New Stepdeck Design!

General Discussion
41

I too watch Roy from the outside, I think he is very intelligent in his world of wood board. But it’s the constant pounding that tires me. Those that have been around here for a while are reminded of another gentleman that was pushing his design as the Holy Grail of surfing. Show me a 14 ft wood board doing a roundhouse cut back, or a snap, or taking a big drop? I’ve seen all the cruzing trim pics? I’m all for a better surfing machine, but in my eyes 1950’s technology is good, (foam & Glass) I got a whole garage of 60’s boards that can do the same thing as a wood board, maybe even better? I sure think they look great! Hey too each his own, just don’t hit me over the head with it.

-Jay

42

Thanks for your kind words Jay,

Try wearing a Gath helmet, Doc’s Pro plugs, and Oakley’s Water Jacket before switching on your computer. Also a good zinc supplement might help with your tiredness factor.

IMEHAIO those 60’s boards actually ride very poorly, as they are full of design anomalies, but to each his own! Have fun!

Roy

43

Wow! A Dodecagonal surfboard. Is the rocker like that too?

44
Quote:
I too watch Roy from the outside, I think he is very intelligent in his world of wood board. But it's the constant pounding that tires me.

Yeah, me too. But it’s the constant pounding of all those complaining about Roy’s posts that is tiring to me. After all, it’s like 10 to 1 noise ratio, with the ten being mostly full of a kind of outlook that’s such a bummer, whereas Roy’s 1 is usually full of stoke or some humor or wit or something (i realize those are subjective terms and apparently many miss the humor or wit in his posts). I also suspect Roy would post much less if not for the type of replies that follow his posts.

On the positive side, I’ve almost gotten to where I can understand Abrose’s posts and appreciate something in them and that’s a good thing!

45
Quote:

Hello Poohbah,

I notice that Tom Wegener uses a female mold system. I started using male molds because they are stronger to transport (not being thin in the middle), but have wondered if there is any advantage with the female mold system. I haven’t made any, though.

The reason I ask is because with a female mold you would glue your final assemblies deckside-up. I wonder if that would make it easier to glue a surfboard with an uneven deck like a stepdeck or the spoon that you’re currently working. With a male mold you have to glue your surfboard deckside-down, and I imagine you’d have to use shims to make a stepdeck.

Well anyway…I was thinking that if you deviated from the parallel profile, and made a long wooden stepdeck ( or stepsdeck with 2 or more steps) then you could lighten up the nose which would allow you to lower the kick of the nose and (in some situations) get more speed from the surfboard. Whew! That was a mouthful.

Skimboards, kiteboards and plywood paipos are some of the various surfcraft that can have parallel profiles (an even thickness.) To a certain extent their parallel profiles are influenced by their construction methods. Which brings me to a rather pointed question. Sorry, but enquiring minds want to know…do you make surfboards with parallel profiles because of your construction methods, or is it based on a progression of research and development?

46

Hello Grand Poohbah.

The uneven deck of the spoon is actually glued on right side up. First the bottom is laminated (three layers) upside down, and then the board is turned right side up. The three layers of the bottom are now curved, effectively making the board a female mold, upon which the upper deck is built. It could also be done with a female mold as you described.

The double stepped longboard notion is certainly a mouthful, especially if you have your tongue in your cheek! Thinning one of my boards does not alter the weight very much. If I want to lighten the board I am better off thinning the deck planks, rail blocking, and frames. I am not sure why lightening the nose would allow me to lower the nose kick, in fact I am able to lower the nose kick anyway, as I do on the Dragonboards. The board at the top of this thread (the X-15) has a pronounced nose kick, and it is incredibly fast. The nose hardly ever touches the water except when hitting a foam ball or during a radical drop. It is the flat tail section which does all the surfing. The board is of course a tail rider. Also I should mention that the X-15 pictured at the top of this thread is only

One and five eighths of an inch thick, which is incredibly thin for a 14"9" board. It is not necessary to step the deck in order to achieve this thin section.

Regarding your question about how I came up with the parallel profile, It was during 1994, and I was standing on the verandah of number 2, Daisy street, Raglan, overlooking the harbour one evening, when the whole thing came to me in a flash of inspiration. . . . the flexibility, the profile, and the construction method. The whole concept arrived simultaneously! When we got back to our workshop on Great Barrier Island, I drew the first parallel profile on the concrete floor with chalk. I was like ‘no way!’ it looked so weird! It made sense though, (and still does) so we went ahead with it. The looks of a parallel profile board grow on you, especially when you start riding them. They look brilliant from some angles, and primitive from others.

The basic construction method was originally a multi directional four layer solid balsa lamination, we have gradually introduced hollow five layered and six layered framed constructon, but the original principle and design system is still the same.

All the best, and thanks for enquiring! Roy

47

I’m also wondering about the glue. I’m no expert on gluing wood with epoxy, but I’ve read that you have to be careful about squeezing it too thin. Do you worry about the glue getting too thin in the middle of your surfboard? It seems like the middle would have the greatest pressure in the final assembly process…unless you stagger or space the bricks a certain way??

I read a brief mention of one of your boards breaking or failing in some way. Was the problem in the middle of surfboard? Is there a failure analysis already written somewhere in the archives?

48

Hello Poohbah,

The system of using several layers of bricks for the lamination is actually a very low pressure clamping system when compared with vacuum bagging or mechanical clamps, and the glue lines tend to be thicker than is necessary. This is no problem from a strength point of view. A layer of bricks provides a nearly even pressure per square inch. You are correct in saying that the bricks are slightly less effective in the nose and tail (due to the slope of the jig), but we overcome this by putting more bricks in those areas if there is a lot of slope.

You might have read of my breaking of the seventeen footer. This happened when a large shorebreak wave picked the board up vertically and smashed it nose first into the sand. The board broke off about three feet of the nose, so no, the failure did not occur in the middle of the board. This board has been rebuilt and is now having finish coats applied for a re launching. Because the boards are wider in the middle, they have proportionally more strength there.

The parallel profile timber boards are strong. I once drove up the deck of my balsa 12 footer (accidentally using the board as a ramp) with my 4600 pound Dodge ambulance, and the board supported the weight of the vehicle ( or half of it) with only the nose and the fin of the board supported by the ground. The board bent a lot but the timber did not break.

49

What I would really like to see is Ambrose and Roy goin’ at it one-on-one. Sort of a world Federation Grudge Match. Masters’ tournament of literation,hyperbole and expounded theory. We’d just have to come up with a topic. It would have to be a good one though, because we would want the thread to break all records for length. At least a couple thousand veiws and hundreds of posts. Maybe something like “The Mystic Soul of Design Theory vs. The Time continium”. I guess the problem is that those of us who observe such “going ons” would have a hard time staying out of it. Sort of like a WWF tag team, kind of hard to stay out of the ring. Could be interesting though, if we could all show a little restraint. HD McDing

50

ahhh the wrestling mind… i prefer the billard pool off the cushions kindness form ,the wrestling can be so overtly brutish…ambrose…send in lunchmeat for the colliseum gladitorials he took journalism in high school

51
Quote:

You ARE self promoting, and to people at Swaylocks who normally don’t buy boards from other shapers. Some of us surfer/armchair shapers buy from different shapers, but the point is that Swaylocks isn’t a great place to market your idea. Now, if you made a widget that decreased the time it took to shape a board then THAT would be a marketable product to share at Swaylocks.

Who are you trying to convince?

Go to www.surfermag.com and tell those kids about your wood board and see what they think.

Your self promotion boarders on obsession to get other shapers to believe your way is the best.

Personally, I like to own boards that aren’t likely to crack my head open.

I noticed the helmet in small surf.

sorry to bring back old news,but im so sick of seeing people attack different ideas…if anybody wanted to hear what thos kids thought wed be there…i went there once and all i felt is like i was in a yahoo chat room talking about who is cooler justin or britteney ,who cares…if YOU do then go then go chat…try to talk about design ideas in that place…haha not happening…roys doing his thing it might be all his own but hes doing it…what the fuck are you doing?are you here to talk about it or be about it?shut up like your mom said and let the man talk.

52

Frankly,from a trending perspective, I think its time that Emmet and the Fat Penguin were invited back.

Maybe Emmet could donate a FP board to the next Swaylocks Gathering and give glassing techniques for hard to glass boards.

53

Lunchmeat took journalism? He doesn’t look like the type. McDing

54

Is this our Ambrose?

Thought that’s certainly not a typical Pacifica wave…

55

i think isee ambrose, on his mat, pushing on that guy’s tail block trying to get him outta the way so he can reach daylight on his inflatable surf towel…

56

probobobly sharp park or rockaway… thats right it’an ambrose yes thats matt not a mat Maypo took the picture and I havent surfed sharp park in at least thirty years if at all and im the guy that will be standing up on a higher glide line or layin down deep…I’m also the guy thats 56 years old and of course my first name is…ambrose…to all you familiars…pacifica ain"t pedro

57

What’s funny is everybody complains about everything Roy says so that would mean they’ve read everything he posts. If they did then they would remember Roy did mention one problem with his boards, and that was they are big and somewhat heavy. He mentioned they are a little tough to get on top of his van (or a quote similar to that). And personally I’m willing to bet they don’t noseride good at all (oooohhh then he must be full of crap) <-----sarcasm. That’s because he thinks noseriding is actually caused by a flaw, the flaw of slowing down; he likes speed. That’s what he makes his boards for. I think Roy’s right, if you really want a board of his that bad, get off your butt, order the plans he has on his website, and make one yourself. He told me he lives a very modest lifestyle with his family and although I’m sure he doesn’t need any money from us, 50 bucks is 50 bucks. Help him out, he’s helped us out a lot with all of his info whether you think it’s good or bad. Another thing that I find funny is that whenever I see a post that Roy has started, I look at how many times it’s been viewed and how many responses there are, and they’re usually the largest numbers of any thread. Roy, keep doing what you’re doing and keep helping us (though a lot of us feel we don’t need it). Although I’m not very religious, I believe surfing is the closest thing to Jesus; walking on water. And Roy seems to get the longest rides…weird.

58

a new stepdeck design is like a new buggy-whip design. Why claim to improve something nobody uses anymore? (Ok there are a few exceptions, Amish folk still drive horse & buggy, and a few retro guys still ride stepdecks…but for the most part, we are over it.)

59

Didn’t you get the joke? It can’t be a new stepdeck design because it doesn’t have a step! You may adjust your settings by tapping the back of the head sharply twice. :wink:

60

Is that what you do, hit yourself in the back of the head? Maybe you should stop before you have permanent DAIN BRAMAGE.

“THE SAME QUOTE REPEATED 600 TIMES GETS BORING.” (Not Clever Enough To Have Been Said By Frank Zappa.)

“Moving to Montana soon… gonna be a dental floss tycoon.”

FZ

:slight_smile: