I thought it’d be fun to put these pics up (now that I know how).
Here’s the story behind it:
Somewhere around the 39,999th 6’1’’ x 18 1/4’’ x 2 1/4’’ squash tail, I realized that surfboards had gotten kind of, well, boring. So, basically, I threw everything into to the soup-pot, and this is one of the things that came out.
It started with a drawing:
Then, I took an EPS blank
Sheathed it in veneer:
Wrapped the whole thing in ethafoam, screwed in some fins, and paddled out:
Did it work? Well, sort of.
I’d call it a “successful failure” for a couple of reasons.
One, because it allowed me to go to the edge of my imagination (which is gratifying) and then to work my way back. Kind of like doing a painting.
And, two, because it was fun to take something that was so familiar, and to turn it inside out.
It seems like this forum attracts people who have a bit of time and curiosity, so I wanted to post this as my little contribution.
I started reading your post,saw the first pic and thought “who are you? the tails too wide, the rocker is weird.” Then I saw the veneer and the other pic’s and I was disappointed when your post ended. Very very cool. Great exercise in testing the limits.
I am inspired. Just throw out everything you know and see what happens. Forget what is supposed to work.
I used to drop into Loehr’s factory once in a great while and see really weird stuff. Bondo on the tail cupped down like a little mini concave, weird fin placement. I saw a quote in a mag where he said “sometimes you go into the shaping room and you just never know what will happen.” Well, looks like that works for you too. keep at it.
what is next for you?
Sorry, I’ve been drinking. Hope this makes at least a little sense. Thank god for spell check.
Back in the mid-seventies I lived in Town (on Oahu) right near Ft DeRussy, and I used to see guys stand-up surfing plywood boards on the lefts at the Magic Island seawall.
They’d wear cut-down Churchill fins so they could kick-paddle in, and then stand and just rip!
The boards were the most economical surfcraft I’ve ever seen, short of a piece of driftwood.
That thing is way cool out of the box experimentation! You mentioned that you “Wrapped the whole thing in ethafoam…”. What is ethafoam, and what purpose did it serve?
Ethafoam is packing foam- closed-cell, not beaded.
Sucks water like crazy, though.
Like I said, it was a true experiment:
ex·per·i·ment (?k-sp?r’?-m?nt)
n.
A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
The process of conducting such a test; experimentation.
An innovative act or procedure: “Democracy is only an experiment in government” (William Ralph Inge).
The result of experimentation: “We are not [nature’s] only experiment” (R. Buckminster Fuller).
Great experiment ! I too really like this kind of thread, it reminds me the peanut/bamboo thread. Could you explain in more details how you attached the fins ?
I just looked up the bambo/peanut thread. Wow, I had no idea! And that was well over two years ago.
My pics are from April, 2006. I had been doing a lot of snowboarding that winter, and I was thinking along those lines.
The dynamics are obviously a lot different. I wanted it to be really stiff longitudinally, and flex only in certain areas. Beyond that, I wasn’t really thinking about much at all, actually, I just threw a bunch of things together, just having fun.
The fins were set in Lokboxes which were bolted to the bamboo flex panel.
How about a breakdown on the ride characteristics?
curious how you would do a number two if at all etc.
mxmz
I won’t sugar-coat it: it sucked big time! Literally… the unskinned ethafoam felt like some kind of slimy sea creature, and sucked up a ton of water as well.
That, and the whole reverse-camber flex thing didn’t pan out either. It was just stiff and unforgiving.
I think the peanut-y outline could work with an easier rocker. The thing about surfboards, though, is that, first and foremost, they have to look sexy.
Allan, if we never said it, Welcome To Swaylocks!"
Hooting
Thank you kindly. I’d signed up here years ago, but never really participated (or even read much of the posts). My loss, I guess: this place is quite a resource.
As a kid I used to lurk around actual surfboard shops, soaking up the vibe and the fumes (B. Barnfield might remember me). There was something about the lifestyle that was very appealing to me- the craft and camaraderie- and I think its really cool the way a forum like this helps to keep that alive.
That’s so cool Allan. I love it. I once glued down a camping bed-roll mat to the top of my board as a grip pad. It had that same exact slimy sea creature effect that you described. I couldn’t stay on it to save my life! The residue of glue and sand, however, did provide some grip after I tore the mat off.
Hey, how did you “sheath the board in veneer” like that? How thick was your veneer? Was the glass under the veneer? Or was there no glass?
