non surfer newbee

General Discussion
1

Hey everybody,

I’m a newbee, sorry yeah one of those again :wink: anyway i’ll quickly introduce myself.
I’m matthieu, i’m dutch but live in belgium. i’m 43 and am a medschool student (in his exam period so actually i shouldn’t even be here)
also i’m a goldmisth and a BsC in physics.

in my spare time i’m well i builder… i like to make stuff. but specifically stuff i won’t be able to afford but which i can build.
and one of my long time wishes is to do some surfing… which i have never done (well, never… i actually tried twice on holiday’s and wasn’t even to bad).

but i’m a compleet and utter nitwit on the topic. but i am handy… and got interested in building my own surfboard and yesterday i bench watched the youtube thread from Andrew W on youtube on how to build a board from scratch, and well i think that should fit very well inside my skill set…

Oke at the moment i don’t have the time and place… but the future will hopefull bring that what ain’t there right now.
and as with everything that needs to be done good… one needs to be well prepared.

So a good starting question for me would be is… What kind of board should i build. there are Soooooooo many shapes and sizes.
and then not even to talk about materials. anyway what would be something good to start with… but not to big (not looking for a stand up peddle board.
So what should i look for in length, width, shape, curvings… (thickness), basically the real question is where should i start as surfer. (no surf shop near me… at all)

anyway… i won’t be here very often. but will always respond, is it not with some major or minor delays.

Kind regards and hoop to discuss soon.

Matt.

ps: something that might be of importance… 1,92m 85kg

2

I would build something in the 7 - 9 foot range, like a standard longboard or funboard shape, using a standard polyurethane surfboard blank if you can get one. Browse the internet, and browse swaylocks surfboard archives, for inspiration.

3

thanks… i definately will do a lot of browsing here. that will be most of the fun… getting inspiration.

I allready have some thoughts of what i’d like and what i would dislike, but most of the time… what i like is not what i need.

say. i would prefur the 7 foot funboard… but maybe a 9 foot longboard would be better.
also… i would really like to go from bare scratch… so from blocks of EPS, for which i would need epoxy.
on the other hand… epoxy is more expensive, but buying a blank will also be more expensive… so which will be better and why…
as i said. i’m capable… so i’m not looking for easy. i’m looking for the best result.

So for polyurethane i can use a different material (als polyurethane?, will need to look that up again) for the glassing.
but did hear in the Andrew W you tube thread that polyurethane can leave foot marks in the board… (not sure if this would be positive or negative, if any at all. but it doens’t sound good to me)

but maybe there are more advantage and disadvantage to weigh besides these.

anyway. thanks a lot for your quick response…

Kind greats

Matt

ps: love resinheads boards in the 7 to 7,11 secion. wow!

4

Resinhead’s boards are the best! I’m thankful he takes the time to post them in the board archive.

A lot of newbies pick the hardest route to save money, then halfway thru they’re like, well this board is a complete disaster but at least I’ve learned a lot for the next time.

Most of the suggestions you will get here are from experienced people trying to ensure your first board is a success. One of the things they will tell you is that when you pick a more difficult path on your first board, the chances for problems to arise increases exponentially.

But you gotta choose your own path, and you know what floats your boat, we don’t. My first board was a complex hollow wood board that took me months to complete.

You will find that, in view of the time and energy you will expend to learn this craft, and in terms of the rewards for a job well done, a few dollars in materials savings is pretty inconsequential.

BTW you can glass a polyurethane blank with polyester resin or epoxy resin. I prefer epoxy myself.

Foot wells are a personal preference, some guys like them the way they like a well worn shoe more than a new one. Minimizing them is more dependent on your blank density, how much foam you take off the deck, and how many layers of fiberglass, than on the resin you use. Soft blank, with minimal glass, its gonna dent underfoot whether you use epoxy or poly resin.

5

indeed his boards indeed amazing!!

i understand that sometime people easily go overboard in the choice… but i’m very confident in what i can and will stay at least a step away from that which is beyond my abilities. but i believe this task is well in range of my ability. To be honoust sometimes i was shaking my head when watching the thread yesterday when he did things well some in somewhat lesser manner than i would have done. I’m a perfectionist in what i make and i go for high quality and the term “i can’t be bothered is not and will never be in my dictionairy”

the only step, i currently feel sligtly less comfortable with is the laminating step. but still. what’s a job without some challenge.

so the difficulty i feel is not so much about the making, but more the use of the final product… and understanding why to make what choice, before i ever stand on a board. This is the part that i’m completely ignorent about.

basically this is all i know: minimal your own length in board, and the shorter it is, the more difficult it is to surf.
and sharp edges on the rear of the board give more (or maybe to much) controle. So you must agree that that is NOT much to work with…

So i believe i will need to inform myself on the why and more important, “why not’s” on the following choices. well these and probably many more.

