I already posted elsewhere some photos of this board that PierreB trusted me enough to have me shape. But here is the final result after a great glass and polish job by Jérôme Barbe at Surf Experience. Jérôme is one of France’s best glassers and he runs Surf Experience together with Gérard Depeyris and Alexandre Lobstein (better known here as “Lob”) in Lège-Cap Ferret. Let the photos speak for themselves:
(On that last photo, Jérôme standing between The Beast and a 10-foot gun gives perspective as to the board’s measurements - 12’ 2" -)
Naaaah, that would never work. Can you imagine a board under 10’? Nobody could ever kneepaddle those…
(Kidding, too. But I do remember a guy writing in the “letters” column of Surfer Mag back in 1968 or so, about Hobie’s Corky Caroll “Mini Model”: “…now, if Corky Caroll could explain to us how you knee-paddle those 8-foot submarines?” Or something like that… Some people just never climb on the bandwagon…)
Thanks to you both for the kind comments. I will accept about one-third of them, the other two-thirds actually go to the glasser: glassing, sanding and polishing such a beast is A LOT of hard work.
I’ve been wanting that board for many years but never had the ressources (time, money, skills …) to make it happen until early this year. I remember sketching templates and collecting precious advices on rocker from ambrose and other “big board” experts back 5 or 6 years ago…
So, I’ve had a lot of time to think about how I wanted that board and Guilhem (balsa) custom built it exactly the way I wanted it. I’m stoked !
Regarding the board design :
It’s 12’2" x 24" x 4".
24" is the perfect width for me : very confortable to knee paddle, easy to carry under my arm
Tail is about 14 1/4 “, nose is about 17 2/3”.
I wanted to keep some width on the nose area in order to tandem with my son once in a while.
Master Beam is slightly back from center in order to keep some curve on back third
Blank was Guilhem’s proposal and I really liked its rocker. is a Burford 12’3".
Not as flat as a Frye Eagle but not too much rocker either so that it won’t push water.
Rails are 50/50 eggy blending into 50/50 ogival toward the tail
Bottom is slightly bellied througout
Fin is a Frye flex 9.25", but I’ll probably have to experiment with different fins (I also have a Heritage 9.75" that I could try).
Glassing is 8z volan (with volan fin patch) on bottom, 8oz volan + 6oz glass (and volan knee patch) on top. The finish just look totally liquid, pictures really don’t do justice to it.
Final weight is reasonnable : about 14-15 kg (31-33 lbs)
I’m stoked, I feel like a kid who just got drum set or a new bike for X-mas… I can’t wait to try it.
Great job on the detailing Guilhem. The shape alone is really fine but the inlaid wood strips and the diamond shaped inserts really compliment the curves... they give it a streamlined spear-like appearance that makes it hard to believe the board is 24" wide. I'm thinking with the right fin, it'll handle some sizable surf.
Gotta love the glide! That is truly a beautiful board. From my experience, after riding a big board for the first time, everything else feels slow and insignificant afterwards. Be responsible with your new mega-glider; don’t make everyone else jealous!
Beautiful work Balsa, came out really well. As Mr. Mellor says, it doesn’t look 24 wide. Very sleek. As he mentioned, I wondered if the parabolics were true stringers or inlays. Makes me want to start one. Takes a Loooong shaping bay. Well Done.
Please, forgive me for bumping up this old thread but Stéphane finally edited the video that I shot one year ago (and that I had forgotten untill Steph decided to take care of it…). It’s not top quality (I’m no film-maker and the very chilly north-eastern wind that day made me shiver) but it does show Swaylock’s superstars PierreB and Jeffrey riding their respective Guéthary Surfboards models. The “Mega-glide” and the now famous “Tweener”. Enjoy:
