Senior Project Reflection

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of my activity. I felt that it really provided a great understanding of how the rail and rocker of a surfboard work and how the connection between the two is important. My audience was able to connect from this activity that certain shapes within a surfboard can be used to compensate or make up for other parts of the board. 


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

Being able to create a surfboard after conducting research on how the different shapes affect the the style in which a rider can ride a board really worked for my senior project. It allowed me to take what I had learned from my senior project research and apply it to building my own surfboard helping me to create a better design that matched my style of surfing. 
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I didn't really have anything I would want to go back and change. If anything I would have liked to have met with my mentor Ryan Lopez more often. It was really challenging to get our schedules to match, other than that everything has gone according to plan.
(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

My senior project has showed me that I want to find something that I am truly passionate about. Throughout this year I have heard many kids complain about their projects saying that they hated it or they didn't want to go to mentorship. Personally I looked forward to doing my senior project and presentation hoping to learn new things about surfing which is one of my passions and hobbies in life. So, what this project has showed me is that I want to find a job that I am truly passionate about because if I can do that then I would never have to work a day in my life. This project has lead me to the conclusion that I would like to do something in the field of water reclamation. I am very passionate about the sport of surfing and the ocean, so anything that I can do to  help the environment and those around it would be spectacular!

Mentorship

Content:

LIA Response to blog:

    Literal

·     Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog

Done

·     Contact Name and Mentorship Place

Ryan Lopez- (951) 218 - 4730

    Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing that I gained from my experience with my mentor was being able to pick the right board for the right situation. My mentor Ryan taught me a lot about the different types of shapes of boards and was even kind enough to let me test them out. This allowed for me to see how each board felt under my feet and see how they performed in different types of waves. He also taught me a lot on the shaping side of things explaining the importance of rails and rocker shape towards the boards performance.

   Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

My mentorship has played a pivotal role in the development of all my answers. It allowed me to experience first hand my first and third answers, which were about the fins, rails, and rocker of the board, by surfing with different fin setups and different board shapes. It also helped me with the development of my second answer, which was through considering oceanography when crafting the surfboard, because I got to surf in different types of surf conditions and geographical locations.

*Please do not turn in your mentorship hours to the office.  After we collect the total list from all seniors, we will turn in one piece of paper with all hours for everybody.  It is counted as 50 hours of the 200 you need in order to graduate from I-Poly.  The 10 hours in the summer have already been added to your community service total.

Carlsbad Surf Sesh

Last Sunday I went surfing with my uncle and his friend Bill at our favorite spot in Carlsbad. This was probably the best waves we have had there all year. It was six foot and imaculant, each wave had a perfect little pocket for you to rip on! But sadely the good vibes soon came to an end after I severely dented one of the rails of my new board. I felt destroyed all my hard work and now it's got a huge dent in it. Luckily it's still surf able but it provided a huge blow to my surf session. I should have put that extra layer of glass to make it stronger like my mentor had suggested!

Exit Interview

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My essential question is, "How to shape a surfboard that best compliments the riders style?." The three answers that I have produced from my essential question include: Answer 1: the most significant factors that go into shaping a surfboard that best compliments the riders style is the connection between both the rail and rocker of the surfboard. Answer 2: It is important to understand the oceanography when crafting a surfboard. Answer 3: A surfboard can best be shaped to compliment the riders style by keeping the board's fin setup in mind. My best answer is, "The most significant factors that go into shaping a board that best compliments the riders style is the connection between both the rail and rocker of the surfboard." The amount of play between the rail and rocker of a board is what defines one surfboard from the next. Both the rocker and rail shape play a significant role in a boards overall attitude affecting the boards abilities to turn, hold into the face of a wave, and or ability to build speed.

 2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

The process that I took to arrive at this conclusion involves my first hand experience of surfing different types of boards during my mentorship with my mentor Ryan Lopez.  

