This will be my first board ever and im going to be making a retrofish 7’3 that will be 20-24" wide at widest i have this blank ordered and it is in customs right now just have to figur out the broker and such
so its time to design it and when it gets here it will be time to shape
first question what would be a good depth to set the swallow tail in at i was thinking about 6 inches but is that to much? and how hard are swallow tail to glass i will be surfing smallish waves mostly between 3ft-7ft up in tofino BC canada i was thinking that i should have a flat bottom no concave or convex plus i think this will be easier to glass
this i the design i had planned out but make any suggestions to improve it, im hoping not to mess with the foil of the board at allor the camber :)its going to be a quad fin
as soon as i get my blank in i will make a first board thread and keep it updated with pics and maybe even videos il post the link here when i make the thread
This is an outline of what i would do if i was in your situation. Seems like you’re just trying to max out the blank?? Is there a reason you’ve chosen this blank and/or those dimesions and/or that style of board? You say this is your first board. Good on ya for jumping right in, but what decisions were behind a " 7’3 retro fish quad" exactly? How long have you been surfing? What is your ability, height, weight? What type of waves will you be using this board in?
surfing roughly 1 and a half years mostly been surfing a 9’6" longboard just want something short and fun for my home waves which are usually abit choppy sometimes nice about 3’ in summer and 5-8 in the winter i weight about 140-150 and im 6’2"
Reason behind 7’3 fish is that i want something that floats for catching small un powerful waves but still with abit of ability to whip around i may end up cutting it shorter to 6’11 or 6’10 but im still not totally experienced so i think id do better with the extra length, the reason i want to keep it the same rocker and foil is because i want to keep it simple i dont want to mess up to badly although i do want a swallow tail which looks pretty easy i think, i want something configurable thats why i chose the quad i also have a set of bouyans comming to block off unused boxes really just looking for my first board to be usefull in my conditions and most importantly fun
dont mind the spelling mistakes i was typing fast and slopy
this is a 7'6" Fat-Bat design of mine, they are better than a mini-mal, faster, more manouverable, good for surfers of all levels...just a very fun board...quad finned......
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/hanoKritta76FB80SwingerFFinger031.jpg[/IMG] dims of 7'6" x 21 1/4" x 2 3/4"...single to deepish double.....
Remember the KISS principle. Surfing 1 1/2 years is still a beginner. I like your original template for a beginner. But, it’s your board do what YOU like and what captures your imagination. Make sure whatever template you use has good clean curves before you put it on your blank and cut it. Otherwise you’ll be chasing bumps that you will never catch. Get some instructional videos. Not shit you see on the internet. All the shit I"ve seen on the internet leaves out important steps or moves too fast for beginners. I like JC Shaping 101 for beginners. Mike
yeahi dont think i can get my hands on those videos so im relying on http://www.surfersteve.com/ and youtube to get through it im sure i will it cleared customs today so yay
this is a 7'6" Fat-Bat design of mine, they are better than a mini-mal, faster, more manouverable, good for surfers of all levels...just a very fun board...quad finned......
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/hanoKritta76FB80SwingerFFinger031.jpg[/IMG] dims of 7'6" x 21 1/4" x 2 3/4"...single to deepish double.....
you guys vote on those and then the one you like the most tell me what would make it better, the rails are going to be rounded i think il mostly surf smallish choppyish waves
Howzit Noob, You want to get the Damascus shaping video and if you just PM Jimthegenius I am sure he can tell you where to get it. I have seen the Shaping 101 and the Glassing 101 and neither comes close to showing you the best way to shape and glass like the Damascus Videos. You can order them online. Aloha,Kokua
A retro (damn, I hate that term) fish for a person who weighs 140-150 should be at least a foot shorter than what you are talking about. At 7’3, it is not in keeping with the original concept. While it may be a good deal shorter than what you usually ride, it falls outside the realm of a real fish at that length. If you are worried about making too drastic a drop in size, I’d go with an egg in the 7+ range. Just a matter of keeping things simple. An easier shape to make and ride than an over-sized “fish”.
Keep in mind that the blank is designed to yield 23'' max width, you can't get into clean foam without cutting 1/2'' off each side. At your weight, you don't need more than 22'' wide unless you are more concerned with stability versus being able to turn the thing.
If I was going to do that shape in that length I wouldn’t use that blank.
The two points from SammyA’s post that should catch your attention are “An easier shape to make and ride…” The design you’ve got going won’t be as versatile for you as would an egg, particularly since you’re coming off a longboard.
well iv been thinking of going shorter i mean 6’6" is prob just on the edge of fish isnt it? but im looking over other boards as well il have to look into the egg more the reason i have it so wide is right now on the comuter it looks way to narrow at 22
It looks too narrow because it’s too long. The board as templated isn’t going to surf like a fish at all… more like a funshape, but not as easy to turn with a 17"+ tail width. Your idea of going to 6’6 is moving in the right direction.
i have this blank ordered and it is in customs right now just have to figur out the broker and such 
i will be surfing smallish waves mostly between 3ft-7ft up in tofino BC canada i was thinking that i should have a flat bottom no concave or convex plus i think this will be easier to glass
just thought i might leave it for measurment refrence? idk :)but ty 
and then the one you like the most tell me what would make it better, the rails are going to be rounded i think il mostly surf smallish choppyish waves