Cut the nose so cut the tail to balance?

I feel like maybe I need to shorten it at the tail to balance the board…

But the tail was working good before the glass was stripped apparently

Shall I chop a bit off the tail?

Mighty swaylocks gods I beg your guidance

I’m def not the person you addressed…

and the info given falls far short of being adequate to give an informed opinion, but…

I’ll go out on a limb and say that there is no rationale for cutting foam off the tail just because you cut some off the nose. But then again, neither do I have a clue why you cut foam off the nose.

So I guess its an inadequate reply to an indistinct query?

My stock reply is, Post more pics!

The best answer is usually shape it up, glass it and ride it, and use what you learn on the next one.

And post pics of the process :slight_smile:

Onward and upward!

Whack a couple of feet off the tail and put a “But Crack” in it. While you’re at it see if you can do something to get rid of that extreme rocker. If all else fails; Go back to Home Depot and buy another one. Yes pictures of course.

The nose was really messed up. Apparently it worked OK.

Perhaps I can add a flat spot in the middle to double down and go for a staged rocker

My first hand shaping. I can see why you guys love it - such a meditation :slight_smile:

if you’re gonna use the existing fin plugs then leave the tail alone

and I wouldn’t try messing with the rocker either, just clean up the nose and glass it

You knock an inch or two off the tail you essentially move the rocker low point forward by that much and possibly end up pushing water (that’s what happened to me when I did it to a board I cut incorrectly). I tried to compensate by weighting differently when I surf but have eventually resigned myself to it being the slowest board I’ve ever made. Luckily it has some nice artwork so i can just hang it on the wall!
PS I had the fins in the correct spot for the shortened board
The nose is not critical. A couple of inches off just loses nose rocker and drops the swing weight.

Thanks for the encouragement. Hotcoat is on. Final sand today and I’ll take a pic and God willing with the swell a ride report. Oh, maybe try to get a hard tail edge with a tape dam and roving before the test too.

I’m working on another in recycled Eps too, pictured. Ran into some questions along the journey…

  • Masking tape just tears even at gel stage? For stopping drops

  • Even at 1% poly hardener with less than 10% white pigment this seems to stop full cure… Still wet after 12 hours (treacle). Weighing it now

  • Had to use no more nails to glue together 1lb Eps. Where to get better glue? Foamlock? Was able to strap it to set the glue though

  • Where to get a block of 2lb Eps or better in nz North Island?

  • How to attach templates to Eps foam? If tacking then tacks get in the way of the hotwire… I had to drill holes in the template and push nails through… And then fill the holes. Used fibreboard for the templates… There can be under be a better material but where to find it economically?

  • Cutting loose strands without breaking the scissors?

Ride report:
Paddle out: Great!
Paddle in: Great!
Bottom turn: oh no! McDing was right!!

The plan shape works. The step rails work. The step deck works. The nose rocker is OK. The fins away from the rail even aren’t too bad. So its just the tail rocker.

Its a recycled blank from a mate who said it goes OK. Sorry Bev, I think you’re mistaken!

Almost a great board. Pretty good for practice. Can still do a lot of stuff with it - just can’t work it up and down the face. Got to the nose, did a bit of turning with stomping.

Luxurious with the 7’ and wide nose. Will definitely have to try again with a better rocker.


Hey Kookie, thanks for the ride report. Glad to see you are going after another one. My amateur opinions are expressed below.

  1. What kind of masking tape? Preferred here in the States is 3M 233+ made to handle automotive refinishing solvents. I also try to pull the tape before the resin get totally hard.
  2. Poly is OK for PU foam, you will need epoxy for the EPS. 10% pigment sounds like too much, I never go past 3%, but might not be your problem. Did you use lam resin or sanding resin (with wax+styrene additive)? If you used poly lam resin, it is air-inhibited so the outer skin does not fully cure in the presence of air. The wax additives in sanding and gloss resin rise to the surface and make a barrier and allow the resin to harden underneath the wax.
  3. I use foaming PU glue out of a bottle not a caulk gun. Lots of glue make hot wire cutting more difficult. Make sure the area has good ventilation.
  4. No clue, not from NZ. I go straight to a plant that makes the EPS blocks. Buying the big block for 6 boards is about the same as getting one blank shipped to my door.
  5. I use gypsum board screws 2" or 3" long and sometimes a little double-sided tape. If you are hitting the screws with the hot wire you are doing something wrong. I cut the rocker first out of the big block, templates on both sides, long hot wire, screws nowhere near the wire. After the nice, smooth sled is cut, I like to use a half or full template for the outline, I mark that with pencil and remove the template. I have a custom hot wire that’s 8" long and has a guide to slide across the sled and cuts the rail at a right angle to the deck or bottom. The screw holes from the rocker get cut off and there are no screw holes for the outline.
  6. If your scissors is not cutting loose strands of fiberglass without resin then it is not good/sharp/tight/heavy enough. If you are trying to cut cured glass+resin goobers with a smaller scissors that may not work either. I like the ones that are forged and feel heavy in the hand.

Ditto jrandy’s advice
Foaming glue - Gorilla Grip or some fancy urethane foaming one from the hardware store. Wood glue may not set up and and No More Nails doesn’t sand.
Drywall Screws for attaching rocker templates in from the sides, follow the (wood) template with the wire. Outline is next step.
Templates out of 1/4" masonite

Having snapped a lot of stringerless EPS I would advise putting in a stringer

Thanks Red. Masonite, ok copy that :slight_smile:

Re:stringer… Shame. I just lammed the top today! I’ll see if I can put some carbon down the centre before the next top lap on your advice. Hopefully that will help. Or the bottom too…

Had a blast with the white board today. Just needs some skill to handle: move the feet a lot and get the balance right.
Following on from the sci-fi CFD video where we had confirmation that pintail=slow at low speed but fast at higher speeds that is exactly what I experienced today. I had trouble getting up to speed on drop in but wow once up it flies! So… I think I will move those fins outwards to the rail a bit and try to harden up the tail to try and speed it up a bit at low speeds. That might help balance it a bit.

The white board has a very small balance point actually in terms of dropping in.
The low rocker isn’t so bad so long as you work it as a longboard… Hmm… Could be developing a keeper now…

The EPS stringerless lam didn’t go well. I tripped over the epoxy pot and knocked dort into the surface. The dirt came out but somehiw I got paint from a other area into the deck and ran out of paint for the underside too. Lol! Of well, first 2 boards, it’s all good

Sorry to bump my own thread but I can’t edit.

I moved the fins out to the rail, 1" approx. in same distance form the tail. Wow! What a difference. A lot faster and turns way better too - forehand side especially which has slightly more cant (or is it the extra leverage…). I also did a masking tape dam to harden up the tail too. I really love the board now. No rocker isn’t really a problem and it slips into the pocket just great! Concave. It looks awful but it works great. My first board made. This was mushy reforms into hollow and then close out so I didn’t get a chance to test in all conditions. Previously I was testing in bigger shoulder high semi mush so… so far this is a very dynamic board. Definitely a nice shape. Very small sweet spot and takes some skill to handle well though

The other mini simmons-like board is almost ready. Just finishing off the leash plug. I didn’t do glass patches over the fin plugs yet but I have glassed tubes running all the way to the deck. Whenever I do glass fin patches I find they don’t adhere to the fin plugs very well so I’m a bit reluctant to do fin patches. I wish I had gone under the glass… at the time I didn’t know how to find the fin plugs after glassing over. I also have to try making that masking tape dam and tidy up bubbles from the carbon guitar string stuff… some pictures of what a masking tape dam would help… I’m just guessing how it goes at the moment in the main