I’ve been searching through the site and have gotten some great links…mainly to Tom Wegener’s page. I have a solid piece of redwood and some Port Orford cedar that I am going to shape into Alaia. I am really looking for some insight on the rails…pictures would be great if anyone has any?! I noticed Tom is putting concave in the bottom of his Alaia now, and I am curious to see how the overall rail shape has evolved from early pictures he posted…if it has at all.
I have some of same questions. His shorty alaia has round bottom but the longer ones have full length concave, all the way nose to out the tail? And from the pics it looks like the rails are shaped/pinched but left squared off at the edge?
Deca,
Check out this website. www.alaiasurfers.blogspot.com
Also on Tom Wegener’s website the third picture in the Gallery section of Alaia’s shows pictures of Alaia rails.
If you live near Ventura Ca. the Wet Sands shop has one of Tom’s Alaia’s. Not much has changed from the orginals.
dfish
Thanks. I live in Oregon, so getting to a shop that carries one is unlikely. So are the rails squared off a liitle on the 7-8’ Alaia?..that is what I’m seeing in the pictures also. I’m very interested to see the concave also and how he blends it with the rails. thanks
john
I’ve seen a lot of different rails on the alaias that Jon and Tom Wegener are building.
Harder rails towards the back seem to be pretty common with a softer rail forward.
Jon recommended a rolled vee starting at the center point.
The notion of concaves in the hulls is novel to me; I haven’t seen this on an alaia
before…it seems like it could provide improved leverage for standup/knee
riding the board.
From tom’s site
Quote:
The Finley Model (Japan Hina)This is my favorite style alaia because it works great both for lying down and standing up. It is for just about any wave, from huge to very small. Where I live, the surf is mostly small.
Length 5’5” to 7’8”
Thickness: ¾ to 1 inch
Width: 15 ½ to 18 inches.
It has a light roll on the deck and a concave running from the nose all the way to the tail. The concave is 3/8” deep. This really helps keep the board from sliding sideways too much and gives the board more traction in the face. The goal of the board is to give the board just the right amount of flex. With a good flex, catching the wave is easier and the board is very responsive to turning.
Prior to seeing this my thought was along the lines of soft rolled rail 50/50 in front to whatever depth hull you could get in a 1 inch thick pice of wood blending to a simple, single concave that runs up the middle into the nose so you’d have sort of an inside soft edge on the bottom to help hold in. Hard edges in back might be problematic in having the tail slide out but I really have no idea. Squared off, if that is what he is doing is certainly hard…
I recently saw a picture of Tom standing next to a rack of boards in the bishop you can see that the originals had distinctly square rails, but the corners of the rails are just slightly rounded( maybe 1/16th-1/8th inch diameter)
Hey There, I’ve been getting wood from Tom for about two years and building and riding Alaia’s I shape myself. I’ve been through a long and largely experimental evolution on these things and have discovered a few things.
- soft rails are not your friend.
- flex through the whole board adds drive and control.
- concaves also help with control, but there must be no hard edges or channels (except on the rails).
- let go of the idea of the Alaia having a specific forward direction. Ride it like a snowboard and it all comes together.
- 16 inches is about the maximum width on any board under 8 feet.
- Vee doesn't really work without a fin.
- shorter, narrower boards work best.
- 1'1/4" down to 3/4' seems to allow for optimum flex, with just enough volume to still paddle.
- Most importantly...learn to ride it lying down first, then standing up comes easier and sooner!!!!
what type of wood is a good choice and not really expensive for us on the east coast?
Paulownia is ideal, because it’s easy to work with and doesn’t seem to absorb salt water. It’s also very light and durable, but as a result is usually quite expensive. I have also heard talk of people using cedar, which I believe is more readily available over there ?
Hey Deca - “Fill in your user profile…” Ha! What part of the great green-gray state? I’ve not done even much thought about Alaia’s, but it seems kind of interesting. Do you have any spots in mind? Doin’ any other shapin’?
Taylor in Newport -
Shoot me an email at
Quote:
I’ve been searching through the site and have gotten some great links…mainly to Tom Wegener’s page. I have a solid piece of redwood and some Port Orford cedar that I am going to shape into Alaia. I am really looking for some insight on the rails…pictures would be great if anyone has any?! I noticed Tom is putting concave in the bottom of his Alaia now, and I am curious to see how the overall rail shape has evolved from early pictures he posted…if it has at all.
http://www.surfingheritage.com/flash/SHF-Collection-Viewer/index.html
click on any board for rail profiles and bottoms