Looking forward to seeing what you build.
I’m pretty close to finishing the 8 footer based on your templates. It’s a little off from your specs, but it will be a twingle. I did the boxes today, and I’ll get shots when it’s done. I already have a set of 7" single foiled fins that have been waiting for this board.
Hi Bill, here’s the board I made using your templates. It isn’t quite the same as yours in both the outline and rocker due to my screw ups. I made this from a block of foam 4’ x 4’ x 12" so I cut 2 pieces for the nose and 2 for the tail. When I joined them, I ended up with a bit more rocker, and not enough foam to fix it. I didn’t make a stringer, so I added rail channels for some strength. I also glassed this with one layer of 4oz with color on the deck up to the rail edge. Cleaned it up then did one layer 4oz on the bottom wrapped around the rail, then I did 2 layers of 4 oz to the rail edge again, and another layer on the bottom wrapped around after I installed the boxes. No hot coats or fill coats, but I’ll probably spray the rails with a clear. I sanded them down to 3000, left the rest with the glass lam and no fill. Been doing that a bit and I have no issues with how the boards work.
The photo of the bottom really distorts the shape with the way the color is. I made these 7" single foiled fins last year or the year before but I haven’t used them, so now I have a board for them. Installed them with the flat side out.
By the look of it, you’ll have better performance in smaller waves than my original did. And, you’ll not be giving away much in larger waves. Sunset @ 10 feet, will still be within a comfortable performance envelope. For any reader, who has not been to the NS, 10 foot waves @ Sunset are awe inspiring. Well done.
Yeah, it’s not as gunny as it should be, but I think it will be better for the waves I ride these days.
I don’t think I’ll be surfing Sunset any time soon. The biggest I surf these days is when the big south swells hit. It can get pretty big, but this new board should be more than enough. I think it may be a great board for the mid size NS surf. Went out there twice in the last 6 months. Been many years since I did that, and it was a lot of fun. I’d love to surf Laniakea again.
On the right swell direction, Laniakea is great in the six to eight foot size range. You’ll have fun on it for sure.
NIce job on the fin boxes. And good looking board. The bottom pic does show a little wobble in the outline, so thanks for explaining that.
How are you getting away with no fill coat and sanding to 3000?
All the best
I sanded the cut lap edge on the last lam (bottom wrapped around) through 3000 to get part that was sanded smooth. The rest still has the texture, but it’s smoothed out a bit.
There’s a lot of resin build up from the 4 laminations, so I’m not worried about pin holes, but I did sand the glass. It’s like polishing a fin, I just went through all the grits to get it smooth. I might spray it with a clear, but I think it’s OK. Without the fill the board is nice and light. I started doing this a while ago thinking about the textured finish of Coil boards.
This board is a test to see how the rocker feels, it’s different from what I currently ride. It looks faster, and closer to what my favorite short board has. More like what I had when I was riding very low rocker boards 10 years ago. I already know that the rocker is about a half inch more through the tail, but it’s still quite a bit lower than the 8’ boards I currently ride. This is the first time I tried using this foam and making a board with 4’ long x 12" wide pieces. There’s no stringer, and the center line between the foam pieces is not straight. I kept messing with the width and outline in the middle and I still didn’t get it right. Next one will use the full length template. I think I messed up the outline lining up the spin template when I decided to make it 21.5" instead of 22" after having it pretty much shaped.
I think this is closer to what it should look like.
Well, the 6’ 8’’ board is shaped , and in the glassing process. A PU blank, with epoxy glassing. 5 + 4oz deck. and 4 + 4oz bottom, with Twingle fin setup. I’m really pleased with the foiled taper of the rails. The fastest boards I’ve ever made, had that same rail profile. We’ll see how it performs, fairly soon.
Hi BIll, my second attempt at using your rocker and a combination of outlines. Hope to be in the water within an hour to give it a go.
You can see that I used pieces of foam to make the blank. If this works like the other one, or better, I have 8’, 9’ and 10’ slab cut blanks waiting to become boards.
You should call that ‘‘The Jackson Pollock’’ board. I’m impressed with your frugal construction methods.
That style of coloring is to hide the ugly foam. It is easier than trying to do a really nice solid.
She paddles good. Had a good session in head to waist high surf. This one is getting me very close to the One Board Quiver.
I knew immediately that your rocker would be better than the constant curve I used for the last handful of boards I made. I’m sure the board your making will make someone very happy.
Thanks for the templates!
Hi Bill, I want to thank you again for the templates. I had a chance to get the newer board out in decent surf today. It paddles and rides great. Caught a few in the almost 2xOH range and it felt so comfortable. Yesterday was a little bigger and I had a 5’9" quad that I wanted to try, so it took a few waves to get used to the single. This board could be an OBQ, but I still like riding the short wide ones whenever I can. Upside on this size board is I can paddle way better, so I don’t have to paddle battle with other guys on short boards. Downside is I have sooo many boards that may not get used as much now.
Mahalo Nui Loa.
Aloha Harry,
My desire to have a one board quiver, resulted from having 3 boards, and never knowing which one to take to the beach. I’m glad you’re having a good impression of that board design/template. Find, or make, a thick foiled fin to use on that board. It will improve the performance even more.
EDIT: Knowing what that board design can do, makes me very envious of your access to the kind of waves you described. Wish I were a younger me, still living in Hawaii, with one of those boards.
Yeah, I’m getting to the age where I don’t chase big waves. I pretty much stay on the south shore and hope for the best. Once it hits 3xOH, there are only a few places you can go, and one of them is where I grew up.
I can handle the south shore when it gets big, it’s the crowd that makes things a problem. Between the jockeying around and paddle battle for a wave and the people that are caught inside paddling out, things get dangerous. That doesn’t include the donkeys out where they shouldn’t be.
I think I’ll take your advice and make a thicker fin using foam or wood with glass. I have a 3/4" thick sheet of G10, but the G10 fins end up very heavy by comparison. They tend to upset the boards balance point.
Yater was doing no hot coat in the sixties. So we gotta go back a little further than Coil. Nice job. Let us know how she goes.
Yeah pretty amazing what you do with resources from a dumpster dive.
The (relativly) short board, the subject of this thread, has been picked up by the new owner. Perhaps a ride report may be made, at some time in the future.
And - as always - a few photos wouldn’t hurt either, if the new owner is inclined to share.
Stay tuned. He has posted photos here before.
Curious, what are those two horizontal strips near the tail, on the deck?