What makes it a “turbo hull”?
How does it surf?
It’s a very slight channel. It creates acceleration. Was very surprised to learn that you can take off super late on this thing. You can ride 2’ slop, or 8’ grinding Hurricane swell. Very maneuverable, frontside or backside. This board has zero hang ups. Plus, you’re riding the wave when the Potato Chip riders are flailing like crazy to catch the wave. Experience level would include everyone. I’ve had this board for 25 years. It’s epoxy.
1 Like
So just been waiting recently for some tools and material to come in to continue with the reshape.
Waiting for the 2x4 to come in which I’m going to cut down to get two sanding blocks, a 24” block for sanding the rocker to help me sand down the rocker symmetrically and a 12” block to have a smaller sanding block.
Also got a post leveling tool that has a 90 degree angle which I’m going to use for truing up the outline. Hoping the 90 degree angle will make it dummy proof for me in getting the rails sanded smoothly and at 90 degrees.
Recently just been practicing with a trimming plane on the stringer of some off cuts. The plan is to use the Greenlight “stair step method” to set the rocker and keep a continuous curve. (Trimming down the stringer starting from 3” to tip, then second pass at 6” to tip, etc etc before following up with sanding block to take down the foam)
But after practicing with the trim plane I realize I’ve got quite the work cut out for me. Going to take quite a while to take the stringer down so far since the tips are quite thick. Starting at about 2” at the tip and taking it down to 3/4” for both tails. With the new rocker goal being 2.5” at each end, 1” @ 1’, 0.4” @ 2’.
Also been playing around with some acrylic paint and squeegee for a foam stain squeegee pull along the center of the board for a bit of color. (Going to tape off the stringer to make sure the glass can properly bond to the stringer)
But with so much time to think about the design, I’ve been going back and forth on rail design. Can’t make up my mind of what rail design to use. I’m torn between either making the whole rail line the same shape from tip to tip or since I have two tails, doing a normal hard edge at each end that transitions to maybe a 60/40 through the middle. Anybody have any thoughts on rail design and what could work well for a low rockered two tailed board? (Keel fin, and twingle fin setup)
Nice! It looks like a fun board! I really wanted to make a midlength in that range but the original board didn’t cooperate for me to get to that length. The nose channels really threw a wrench in my plans.
The channel is a very slight bevel from the stringer up to the tape edge. It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Operative word is “slight”. I’ll measure it with a straight edge and let you know what the depth is.
1 Like
hey mate here is an old thread from way back, there is a bunch of stuff there from reshape to foam stain to general egg style board discussion to low rocker discussion.
check it out.
That’s perfect! Thanks!
The artwork turned out great! Were you just using acrylic paint? Airbrush? Watered down at all?
Also curious to hear how the second board turned out compared to the first? with the modifications suggested by Tudor and Howard. Especially how did the changes to the rails feel?
I think if I were doing a normal board what they suggested for the rails would probably be what I was planning.
But with it being a reversible two tail board is what’s throwing me for a loop. If I had a hard edge in the tails then I would have a nose with a hard edge. That’s kind of why I’m leaning towards a 60/40 rail with a softer edge on the tuck the whole rail line. That way either way I ride it the rail line would be consistent and not be too weird riding it one way.
I feel like deciding to do a two tailed board I’m accepting that I’ll need to make compromises on design. Won’t be as good as normal shaped board in theory but just wanting it to be ok ridden both ways.
I wish the longboard I used for foam had been more suitable for a 7ish egg. But beggars can’t be choosers and it was what was donated to me. Appreciative all the same.
Those nose channels really pushed me in much different direction.
Acrylic, watered down with methylated spirits, also known as denatured alcohol I think. The alcohol evaporates out of the foam better than water. Just applied with a few brushes. Next time I try flames I have to swap the order of colours. light on the inside dark on the outside.
Completely different board, more of a performance board rather than the cruiser that the 7 footer was.
For the low rocker I recommend having a less fin option. I often take it out in tiny clean waves with just the tiny side bite fins, super fun.
Cool, I’ll be sure to try denatured alcohol. I’m playing around with a squeegee pull and I felt the first couple try’s I had too much paint left on that I was worried might interfere with the foam-resin bond.
Gonna plan for keel fins on the wide point back/ wide tail side for smaller days to generate drive/ speed but trying out some sidebites on really small days sounds fun!
Finally got back to working on the board again.
Yesterday I spent setting the rocker by hand. I started with a small hand plane and trying out the stair step method greenlight suggested. I think it would have been a good method but either my blade isn’t sharp enough or I have the blade set at a bad angle or I need to learn how to use the tool better. Plus I had so much foam to take down and just using a hand plane would have taken ages!
So I switched to using a 2x4 sanding block the width of the board with some 40 grit belt sandpaper attached. Took down the foam much faster! But still need to get an electric planer, it took a while with the sandpaper.
However towards the end of the session I realized the original board had more v in it than I thought. Kind of stupid on my part for not checking or realizing. So I have more work getting the bottom flat. Also I have some slight bumps where I started accelerating the rocker that I need to blend in. And where the nose channels were the foam is quite a bit thicker than the other end so I need to even it out a bit.
Then this morning I had a little time before the rain came in from the typhoon so I decided to true up the outline. I started with a 90 degree post level but that left some small indents in the foam where it rested on top. So switched to a sanding block. I left myself a lot of foam when I cut out the outline so had to take off quite a bit of foam. Also at this point realized when I had traced out the outline that one side wasn’t really even with the other side. So ended up marking out measuring points every few inches to even out both sides.
