Yeah, the key for me is how comfortable I feel with the volume, and whether the deck adds significant volume. Right now I’m leaning toward blending it, but I’m away from the shop so won’t get back to it until this weekend, and see how I feel then when I look at it anew.
Meanwhile, getting some fun waves on the Wing Squad this morning, all that foam is still working for me. Definitely outside the box, nobody on the beach has anything like it, even 'tho it looks suspiciously normal if you’re not looking closely. I think the extra foam helps compensate for the rocker, i.e., the board has more rocker than I normally use, but the extra foam, with the down rails, makes it paddle like a flatter rocker. I’m still learning the board, so to speak. And thinking about adding rail channels after the fact to make the rails more grab-able.
Yeah, funny we ended up with same numbers for such different shapes - that deep single will flatten out rocker through the middle.
This board is derivative of the old school wide tail fishes, with wide curved nose and very little rocker. I hope it all works the way I envision, but hey, its a prototype!
I do have side lighting, bcuz shop is so small it’s only on one side. Generally use overhead for pics. A lot of shaping is done outside anyway :-). But I agree, better lighting is always better for shaping!
I would like to try deck pad but kinda spendy. Will see how it goes, but I’m thinking might have to wait on that. Too bad cuz I think it would make paddling more comfortable.
BTW stubby is in Burbank right now, ready to go. Boards only, or are we doing bag / fins too? I can go either way, let me know. Just have to figure next time I’ll be in vta., mostly L.A. lately.
You got me thinking, if I took a bunch of stuff out I could put side lights on both sides - have to build another storage space back there for the rest of the stuff… my list of projects just grew!
Glad I got a few waves earlier this week, waves looking like crap right now. Shape was kinda clean this morning, looking almost worth it but not quite, tide just too high, I didn’t go out. By the afternoon it was blown out.
Okay, got 'er shaped tonight after getting back in town, tomorrow I’ll inspect under different lighting and fine tune as needed, but pretty close to ready for glass. Might have to wait a bit for resin to finish, but I think I’ve got enough to get a layer of glass on it anyway. Pics coming soon.
In the meantime, here’s some rail channel pics from Stretch, worth studying…
That ridge at the tail of the board, do you think it could cause a problem if you step on it with your back foot, like stepping on a leash cord while surfing can be more than off putting.
I expect that you have concluded that it won’t be a problem, but I thought I’d mention it just in case.
Other than that, its looking sweet, and Im already thinking ahead to hearing a ride report!!!
thanks guys, so far so good. I had a few dry spots in the lam on the rails from trying to streeetttcch my resin since I’m running so low, had to sand and patch like a ding with the tiny bit I had left. Ready for deck layer, gonna go ahead and order some RR epoxy tonight but man, has that stuff gone up? Fiberglass Supply seems to have best price even with shipping from washington, others are just ridiculous, nearly double.
Here’s a few pics of the blank glassed on bottom, free lap rail
coming soon - fin placement decisions, any suggestions? Quad is the preferred setup for this one.
I’m thinking the back of the fins at about 6" rears and 12 1/2" fronts, fronts one & 1/4 inch off the rails, rears 2 1/4" off the rails, standard cant and toe, anyone else?
Yeah, that 8-2A has a lot of rocker, you can tell they probably had Hawaiian waves in mind, thats why I say I had to leave all that foam and go to down rail all the way to compensate for paddling. And surprisingly, it worked! Paddles great, hope you find the same.
I cut 7" off nose and 5" off tail and rocker ended up right where I wanted it for this one, with only minor tweaking.
El nino storm surf, I would be the photog too. I don’t make my call based on wave size, but on the energy running through, and the paddle out. Even small days, with lots of energy and current I tend to take a pass, bigger days only when its clean and long period. I’m getting a bit of a rep as a prima donna with some of the younger guys and gals at my regular spot, but that’s what happens when you hit 60, you start choosing your battles more carefully.
