People like this stuff, so, here you go. Pictures and words.
Template making.
Extremely high tech glue up. Stringerless 2lb EPS from greentlight.
Dramatic, for a piece of foam.
Not too crooked looking.
Bit of paint. Acryllic on the foam, cut with a slight amount of water, jsut enough to stain the foam. The blank was left to dry for a few days after this to be safe.
Questionable fin installing practices. You’ll see exactly how questionable later in the next shot.
Laying some stuff out, amateur style. If you look closely, the fin box closest to the camera is BACKWARDS. I was pissed. I found out after I glassed it, of course. So I took it to the awesome dudes at greenlight and had them fix it, before I ruined it further. I put glass under the carbon to maybe have some effect on the bond, seeing as carbon is quite stiff and foam, well, isn’t. That being said, I have no idea if that makes a difference.
I make these to last, so there’s tons of glass on the rails. If some noob collides with me, their board will be the one paying the price. Or, more likely, if I do something to ruin it, it won’t break.
Sort of shows my rail profile. I don’t think it’s too weird. Again, it’s amateur hour. I was just going for something pretty normal. Hard at the back, rounder as you go to the nose. They thin out on top, to keep the middle thicker and the rails thinner.
Shiny. Pretty sure that’s how you tape hotcoats, and if not, whatever. It worked.
Dusty but probably surfable.
This was taken on a phone, believe it or not. Tailpad sort of goes with the theme.
The rocker’s not actually as weird looking as it seems. I’d say it’s actually sort of normal, and the board’s just leaning back a bit because the tail end is heavier. Flatter than a potato chip shortboard, but the curve is actually kind of normal. Surfs fine, so, that’s some proof at least.
The final product. Yes, the pad is slightly crooked. I see that every time I look at the board.
Here’s me riding it when Bertha hit. My leash was wrapped around my feet and between my front toes on this wave. I don’t know why, but that happens to me often. I did bend down and fix it then continue to surf this wave though. So that’s me in the my feet are stuck tied together stance.
So, words… I like the board. It’s 5’5"x19"x2.25"ish. 15" tail and 13" nose. My thickness measures are rather imprecise, so the actual measurement is worthless. It looked right. I’m as tall as the board, 120lbs, 22 years of age. So it’s not that small for me. I could go bigger for winter barrels and stuff, but, this is good for other things. I think it surfs fine. It doesn’t seem slow, works in the conditions I was aiming at and doesn’t seem to have any major issues. The design is fairly conservative; just a slightly wider shortboard with slightly flatter rocker and a bit more volume. My new thing this time was stringerless, since I try and do something new each time. The bottom’s flat, cause I like flat bottoms. I really like my boards to be loose since I’m used to skateboards or shorter, wider boards with twin and trailer setups. But, the board turns, and I’ve managed to launch myself and the board into the air a few times, albiet separately. It’s much easier on a skateboard. I run futures f4s, just plastic for now. I do feel a bit of sliding if I go to cut back while going right, but it’s fine. Nothing I can’t keep under control. I’d rather have it loose so I can slide it when I want. Overall, it’s a keeper. I’ve been using it since this winter, and it hasn’t exploded, dented severly or had any other defects, save for me getting some water in the tail in the winter once. I have no idea how it got in, but I drained it and sealed the entire area right away and it’s never caused an issue since.
Improvements… Cause there will certainly be a remake in the future… Maybe a bit more tail rocker, maybe five boxes, maybe i’ll dare to try that color scheme in resin instead of paint. Maybe I’ll mess with a concave on this shape. I think my next project will be something longer though.
Foggy day in the winter in Janurary. This was fun, because the waves were usually a surprise until the fog burned off.
