Hello to all, I’ve decided to build a greenough spoon and have been searching for a template or measurements. hope someone can help me with this. And if any of you have built one, tell me about the glassing schedules and any building tip that can be helpful. Can it be a twin fin? how many layers of glass in the bottom? I don’t want it to be really flexible, and when shaping I’ll leave more foam in it’s place to make it float better. Thanks in advance. Jack
I’m sure a few here have built them, but I’ve seen a few that Brom has built. You could get a hold of him. They are a lot of work.
Practically everything practical you need to know to attempt
this can be garnered from an Older Surfers Journal
and the info from the archives here.
Find the website, email the people, and backorder the
appropriate Copy,…its worth it!
Quote:
Hello to all, I’ve decided to build a greenough spoon and have been searching for a template or measurements. hope someone can help me with this. And if any of you have built one, tell me about the glassing schedules and any building tip that can be helpful. Can it be a twin fin? how many layers of glass in the bottom? I don’t want it to be really flexible, and when shaping I’ll leave more foam in it’s place to make it float better. Thanks in advance. Jack
No need to go with an exact copy, for starters. Bear in mind that the original was ‘in transition’ at all times. See the Archives and the Resources for dimensions, pics and so on. Don’t get locked into those dimensions- what size kneeboard works for you now?
Flex is what it’s all about, so bear that in mind. Not floatation. If it floats itself, that’s plenty. If it doesn’t flex, you’ve basicly missed the point - the spoon shape itself is pretty miserable. As lots of El Paipo owners and Newport Paipo owners could tell you. Glassing schedule - well, you play with that.
Glass heavy from the get-go, then grind off glass to tune the flex or add more here and there to mess with the flex patterns according to your ideas of what works. Use the first one ( which is horribly labor intensive to shape and sand. ) as a male mold for subsequent variations to which you glass bands of foam sheet rather than sanding away all that foam from a full blank. Twin fins…why not. Build flex into those too. 90% of what make’s 'em work is that thin rail with a hard edge, so you can make the fins real small.
There are no ‘right’ answers…except what works for you.
hope that’s of use
doc…
go to the resources.paul gross built a few for some folks.( he built many for and with george, so he knows how to do them)i have one.first- forget the twin fin idea.George already tried it and found as he moved the fins closer together the better it worked-ended up the single fin is best practice(especially on such a deep hulled board)primary glassing is 3layers of 6 ounce volan top and same on bottom.however, you will nedd to build up more layers around the rails and fin area.(should be photos in the resource section)key too is the fin-closest thing you can buy is from true ames-the greenough fin that is flared at the base.however, not quite the correct thickness, foil or flex, so build your own(again, look in resorces under fins).lots and lots of time involved in building one of these, plus they aren,.'t made to surf around others-don’t padle worth a shit, need a wave with power to get 'em up and running…with that said, go for it-have fun with it! it will be a positive experience for sure!
Matt
George Greenough built two very different types of flexible kneeboards: his original rolled bottom spoons, and the latter (triplane) edge boards. In contrast to his spoons, the edge boards were designed to operate in a much wider range of waves and surface conditions… particularly in junky, less powerful, flatter, choppy surf.
Be aware that George`s kneeboards were specifically designed to accomodate his height, weight, style of riding, surfing experience and preferred waves. Your requirements will be different.
Extra flotation can be added after your project is finished. And if your board doesnt have much flex (the right flex), youve missed out on a whole spectrum of fresh sensation and performance. Tuned, flexible equipment has no equal… definitely worth the effort.
Dale-good point about his later model spoons-much more versatlie, etc.
I have a hull bottom spoon if you still need the dimensions!!
There is tons of info here http://www.flexspoon.com/ including detailed build descriptions w/ photos.
You talked me into it!
I’m just waiting to see someone use a couple layers of bamboo veneer in place of some of the volan.