I’m sure it’s not perfect by any means but I figure it’s probably close enough, maybe touch up a few spots. But I also don’t want to get so caught up in chasing symmetry that I end up taking off too much foam trying to fix it.
The ends are still a little thick, both are around 1 1/8” so need to thin them out a little bit more.
Some pictures of what it looks like right now.
1 Like
Good work, take your time. Keep your sanding strokes long to try and keep everything even. It looks like you have a couple of little wobbles along the deck that you should be able to carefully blend back in with nice long strokes. It’s looking good. The hardest part at this stage is not to rush as it’s starting to look like a board now!
1 Like
Thanks, Railway!! I’ll keep your advice in mind! I did notice when I found a bump I tended to want to shorten my strokes to try and take it down. Had to keep reminding myself to lengthen the strokes because I kept focusing too much on sanding only the bumps at times.
Haven’t started on the deck yet because the bottom rocker still needs some work. But the decks a little funny. At the ends the deck is flat to the rails but in the middle the deck is slightly rounded down to the rails so the deck is uneven from end to end.
I think my problem now is I keep staring at the board too much and I keep thinking I see bumps or something that needs to be fixed. But I’m not sure if I’m just seeing things or if there are actually bumps or dips.
I probably should just remeasure all the width points every few inches to recheck the outline for any inconsistencies or wobbles. Then probably run the rocker stick width ways to check the rocker to see where it’s uneven.
Don’t get too obsessive. I was told to trust my eyes and hands. My first board was really rough (lumps and hollows) but surfed ok! I have a board I surf currently that is my favourite (don’t know who shaped it) that is totally different side to side on the bottom and has a couple of straight spots on the rail outline but I still love it! I’m not a fancy high performance surfer, I love just cruisy along the face and carving a few turns here and there so probably not a great reference for how much these things affect performance but I think it shows that things don’t have to be PERFECT to work!
1 Like
Thanks, I needed to hear that!
I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first board and just the start of learning. But I’ve loved every step so far!
Haha, realistically that’s all I probably do on short boards, cruise along down the line maybe a turn or two. kind of an average Joe kind of surfer, haha.
Finished the bottom today! Not perfect but don’t want to thin out the board too much and since I still need to clean up the deck of all the old yellowed foam I figured I’d stop.
At the thickest point it’s about 2 5/8 give or take a smidge. Depending on how much I need to take off from the top to get to the clean foam I’m hoping I’ll end up around 2 1/2 or 2 3/8” at this point. I’m hoping for the latter since I’d prefer a bit more thickness.
But I’m not sure if that’s overly optimistic or not.
Got some more typhoons swinging by island so not sure when I’ll get some more clear weather to continue but next step is working on the deck and then rails.
Here’s a shot of the rocker.
Looking good! Well done, keep the pics coming once you have some decent weather.
1 Like
Matthew, youve got a great outline going on. Looks very reminiscent of early Wayne Lynch “Double Ender” models that were very popular in the transition period from longboards to early shortboards… (they would be midlengths now).
If your surf is longer, tapered, but sloping facey waves, you might look at the Hull-type rail profiles. They taper more than a typical board, and the 60/40 profile you describe might suit a “Hully” rail line.
Warning: Hulls are notorious for being a little finicky riding. Check out Ritchie West’s rail line from the Wilderness days… dis place men tia: Richie West: The Santa Barbara Era
Thanks, daddontsurf! When I was designing the outline I was looking at a lot of Wayne Lynch boards for inspiration since the twin fin side was going to be wide point back.
Never really seen that type of board in person so not sure what to expect with the ride. The wide point mostly coincides with the thickest part so when I ride the twin fin side I’m not sure if paddling will be a bit more finnicky and sensitive to my paddle position when I use that side since the thickest part won’t necessarily be at my chest like all the boards I’ve ever ridden.
I tried getting as much symmetry in the rocker and thickness as I could but wasn’t as successful as I planned.
A hull type rail, I haven’t heard of that but I’ll take peak through some of the threads see what I can find on it.
The waves here are definitely pretty slopey and slow breaking but usually decently long rides. Not really a true point break but closer to a point break than to a beach break.
I’ve recently been thinking about keeping a flat deck mostly out to the rails to keep the extra volume that goes into a down rail with a tucked under edge. But the original board the deck tapers down to the rails already so I don’t think I’ll be able to get a flat deck without taking too much thickness off the center.
Once I foil the deck I should have a clearer picture of what I can do with the rails.
But I recently talked to a local shaper and he got me pretty nervous thinking about glassing.
Since I won’t be able to get any of the name brand surf epoxies and I’m unsure of the quality of the fiberglass I’ll be able to get.
Even the squeegees he was suggesting I should get the Fiberglass Hawaii squeegees because he tried some cheap plastic ones (the kind I bought) and said it was hard to use for glassing. Said the flex in the local ones weren’t quite right for glassing.
I’m just hoping it turns out ok and I don’t ruin the board!
Hey Matthew
I just looked at your board “with fresh eyes”.
There may be a way for you get more rocker by swapping the nose and the tail. You did say that you were concerned about how flat the rocker was… and that the tail was thicker. If you swapped the nose and the tail, you may be able to add some rocker to the front. Your rocker stick will confirm this.
I believe that the deepest part of the bottom foil, the wide point, and the thickness should all coincide on a neutral handling surfboard.
Daddontsurf, I’m actually making into a two tailed board or real double ender with fin boxes at both ends. So I can surf it either way.
So it’ll be wide point back for the twin fin side and then at the other end with wide point forward it will be two single fin boxes for a “twingle”
So depending on the waves I can turn it around to get a different ride.