First board completed

Until the next board,here we go…

 

Thanks:

To my patient wife, Mike at EOS surf shop, Bolt, favorite Aussie Grant Davey and all the Swayaholics.

Surfer:

 225lb intermediate long board lake surfer. First garage board.

Primary goals:

To catch soft waves typical at my favorite home break.

To get into fast breaking waves sooner for more face time.

To connect waves and try to ride beach break mush to shore. I usually walk back via a pier into the line up.

Secondary goal:

Make a board with more maneuverability than my 11' log.

Foam:

2lb EPS left over from a construction job. 8 pieces glued into a 8" thick blank. Gorilla glue lines on deck and
bottom still slightly visible in finished board. Rail glue lines OK.

Stringer:

Clear pine from Menards planed down to 3/8" and painted white.

Dims:

10' by 24" by 4".

Rocker:

3.5" in tail, 5.5" in the nose.

Rails:

From the tail hard down to 25", 60/40 thinning to 50/50 last 3' to nose.

Hull:

Flat except 1/4" vee in tail 25" back.

Deck:

Flat.

Sealer:

Fast-n-final with Futures floor acrylic mixed in.

Glass:

two 4 oz bottom, two 6 oz on top. Resin Research 2000-fast.

Paint:

On the foam. Two coats of Benjamin Moore acrylic with Golden acrylic additive for improved flow and
adhesion. Applied with small foam roller.

Fin set-up:

10.5" center box 5" from tail with Probox side bites. I doubt I'll need these.

Fins:

Having fun making some various modified pivot fins.

Vent:

Gore.

Cost:

About $300 not including tools.

Shaping for
performance:

I choose not to remove any foam unless I was convinced that doing so would contribute in way that I could
actually notice to the board's performance(as I defined above) That's why the deck is not domed or the tail
and nose are not thinned out like most other boards. This concept dawned on me when talking to a sales
guy in Stewarts shop. I asked him why his big guy Clydesdale boards have chinned rails. He commented that
they can't sell boards that have big looking rails on them. A similarly designed board at Infinity left the rails
full.

Lessons learned:

On a long board split the epoxy batches so one has more time working out bubbles and rails.

The logo over the glass and under the hot coat works but suspect quality. Clarity is nice but a pain to work
around and it's still slightly raised.

If you don't have a lot of spare time, patience is the largest single factor for success. This project was started
last November.

Practice steps on scrap foam is worth the extra time.

Make sure to fill in every pock mark with the fast-n-final or they will show under the glass. Better to apply it
heavy and sand back thin.

Making a blank out of scrap foam adds a third more time to the project if not more.

The incidentals like tape, sand paper, gloves, cups etc will nickel and dime you endlessly.

For a first time board builder, the ability to separate and sift through hundreds of board building techniques
is key. Many are advance techniques and don't apply. Some will save you from wrecking months of work
and replacing costly materials.

Go slow when pushing epoxy. Foaming late after 20 minutes leaves a cloudy epoxy job. I found Greg
Loher's epoxy comments /tips spot on.

Have a primary purpose or job for your first board -I doubt that adding all the various design elements so
the board will do a little of everything really works.

Understanding the various individual design functions of shape is relatively easy. Integrating them and
knowing how they affect each other is entirely different matter….

First ride:

The only boards I know well are my 11' log and former 9'6 "performance" long board and a few rental
boards that don't really count. This board bridges the two. My first session was 4'-5' semi-clean waves and I
was thrilled that the board paddled and caught waves almost identical to the 11' log. Turning is far easier
especially at take off and on the face where the energy is. I still have to walk to back to turn sharp(pivot turn)
but it's a half step and I can now turn with my weight into the rails. The huge rails work well in the wash;
they just seem to stay the right distance away to keep the board from getting swallowed up into the wave.
It's also a lot easier to punch through the breakers on the way back to the line up. The rocker or trim out is a
bit funky and not as smooth as my other boards. There's an invisible line on the forward part of the board
when crossed stalls the ride. Could be the narrow nose or the thick tail.

Regrets:

This project took far too much time. I'll never make another board.

Next Board:

Loved the end grain-plywood board posted in Swaylocks..pure art for the living room. Currently looking for
foam for a 8' fun shape or a pin tail nose rider.