Hi I am a kid who has got a sudden urge to shape an alaia and I need some help. My dimensions are going to be 6’2" x 16’ x 3/4’. I want to know where the wide point should be, and if my wide point is 16’, then how wide should my tail be. Also, is there any difference between a stuth tail and a normal one? All help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Those dimensions sound good! The wide point isn’t as important as the outline. If its your first alaia, then make the rails as parallel as you can. You can go with a 14 inch nose (measured 12 inches from the tip) and a 14.5 to 15 inch tail (measured on the very end). By a Stuth tail I assume you mean parabolic side-cute in the back 3rd. This makes the board track and hold better in the face. If you’ve never ridden an alaia before I wouldn’t worry about it. Ride it as straight-railed as you can first. Then you’ll get a feel for how it works. Also, search the archives for alaia threads. There’s tons of info on here!
The pic above shows the side-cut rail, and the concave that I’ve found works best. Don’t worry too much about concave until your getting up and trimming fairly well. And most importantly, ride it lying down as much as you can! Most surfers refuse to do this, and they never learn to take-off and paddle properly. They get frustrated, and give up, blaming the alaia. If you spend some time riding it prone, with and without flippers, you’ll get the hang of how they ride much quicker. Then standing will come easily!
Have fun!
BJ.
Yeah, from experience I’ll second idlers numbers. Take his advice to heart also. Have fun and see ya out there. oh, don’t be afraid to thin those rails and keep the edges sharp.
i love my alaias. :) the best part for me is that i can ride it when the waves are really close to shore! you gotta make one and just go for it. fish tail is my favorite.
Thanks guys. Yeah I rode a demo alaia at the Patagonia shop in Cardiff and it was one of the funnest boards I had ridden. I’m just going to make this one out of Pine kind of as a test run and then progress to better woods. Just a few more questions; does the concave curve to the outline of the board? And out of linseed oil and Marine varnish, which is better to waterproof it with?
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And out of linseed oil and Marine varnish, which is better to waterproof it with?
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I've been a professional woodworker for 30 + years and have worked on wooden boats as well;
IMO there are much better choices to finish an alaia.
Linseed oil takes forever to dry and doesn't give much protection.
Varnish is a surface finish that is often tricky to apply and needs constant maintenance.
I use this:
Tung oil based, so it's non-toxic, super easy to use and it dries fast and hard; which can't be said for linseed or varnish.
Unclegrumpy:
I agree on the finish.
Nice work!
Kind regards,
surfding
Nose rocker = ?
Tail rocker = ?
Kind regards,
surfding
All of mine are flat but thin enough to flex.
Rocker defeats the purpose/intent of the alaia IMO.