Hello all, just thought I would post on my latest project…I am hoping for some insight and ideas.
As you know, the holiday season is approaching, and I thought it would be great if I could make a surfboard for my dad as a Christmas gift. So I am prepared to blow my life savings and go all out for him.
For a little background, I am a college student in FL, but I grew up in Connecticut, which is where my dad is now. I have been away from home for about three years now, so I only see him about 1 month each year. My dad has always been my best friend, so this project is especially important to me. Also, he is a craftsmen in every sense of the word, having dabbled in everything from woodworking, to building furniture, cabinets, houses, motorcycles, racing/building nhra cars. He is part architect, part engineer, and is very hands - on and old school. I learned pretty much everything I know about craftsmenship from him, which is another reason why the outcome of this project is so important to me.
For some background on him, he is about 5’8, 175-180#, and 48 yrs old. He has never surfed, although he did spend summers in Florida growing up and can bodysurf better then anyone I have ever seen. He is athletic, but inexperienced in terms of actual surfing.
I am hoping to build him a board that is functional, because he is moving along with my mother to FLorida in 2 years once he retires, and I know he is looking forward to surfing with his children in his retirement(me, and my younger brother and sister, who both surf quite well!) Although, well function is important, the aesthetics of the board are just as important, as I want the craftsmenship to stand out and be something he can be proud of.
Due to the fact that I live in a two bedroom Apt. currently, there are some constraints to what I can build. I don’t have the room to do a longboard, as I shape on my porch, so anything over about 7’6" is too long.
What I was thinking was shaping a classic fish for him, but scaling it up to make it super beginner friendly. He is facinated by the classic fish template as well, really likes the look of them, so i think he would enjoy it. I was thinking about going about 6’4" x 22" x close to 3" thick. I am going to hand make some wood keel fins to glass on, which I know he will enjoy.
I want to glass with Volan (I can get 7.5 oz Volan from foam ez), do a resin swirl on the bottom with a nice cutlap, a nice pin line and a gloss and polish.
Any ideas, advice, brainstorms, stories, etc?
A few questions I have:
–Can you mix Volan and regular 6 oz? I was thinking that i could do a single Volan bottom, single inlay Volan top, and also a single 6 oz. on the top.
–I have to use/prefer RR Epoxy. No fumes to piss off my neighbors. How will a resin swirl go with the epoxy? I want to use tint, how much will I need to swirl just the bottom Volan? How much tint per oz. of epoxy?
–Any ideas on where to find nice hardwoods to foil the fins with?? Single 6 oz. over the fins, or double?
–Any Clark blank suggestions for a fat fish with low rocker? I figure the 6’9 A or Pavel’s new 6’8 P.
Thanks guys for everything, this project would never take shape without all of you on swaylocks.
Hopefully I will be able to post some pics of the process if you are interested.