So this is my first shot at the alaia bandwagon. the wood was a gift. A 2 inch plank by 8 inches at the top and about 14 at the trunk and about 7 feet long. It was given to me for the purpose of making an alaia. The wood was really rough and grey when I recieved it. I had no idea what was inside. But I am pleasantly surprised. The nice people at a sawmill cut it in half for me and then I used my circular saw and jigsaw as a joiner. Epoxy glue. Tung oil finish.
i think I just creamed my pants.
that is goregous.
Gotta ask, what kind of wood is that? If it were koa, which it resembles, that’s hundreds of dollars in wood alone…
absolutly amazing… im going to get more wood today… you have inspired me more than ever to keep working on my alaia’s.
that is a very impressive board! well done.
do you intend to surf it? i hope so.
ive been interested in doing one of these for quite a while.
how would i go about getting my hands on the dimensions and a template?
which types of timber could you use?
Beautiful, really nice job.
Hope you do ride it, they are a trip every surfer should take.
Also interested it what kind of wood that is?
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that is a very impressive board! well done.
do you intend to surf it? i hope so.
ive been interested in doing one of these for quite a while.
how would i go about getting my hands on the dimensions and a template?
which types of timber could you use?
I’m in middle of an iffy experimental one. Got template by pulling a photo off Tom Wegener’s site and printing if on a piece of paper, the measuring and scaling it up to size I wanted. It isn’t exact of course but this is real life. There is a ton of info on Tom’s site and in his news letter/blog about shape details and how they effect the ride. Super generous!
Wood is up to your resources and imagination. I’m using yellow Cedar fence boards I got cheap…it kind of looks it at this point. Very rough and a bit warpy and I had to “mill” them by hand. HAH! Talk about approximate joints…
There is something really wonderful about doing some shaping then scooping up a huge arm load of all the “junk” and just tossing on the compost pile or under the plants for mulch.
any chance of a photo doc?
Thanks for all the nice words everybody.
I definitely intend to ride it. Or at least try.
The wood is CU Lean. in chinese. I’m in Taiwan and I do not understand too much. I think that means that it is Formosan Koa, scientific name Acacia Confusa. But I am not positive. If that is what it is then it apparently grows in many places in Hawaii and the United States Mainland too, as an introduced tree. Not very common to find as lumber I dont think. Taiwan Lumber scene is very strange.
Build part is pretty standard…glue some boards together and in this case stack some in a wishbone shape around rails and extra in nose to shape in rocker and thick rails. Wife has camera at Mom’s in midwest and so when she gets back and it is shaped…photos will be here! Not your usual alaia… will explain w/ photos
Awesome Alaia ! But watch out these damn things are addictive, I only own one glass/finned board now, and it hasn’t hit the water in over a year ! On the plus side, the quiver is growing rapidly ! I can’t seem to upload photo’s to Swaylocks for some reason, but I have pics at http://turiyananda.blogspot.com/
Bjis,
Seeing those photos reminded me of a guy I know down that way who surfs Impossos. Do you know Lud? I once walked with him from where you are, around to Grinders at low tide. He was looking for wood for one of his projects.
Where do you mostly surf the alaia (initials will do or some pseudonyns that can guessed, e.g stony place of worship - rather than specific names) ?
Bob
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Bjis,Seeing those photos reminded me of a guy I know down that way who surfs Impossos. Do you know Lud? I once walked with him from where you are, around to Grinders at low tide. He was looking for wood for one of his projects.
Where do you mostly surf the alaia (initials will do or some pseudonyns that can guessed, e.g stony place of worship - rather than specific names) ?
thats funny. stony place of worship. i know that joint you refer to. its the perfect wave for it. but if you lost it the rocky shoreline would smash the thing…
Shifty,
Only surfed there twice. Never real big, but the wide sets gave longer rides. The inside ones can take you close to and over the rocks if caught inside. Under the right conditions I reckon it would be a good wave for an alaia. It would be fun trying. Love to surf around sandy chimes on an alaia.
Bob
Mostly at Posso’s, but also at Guvvo’s and 13th. I haven’t been out on the Alaia at the Rock, but I have one now that goes well in bigger waves so s session at the rock might be on the cards soon. I’m a bit of a pussy once it gets over head high tho !
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I'm a bit of a pussy once it gets over head high tho !
HAH! You aren’t the lone ranger on that one. I stop having fun at all about 1-1/2X OH. Head high more fun. Didn’t used to mind so much. Surfed 3-4X OH in Baja in my 20’s but somehow have lost my fire in my dotage. Fun is fun though so zero complaints about it! Also, probably less likely to drown myself.
Very nice. The grain looks great. As does the outline. The best timber is the stuff you are given or you find. Particularly if it is old and discoloured. I found enough western red cedar last Sunday to build one long or two short alais. Again it was old out door furniture. Seats this time. platty.
As I have got older I have been keen to surf bigger waves knowing that I won’t have the opportunity to do so, forever. Also, rather than going for a longer board, the experience of riding alaia and paipo enables me to go for much steeper & deeper takeoffs and exploring parts of the wave I wouldn’t have otherwise. Whatever craft you ride, does, I think influence the sorts of waves you want to ride.
Bob
I’m totally with you on that ! It took me a little while to get over my prejudice against lying down, but I’ve since made a 5ft alaia which I rode prone with flippers, and I’ve ridden some real big days on it. it’s only half an inch at its thickest point, and 15 inches wide. Needless to say, duckdiving isn’t a problem ! I can hang out deep in the impact zone, and late drops and hollow barrels have never been this easy ! It also opens up those close out barrels over super shallow sand banks, joy !