3rd Board Experiment

General Discussion
1

wanted a standup platform to mess around with fins…

5-5 x 21-1/4 x 2

template refined from prior board to emphasize drive…probly too much

3" nose rocker 1" tail

1/2 inch hulled nose to flat entry to 1/2" single concave midboard to 1/4 flowing to 1/2" vee with 1/4" double concaves within (spiral vee) out the tail

bottom is one layer 5 oz carbon fiber with a 4 oz e-glass tail patch

deck is one layer 4 oz e glass with another little 4 oz patch midboard for future kneelo sessions

resin research epoxy with polyester hotcoat.

6.5 lbs

fins are similar to my 2nd board but the trailers have 1/2" more depth and I made the lead paddles more ‘upright’ for a higher aspect ratio (??). no toe faintest cant

wanted to foil as modern and thin as possible inspired by van straalen 5-4 carbon fish

observations: since i was coming off surfing a hull midboard recently the first half hour i was convinced it didnt work-- it tracked like sh!t and doesnt go rail to rail smoothly. I then started surfing it hard off the tail like el thruster and it really started lighting up, especially backside. If in the right spot (which is very small and hard to find) it wraps around and DRIVES hard feels as tight and quick as a 6-1 x 18 5/8 x 2 1/4 6.5 lb thruster

Pretty decent test waves…I would say on a latish drop its a 50-50 chance between having your feet in the right spot and it takes off like a bat out of hell- or being wrong and face planting when trying to go on a rail.

Guess is too much fin- solution- start by moving rear trailers 3/4" up

Not enough hull- next version run vee further into midboard from tail. Originally the single concave wasnt so drastic but after lamming it it just went deeper like an 1/8" dammit!

overall quick in a straight line, quick on a rail the transition is the difficult part. ‘Glides’ better than thruster- considering they are same weight, but obviously doesnt feel ‘smooth’ like hull or mat. Maybe could reach compromise with said revisions.

in the pocket it feels sweet and responsive- if u can get it there with your feet and weight in the right spot. havent kneeloed it yet

edit- clarification



2

outline ugly but learned heaps- good practice taping off/ messing with resin tints blah etc i really care about how its surfs more than looks I dont have the patience (or more likely the skill lol) to focus on aesthetics

used 9.5" greenough 4c as fishtail template just another test board

have had future thoughts of edging it…this time with hard edge to really separate hull rails from planing bottom…in time i guess

3
Quote:

outline ugly but…

Your outline is not ugly at all.

Josh.

4

Template is nice!

Really thin tail, how much don’t you weigh…like 130?

Lotta fin for such a thin tail and so much V depth. You can cut like and inch off at a time off the trailer, until it turns like you want. Foil is not a problem, just cut it parallel to the tail bottom of the board and maybe round off the sharp corners, until you decide on best length.

You might also instead cut the depth off the front fins, as that hatchet design likes to delam at the base, from the flexing of the tip. Cutting those down would make you front fins last longer, and widen the sweetspot compared to cutting the depth off the tail fins.

Function is most important, color is fooo foo.

5

muchas gracias guys but not fishing for compliments, just being honest yeah im stoked w/ the masonite template but heaps of room for improvement in the board in general nose not perfect curve in paintline or foam…

lee i am 6-1 150 but been surfin a 5-9 x 18.5 x 2.25 twin finner here and there no prob so just experimenting small for fun. biggest wave been in so far is probably solid 5–6 foot face semi-mush but pushy longer period (15-17 sec) this last swell

hmmmm…interesting…killing depth or closing up cluster…which would widen sweet spot whilst sacrificing the least amount of drive?? if i was crazy enough to lop and glass those fins repeatedly i guess i could find out

damn really thinking about it i shouldve ran the spiral vee further up midboard from the tail/fins well theres always next time take care all

6

I like the outline. It looks natural.

7

hi Run !

I wonder would you consider perhaps putting some plugs in when making your next board, so you can move those fins around as needed ?

I’m guessing that with that heavy vee, the shortness of the board, the amount and size of fins, and your height, and the waves you’ve been riding …there’s a LOT to figure out ! And, throw into the mix perhaps a small sweet spot for you to find… [hmmm… “challenging”, to say the LEAST !! ]

I like the look of the shape, and your first shot with the spooned deck predecessor, and the carbon fibre bottom.

Glad to see D.v.S. 's influence crosses the oceans…some of the gear he has Dave Rastovich riding seems pretty interesting to me !

Thanks for the update , ‘Run’ ! Your boards are always interesting, and your appraisals refreshing.

ben

8

thanks icarus

ahoy chipper trailers are now 1.5" up from initial placement, and i wouldnt want to tighten the cluster any more…the board opened up heaps and i can now blow the fins out on a bottom turn if surfed hard off the tail like originally…BUT simply adjust (a little more forward mindset) and the thing still flies! definite loss of drive off the tail but soo much more balanced and still extremely fast…use more rail.

After a 6.5 hr session in really fun chest to head high point rights, yep i was wishing I had a fin system with adjustability to slide em back a 1/2" for more tail drive…still could make any section that I wouldve made on any other ‘well made’ board…but i need a nice router then and plus infeasible in future false deck flex tails where the fins would be attached to a relatively thin laminate.

Not surfing as vertical as I desire to yet but thats just the design I guess. The best feeling I have had so far is doing nice roller coasters backside down a good lined up fast wave, see the section ahead, drive down for speed, then a bottom turn to smooth semi mellow (but fast) horizontallish snap under the section crumble lip, the resulting down drive down and around the section is the feeling…

wonder how it would go with the rear trailers 3/8" back again…overall very stoked on it and anxious to surf it again.

Moving trailers up=using more rail=more smooth (but still nowhere near hull or mat) but not as schizo freak tail fin cluster acceleration challenge to surf as original.

capt leed main reason want to avoid lopping depth is keep ‘higher aspect’ ratio, basically just a dumb kid (me) sheepishly following mr pavels little clip on allaboutsurf.com explaining his thoughts on quados

9

Run, did you find carbon fiber difficult to work with? Any delamination problems? Also, is that a stringerless blank? Did the carbon fiber give you enough stiffness that you don’t need a stringer? I just finished my first board and for my second I’m thinking of doing an 8’ egg shape out of stringless XPS with carbon fiber lamination on both the bottom and the deck. Think it will be stiff enough?

10

Not difficult, just different from regular glass/polyester resins.

No, no delamination problems with the carbon. Actually the board is dead, the deck glass sheared clean, along with the foam and stringer, at midboard where the 4 oz deck patch bordered the full 4 oz deck (e-glass). But the single layer of carbon (bottom) was still clean intact (just bent and springs back so clean if u look at it from the bottom it doesnt even look like the board is busted, really.)

Not stringerless, nothing special, just a clark 6-2 c superlight

In all honesty as you can see I’m still learning the basics, haven’t got hardcore into the real deal of construction methods yet.

So for the rest of your questions, they would probably better be posed to someone here like Bert Berger or 'MrJ" (look for some of their threads involving vacuum bagging/working with xps or eps foams/balsa)

Hope this helps and good luck with your ideas/boards