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I had a lot of trouble matching my mentors and mines schedule together for mentorship. I have to skip soccer practice and games during the weekend and weekdays to make it work. I also had problems finding reputable sources for my research. To solve that I tried to use major surf brands as a guide to help me find legitimate sources.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two most important sources that I used to answer my EQ includes my mentorship and the book, "Surfing the Manuel: Advanced by Jim Kempton". My mentor Ryan Lopez provided me with an explanation of how shape affects the characteristics in which a board will surf. He also furnished me with the first hand experience of just how impactful rocker and rail shape is to a surfboard by suppling me with a variety of different boards to surf on allowing me to compare the characteristics of each. Jim Kempton's book was another source that helped me to answer my projects essential question. It provided me with detailed explanation of the hydrodynamics behind the surfboard which was especial insightful towards my answer that involved the rail and rocker shape of a surfboard. 

Independent Component 2

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) “I, Garett Soapes, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component

My mentor, father, Bill Strange, and my Uncle Dale Shaw all played a role in my Independent component. They provide feed back from both 
(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours).   Post it next to your mentorship log.

Done
(d) Explanation of what you completed.

For my independent component I finished shaping my surfboard for my project. I also tried a variety of different boards to compare the differences between them. For example I surfed boards with different tail types to understand how each shape played a role in the boards turning abilities. I also experimented with a series of fin setups. For example I tried tri and quad fin set ups and different fin shapes when I went surfing. Also I have been working with my father on a surfboard design that I will be shaping in the near future for him.
INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work. 

The significant parts of my component involves me surfing at carlsbad with my uncle and friend, and working on the boards.  

This is a pictur of me putting a dreck pad on my new surfboard that I made.

This is a photo of my friend Jake, French studies abroad student 

and I on our bluff site at Carlsbad before the morning surf session.
APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

This component allowed me to analyze different fin setups and shapes of boards while surfing. I was able to compare these boards and fins to different type of wave conditions to see how each of them performed which helped to provide me with my answers to my EQ. 

Third Answer

Content:

EQ

How can surfboard best be shaped to compliment the riders style?

Answer #3

A surfboard can best be shaped to compliment the riders style by keeping the boards fin setup in mind.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

Detail 1: The positioning of the fins on a board can be the deciding factor of a boards overall performance. For example, fins that are farther apart provide more speed while fins that are more clustered together make the board more pivoty. So for instance lets say you had an aggressive shape meant to do a lot of turns already and you throw on some fins that are clustered. The board most likely would be to pivoty and ruin the overall performance of your board.

Detail 2: Focusing on the cant of a fin is also important factor that affects a boards performance. Cant refers to the angle a tim makes in relation to the bottom of the surfboard. A fin that sticks straight up, perfectly perpendicular to the board's base count our, is said to have a no cant. Canted fins point outwards, towards the rails of the board. Increasing the fins cant makes a board more responsive through turns while decreasing it makes the board faster. So lets say that you were surfing a very fast wave that has a small pocket you might want to have a board with a more cant on a fin so you can turn to loose speed and keep your self in the pocket of the wave.

Detail 3: Foil is another factor in fin set up that can affect a surfboard. Foil refers to the tapper of thickness from the front to the back of the fin where the middle is thickest. It is was provides lift for the board, the more pronounced the foil the more lift it will provide. Lets say you were to shape a paddle board that was about 4 inches thing and 30 inches wide. A typical shortboard is about 2 1/2 inches thick and about 19 inches wide meaning that this paddle board is significantly heavier. With this in mind you might want either make or by a fin that has a thicker foil to help provide more lift to the board which in turn will make it more responsive.

The research source (s) to support your details and answer

The book Surfing The Manuel: Advanced by Jim Kempton

and

"Guide To Surfboard Fins." Www.tactics.com. Tactics Board Shop, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.tactics.com/info/guide-to-surfboard-fins>.

Extra blog post

This weekend I got to ride my new board. I drove up to Carlsbad to meet up with Bill at around 6:30am and didn't get home till about 11:30am. The board was perfect for this 3-5 foot day. It was very responsive and I'm very happy with my final product. Below is a pic of my board with a fresh coat of wax.