Looks Effing good to me vs my crap attempts. Keep going.
Thanks mate, its amazing what a difference a template makes!!. Although the first pic looks crap of the outline. I’ll try to photobucket it
looking good beery.
Hope this works
Edit, stupid piece of S&^ FU(&^G photo bucket!!, worked last time, not now!. I’ll keep trying!
Ha, it worked!!. It’s not a true “fish” tail, but im not ready for that just yet. Just need to smooth sand it and gulp, glass it. I’ll be using uv cure resin, so i should do a better job than the first one. Cheers, and thanks to everyone for their continuing advice and help.
P.S, gunna take a template into work today for more fins. I found a 2 metre by 3 metre sheet of 12mm ply at work the other day, WOO HOO!!!, hopefully im not busy today!!
This is a fin i roughed out at work last night. Its a copy of a fin i just snapped, d’oh!. I’ll use it on my fish as a single fin option. I just have to figure out how im gunna put a base on it. I’ll probably just thin down the base , then make a mould, and use chopped glass in the mould, then glass the whole thing.
Dims
height 8’’
base 5 1/2’’
rake 5 1/2’’
I’ll be doing some keels today hopefully, i think i’ll go with 3 finboxes instead of 5, and try keels first. If im not happy, i can just add more boxes!!. I’ll use the front quad fins i’ve made as side fins on our minimal ( next project!!! ).
Hey Beerfan,
Nice project. I am glad you brought this topic up because I am also making a 6’2" fish. I think after reading Swaylocks every one has to make a fish.I am hoping my fish lives up to all the hype. I have never even ridden one.Glassing with UV is the way to go ,no stress.If you use some color add a little catalyst.
good luck!
Ian
Update. lammed the bottom today. Here’s a pic of the paint job, i went for the “unfinished” look, as i ran out of paint!.Dont know if you can see the lap, but its there!.
Ok, progress update. As an early xmas present from my wife, after i lammed the board, it went in to get some 7 1/2 x 5 fibreglass keels glassed on, plus filler coat, and a small box for a trailing fin. Got it back today, and i just have to sand the board. What a friggin pain in the arse that is!. It’s only the second board i’ve sanded, and i am starting to be able to see the cloth on the laps on the bottom. I havent gone through them, but im worried. Can the board take water if you can see the cloth??, again, i havent gone through it, but i can see it. Im absolutely hangin to ride it, but i dont want to do it if its gunna take water. I doubt that water could get through, but i just wanna check with you guys first!. Will post pics when its done.
Cheers
I believe the call is to stop when you see weave, but I just wanted to have it said–somebody with actual exp should say…
I may have to run another bead anyway, as i have very little resin to sand down a “hard edge” in the tail rail. After a frustrating day yesterday, im a bit more relaxed about it. Hmmmm i may have to invest in a random orbital sander to calm my nerves, the el cheapo sanding pad attachment for my drill isnt really working too well for me!.
Cheers
I decided to do another bead. Im a very inexperienced snader, so i would rather just add some more resin and be sure, than risk it. Here are some pics. You can see the line of resin about 4’’ in from the edge.
Ok, the fish is done. I was planning on waiting til i had it in some decent waves before posting pics, but, ah stuff it, here it is. Dont look too close at the bottom, the sanding job i did is crap!. How does it ride?? im still not sure haha, i’ve surfed it twice in tiny tiny crap waves i probably wouldnt’ve surfed on my old board. I got one decent wave and the board was fun. Paddling is funny, i need to be right on the nose for it to paddle well, i think the nose os too thick, and should’ve been thinned out. From the few half decent tiny waves it seems to be loose, but not too loose. Going out today again, i hope its at least 2 feet hahah. Here’s the pics. 
The hard edge in the tail rail is still tricky for me. Its there, but where it joins the rest of the rail, it isnt a smooth transition. It also sits out a bit. I think next board, i’ll use fred all the way along the board, and use a bead to make the edge, i think it will be easier to blend into the rest of the rail. Anyway, fingers crossed for decent waves today!