It is my first attempt to build a board i have decided on a fish. I took templates from a 5’10" mabile fish and scaled them down to 5’7". I drew the templates onto a 6’2" C blank and tried to keep them as close to the rear as possible as to minimize rocker. I came up with a 17" nose and then 16 7/8" tail. The wide point is 2" forward of center and the butt crack is 6.5" from the tail. My wide point came out at 22 1/8" also. I like the way the outline looks on the board, but i am hesitant as to how wide it is. I know my 5’10" is pretty wide, but should the width be scaled down a little more to accomodate the shorter board? Also, i am going to try and glass it myself, and i want to do it with yellow tints. I know yellow doesn’t show as many imperfections, but do i need to do cut laps, or could i get away with free laps? Thanks for any help.
what size are you , psu …if you don’t mind me asking …just so I have some kind of reference point for you compared to your board .
height , weight , previous board[s] ridden , types of waves you’ll be riding it in ?
All these sorts of things help give a bit of a clearer picture to help you.
cheers mate !
ben
…also , will you be kneeboarding or standing on it ? [or both ?]
I am 5’7" and weigh 150 pounds. I surf mostly beachbreak waves in the waist to head plus range. I am not the fastest paddler in the world, so any extra float would benefit me too.
Your fish sounds pretty good to me, I would move the wide point up an inch or two more. It could go a bit narrower too (21 1/2"?) without hurting anything. As for the glass job, yeah you will still need to do a cut lap to make things look neat and tidy. Keep us posted!
Scott
Any time you are using tinted resin you should be doing cutlaps.
When using tinted resin each layer of cloth has a more or less uniform amount of color to it. Because of the transparency, when these layers overlap each other the color is a bit darker.
So if you freelap, then you will see exactly where each lap ends up. Very sloppy and not at all adviseable.
TONS of info on cutlaps int he archives. Not very difficult to do, just takes more time and requires more preperation and more patience and yes, more skill, but oh so worth it as your finished product looks great.
Drew
yes , you could go narrower and thin if you wanted …the choice is yours !
Will you be doing the twin keel thing ? Glassons ?
And , how wide is the tail tip to tip ?
For standing or kneeling ? [if kneeling , you could stick to your original measurements …don’t know where you’re from , but in oz that would be around a kneeboard width !]
ben
… I’d like to see some photos of this board when you get it happening , if it’s not too much trouble , please ? cheers !
Since its your first board, your dimensions are perfect. You’ll end up sanding out high & low places on your rails and it will lose 1/4" to 1/2" in width anyway by the time you’re done 
so start at 22 1/8" and you’ll end up around 21 3/4" which is fine for your size…
Keep what you have now. By the time you get everything shaped, you’ll be fine. Even if you do get it done perfect and keep those dimensions exactly the same, it sounds like a fun board to ride.
Aloha
Bryan