I like it there Hicksy. I love the profile. Almost a pregnant look the way it swoops out and then pulls down again, but so smooth of a taper…
Still haven’t gotten mine wet but I wanna so bad. Bet you do to. I couldn’t because I wrecked my other leg and wasn’t able to go out on anything wood other than crutches. And now hunting season has opened and I’m torn between harvesting my quota of meat or trying the board. Maybe next weekend. I have to plan ahead because I’m too far from the ocean.
By the way, what did you use for your vent? I’d love to see it up close if I could. For mine I had an old telegraph key that I gutted. It had these wide(1/2") and thin(1/8") round ‘nuts’ with knurled edges and a flat top. And to match them, a ‘bolt’ with a round knuled top and flat underside to place a o-ring under it. Best off, It’s all brass too. Just placed and glassed it onto the deck with chopped strand. Worked out alright, just one of those things you come across and are like “Dude, this would totally be perfect for [that]” Anyways, what’s yours? I’d like to know.
Hope you have a wicked sweet session first time out. - Red
Haven’t heard from Gray for a while myself. Yeah pretty nervous but I have always undervalued my own work (is that normal?) I think my girls are more excited than me.
Thanks for the comments. Hurry up with those piccies.
Hey Red, Sorry to hear that your leg blew out on you, maybe convert your crutches to paddles…hmmm.
The vent plug is a plastic one generally used in Windsurf boards. It came with a black plastic screw with a o ring but there was a brass one available and I like the idea of brass and wood, something nautical about it plus I’ve got a spare in case.
I’ve attached a tiny pic from the suppliers website.
As for the shape of the board, I spent around 4 weeks drawing on graph paper and drawing on the info found here before I even bought the wood. I was so anal with my measurements and I can point out at least 12 mistakes I’ve made that wouldn’t be obvious to others. That reminds me I should really measure it again to share with all.
I’m still here, just checking out the board Hicksy…sweeeet as mate! its going to rip
Looks like you’ve polished her up, what did you use?
Let me know when the first outing is, I’d like to take a peek. Hopefully I can get in the water as I’m on a cocktail of anti inflamatory drugs for my knee and anti biotics for a neck wound! stiches out tomorrow so hoping to get a surf on Saturday.
Board No. 4 is lurching on, think I may have lightened the construction up a bit, will keep you posted if it works.
BTW did you put your rice paper / shoe box paper thro your printer and did it work ok?
Thanks for the comments mate. Haven’t polished it, just verrrry careful with the hotcoat, used 3" foam brushes and did alot of walking around and around til I got dizzy, but that could’ve been the Additive BE yuk yuk…
I didn’t use the printer for the logo. My wife is a calligrapher and she designed it over a couple of doodle sessions with me. I like the fish skeleton because it shows what the board looks like inside. Used the shoebox paper though. Rice paper next time…
It’s getting wet on Saturday I don’t know where but it’ll be after 10am because I have 4 females to pack into the car… I will let you know on Friday, probably Watermans or The Spot. hmmm better check the tides
Attached is what happened when I tried to work the epoxy too much into non yielding glass mat.
Take it easy with your neck wound. Infected Lovebite or Boardbite?
Hey all, here a few pics that you regulars on this thread might appreciate. I got one of the leash loop, vent, and bottom. My last pics I’m posting on this one. Gonna start another board, but eps/epoxy hopefully. should be a whole lot faster.
Nice job Red, have you taken it for a ride yet, what’s the final weight?
Finally got my board into the water, it’s a strange feeling when you wax it up and put the legrope on it. It sort of marks it as not something to look at and admire but to actually use it for what it was made for. Almost like losing virginity.
I took mine out in knee to chest high beachbreak and had a ball. The rocker I have in it meant that I had to get further up the board than I was expecting to paddle for take off. Seems to be happiest riding in the front of middle third. Got some nose time happening too. What a blast.
Went to a different spot on Sunday and broke my fin off pushing it too hard at the bottom of a turn. This thing can really spin around quickly working from the tail. Had a bit of a laugh because it floated to the surface, cost me nothing to make and I’ve got a week until I can finish another one.
Wife took piccies of the event, getting the film developed tomorrow.
Thanks Mr Jensen, I want to stop in your shop and see what you got in your quiver and in the works as well whenever I next journey into the States. I would have had a no real idea where to start if you hadn’t posted the DIYS section on your site. Here’s the answers to your questions.
So was it as you expected…???..
I don’t know if it is the board your talking about or the building experience. So I’ll answer both. The building was like what I had expected. I don’t have fancy woodwork tools because I’m just a hobbyist boat builder and not a cabinetmaker. So I had to improvise a little for the clamps(rocker tables and string) I thought veneering the deck instead of ripping planks on the table saw would be easier, but I think you got it wired with the solid strips. It took forever cutting those strips out with a straightedge and razor. But it builds character, right…? I didn’t have too much trouble with it because I’ve been working and building boats, skateboards etc. with wood for all of my life pretty much(I’m 19, so it’s not really that long I guess).
The board is prettier than I expected. It ended up wider than I had planned, but oh well. I’ll eventually build another one, and hopefully think it out better before jumping in right away. In my opinion, it’s the prettiest board out there. But that’s a really, really biased opinion that comes as the result of having poured so much of my time into it. It’s sorta like being in a relationship, all that time that you spend and how often you think about it. maybe that’s only me experiencing it.
