Nope, those are my first EVERYTHING! First time touching foam, first fiberglassing experience, first tints, first setting fins, first pinlines.
All it takes is much patience, and willingness to over-prepare and over-research (thanks again swaylocks) for EVERY step of the process.
The first question everyone has asked me when I’ve shown off my new boards is, “Nice work, when are you going to start selling them?”
I’m not, never planned to. And I think that is the reason I managed to do such a nice job on these. I knew from the very beginning that these boards were going to be for my quiver and my quiver only, so I took the time to make sure that they were everything I wanted them to be from the very start. I think, no I know, that if I tried to do this kind of work for someone else, I wouldn’t have the kind of results I came up with on this batch. There is just something about doing this type of project for the pure love of the art of surfing itself that inspired me to create far beyond what I thought I was capable of. If I were doing it for monetary gain, I think that inspiration would be subdued by the responsibility of creating a quality product for the consumer.
I certainly didn’t do it to save money on a quiver of quality boards. For what I spent building these boards, I could have ordered three clear boards from my local shaper, and probably had them done sooner!
This is a call to arms for all of those who are thinking about making their own. You can do it! I did!
Just research, research, research. Before I did my first lam (with cutlap) I spent many hours reading everything I could find here on the subject of cutlaps and glassing. Before I did my second lam with cutlap (the dark blue swirl) I spend just as many hours researching tints, slobjobs, acid splashes, swirls, etc… Same goes for the inlays, the logos, the hotcoat, the pinlines, the fins, the “cheater” gloss I used… Just have a plan in your mind before you start, and have every step of the process lined out in your head. It is not rocket science, it is art, and we all have that creative potential within.
