First board out of the gate, is the 7’ 9’’ long X 21’’ wide to a 7inch sqtail, Calif. Gun. While intended for California waves, in the DOH and TOH range, the same board will comfortably handle (because I’ve done it) up to 15 foot waves at Sunset. Blank is ordered, stringer has been picked up, and glueup is intended for this week. More later.
What fin configuration is planned?
A single fin, with a 5.25 inch base, and 7.625 inches deep. The fin will have a reasonable, but not excessive amount of rake, to deal with kelp. The fin will also be hydrodynamically foiled, and 3/4ths inch thick at the base. Leading edge will have a blunt radius. There will also be a high camber pre-fin provided, for the owner to play around with.
By way of update: The board (7’ 9’') is partially shaped, resting for a day or two, before I finish it. It’s a way of getting ‘‘fresh eyes’’ on the project, before the final shaping. After that, it goes into glassing. After completion, into the sea. There may or may not be, a follow up ride report, by the new owner. I hope there will be. Time will tell.
First attempt at a LB Semi-Gun…I was hoping to gain some design nuggets from this thread after Bill’s board(s) were done, but I got too impatient. I picked up this board from the shop yesterday. My glasser, Ray Lucke, did a great job. I drew inspiration from Parmenter’s “Anatomy of a Surfboard”, the Bing Pipeliner, the Takayama DT1 and the Yater Speed Shape. Fins were set using the McKee Formula, with a center-fin box fro max options. This board is 9’9" x 23" x 3-1/4" 81L, an appropriate size for a 68yr old surfing his last El Nino.
Its a beauty!
Love everything about it, including the color work. Care to share any design nuggets? Any V, concave, bevels, etc.? How much rocker, and which blank did you use?
Thanks for sharing!
@ Nomastomas,
That, my friend, is a good looking board. Well identified as a semi gun. Would seem to have a wide range of wave size, that it would work well in.
Huck - Nr=5.75", TR=2.75", with most NR in the last 18" or so. Bottom is convex entry, to flat mid-section. There is just a bit of V out at the rail (not really a bevel) that increases progressively (both depth and width) going towards the tail, peaking just in front of the fin array, from where it fades back to flat in the last 2"-3" of the tail. I used less V than what I use on my “normal” LBs, needing more projection than responsiveness in this application. No concave anywhere, its just not needed.Wide-point is forward of center, where max thickness is also located. Rails mimic modern SB rails; soft 50/50 to 60/40 tucked to down hard in tail. Following Parmenter’s recommendation, edge is kept undefined until last 12" or so. I used a USB 10-2BX +1"NR, Red Density, stringers are 1/8" bass + 1/8" bass T-band, with 1/8" bass offsets. Glassing was 6oz bottom and two 4oz full-length on deck, plus one 4oz 3/4 length deck patch. Board weighs 19lbs.
Thanks tomas - solid gold! This is the kind of info that keeps me hanging around this site.
Bill - a complement coming from a master shaper, such as yourself, means a lot to a beginning shaper such as me. I’ve always considered you, Phillips and Barnfield as my mentors. While I’ve learned from other Swaylockians, what I’ve learned from you three forms the core of my limited abilities as a shaper. And I’m still learning. This thread of yours is just another in a series of “lessons from the Master”. Pay attention students, class is in session…
And yes, I took Parmenter’s “Longboard Gun” and de-tuned it into something I would actually use. Not much gets by your skilled eye…
Update on the 7’ 9’’ x 21’’ California Gun.
Well, the shaping part of the project is completed. It was very helpful to me to set the partially shaped blank aside, for a few days, and then come back to it. I could see little things, that two days prior, I could not. The stringer was cut from an 8 foot piece of 1x6 Redwood. Actually only 5/8ths inches thick. After laying out the rocker, I then ‘‘pre-engineered’’ the stringer, to make it lighter. How, you ask? By using a series of different sized hole saws, and an electric drill. The appearance is much like the ribs in a large airplane wing. I used a much larger blank, than ‘‘normal’’ because of the rocker I required, and the intended board thickness. By doing this the blank could be glued up without any stress or tension in the wood or foam. That means everything stays the way you shaped it. No shifting or twisting. It’s in the glassers hands now, so I just have to wait for it to move through that process. This board is all business. No color, clear layup, glossed and polished. It will look like what it is intended to do. There will be a little ‘‘secret sauce’’ on the fin. More on that, at another time.
Nice! Was hoping to see an update!
Can’t wait to see the final product
Sounds fricken incredible. I can’t wait to see it too… Mike
Your complete lack of understanding, is astounding, but not surprising.
Now that the shaping of the board is done, and it’s in the glassing process, the fin can be attended to. The thick hydrodynamically foiled fin, is not a new concept, but one I embraced fifty five years ago. Phil Edwards, is the fellow that opened my eyes to its superior performance, all those years ago. The proof was my experience with thick fins, in big Hawaiian waves, on the North Shore. The secret sauce, for the subject board of this thread, will be a specific modification to the otherwise ‘‘normal’’ hydrodynamic foil. Said modification is inspired by the ‘‘secret foil’’ discussed in a previous thread. All the foregoing is intended to produce maximum performance in both speed, and maneuverability. Remember, when you are surfing a wave, you are ‘‘flying’’ your fin in a dynamic fluid environment. If it all comes together properly, the board will behave like a living extension of the rider, responding in a way that is described as magic by many surfers.
Finished the fin today for Bill. Template is Bill’s as well as foiling instructions. Construction method is chambered sandwich. Wood is old RW.
Had to make one for myself. Ebony.
Dave,
Those are looking good!
Ps… Anyone out there is cyberland that needs a fin… Dave is the man.
Damn those look bitchen. Wow. Mike
Beautiful.
How thick?
3/4"