  1. hight if the tip,
  2. shape of the tip
  3. shape of the bottom, with or without wing, s
  4. hape of the railband (what where on the board too)
  5. fin (how many, shape, angle, box, location)
  6. symmetrical vs non-symmetrical

further more i agree, saving a few bucks on some foam instead of a blank is probably silly from your perspective.
on the otherhands, shipping costs from the us to europe are ridiculous!!
i haven’t checked for a blank… but i can imagine a blank can easily tripling or quadroupling in price because of that… and i haven’t found anything locally… probably because of just that. so taking that in account… and that the shaping iitself is also part of the fun. I currently choose for that, but all can change. life is full of surprises.

as i said… i’m not going to make one now… i’m just here to inform myself. For now.

Kind regards

Matt.

6

If you don’t surf yet then you don’t even know if you’ll enjoy the experience, of which less than 3% of your time will be spent in the standing position on a surfboard.

It’s real common for novice shapers like me to check out what the professionals do with their designs. I’ll grope a board on the scandalous basis in order to feel how that shaper did their foil, their rails, their edges and such. And I compare what the different shapers are doing to each other.

My point is that you’ll learn more about sufboard design by actually handling different types of surfboards from different shapers. Even better to surf different types of boards to see what you like and what fits in with your skill level and interests. So maybe your first step is to borrow or rent boards from other surfers. Take notes, draw pictures, do your research on user feedback for the different types of boards and see where that leads you.

7

Add up the cost of everything you need to buy, in order to build a board. That’s materials and tools.
Find a used board that needs repairs but is not ruined for the same amount of money. Buy that board and learn basic glass work methods by repairing it. You will learn glass work and surfing much easier that way.

8

A place to get some shape ideas:
https://www.blendingcurves.com/

9

You can easily get EPS blocks/sheets and epoxy resin in most cities rather than tracking down specialist surfboard blanks. EPS is also used for building insulation so start a Google search for that.

The simplest surfboard and therefore the most likely to turn out successfully for a complete newbie would be a 1960’s style longboard…
Get a piece of ply and glue 4 inch thick eps blocks to the sides.
Its going to be thick and buoyant and easy to ride, the blank is thick enough to accommodate errors and reshaping before glassing.
He can make big cuts and scrapes and planning without screwing it up instantly.
He gets a big canvas to show off his artistic skills.
Then glass those easy curves with epoxy so its less smelly, safer, and not as fiddly as trying to get glass around a swallow tail or channels.
Then sand it by hand so you’ll learn to buy an electric one next time.
And glass on some big ass single fin.
Build a longboard, its the easiest board to ride and its got the best chance of success because its got a bigger margin of error and even if you only surf once a year you’ll always be able to ride a big stable board till your 90.
You can always do something fancy next board but a simple shape can be built without too much frustration and foul tempered cursing which is the staple language of new shapers everywhere.

10

Why don’t you hook up with some Dutch surfers, check their boards and maybe even try one:

http://www.holland.com/global/tourism/destinations/more-destinations/scheveningen/surfing-in-scheveningen.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpyyUOiwvvc

11

@Gdaddy: this is indeed a good idea… first i should visit some shops some where and see whats there and indeed feel myself around the shapes and try doing this without being arrested for sexual assualt on a surfboard. second thing is, something i was planning to do anyway is indeed rest some different boards over time.
these are seem to me to be the most educational ways to learn.

@Bgreen: good idea in principle, wouldn’t it be that i (as dutchy) live in the middle of belgium. so a better place would be somewhere around the belgium coast (which i believe to be better surfing places anyway) so i will do some googling around on this and will probably find some interesting club / group.

@Stoneburner: already a member :wink: kinda was the first place i visited, none the less thanks very much for your reply.
taking in account huck’s comment i was kinda looking in the classic, retro, alt, funboard range boards…
Reason for looking beyonf unboard is that i don’t find the "funboard outline on blending curves)

@ Sammy: A, I understand that this would be an easy way to start… but really i’m not looking into a quick easy fix. For me it is about the build 1st and then the use of it 2e, not the usual approach but… that is me.

