Project 6'6'', 56l Volume, Single Fin

General Discussion
21

Reshaped Version 1 too. flatter, wider Tail, less Rocker and finalized version 2. During the build there might be some minor changes.

If you look at the spec sheets, beware of the different scale, the first board looks much wider, but the width is quite equal, whereas the length is not!

I ordered the wood for one, but prior to start building I need to reorganize my shop, I need more space.

Final decision will be be which one to start first.

The construction will be the same: Balsa Ribs and Spar and outer frame, Deck and Bottom Plank, Deck will be veneered with a light (in color) wood, probably Eucalyptus. I may laminate the inside of deck and bottom to with a very light cloth. Railsbands out of balsa, maybe thin veneer in between for optical reasons. Glassing outside with about 3oz/sqy, Goretex Valve and Longboard Fin box 

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22

The beauty of the CAD software is that you can do all the what-if iterations you want and play around with the different design elements before committing to materials.   If you’re not already using it, the rendering mode that allows you to look at your design and move it around in virtual 3D perspective is pretty fun.  

There’s still no substitute for actually building and surfing a board that you made with your own two hands.  

One design element that might be worth a mention here is the difference between using a pointed nose vs a rounded nose.  Shortboards use a pointed nose to fit the front curve with the wave face on a critical drop.  You’re not going to be surfing surch waves on either of these boards. Even some shortboard builders are blunting their noses because most of us never avtually use the point. 

If you look at your 2nd board you’ll notice it was a way smoother curve and transition at the wide point - that’s because the rounded nose (or the blunted shovel nose that you used on one of your earlier boards) puts the acute curve and adds the width all the way at the front of the board.  When you widened the tail block you actually did it by making the curve in the tail block more actue.    You can test this out by widening the 2nd “eggy” design you’ve got there - when you widen the nose and tail blocks you get a softer and smoother curve through the middle than what you get when you have points at the nose and tail.   

 

23

Yes I love playing around with BoardCad, using the 3d feature and the various control points including prolonging or angling the secondary points,

But the final problem is the lack of experience in shaping and surfing.

for example for draft 1: I wanted originally quite high volume board combined with a short length. I like the wide point forward and found out that a narrow tail usually sinks better into the wave for control and it keeps the board more horizontal during pop up. Addtitionally it should help if your surf more front footed, because you need less pressure to sink and/or control it. I wanted a vee in the tail for easier side to side transition and round rails for hold. I integrated all those features in a quit extreme way.

Usually I would have build it, like constructed. In the next vacation I would bring the board to Portugal and would have ridden it.

And then I would have found out, that it works like intended or not and would have changed something for the the next board to build. Its a hard way going step by step improving, getting new ideas or even new written knowledge (like from here). But after returning from the surf vacation some time passes by until  the next.

So if you don’t have access to surf regularly, the process is much slower. Thats why I wrote I will never get the final shaping wisdom and see me more as a builder than a shaper. this is why I published the draft here, which led to this very interesting discussion (at least for me), which resulted in hopefully much better shapes, which should better suit for me.

What I already experienced is that all boards, no matter how bad the shape is surf! (Even a door would surf) The question is always how they surf better and how to fit for the particular surfer. And this is where I love the opinions of the experienced surfers and builders!

I have received a nice finetuning of draft one and with your help draft 2 was created. If I got the time I will build both, for comparison and to get more experience and knowledge, but I’m struggling which one to build first. Latest end of May I will be surfing again, hopefully with 2 new boards and hopefully good waves to improve my surfing too.

After reorganized my little workshop I will post the build(s?) in www.woodboardforum.com, where I am one of the founders. If its completed I will publish pics here and link the build thread.

Thanks to all for the support, especially gdaddy!

24

The guy you need to inquire about building hollow wood boards is Huck, who’s a moderator on this forum.   He came up with his own method of building wood boards that’s killer.  

25

Yes, I know Huck, he is the inventor of the outside rails first method, I think he called it the Bahrmann Rails. He actually is already a member of woodboardforum.com, Inspired by him, I build a 3 piece collapsible hotcurl. it fits into a travel bag. Its an unconventional shape too, but it worked well. I got some decent rides with in Dakar, Senegal Africa and one of my surfteachers there could even noseride it almost. 

This is the diary, which tells the Senegal Story:

https://www.woodboardforum.com/articles/2847-surftrip-to-ngor-island-senegal-with-a-collapsible-wooden-board-a-diary

And this is the build:

https://www.woodboardforum.com/forum/design/workshop-tool-ideas/1734-my-challenge-6-10-hotcurl-balsa-collapsible

26

I started two weeks ago with the 6“6‘

https://www.woodboardforum.com/forum/design/workshop-tool-ideas/7412-6‘6“-single-fin

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Actaul status of the build…

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Almost ready, final light sanding and varnishing still to do…

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29

Well that turned out nice.

all the best

30

Hi All,

I like your planned project a lot. I have just finished my first board which was ‘designed’ with similar ideas in mind. A 6’6"/22"/3.5" single fin with 4.5" N/2" T rocker. (https://www.swaylocks.com/groups/banana). Shape is Nug D from blending curves website. It was an experiment and a total ‘shot in the dark’. Thought i’d share it with you as reference of what not to do!!!   Was hoping for a little feedback… The board seems to ‘push’ water after take-off and has a draggy feel. I think this is probably excessive rocker??? I like the way it paddles though…I am now researching the MKII…

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31

That shape would surf faster with 1" less rocker in the nose.   You want to be mindful of your bottom contour (mostly flat with some roll in the outer 3") and rail shape, too.   

32

Looks like way too much mass up in the nose. 

Yrs ago I had a traditional fish that paddled exceptionally well, but had a harder time catching waves than my more traditional shortbards. I brought that fish with a couple other boards to a shaper when he was going to make a new board  for me. I told him what I liked and disliked about each board. Among other things he explained And showed me that the foil of that fish was the issue. It was ploughing water because it had too much foam up front. Your board looks like it has a lot of flip/goes from flat to a tight radius that could also be causing it to plough. 

Caviate: long time surfer/newbie backyard “shaper”

 

 

33

A good reason to start with an existing blank and rocker.   Whether a slab cut or molded.

34

Finished my new project, the 8’4 CJNelson Colapintail inspired

8’0x21’’ 5/8x 2 3/4 Corkopintail :slight_smile:

Balsa HWS with Cork Deck, about 55l of Volume, weight 5,5 kg

 

 

 

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35

IMO Bob T is on point (but plowing issues remain somewhat mystifying to me, though they come up less and less the more boards I make).

IMO your volume in the nose will cause you to paddle more forward, as well as to stand more forward when you’re trying to drive the board (i.e. make it go). When you stand more forward, or paddle more forward, more of the curve of your nose rocker is in the water, and so is the volume that is there (in your nose’s bottom rocker curve and volume) and that volume has to displace water or be forced up on top of the water (by the water as you move through/over it – a slash is appropriate there, because it will always be some of both when that part of the board is in contact with the water).

Probably, if you can get up and on rail, the plowing issue will still be there, but less so, because less of that material is in the water.

I don’t claim to be right. This is only my best guess as a relative noob.