finally finished one… seems like it took forever and ever and ever. i started collecting the vac bag gear sometime at the end of last summer. bulit some other boards and began working up a plan, building rocker temps, hotwire cutter, new racks etc… really got going on the balsa/eps about a month a half ago… abandoned a few attempts that i probably could have finished but they wern’t coming out that great… learned alot along the way. this one took about 25hrs start to finish and the second one that i will finish next is taking about half the time…
any how this one is 6’5" 19" 2 1/2" (forgot to measure nose and tail) with a slight “Bert” tail. I tried the full reversed templet but couldn’t get the rails to bend in enough, and was the reason behind the second abortion…
the bottom is 2oz under 3/32 balsa that is covered by 4oz direct S.
the top is 2oz, 4oz rwg at 45 degrees 3/4 deck patch, 2oz under 3/32 balsa that is covered by 4oz direct S.
the rails are three strips that add up to 5/8" thick…
on this board i did the rails in two baggings and the next boards i managed to do the rails in one…
the weight with out fins is a hair under 6lbs… pretty amazing when you consider i didn’t really worry about the weight while i was building it. ( i am making a set of wood fins for it but have not finished them yet)
this board is spray finished with 3 coats of System 3 LPU…
i just wish my shaping skill were a bit better but other then that i am very happy with the finished product and the systems i am developing to build these boards.
of course mucho thanks to the usual suspects and extra thanks to cmp for loaning me his epic hot wire cutter and hooking me up with other bits and pieces…
thats amazing … id swear it was one of mine with the logo ground off …
ive built so many boards with outlines just like that …
im impressed by how many talented craftsmen are out there …
i had no idea what i showed would generate so much interest , and i never even showed any balsa stuff , everyone just picked up on it just from the d cell thread , i actually thought everyone would rush out and make a custom style surftech with d cell , but that got bypassed already …
i have held back on a few things , so if some things dont quite work out , there are solutions …
some problems wont become apparent till some use …
either way , whether you guys may need help or figure some things out yourselves , what im seeing lately gives me the confidence that it maybe possible to expand my business …
when i see just how capable so many people are …
well done jjp , nothing but pats on the back lately … the bar keeps getting raised …
"some problems wont become apparent till some use … "
that is another amazing things about what is going on here. probably only 1 person that has built these boards as even ridden one or seen one… for me, after reading through basically all of the posts concerning sando construction, riding windsurfboards, and surfing a few surftechs the balsa route just made perfect sense. personally i have not had any problem with pu boards lasting… i either build them or have them built with supergreen, thick stringers, and mim 6/4 decks and 4 bottoms always gloss polished, and i have a lot of them so they don’t get used every day. the only “problem”, that doesn’t really bother my lazy surf style, is that my current 6’5" (everyday board) is 8.2lbs (but it is also 3 years old)…
some of my friend that have stopped by while i was working and have witnessed the kaos in my shop since i have been doing this are always commenting on how they can’t believe i would go through all this trouble when i haven’t even ridden one. (The other HUGE concern is that there are no concaves)…
i think it is the combo of the cool wood look, the strength to weight, and the bonus possibility that these boards will add a new spring or “twang” to my surfing, that has been stagnant for a few years, was too much to pass up…
any how, turning on the computer this morning brought promise of a 12ft (5 to 6 Hi style) swell for monday on the NS, which is basically the exact size i built this board for so i’ll let you all know how it goes…
