Fin This Board ... Completed

Debut session: 4-6-06

Location: Westport, WA
Conditions:
Wind: Dead flat calm, turning to oily calm…
Swell: West - 5’solid @ 12 sec.
Air temp at dawn: 38 degrees…warming to the high 50’s
Crowd Factor: What crowd…???.. It’s a weekday…!!!..
For the past year my nearly exclusive board of choice has been my 11’6"…Today was a drop to a new low extreme for me -5’6"…You do the math…
The first thing I noticed after suiting up was when I was walking with the board…It fills the area under my arm more than my narrow, yet thick 11’6"…The weight difference is also extreme…My 11’6" weights about 37#, this is 10#…Radical…It felt like nothing under my arm…
Once I was in the water and on the board, I found the paddling position and balance just fine, very familiar despite the shortness of the board…The board floats thicker than it’s measured 3"…Feels more like 3.75"…Just the way hollows are…
Out in the line-up, while sitting waiting for a wave, I was surprised how high I was sitting in the water…High enough to have my waist out of the water…I was expecting to be rib deep…
The first wave I tried for I caught…Using only arm paddling I caught a solid 5-6’er in the Corner…I decided before hitting the water to mostly ride prone, and that’s what I did on this first wave…The wave lifted, I pulled myself down the face with a couple of stokes, then the board started planing, did the drop, hit warp speed and the weeks of questioning how it’ll ride were answered…In an instant…I have a keeper…
After having ridden several waves only prone, I decided to take the leap to my feet…Not so hard, but the swell was a bit too thick and powerful to really get in tune to the waves…After having ridden the surfboard equivalent of a Rolls Royce for a year, this watermelon seed was going to take some getting used to…The wide tail planes really easily, and is going to require me to get on the learning curve riding smaller waves…I’ll experiment further on 3’ waves and work my way up from there…Should be just a blast…!!!..
After a couple of hours using only my arms for propulsion, I went in and grabbed my swim fins…Instead of getting in the rip at the jetty, I got in at the middle of the beach…Just kicking my way to the outside was easier than I thought…When I encountered whitewater rolling at me, I let the board go up and over the wave, instead of trying to go under it…Simple…
Once outside, the advantage of the fins became obvious…While laying off of the back of the tailblock, with my arms extended far out in front, I’m able to kick into waves way easier than arm paddling…And I’m all about early wave entry…Get in and GO…And this thing goes…Flat out FAST…The wide tail just planes so easy and the wide set fins create just enough drag to keep the board on track…Throw into the mix being prone and so close to the wave face, the sensation of speed is intense…Intoxicating…Rights or lefts, it’s all the same…Fast fun…
I had a few “way behind the peak” take-offs, just high lining it through the folding bowl, holding the high line for the speed rush under the lip…AWOOOOOO…!!!
The peak of the session was when there was only one other guy out…The air was warm, the sun was out, the peaks were peaky, and the surface of the water turned to oil glass…I was in another world…A world far away from the rush of life…All that was important was the next wave…
On the way home I reflected on the session I just had…I realized that I now, I have a board that I’ll be able to ride for the rest of my life…I never had a board before that I thought that about…Somehow that felt very reassuring…
Life is good…
More at: http://www.hollowsurfboards.com/hollow_surfboards.htm

Looks like you got it figured out.

Kinda small fins, does it hold in well?

Kinda small fillet holding the fins on. Is it half a rope?

Nice.

Beautiful board. I missed it the first time around because I wasn’t recieving pictures. What type of wood are the fins make of? Neat board, Paul. Mike

Thats a neat looking board… I noticed the screw on the front. I assume that’s your vent plug. I have my board is channeled for a vent plug in the nose. I haven’t decided what to use yet. I thought of a brass threaded insert with a 10-32 stainless steel screw and an o-ring. That should work right?? What did you use??

sounds like a killer session paul. sweet job on the board; looks great like everything you build.

pat

Those are some giant pics! I can even see my own reflection in the gloss finish. Nice work.

truely one of your finer outlines to date.

Comunion with a personal best board is

the top!

add a verse to the cole porter song

“You’re the top”

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

and in this case

an inspiration to us all.

My fantasies run wild

at the thought of the balsa 8’ stick in my back room…

only 2 1/2’’ x 3’’

but the fine joined filets

dance in my head like

sugarplums

in the night before xmas poem.

when I breathe I can almost taste the westport spray.

thanks paul

…ambrose…

and fun to carry at a run

What are the two kinds of woods you used to build the rails? Also is the seam where they meet only in the nose?

Beautiful

A truly unique and beautiful shape Paul. Looks like a mix between a hull type outline and a fish. I would love to give it a try. I definitely appreciate the effort put into rounding that nose with the poplar /cork rail. Craftmanship. the weight is right in there as well. What is you interior configuration like? thanks for the post.

Kinda small fins, does it hold in well?

Yeah…

Kinda small fillet holding the fins on. Is it half a rope?

No, with epoxy, I find that fin rope just doesn’t wet out clear…I stranded some e-cloth…Followed by woven…

What type of wood are the fins make of?

Zebrawood…

I assume that’s your vent plug.What did you use??

A brass “Binding Post” for the base, with a cross drilled 8/32 screw…O-ring between…

Those are some giant pics!

Yeah…What happened…???..