@ Surffouils: Also for you… not going for the easiest of the easiest… the needs to be challenge is i find myself not easily challenged.
So i’m looking for a moderte to slightly complex board to make. which will have a volume which will fit my weight, physical and local surf conditions. there for i looked at this site: http://lostsurfboards.net/volume-calculator/ taking in account the following specs:

my weight: 85kg.
physical and local surfconditions state i should look for a .gf of 40+ to 45,
this leads to an ideal volume of approx. 37L

Length wise i calculated the following:
my personal length plus a head, being 194+30cm = 7’4" so i was thinking 7’6" ??).
so this leaves me with a length of 7’6" to 7’9"

but when looking at the rocker shape i find N and T values, which i assume to be Nose and Tail heights.
Well about this i will need to do some more research on what is good for what… any tips on that would be very welcome!!

shape wise i feel something like funboard should be oke, but i have been looking on blendingcurves… and didn’t find a “funshape” outline… I feel like something classicly shaped should be oke too… (please disagree on this if you feel you should) so i looked at retro / alt outline. but please tell me if a other shape would be a better suit, but then also try to explain why and then please not just beginners bla bla… but try to explain in terms controle, balance, wave shapes and stuff.

bottom wise i feel like i would like some sort of channel, but need to look in what form gives what effect.

To be truthfull i feel like going crazy and make something like a kewarra jet bottom style bottom board… but i will need to look into the reviews on how that influences surfability Specifically if it would be something a newbee could use, And YES i understand the complexity of making this. And i say… so what, that is the fun of it isn’t it!!

so these are some of the thoughts for the moment.

i expect a flood of criticism… but please keep it constructive but expecially informative. :smiley:

Kind regards,

Matt.

ps; been looking a bit into nose and tail hights a bit…
so just as thought… 7’9" with 5,5" nose and 2.0" tails (not a standard form from blending curves but easy to mix a front and a tail from two different once together. )
or would this be a really stupid thought.

it’s just i read about rounder nose is better for not perarling and flatter tail is better for float and therefor speed.

greatz Matt

12

Hello Matt-Lots of ways to go here. Once you finish exams…hope all goes well.

-Personally, if I had a ‘do-over’, I would order the first board’s worth of materials as a DIY kit from the nearest supplier and follow an established plan for materials/design/laminating. Save the ‘freestyle’ for when there is some experience in hand.

-Before that, find out if there is anyone local shaping. Even where I live (Midwest USA) there are 3 or 4 shapers and even more surfers within an hour’s drive. One of the local shapers helped me and my son. He showed us planer technique, helped me true an awful homemade blank, and borrowed us a board to use as reference. Other ones have let me handle their boards, attend shop parties, go out for dinner after surfing, and talked story about surfing and board making.

If you decide to go ‘homemade’ then get the best materials you can. Make sure the foam is dense enough and get good (surfboard intended) cloth and epoxy resin.

I use big blocks of EPS foam so I do not have to glue pieces for rocker. I prefer to cut rocker and glue stringers before outline so there are straight sides available for clamping. If I had to use 4" foam for a board with more rocker that 4", I would do something like the picture below.

PS: shaping stands and shaping lights (side lights) are important too. Between the materials and lights board making became more enjoyable for me. Also, think about a flat bottom and simple rails and fin(s) for the first one.

832×490 70.5 KB

13

The term “funboard” is a subjective and inexact term, which translates loosely the term “midlength”. The two words are not the same, but there is a lot they have in common. The point being, if you can’t find the “funboard” shape you like, try seeking out some “midlength” shapes for inspiration. Midlengths fall largely into the 7 - 8 foot range, larger than a shortbaord, smaller than a longboard.

The thing you’re looking for is something versatile, that paddles easily, catches waves easily, and is stable for the pop-up. The hardest things you will deal with in learning to surf are catching waves and popping up. Looks so simple in action, but the truth is it involves complex balance, timing, and reflex skills. Easy enough for a child to master, but more difficult the later in life you start. So you want to give yourself an advantage by choosing a board that minimizes that challenge.

Once you find a shape you like, you don’t need blendingcurves or anyone else to give you the template, you can make your own. But there are plenty of helpful people here who would likely be willing to send you a paper template of a shape you like.

14

Hi, Mathieu,

I live in belgium. I’ve built a couple of XPS epoxy boards and have done many repairs.
But now I’m mainly spending my time on finfoil and fin building.

I live in Lier and speak dutch :wink: