First off I gotta say thanks to all the Swaylocks masterminds whos information I’ve been reading and digesting for the past 5 years. Also a thanks to Surferguy80 and peterg for some very usefull tips and information.
been working on building my 1st board for about 5 years now -at least that’s how long it’s been since I bought my block plane and surform. So finally this summer I ordered a 6’5" US Blanks fish blank with the idea that I would make myself a Hull. up here where I live there’s probably no more than two hulls in existence. shorty after I bought my blank I became the owner of one of those two Hulls - a 6’6" Tim Stamps Gremlin which I posted photos of on the 2nd Hul thread. In any case, my plan to build a Hull got convoluted since I didn’t want two Hulls.
[img_assist|nid=1051178|title=63 egg outline|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=375|height=523]
I started off by designing an outline with Hull dims in mind. my final masonite template came out to 6’3" x 16" T x 22" (about 2" above centre) x 17" N x 2 3/4". I fished around for ideas about rocker on this thread. I also sent a message to Surferguy80 who graciously explained some basics about a tri-plane hull bottoms, how a shorter rail line would affect trim, and a little about rocker. thanks man!
Finally, a couple of friends and I built a community
shaping room and I was ready to start. I also built shaping stands, a
caliper, a FRED tool and several styles of sanding blocks.
[img_assist|nid=1053371|title=outline|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=333|height=492]
I didn’t have access to a power planer so I went at it with my blocks plane to take off the hard shell and then a mix of block plane and 36 grit sanding block to foil it down. It took about 3 hours to foil and cut the outline. I enjoyed the meditative aspects of counting passes and checking for symetry. I am in no rush since I’ve got a deep quiver already. the dumbest thing I’ve done so far was to use a flexy saw to cut the outline. no major damage but a close call. one the first day I skinned it, cut the outline and cleaned it up.
The next day I focused on refining the foil a bit more and getting the blank down to thickness. Then I started the rail bands. It was a bit tough to do the rail bands with the Surform in that I had a hard time going nose to tail on both sides and getting the Surform to cut the same. so I went nose to tail on one side and tail to nose on the other to keep the same angle of approach. of course that created problems of it’s own. nothing I couldn’t fix though. taking it slow means that I have not made any big mistakes.
[img_assist|nid=1053372|title=rail bands|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=483|height=714]
On the second day I also added a slight single concave which blends into a double, then a spiral vee out the back. The bottom part went pretty well and I feel happy although the doubles aren’t totally symetrical.
[img_assist|nid=1053373|title=double|desc=|link=none|align=none|width=419|height=283]
This board is having a bit of an identity crisis. I wanted to keep some of the hull elements but I also wanted it to ride like a modern egg. I know you can’t have both so this thing may be a dog. Today I thinned out the tail and nose to create an S deck. I also added a belly in the nose with thin rails like my Stamps hull. then I shaped 50/50 rails which blend to a hard edge about 17 inches from the tail -about where the front of the fin will be. I have a 9.5" inch Liddle Flex fin for it.
I will take some more photos of the rail profile, S deck and belly in the nose next time I get to shape. I reckon I have about two hours left of work to finish tuning the rails and finish cleaning everything up. I will also glass it myself. now that’s gonna be another story.
I’d be interested to hear what other designers think about using the modern single to double bottom with a Hull entry and forward placed flex fin. Am I just making a lemon? I plan on using a 10" box set at 7 inches so I can always push the fin back in homes that it will still ride like an egg.
I didn’t mention rocker -aside from the single concave, I did not adjust the rocker at all. I wanted to keep it flat as the blank would allow. -2" tail and around 4" nose
This board will be ridden in clean cobble stone point breaks in head high and under conditions.