I’m getting ready to make a pigish stepdeck. Sort of like the Harbour Cheater II, not like Boss. Size approx. 9’3". Ordered a US Blanks 9’3"Y blank. I’m using an old Shark popout for my outline template and going to go pretty foiled egg rails all the way with as much meat left in the middle as possible.
So, got some waves last week but haven’t had any since. It is so fast. Really smooth. The belly makes it go rail to rail really well. The waves were too fast and lined up for much turning( and were only waist high). Can’t wait for some more swell. Totally stoked.
This is the blank I plan to use.
4 3/8 " (- 3/8) Nose
3 1/2 " (- 1/2) Tail
http://www.foamez.com/…&w=350&h=452
(I don’t know why it won’t let me post the pic.)
This is the board I intend to use as my outline template. All of the rest will be from scratch.
Measure first THAN order. Thats how I would do it.
Well, the blank came in today.
Here is the outline cut and my very modest “shaping shop”. Sorry for the poor pic quality. They are from my phone.
After cutting out the outline, I took my surform(the small one) and a sanding block and tried to true up the edges. I used a hand saw to cut the outline so there were a few wobbles in it. I think I need to get the bigger surform to make straighter lines. After I got the edges trued up (somewhat) I started to skin the blank. That is hard work without a power planer. I worked for about an hour and got a quarter of it skinned and sanded. Hopefully more time to work today.
Don’t try to skin with a surform. A good, well sharpened block plane will be much more efficient. Work at an angle. Long passes from tail to nose, first along the rail, then progressively towards the stringer.
Thanks for the tip. I have a block plane but the blade is shot and I don’t have the proper sharpening tools. I need to take it over to my friends shop. More updates and pics to follow.
Got half the blank skinned. My plane blade was shot (from my framing days) so I took it out and ground out the chips on the cement in my driveway then took my diamond knife sharpener and tried to hone the edge. It is much better than it was before but still tore up the foam a bit. I had to clean it up with the surform and then sand it out. I will take the blade to my friends shop and have it sharpened really well before I start other side. This quarter only took about 20 minutes to skin and sand.
The ghetto shaping racks, folding chairs and pipe insulation with a toolbox and brake drums for weight:
Dull block plane and skin (you can see how it is chewing up the foam a bit) I forgot about the angle part:
Blank template cut and half skinned:
More later, maybe Monday.
Sorry the pics weren’t showing up. I was having a problem using Verizon as my host. I sharpened the plane blade. It is sharp enough to shave. We will see how it works tomorrow.
It doesn’t look bad as of now. Still, if you’re going for a step-deck, I would strongly advise that you borrow a power planer somewhere. That will save you a ton of hard work.
Looks good so far! I love the look of the double stringer. I just completed my first 5’6" and skinning with the block plane and surform was one of the harder parts. The block plane worked great on the bottom but on the deck it just tore foam so I had to sand like crazy. Anyway, I look forward to seeing more pics, good luck!
It doesn’t look bad as of now. Still, if you’re going for a step-deck, I would strongly advise that you borrow a power planer somewhere. That will save you a ton of hard work. I second that!..I found a Clark Hitachi on Craigslist for $50. Probably more around, hell HF has cheapies for $30-40 that will at least save you some time. My .02
I will definitely go for a power planer next time. The top skinned totally different than the bottom. The bottom skin was harder and came off in a roll. Even with a sharp plane, the top wouldn’t cut because it was too soft. The plane just chewed up the foam. I used my surform and got it done pretty fast. At that point I started looking at the blank and realized what the most difficult part is about shaping by hand. The blank looked like windchop and was fat/skinny on opposite sides. I almost thought about giving up, but I forged ahead with the mantra in my mind “if it floats it will surf.” Got it pretty well straightened out. Here is a rocker shot.
Started in on the rail bands
Began to feather them into the deck and bottom
Finished foiling into deck and bottom. I still have to do the final edge
It’s actually starting to look and feel like a real surfboard!!!
Quote:It doesn’t look bad as of now. Still, if you’re going for a step-deck, I would strongly advise that you borrow a power planer somewhere. That will save you a ton of hard work. I second that!..I found a Clark Hitachi on Craigslist for $50. Probably more around, hell HF has cheapies for $30-40 that will at least save you some time. My .02
I guess I should have spaced my reply away from the quote before…but live and learn…looks good bro…float, paddle, and turns left and right…that was my first success!!! =)
I also decided not to do the step deck. Maybe next time.
Finished blending the rails today. I am very pleased with the way they came out. For that matter I am pleased with the whole thing. The rails turned out pretty bladey, we’ll see how they work. I left quite a bit of meat in the middle. I also glued up the tailblock and stringer.
Really bad pic of the rocker/rail
Nose (I think I see a lump in the outline :p! )
Some better foil shots (I didn’t take pics of the tail because its still under construction)
Tail block glued up (Basswood stringer with foam from the rail cutoff. I used Titebond II)
I’ll shape the tail, finish sanding and then glass!
Then SURF!!!
Unsolicited 2 cents from the back of the peanut gallery…The top of the rail right on the nose is really sharp. It’s gonna cause you problems when you glass especially if you use 6 oz or volan. You’ll get all kinds of bubbles as the glass won’t want to wrap around that sharp of a corner. Take your sanding block and dull it back to 1/2 inch diameter or so, depending on the thickness.
The rest looks really nice!
Hey LeeV,
Thanks for the 2cents. I have seen lots of hulls with rails that sharp and I like how it looks. I will try it how it is and if it doesn’t work, I’ll just say " See, LeeV tole you so!!! "
I finished the tail today. Some of the pics are from before I planed the stringer all the way down so you can see a slight edge. I am going to take it to a friends house to glass it for several reasons. 1. He has a shaping room with lights. I’ll do the final sanding there. 2. The smell of resin in an apartment garage won’t go over well.
Alright the pics.
Block glued on and trimmed
Dang, every time I look at the pics I see more lumps.
Almost looks like an “S” deck (unintentional - maybe its from looking at the hull threads too much)
Bottom of the tail (before completion)
Bottom up.
I think I glued it on crooked. Oh well. We’ll just call it asymmetrical.
Finished except for the final sanding (for now-yikes)
I think I’ll call it the Dromedary model.
