I was asked to make a board for a friend, something for slow summer waves, not quite a fish and not quite an egg either. The guy is rather heavily-built and surfs in summer only, so he needs some volume to make for not so strong paddling ability. I’m going for very flat rocker, too, and I picked up a Phil BECKER 7’ 3" Clark instead of the “usual” 6’ 9" A. I’m very pleased with the look of the blank, seems like the rocker is already perfect and all I have to do is a few strokes to bring it to the desired thickness. It’s gonna be my first shape out of this blank and while I’m not very anxious since I like the curves very much, I was feeling like asking those of you who already used it for hints. Any suggestions? (I’m aiming at a 6’ 8" x 22" x 2" 5/8, full planshape, rounded squaretail, slightly domed deck to get thinner rails).
Hi Balsa,
How about a disk-type board. Slightly rounded, wide nose with a fat square tail. Makes a board that short easy to paddle and catch waves. Keep a faily low rocker add roll under the nose and voila!
Maybe something like: 6’8" x 17"N x 21" x 15"T x 3"
Thanks, SrPato. That’s more or less the kind of shape I had in mind. I just wanted to know if someone felt the same as I do about that blank. You see, sometimes you just fall in love with one and that’s what happened when I held it in front of me. I mean, I had seen that blank in the catalog for a long time, but never actually paid much attention to it. And it seems to match so good what I plan to do with it. Oh well, I’m just an old fart. A blank is a blank, right? But still…
such a pleasant shapeable blank
you can see why becker is notorious for shaping 20 a day…
twenty 73’s would be a dreamfrom 6’6’’ to 7’2’’
dream time experience.
full cut or cheeny cut
throw it down and lock on target…mmmmmMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm
…ambrose…
A good fish blank, too. Mike
Howzit?!? An ancient blank. I’ve shaped a lot of them, and they’re a great blank, especially if you’re not afraid to do a little shaping. Super versatile, and a good choice for the wide, thick orders. I personally prefer + 1/2" nose and tail. I agree- good for floatier fish types. Aloha…RH
What is the # of the new Pavel blanks (6’9"P?). I don’t see them in the on-line Clark catalogue.
Does anyone know the Clark blank #'s that Brom uses for his fish? I’ve read that it is not the 6’2"C.
For wide, thick fish/quad/stubbies 6’ or less do you guys always use a Clark 6’2"C? Alternatives? How about in Walker foam?
Thanks, John
bump
Howzit?!? Believe it or not, I actually use the7-4R for most of my fish type shapes. I make boards from 5-8 up to 6-10 out of them, and I like being able to adjust the rocker by moving the template up or back. Kind of a lot of blank, but really versatile. Our blank guy over here never orders enough of the smaller fish blanks, and when he’s got them, they’re only superlites. I prefer super blue for the added durability, as the things tend to be used a lot, and the 7-4R usually comes super blue. Also, I really don’t make those wide-tailed things, cause they’re…old style, and my newer designs that I make with Titus seem to be way more high-performance. I lived in Point Loma before I moved over here, and I got to know the Stevie- style fish well. Steve lives here full time now, and his ones have that all time classic shape. Toby or whoever- the Lis fish is the real one that everyone else copies. ( also, that’s where most of the fish blanks go) Stevie’s fish are super clean, and he seems to be making a lot of them. Aloha…RH