First board, what to shape?

General Discussion
1

Well… the fiance told me to buy a board or (finally) shape one, for my birthday this year. I figured it’s high time I give this a go (since I’ve been thinking and talking about it for over a year!)…

I’ve been picking through the archives, and I’ll be doing a lot of up-front preparation… but the first decision I’m stuck with is what to shape. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew on this one… and there’s no shortage of boards I’d like to add to the quiver… so I’m pretty flexible.

Some possibilities:

Quad fish for beachbreaks. foiled out volume in nose and tail, around 5’6"x21"x2.5" … for bottom contour, probably single concave all the way through?

Sub 6’ disc? I’m not at all sure about how these go or what they’re good for. I’d need to do some research, but I’ve seen guys surf 'em in smallish stuff and they look like fun.

Diamond tail single fin… wide diamond tail (10"+?), flat bottom, flat rocker with kick in the nose… something like 5’10"x20.5"x2.5"… I had something like it I enjoyed as a twin-fish alternative at higher tides for earlier take-offs.

Longboard? I assume this is a bit much foam for a first shaping (and glassing) project is a lot to bite off… let me know if I’m wrong about that. I sure wouldn’t mind though, since I’ve only got 1 longboard and 80% of my surfing is done on it. There are a lot of different elements I’d like to play with on longer equipment… I’ve also been wondering about a ‘labor day’ board for mixed up beach breaks that friendly barbeques end up taking me too… Something around 8’6" that I can take off pretty steep on and get around sections with… Maybe even swallow-tailed?

So yeah… plenty of options. Anyone have any suggestions?

I promise to photo-document the entire process very completely, since those threads are a lot of fun to read… :slight_smile:

2

"I’ve only got 1 longboard and 80% of my surfing is done on it. "

Make a fish, then. I wouldn’t do a quad on your first board though.

3

It seems like an obvious choice, for sure… the only reason I didn’t list a classic keel fin fish is because I own one… I suppose I could build one anyways… it just seems more motivating to shape something completely absent from my current quiver…

That said… I HATE the glassjob on my fish… and I’d really like to have one in Volan.

4

If you go a fish the good thing is you can use the old one as a template and make adjustments.

5

It’s funny… I was just thinking that… Plus, I’ve always thought I might like a touch less volume in that board… I suppose it’s a project I could get excited about.

I’ve read about Volan being harder to cut… but other than that is is a bad choice of glass for a first board?

6

If you’re going to glass the fish with Volan it might be a little tough. It takes an extra little patch of glass in the butt crack to cover it. Volan has that sweet green tint, and if you don’t do it right it will be a little darker in that area. Anyway, cutlaps are all you need really. Not that hard, even on a first board. I actually prefer cutlaps to freelaps. They look ten times cleaner.

7

Your timing is fortuitous…Head on down to Point Loma this weekend (see Keith’s sticky post). Beyond shaping info and inuendo, everyone brings interesting boards to check out (most of them are Keith’s). I’ll bring some Liddles. Lots of ideas to confuse you. I’ll bring my templates, Keith has a bunch too so bring some butcher paper and you can trace some curves. Better yet, bring some masonite and we can show you how to make your own.

8

Woah. I don’t know how I missed that. I’ll check with the Missus (I have no idea whether my time is spoken for on Saturday). Assuming I’m free, I’ll be there for sure! Thanks.

9

So the drawback to using Volan for a first project is simply that I’ll run the risk of screwing up cosmetically? I can take that risk.

With what I’ve seen on posts about shaping and glassing the buttcrack on fishes, I’m surprised they’re everyone’s go-to answer for a beginner project.

Are they recommended simply because of their small size, relatively thick foils, and the fact that you can avoid bottom contours?

10

That would be about it for Volan.

I suspect they’re the number one for first boards is their current popularity. And before you couldn’t get them at a lot of shops, so it was just easier for people to make them on their own. The lack of bottom contours is a big plus. I didn’t bother with mine at all and just left it flat. It’s a great board. They’re also fairly small so you don’t have to worry about continuing rail contours very far like with a longboard.

If you do go with the fish, enjoy the fact that there are sooo many threads about them.

11

Hello Actress ,

At first I thought you were a chick. Then this came up in one of your post , " I’ll check with the Missus "

Hmmmmm

So I go to user profile and your name is Phil , well my mom has a friend named Phillus…

Great surf in your town. You already have a fish and a log… Go with the egg or Hull , Just under 7 feet… I’m lov’n my 6’8" egg and my 6’5" short and fat mini log.

Have fun

See you at Keith’s

Ray

12
Quote:

I wouldn’t do a quad on your first board though.

i second that. quads are pretty fiddly. a nice clean, simple singlefin is a great place to start for a first-shape/first-glass project.

13

Yup,

An egg requires more shaping in most cases,but still might be the easier and quicker of the two to build…depending on the blank selection.tools avalible.bla,bla,bla…