Well, I apologize for starting a second thread for this same board, but now that I’ve figured out how to post (mostly, still don’t know how to rotate pictures) I would like to share a more complete documentation of my first self-shaped board! I’ve been riding it for a couple months now, and I’m loving it. Just about finished my second board, and I’m already planning on making another one for my sister and brother in-law. Shaping is way too much fun.
I made a 6’8" x 21" x2 1/2" single fin Egg based off of an outline from a previous member at the Shaper Studios in Vancouver called the “Janine”. I used a 6’10" USBlank, don’t recall the exact model. I kept the natural rocker of the blank, not wanting to get too creative with the first board. For the bottom contours I gave it a slight belly in the nose, slight single concave through the mid section, and slight double starting about a foot forward of the fin. I didn’t get super creative with foiling the board, just tried to thin out the tail and nose sections smoothly but leave quite a bit of volume in the board.
Rails are quite thick and round, and I aimed for what I believe you would call a 60/40 rail with the wide point slightly lower than the middle, then they transition to a sharper down rail in the tail section so the last foot or so has a hard edge. I think the transition is a little abrupt, but it’s pretty uniform on both sides, and seems to ride well.
I did the glassing in tandem with one of the instructors and we gave the board one layer of 6oz glass on the bottom, and two layers of 4oz glass on the top using an epoxy resin. I decided to leave the board plain white and just focus on getting the process down without complicating the process. The glassing went pretty well; there’s a few bubbles around the rails in the tail section, but overall pretty decent.
I put in an 8" fin box and found myself a 7.5" 4-A Greenough fin to put in it.
Sanding was a pain in the butt because the resin kept clogging up the paper. I did some reading, and found some suggestion that when using epoxy resin you should wipe it down with ammonia before sanding to get rid the the “blush” which is what clogs the paper, and was wondering if anyone had tried that?
Now, for a ride report. The board is amazing; of course it is, I made it :). But in seriousness, I have been really enjoying it, and it has been my go-to board most of the winter especially since we haven’t had a lot of big days where I normally surf. It likes knee to shoulder high waves the most. It paddles really well, and catches waves super easily. Bottom turns feel awesome, and it feels great to set the rail and feel the board glide through turns. I took it out on a day with head high steeper waves, and it didn’t handle that particularly well. It has definitely gotten my wave count way up, and I noticed I’m better when I got back to my thruster too, once I’ve adjusted to the fins again.
I took a bunch of pictures throughout the process, hopefully I have them all in order and right way up. The pictures aren’t quite comprehensive because I was also using my camera to film a timelapse of the shaping process which I think I’ve linked properly. I have already learned a lot, and appreciate any feedback or criticism. Just keep in mind, first board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CCUcejxZ6M
