, but in this case it seems to have held up for a long period, than damage greater than you would expect, not just a dent.
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-09-2011, 2:26 PM Reply   
You can also see in the top picture the source of the crack, at the heel, the crack is an X, crossing right under his heel.

The damage happened about a month ago, but probably a bit over a year. If you want to replace the board, I won't stop you. ;-) But I think it has been more than a year by a bit. We didn't get to it right away due to preparing for NWWSA, and RJ was growing out of the flyboy anyway. Not in talent, but height.
Old    surfdad            08-09-2011, 2:34 PM Reply   
I have no boards to replace it with! I wish I did. Knowing a bit about composites, and the sandwich structure, I'd disagree, but it's a no fault fix, there are obviously no tire tracks on the board. I won't haggle on the deadline, just shoot me a copy of repair bill and we'll be happy to reimburse...plus I'll estimate what it would have cost to ship it.
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-09-2011, 2:40 PM Reply   
Thanks, its already at the "shop", and I didn't think it was going to be much to repair. We will see. I think its already done.
Old     (ilikebeaverandboats)      Join Date: Jul 2007       08-09-2011, 5:33 PM Reply   
Hey Jeff, any insight on how well these board handle direct sunlight? Im in AZ, we see 115+ degree days, and its not like I can keep the board in the shade whenever it goes out. My shredstixx has not handled being in the sun real well.
Old    surfdad            08-09-2011, 6:08 PM Reply   
Hey Joey,

We get temps here above 110 on occasion, but I purposelly get them in the water now and again during those hot days. To make a short story REALLY long The core is EPS and that gets soft at around 150 degrees F, it turns to a liquid slightly above that. I would bet that a board in the sun on a hot day could get to 150 in the heat you guys have. The bigger issue though is epoxy. We all use room temperature cure epoxy, which sets at 72'ish degrees. Which isn't a deal, but after that initial cure, if the epoxy gets ABOVE that temperature it will get soft again. So an epoxy board cured at 80 degrees will get soft at 81 degrees a year later.

To address that, epoxy boards are post cured, that is heated to a HIGHER temperature for a period of time and allowed to cool, thereby raising that "softening" temp. Most of the custom ocean builders post cure at temps around 115. You can understand why, you'd never see temperatures in a costal community at 115 degrees, but that's pretty common behind the boat. I had a used Proctor that I sold a guy that left it in 120 degree temps and it delam'ed like nothing you've ever seen. Half the board was a bubble.

Typically, those spider cracks you mentioned are impact related, but it could be that the epoxy got soft and who knows what could happen in that state.

The original Flyboys were post cured at 130, we had to pay Eric for the extra capacity in his "oven", but man...115 to 130 isn't much leeway. I think they'd be fine, but I'd probably not risk it personally. I am not sure what the IS Flyboys are post cured at. I hope that helps!
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-20-2011, 10:28 AM Reply   
So, as a follow up, Mike Walker of TWP fixed it for us, thanks so much. They even matched the airbrush to make it look as good as new, I didn't expect that, it looks perfect.



I think what I take from this experience, is that the flyboy is not bulletproof, but I still prefer this. What I mean by that is that you first get one of these (at least the original, have never touched an IS) you immediately notice "the feel" of it. It is so light, and yet feels so strong. RJ is very hard on a board. He can get some decent airs, but isn't the best rider and probably comes down harder, and sometimes on his heels more than he probably should. And we surf a lot. So he went a full year with zero dents until it broke like this. Now, I don't care what anybody says, RJ's heel broke that board while surfing, probably from repeated punishment. That board never touched the boat, or the ground, etc.

So what would we prefer?

RJs soul craft is already starting to heel dent, because all traditional boards do, especially when made lighter for performance. That is no knock to Soucraft. His JWSMs have been all the same way, but still good enough to last 2 seasons, and I bet the Soulcraft we have now will also last 2 seasons, but with a share of heel dents.

I think I would prefer a board that would hold up to the punishment like the Flyboy did, and then break worse, but is repairable. Then just keep going. Repair it once a season or every 2 seasons depending on how hard you ride it, I can live with that.

All that to say, I still think this tech is the future for boards behind a boat, it just may not be as bullet proof as it felt, but that works for us, this is a contest board, not a "boat board".

So if IS or Jeff ever come out with a 4.7 or so, I think RJ will definitely be in the market for one. RJs quiver currently consists of the 4.10 Soulcraft Jetty, a upcoming 4.8 TWP WSM, and a Shredstixx custom Hazen (4.8) that should be here any day. Hoping to add the Fly Boy back to his quiver some day, thats a ROCKIN quiver IMHO.

ragboy & rj
Old     (johnboyy7)      Join Date: Apr 2011       08-20-2011, 12:14 PM Reply   
so what is the life expectancy of a board as far as performance? ex. a metal baseball bat will hit balls forever but there will be a point to where it loses its 'pop'.

does anyone else have anything to add to the durabitly of their boards?

good write up ragboy.
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-20-2011, 6:45 PM Reply   
We are on 3 seasons on our JWSMs, but with traditional boards, they can make the boards VERY light for a competition and then they can break get damaged very easy. Most of the custom performance boards we have seen should probably be good for 2 seasons if you ride them hard, but take care of them in the boat and don't bang them around. I am sure you can go longer, but at that point the board starts to dent up enough that its time to put that in the demo pile and move on. Now Maddie and Whitney could probably go 4+ seasons without issue, because they are not getting air and landing.

The fly boy, I guess until you repair it and it gets to heavy from the extra material, probably 2-3 repairs if they are larger repairs. Anyway, RJ is real tough on a board, so a good guinea pig for this. Production boards like from IS or SS production boards are much more durable, but they are also usually much heavier. That doesn't apply to the IS flyboy as far as weight, but I have no idea if the IS flyboy is as durable as the original. May take a year to figure that out. ;-)

Either way, I think the future is going to be in the direction of the flyboy construction. You just have to hold one to get that, and then ride it or watch someone ride it to cement that in.

Who knows, maybe someday EPS/Epoxy boards will be like carburetors, purely for nostalgia. ;-)
Old     (newwhit)      Join Date: Mar 2007       08-22-2011, 9:37 AM Reply   
JWSMs?

sorry, always been bad at acronyms..
Old     (ragboy)      Join Date: Aug 2007       08-22-2011, 10:50 AM Reply   
Y, and I hate typing out long names. It was the board James before the flyboy. The Walker Project James Walker Signature Model. Now they are just called the Walker Signature Model. They are great boards.

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