Hey, Im new on the forum and just want to start by sayin the website is great. Anyways, I have decided to build a fish surfboard. I have done a lot of research and am confident that I can successfully build a surfboard. I also have a lot of help with the glassing part.(friends dad has a boat business and gets discounted fiberglass supply in town, dad has a lot of experience with fiberglass, and we have a friend who was previously in the fiberglass business for years.)
The shape I want to go for is basically the CI Fish but with a flat bottum because of the small weak waves where I live. I want it to be 5’10"x21"x2 7/16". I plan on using a preshaped blank.(they sell them around here) I found the design and everything on the website, but I dont know how to get a diagram of it and whatnot. Im guessin I need a diagram with every point to refer to when shaping because I know I cant do the whole thing by eye. If anyone can point me into the direction of how I can get a diagram, please let me know. I saw that some people use “autocad”, but from what I found its a really expensive program.
You could design your template by hand - I know you said you didn’t want to but it may be the best way to get a consistent outline.
Get some mdf / thin ply or other inexpesive but manageable panel to design the template on. (Long enough for the board, wide enough for half the width of the board) I get enough mdf to make 1 template for about AU$4.00
Get a long flexible strip of ply / thin metal / maybe mdf again. (long enough for the perimeter of the rail on 1 side of the board) MDF is an option here but I don’t find it’s flex to be consistent for the purpose of the rail perimeter.
Get your measurements for:
a. Wide point (including where the wide point is on the board… eg. 2" forward of centre or whatever)
b. Width 1’ from nose
c. Width 1’ from tail
d. Width of tail
Mark the points on your template sheet (sheet form step 1.)
a. One of the long edges is your stringer… make sure you chose the straightest side (it should be perfect)
b. Mark the length of the board on the stringer
c. On the stringer side, mark 1’ from tail, wide point (mid point), 1’ form nose and nose
d. At each point from c. measure out from the stringer 1/2 the board width at that point. (i.e you are making a 1/2 board template) It is important to use a square at this point as you want the points to come out at 90 degs from the stringer. Drawing lines out from the stringer for each point also helps. (Rather than just having dot points)
Put a nail / screw / whatever at each point
Put the flexible strip along the rail outline and hold it in place with bricks / a friend / whatever.
Draw the rail outline with a pencil.
Now step back and have a look… make sure it is what you are after - it’s easier to re-draw a line than to change the template once it’s been cut out. You may have a few bumps around the nail but you can get them out later.
Once happy, cut it out with a jigsaw / handsaw / whatever. Remember to cut outside the line (not inside) Give yourself some room to clean up later with sandpaper
Get a hard block and sandpaper and clean up the rail - use long motions over the whole rail to level out the bumps left by an unsteady hand when cutting. (Try not to scrub in 1 area as you will create an irregular rail)
This gives you a good even rail outline with not too much equipment / tooling required.
I like to use 1/2 templates as you always know that when you flip and trace the other side, it’s symetrical.
I’d recommend doing this rather than just printing something out as this will give you practice in getting a rail outline nice and consistent… If you can’t get a consistent ouline on thin board for the template, you’re gonna have a tough time trying to do it with foam. (i.e. As it is your first time, no matter how perfect your template is, you’ll still need to clean up the rails on the foam once you start shaping.)
Im guessin I need a diagram with every point to refer to when shaping because I know I cant do the whole thing by eye.
I don’t mean to rain on your parade or anything, but you will need to rely a fair bit on your senses… eyes and touch are the most important thing to get everything the way it should be… also the board will look different in real life on the racks as opposed to a flat design on an A4 page.
Trust yourself, you can do it - learn to use your senses when you shape… and most importantly, enjoy it
