I just wanted to thank everyone for helping with my first (and possibly last) board. I did the whole thing myself from start to finish. It is a seven foot single fin in the seventies tradition (but with a modern squash tail). It’s thick, heavy, wider in the nose, with a big old single fin in the back. I took it out, and as expected, it rode like crap. But it looks cool, and under some real power (a very overhead day) it might actually be good for something. The shaping part was fun, and really not too difficult, but the glassing was the biggest dang headache in the world, especially the sanding…my god, the dust. I might shape again (might), but not glass. No way…no how! Plus, I just rode a new 6,7 tri fin that my life-long shaper made for me (for $275) and it was incredible. It is super light, really small, and I thought for sure I (195 pounds) would sink it. But it floated well, caught waves easily (definitely a surprise there) and ripped!!! So, in closing, I commend all of you who stick it out and continue to shape and glass, but my first was probably my last. The pros know.
I just wanted to thank everyone for helping with my first (and possibly > last) board. I did the whole thing myself from start to finish. It is a > seven foot single fin in the seventies tradition (but with a modern squash > tail). It’s thick, heavy, wider in the nose, with a big old single fin in > the back. I took it out, and as expected, it rode like crap. But it looks > cool, and under some real power (a very overhead day) it might actually be > good for something. The shaping part was fun, and really not too > difficult, but the glassing was the biggest dang headache in the world, > especially the sanding…my god, the dust. I might shape again (might), > but not glass. No way…no how! Plus, I just rode a new 6,7 tri fin that > my life-long shaper made for me (for $275) and it was incredible. It is > super light, really small, and I thought for sure I (195 pounds) would > sink it. But it floated well, caught waves easily (definitely a surprise > there) and ripped!!! So, in closing, I commend all of you who stick it out > and continue to shape and glass, but my first was probably my last. The > pros know. Mike did you say you were a Carlsbad teacher? I got Warm waters Sunday after noon looking like little Rincon/Malibu/Kirra, it was firing from infront of the inlet/jetties, to past the little jetty on the inside.
My first board from start to finish took nearly 2 months! OUCH! Second board, start to finish took 2 weeks, not so bad. Third board took a week. Fourth board took but a few days (discovered the joy of UV resin) KEEP SHAPING AND GLASSING. Nothing, I mean nothing, compares to ripping it on one of your own.
just do what i do and shape them, then send the blank down to the local glasser. get it done by someone who knows what they are doing and its a hell of a lot more fun than spending 2 weeks trying to work out all the little secrets involved with the glassing process.