Well, after taking too long and making a million rookie mistakes, here is the fish i started almost three months ago. A big thanks go to Chip (Ben), Rooster (Mike), PlusOne (George), Hicksy, and everyone else here on Swaylocks for all their advice and help.!! Hopefully next board wont take as long. I think it came out ok - floats my 200lb well and paddles well too - although all the talk about fish paddling as good as a longboard appear to be wishful thinking, at least for my part. Nevertheless, it does paddle well but will take a bit of getting used to since i was 15 the last time i rode a 6’0 of any sort.
I was happy with the fins too after a couple of attempts.
Here are some lessons i learned for other rookies out there (and for the old timers to laugh at)
Always check your template - dont rush it otherwise you will get an asymetrical shape
when doing the butcrack on a fish and you want to keep the pins nice an curved, dont use a hard block with 36 grit - i ended up with straight pins instead - which dont look as good i reckon
3 . when sanding the board, always check your dimensions as you go cause before you know it, you’ve taken an inch off your outline and half an inch from your target thickness.
When glassing use UV if u can and if you cant, dont glass outside in the heat.
If you run out of hotcoat resin, do not, i repeat, do not go to your local hardward store and use their generic brand of resin - it doesnt cure properly and stays tacky - which results in a new hotcoat.
When sanding, do the rails, nose and tail by hand - these are, like on a human, sensitive areas and need to be handled with care and tenderness. If not , then you will know the meaning of suffering.
When putting in a leash plug, use a jig to guide your hole saw. Also,use the right size - i was lucky on this one - also watch out for the run away hole saw - they get across a nice sanded finish like an olympic ice skater - hence use a jig.
after all the above, take your fish down the beach and despite all the trials and tribulations, you are holding under your arm the only one of its kind in the world. Proceed to strut past the Kelly Slater wannabes with their slick and probably symetrical boards, and catch some waves.
Next board for me will be a 7’0 thruster - sort of a big guy tri.
YAY!!! Looks good to me. WELL DONE MATE! And like me you’ve learned some valuable lessons and looking forward to your next, it’s bloody addictive. You know, I don’t think i’ll ever buy another board
Oddly enough it’s taken me 3 months too. My fish is at the point where i’m hot coating the bottom tonight and then the top tomorrow. I stayed well away from colour for my first time but would love to try a swirl next.
Dr Strange - cheers mate - only had it in 1 foot closeouts so no chance for a wave - but it does paddle well for its size. cant wait for the next decent swell - ill keep you posted
Wal - yeah, very addictive - ive learned so much and am much more confident for the next one. Dont think ill ever buy a board again too - its a very soul satisfying pursuit. (except when the planer takes off the tip of your finger - see post “when good planers go bad”"
Looks fantastic! Remember, you will probably be your worst critic.
Thanks for sharing the things you learned. So funny I almost fell out of my chair. particularly the comment about the hole saw and the olympic ice skater! Sounds like a few of my boards.
thanks for your kind words. Havent had any good surf yet to test it properly but the autumn swells are on their way for sure. The photos thankfully mask the sub-par glass job. But im going to be using UV resin for the next board so im sure things will go a lot smoother. Just finished the template so should be mowing foam too. Funny thing is, soon as your friends find out your are learning to shape boards, they suddenly have dings they need repairing - but i dont mind cause its all practice isnt it!
