Like to do a small mushbuster for the next one, never done one of these before, any input before I commit appreciated.
Kinda want to finish this one quickly.
any input on the rough outline???
57, 23, 19-20 16.5
just curious, after cutting the outline the thing looks huge, almost comical, goliath size foot. How many here have gone with 23 inches wide and soon “re-sized” their mini simmons?
Like I said comical but still looks fun, hard to miss a wave probably. A far cry from 15.5 inch alais
Kind of looks like the outline of mine. They are kind of comical looking. I narrowed mine to 22 1/2 only because 23 wouldn't quite fit on my blank. I wished I had put a bit more curve in mine the last six or eight inches from tail. Mine catches waves very easy. Almost like a longboard. Stiff, too. Kind of like a longboard. Do you have you're wide point dead center? I'm liking some of the curvier simmish outlines I'm seeing. Like ACE's board on the mini simmons thread. Mike
Good eye, its @ center. After cutting it out last night I stopped and gawked for who knows how long. Then turned around hit the lights and went home. The thing had me mystified or something.
Don’t re-size it!
Not a mini, but did a 5’9 that turned out 23-3/4 wide.
Comical can be fun.
Put up some pics.
I did a 6’0" with your numbers (pretty close) and its been my go to board even in serious HH surf, Rooster saw it on my trip to SC. Its not a true Simmons type, more like a twin fin planing hull but it flies down the line and feels solid in trim.
How much of that stiffness would you atribute to the fins I wonder?? -or do you know its the outline? Obviously the reason I ask is im contemplating fins now. thanks for the good input guys. Image and trend can fuel the stoke about surfing and design yet leaves me questioning advancement often.
Hey dlock,
It would be a mistake to make any generalizations about these boards using mine as an example. I'm just a life long recreational surfer building stuff in my garage for my own amusement. To answer your question I would say I'm not sure. To me, the minisimms are counter intuitive. The tails look WAY to wide and the fins look WAY to far back. THey look stiff and mine is. My first attempt had a narrower tail and I put the fins about where I place keels on my fishes(6 inches up or so). It surfed ok. Not the drive I get from my fishes, though, so I sold it. The problem the current board has is the difficulty coiling and uncoiling to pump through sections, like on a fish. It turns and finds a nice trim line, however, like a longboard. My next try I will probably pull the tail in and give it a bit more curve the last 6 or 8 inches. Mike
I am about to start one of these myself, but the more I read, the more confused I get.... overthinking as usual. My question to you guys is EPS a must or will a PU blank work just as well? I don't know much about EPS having never worked with it and only surfed on it once.... My mini is going to be 6'.... Let me know what you guys think.
Hi throwback,
Mine is PU. The first one I built was a homemade eps blank. Simmons original mini was styrofoam(eps) I believe. I don't believe anything is a must. Just trade-offs and compromises. EPS is more bouyant. It takes a little longer to shape and laminate. I might try another using eps even though I don't really like the foam much. The PU blank I used for my current board was relatively inexpensive stuff made in China. Supposedly Walker's formula. Mike
The Walker formula made in China is called XCELL.
Some of the new EPS I’ve shaped lately is not so bad.
However thats the molded blanks they seen to have a tighter fussion and they don’t need spackle!
By the way what’s your location?
How come you don’t list your location?
Always thought it carried over from the transition, thanks for the heads up.
I keep lookin at it and think, ok 21 wide n 14.5 tail… maybe. I just said f-it, Im makin this mini boat, 23, 16.5, ill put little baby half moons at the back. prolly contemplate the rails for a day n just go 50/50, then regret I didnt do somethin funky like 40/60 first third, 50/50 mid and 60/40 or 70/30 back third to hard tail.
the eps guys should be crankin out thin versions and havin some fun. Like 2 1/4, hint hint.
Thanks Mike.... I only ask because I got a blank off craigslist a few months ago for $30.... it's actually an EXCELL PU, pretty ugly, but it the mini simmons template fits perfect.... will probably only be able to get it to 22-1/2" wide, but I dont think that should be too much of an issue.
Excell is what I used. I have another in my garage. Thanks surfding. I liked it, but I"m no pro and I did not intend to slam the foam. That's why I wrote relatively inexpensive, not cheap. It may be ugly on the outside, but the foam was pretty on the inside.
I've had problems with eps. Probably, because of my crappy lams. Air/water whistling out tiny pinholes or something. I did not have this issue with the Marko eps I shaped, but more importantly I have not gotten a board I really liked SURFING with an eps core. Maybe 7 or 8 tries. All were traditional hand lay-ups.
Surfding, did you want my location? It used to be in my profile before the latest change. I'm Michael Sedgwick and I live in Monterey County, CA. US of A, If your in our neighborhood give me a pm and I'll meet you for a beer or surf. Anyone else, too. Mike
Hi dlock,
how did the board turn out, did you end up finishing it, I am curious as I have just finished shaping something similar.
I have pre cut a stringer out of agave scraps and paulownia and glued it between my cut PU blank, this gave me something to plane to, it worked really well. I decided to cut the tail width down with a flyer so it ended up 5’ 8" x 21.5" x 2 3/4".
It does look pretty comical, its probably going to be a while before I get it in the water but im excited to see how it will go.
next is glassing, I have some fins made up, kind of like twins and was thinking of doing a twin fin set up with an optional trailer center fin.
Does anybody have any ideas for fin placement?? Twin fins + small center?
Here are some build pictures…
Thanks for checking in on me mate, been trying to get as much surf in as possible and had to finish up a few other boards. After the swell dissipates this week - should be flat here again by next Monday, I will have time to finish mini simmish #2 (for me). I’m doin it in local grown cedar, hollow, not parallel profile but similar to that particular construction method. I’ve been on a 5’10 fish the last couple weeks after splitting two alais (grain cracks to be repaired) one in the tail and one on the nose on the next ride.
I hadn’t given the twins much thought but the toed and canted keels on this particular fish I’ve been riding aren’t really optimal for the bigger stuff, way too squirrelly, good for pumping and pivots on the smaller days though that’s why I mentioned adjustable boxes on your build thread. I’d would seriously consider the set-up I mentioned or yours, a twinnie and trailer. Moving that boxy tail around is going to be fun. I have two panels laid up on the new m-simm and I’m going thin, 2 1/4. Those Alaias are good for one thing… abs! Got my six pack back after a beer bloated winter belly.