What are the two kinds of woods you used to build the rails?

3/16 sheet cork (Bulletin Board material) and 1/8" Lite Ply (Bending Plywood)…

Also is the seam where they meet only in the nose?

No they are staggered around the board…

What is you interior configuration like?

1/4" luan plywood stringer and cross ribs…

I routered out the frame after the deck & bottom were on…Worked great, less frame deflection…


Who does your lawn?

Ever thought about making the ribs out of EPS to save another 2 lbs or so? Or are you a foam-hater and/or wood purist?

Debut session: 4-6-06

Location: Westport, WA
Conditions:
Wind: Dead flat calm, turning to oily calm…
Swell: West - 5’solid @ 12 sec.
Air temp at dawn: 38 degrees…warming to the high 50’s
Crowd Factor: What crowd…???.. It’s a weekday…!!!..
For the past year my nearly exclusive board of choice has been my 11’6"…Today was a drop to a new low extreme for me -5’6"…You do the math…
The first thing I noticed after suiting up was when I was walking with the board…It fills the area under my arm more than my narrow, yet thick 11’6"…The weight difference is also extreme…My 11’6" weights about 37#, this is 10#…Radical…It felt like nothing under my arm…
Once I was in the water and on the board, I found the paddling position and balance just fine, very familiar despite the shortness of the board…The board floats thicker than it’s measured 3"…Feels more like 3.75"…Just the way hollows are…
Out in the line-up, while sitting waiting for a wave, I was surprised how high I was sitting in the water…High enough to have my waist out of the water…I was expecting to be rib deep…
The first wave I tried for I caught…Using only arm paddling I caught a solid 5-6’er in the Corner…I decided before hitting the water to mostly ride prone, and that’s what I did on this first wave…The wave lifted, I pulled myself down the face with a couple of stokes, then the board started planing, did the drop, hit warp speed and the weeks of questioning how it’ll ride were answered…In an instant…I have a keeper…
After having ridden several waves only prone, I decided to take the leap to my feet…Not so hard, but the swell was a bit too thick and powerful to really get in tune to the waves…After having ridden the surfboard equivalent of a Rolls Royce for a year, this watermelon seed was going to take some getting used to…The wide tail planes really easily, and is going to require me to get on the learning curve riding smaller waves…I’ll experiment further on 3’ waves and work my way up from there…Should be just a blast…!!!..
After a couple of hours using only my arms for propulsion, I went in and grabbed my swim fins…Instead of getting in the rip at the jetty, I got in at the middle of the beach…Just kicking my way to the outside was easier than I thought…When I encountered whitewater rolling at me, I let the board go up and over the wave, instead of trying to go under it…Simple…
Once outside, the advantage of the fins became obvious…While laying off of the back of the tailblock, with my arms extended far out in front, I’m able to kick into waves way easier than arm paddling…And I’m all about early wave entry…Get in and GO…And this thing goes…Flat out FAST…The wide tail just planes so easy and the wide set fins create just enough drag to keep the board on track…Throw into the mix being prone and so close to the wave face, the sensation of speed is intense…Intoxicating…Rights or lefts, it’s all the same…Fast fun…
I had a few “way behind the peak” take-offs, just high lining it through the folding bowl, holding the high line for the speed rush under the lip…AWOOOOOO…!!!
The peak of the session was when there was only one other guy out…The air was warm, the sun was out, the peaks were peaky, and the surface of the water turned to oil glass…I was in another world…A world far away from the rush of life…All that was important was the next wave…
On the way home I reflected on the session I just had…I realized that I now, I have a board that I’ll be able to ride for the rest of my life…I never had a board before that I thought that about…Somehow that felt very reassuring…
Life is good…
More at: http://www.hollowsurfboards.com/hollow_surfboards.htm

Looks like you got it figured out.

Kinda small fins, does it hold in well?

Kinda small fillet holding the fins on. Is it half a rope?

Nice.

Beautiful board. I missed it the first time around because I wasn’t recieving pictures. What type of wood are the fins make of? Neat board, Paul. Mike

Thats a neat looking board… I noticed the screw on the front. I assume that’s your vent plug. I have my board is channeled for a vent plug in the nose. I haven’t decided what to use yet. I thought of a brass threaded insert with a 10-32 stainless steel screw and an o-ring. That should work right?? What did you use??

sounds like a killer session paul. sweet job on the board; looks great like everything you build.

pat

Those are some giant pics! I can even see my own reflection in the gloss finish. Nice work.

truely one of your finer outlines to date.

Comunion with a personal best board is

the top!

add a verse to the cole porter song

“You’re the top”

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

and in this case

an inspiration to us all.

My fantasies run wild

at the thought of the balsa 8’ stick in my back room…

only 2 1/2’’ x 3’’

but the fine joined filets

dance in my head like

sugarplums

in the night before xmas poem.

when I breathe I can almost taste the westport spray.

thanks paul

…ambrose…

and fun to carry at a run

What are the two kinds of woods you used to build the rails? Also is the seam where they meet only in the nose?

Beautiful

A truly unique and beautiful shape Paul. Looks like a mix between a hull type outline and a fish. I would love to give it a try. I definitely appreciate the effort put into rounding that nose with the poplar /cork rail. Craftmanship. the weight is right in there as well. What is you interior configuration like? thanks for the post.