What would you do different…???..
I’d plan it better, and build the deck out of solid wood. And do a different style(shortboard? maybe.). And make it thinner. And have a better profile.(less volume) I guess there’s more, but that’s just because I know what I want a bit better now.
hey there Hicksy. Sux about your fin man. But if you built it yourself, you can fix it too. It’s gonna be a little hard to see the first scuffs on it, but that’s what she’s built for. And ride her I will. As far as it being like losing virginity, I don’t know. Yet. When I lose my virginity I’ll likely be like ‘man, that was like waxing up and riding my surfboard for the first time.’ Atoked for you that it rides sweet. I’ll let you know when I ride mine. As for weight, I’ll let you know here in a bit. I still have to do that… And I really want to see those pics of it being ridden. all the best. -Red
Finally got the first ride piccies developed. Wife on beach with camera, crappy little waves but oh so much fun. The circle is complete. Start to finish. Still fixing the bl###dy fin though. All pics of the same wave before the film ran out. I actually did a airborne 360 after the final snap (he wishes…)
You’ve just given me the spurring on that I need at the moment, last night I made a balls up of monumental proportions with the rails and came to the conclusion that the only answer was to strip them right back and start again. Not really what I was after (you know how long it takes to build up the rails enough to start shaping them, or mis-shaping them in my case). Anyway, those pics were all the persuasion I need to get right back down there and start work. I’ve just taken a couple of pics of the board in it’s present state, the debris on the deck is what’s left of the rails after I took a chisel to them last night, I’m sure I made the right decision as my new plan seems to be going smoother so far (good old cork tiles).
So now the cycle is complete eh? What’s the next build going to be? By the way those “crappy little waves” are what we brits would consider a pretty good day in blighty.
Totally chuffed for you man. Shame the film ran out before the ariel stuff took place, same thing always happens to me.
Hicksy, nice work mate, coz those banks at 3rd carpark are a pig at the mo. Been down there with the fish a couple of times this week, paddling into a few straight handers!!
Jase, I hear your pain mate, I’ve just had to rip off the deck of my latest project, quality control kicked in and I just couldnt sleep at night, even though it was just a small flaw, it had to be re done. The board is for a mate so I want it to be right. The dog has had to listen to my rantings in the shed!
The building up of the rails with cork does take a bit of time, especially if your doing it out of floor tiles. Get some child labour to cut them up…ha ha. Apparently, there has been some decent swell in your neck of the woods. My mate sent some pics from a trip to fistral and it looked pretty sweet, looked better than the slop Hicksy and I have been grovelling in of late.
Sorry to hear about your woes with your boards, but they will be better than what they were going to be… won’t they…
New circle starting, going to build a stubby egg next but only a small board maybe 5’ to 5’6" for my girls to ride.
When I took the board out last Sunday at North Mullaloo one of my daughters was dying to have a go on my board. This was after the fin broke. I told her to drag her feet in the water to steer. I put her on it, pushed her into the wave and she rode it all the way up the beach until she was high and dry.
The look on her face said it all, have to foster this interest.
The first new layer of cork went on tonight and I reckon this is definately a better way to go than the original plan of laminate flooring expansion strips, the tiles are loads easier to stick down. Got really into it tonight again, Leonard Cohen on the stereo and a plan in my head. Tomorrow the next layer of ply goes on and i should be ok to add another of cork at the same time. I’m seriously hoping to be able to glass the board before the end of September as it’s getting damned cold already and my arthritic joints won’t stand up to testing it if it gets any colder than it is already. I’ve just found a website of a company who stock absolutely everything I need to finish apart from a vent, they even sell printable paper stuff that you can glass over, so I’m going to have to come up with some design thang. (the idea of glassing in an Acer leaf is out as it’s autumn now and all the leaves have fell off my plant, and I can’t wait until next spring)
Have you ever surfed at the Gower coast? I hear Freshwater-west is pretty good and it’s a damned sight easier to get to than Devon or Cornwall from here (no having to queue up outside Bristol for four hours).
What went wrong with the deck on the new project then? Are you planning to give some progress reports and piccies?
Yes indeed the board will be better for it. It’s all coming together nicely again now.
Aint that the best when you see your kid get into something that you’re passioate about, I take my son snowboarding to one of the indoor snow places over here and he is getting so good at it now, it makes all the kak you put up with all week at work worth it. I gave him a go on a 7’6" NSP funboard that I’d hired in Devon last holiday, first time ever and he was so close to getting up on it, damned natural. My next project is a board same as mine but scaled down a bit for him.
I realise that this subject may be a sore point at present but how did you attach your fin? Is it boxed or glassed on? I’m planning to glass on but could do with some guidance from someone who’s done it. I’ve started experimenting with shaping some woods for the fin, I think I’m going to laminate five layers of cherry and maple, nice contrast, I’ve got the cherry just need to beg some maple, off to the local flooring specialist then.
A top effort Hicksy. I am surprised that your fin broke, wasn’t it glassed with cloth? Too many g forces? Here’s the ‘Acid Drop’ with the deck on and the rail roughed out.
Atoked for you that it rides sweet. I’ll let you know when I ride mine. As for weight, I’ll let you know here in a bit. I still have to do that… And I really want to see those pics of it being ridden. all the best. -Red
