it was worth a shot… to get a clean seam, i bet you could bag the deck to wrap the rails, then clean it up and bag the bottom…
I have done the two step method to get a nice trasition and it was very easy, but I like to do things the hard way… 
The front 1/3 of the board did not have 9.6oz glass on it and that part of the seam looked ok. I think it was just my overkill glass schedule-tried to fit to much in the sandwich again. I may do it again with just some 4oz under.
Got some sanding done tonight.The cork sands-fairs out supper nice, it wants to be smooth and flat. It is like 2mm of 12lb foam that you have to reshape and get rid of the oopsies. The board feels supper strong right now and just needs some cosmetic clean up on the rails. Next time less glass–I was paranoid about the stringerless blank. I break a lot of boards at OB San Francisco every year. Probably would work pretty good as a kiteboard with this much glass on it.
That’s funny Lavarat because this is exactly what I tested in miniature last week-end, exposed cork all over the board, and it came out quite good really, except for the seam just like you. This is because I forgot to cut the fiberglass short of the future seam, so the seam would be cork over cork instead of having fibers between. This should get a seamless finish. I anticipated it but did not do it at the test time as I was in a hurry… Great potential for this approach I think, especially to speed up board making as this is what I am looking after with a family to take care of now. I did bottom then top though. I will test top, then bottom next time and top and bottom with middle seam just like you, next (with rail reinforcements applied before).
if you are glassing the rails first you could do a double cutlap that would create a ridge for the cork to sit into. then after bagging just grind the ridge and you have a clean transition.
Well in true "F"ing Garge Guy style you just have to add color every time you mess something up.
Did a little foam stain style colored epoxy coat on the rails. It looked too nice so I sanded it back for the hypster acid wash look. If the fog goes away today I will put some glass over it.
Well it was foggy enough to turn on the windshield wipers on my truck so no glassing today. I cleaned up the fincups and put some g10 fins in and then paddled it out at OB. The surf was like a good day in Denmark-- blown out waist high beach break.
First impressions:
Needs a leash cup :0
Paddles pretty good for a board 5" shorter than me.
Floats my 85kg fat ass up to 2" above my belly button.
Catches waves easy and has the Griffin lift- squirt when on the tail.
Has a lot of lift and squirt when you run up to the nose too.
It is a little heavy and overbuilt for the size, but I like em like that.
Very happy with it overall, feels like a Griffin mini longboard.
Needs a little more work but it will be ready in time for my camping trip.
Ian
Wow! Love the color on the rails…
I just wanna know if I can go on the trip, too. Mike
Love to have you with us Mike. This is more of a few dads take the kids away so the moms get a break camping trip with a chance at scoring surf. Leaving SF Thursdaynight with bearcanisters packed.
Ian
great build Ian!
I’d like to take that one for a spin!
Looks like a great time. When my kids were small and we went camping and asked about bears I told them I’d pick them up, throw them to the bear, and run for it! Hah! Hope you guys get light winds and fun surf. Mike
Hah, that is classic. I have been taking my kids in since they were 5 years old. The sad thing is they can both out run me now at 11 &13 years old. My 11 year old won the Marin Co. fun run by 50ft and beat his school mile record by 15sec. The weather looks good and swell is so— so.
When camping as a kid my mom was cooking bacon for breakfast when the bears rolled into the campground. She grabbed the bacon and hid in the car and locked the doors. It was then she said she looked out and saw her four kids standing around, looking at the bears, kind of dumbfounded…great mom.
Nice board Ian. Is that another board that going to have you making turns that you’re really not interested in making?
Bears and camping. When my parents took us camping when we were kids we would put bacon out at night FOR the bears. Listen to them bash around the trash cans. I was told problem bears from the Sierras were shipped to the Coast Range, Big Sur, Ventana Wilderness. We had one in downtown Carmel one morning and another in the Costco parking lot in Seaside. A fair distance from bear country. Thank you very much. Mike
Took the board out at R-Beach in P town with a full crowd of young rippers and more than held my own on a 5’9"-fun… There is somthing to this trendy shape-no B.S.!
Nice story Jeff. Turns are frowned apon at OB because you won’t make it back out if you get too fancy and go in to far. At the point break I am going to it will be all right to live a little.
One year my friends kids put some Nutella, condensed milk, and port up in the tree with the garbage because they were to lazy to put it away. The bear that nabbed it ate it all and then did doughnuts in and out of the bushes for 15 minutes. Another year we heard strange bear noises coming from the woods, turns out the poor bear ate a 2lb block of cheese a few days before.
Our furry friend last year.
been a couple of decades since I make that hike.
Worse one was when we walked in on north winds, out against a south…brutal
lotta fun when you score, however…