yeah greg its bloody cool
its amazing how far you can go with this stuff
wait till you start knocking hours off production time
then things really start humming
team challenge
i just got a proper vacuum setup built with a rotary vane pump
man that thing really sucks
i reckon i could bag 5 boards at once!
SO EXCITED
and finally got some nichrome wire after all this time
i can rip out a finished blank pretty fast these day
so starting to think about actually trying to sell a few.
It would be interesting to see how the firewire boards compares to Hess boards.
One problem about a good compsand… builders would be making a lot less boards, because the compsand would last a lot longer.
I’d be willing to pay double or more for a compsand version of my 5-fin knowing that I’d be riding the board for several years and it wouldn’t change over that time very much.
A combination of shapes by guys like grif, skins by CMP and glassing from whomever is doing grifs boards would be awesome.
Hi Oneula -
Those are some illuminating pics of the Firewire and some ground breaking ideas of yours on your own. No outer glass and foam rails?! Careful there, some of the compsand kool-aid drinkers might not approve. Whaddaya think you’re doing - doesn’t “Safety in numbers” ring a bell? LOL
What I find most interesting in the Firewire pics is the high density foam feathering along the edges.
I don’t think I like the angular pinlines on the bottom but that’s strictly a subjective nit-pic on my part. Maybe it has to be that way as part of the assembly process? The pinlines on the deck follow the curve and look better IMO.
Are they still doing the segmented rails? Couldn’t tell from the pics.
Also, are they using a gore-tex type of plug or do you have to manually open and close? Cripes, I have a hard time remembering to strap my board to the racks.
Not sure what to think about the “dreaded FCS plug bubbles” - I get 'em too and have had them leak.
Thanks for the detailed pics!
Great Pics Oneula, thanks for posting them!
One thing really caught my attention:
Here’s some recent handiwork of the baron of bamboo compsands who now doesn’t use either wood rails or any glass over his skins anymore as well as migrating to UV resistant soy based resins. Again just quietly plunking along and decades ahead of those following in his footsteps…
Do you have any infor available on what these UV resistant soy based resins might be? Material properties, strength, etc?
Thanks!
Pat
thanks bernie for posting those good closeup shots of the firewire mate !
I couldn’t tell…
are the pinlines on TOP of the outer finish coat ? and the logo ?
yes , fcs bubbles …I can relate !
hope you get a chance to ride it again soon in some nice waves ...keep the testing coming !
(how are your knees now, by the way ? is it Henry’s turn to ride the firewire , I wonder ? )
cheers
ben
"I’d be willing to pay double or more for a compsand version of my 5-fin knowing that I’d be riding the board for several years and it wouldn’t change over that time very much. "
That is a HUGE statement. I am hearing that quite a bit from a lot of different places. The methods are out there to build it, but I surmise that the finished product will look nothing like conventional boards in shape…
The methods are out there to build it, but I surmise that the finished product will look nothing like conventional boards in shape…
Hey George, Im not really sure what youre implying there ??? Are you suggesting look = performance ??? Something about cosmetics? A bit confused.
But, wrt SC’s statement. Im sure you know this…std custom shorties go cheap in HI, about $300. With regular use, that means you gotta buy a new one every year or less. Now, SC would be willing to pay double, say $600 or so, for something that will last (ride good) say 3 years. Thats $200/year. Not bad.
Been wondering if youve made any PPS style boards as of late…how’s that going?
Cheers
i have thought about making some to export!
once ive got them wired(excuse the pun)
they look almost the same from a distance
the variations are obvious to a builder but not as obvious to a consumer
Good that you’ve contacted Gary Young recently. Have you told him about Swaylocks and if so asked if he’ll participate here?
I meant “boards in shape” or the shape affecting performance through flex and springback.
A lot of compsandwiches seem to me mimicking the PU/PE boards and this is a dead end.
They will work but not at their best…
…that’s all I meant. Looks don’t matter at this stage IMO.
interstingly enough
while browsing surftecxh site
i thought randies designs looked made with materials in mind
The compsands I have from CMP are so strong that they will easily last a decade. I have punished a 6’4" gemini and there aren’t any pressure dents or anything. I have hit my boards with an open hand very hard to show people how hard they are and they freak out. Any PU/PE board would have a pressure dent, but not the compsands CMP has made for me. I’ve also only used a single 4oz or 6oz layer on top for the boards I’ve made, so they aren’t quite as strong as CMPs boards, but they are still plenty strong.
I don’t do aerials ever, but I often take off so late that I actually drop from the lip all the way into the pit and that leaves wonderful pressure dents on the deck of most PU/PE boards. Just ask Oneula what his Bushman fish looks like. My 5-fin will eventually look the same, but I’m keeping that board forever.
If the really great shapers are able to create boards like CMP, their products would last a long time. I don’t know they feel about that, but for me that’s a big selling point.
FYI… Oneula has had a bunch of Surftech boards and they are not as durable as a balsa compsand from CMP. It’s easy to split the rail, nose or tail, and it’s a big problem. I’ve dropped my compsands and they show little scratches, but no dings. Try dropping a surftech, it will ding. Other than a Merrick flyer he has, I didn’t like any of the surftech boards. But to be fair, he’s had a lot of PU/PE boards I don’t like, including a 6’4" Mandala quad fish, and a wierd looking Brewer sting.
Any Californians following this thread might be keen to know there’s a Gemini for sale in Sonoma County…
HIC shortboard- GEMINI 2 - $700 (sebastopol)
Reply to: sale-204584108@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-09-08, 8:46AM PDT
ATTN Collectors and Advanced surfers:
I am reducing the size of my shortboard quiver so I’m reluctantly selling my Hawaiian Island Creations, Jeff Alexander shaped, Gemini 2 #295 (FYI: Gemini-1 is written on the board but according to the description on the website, it’s a Gemini 2). Dimensions: 6’2" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2". Pickle fork nose, single to double concave, channeling, bat wing tail, and amazing 7 layer ghost flame paint job. Bag and leash included.
I bought this board last year on Oahu and flew it back to the Bay Area only to realize that my style of surfing has changed from being primarily a shortboarder to mostly a longboarder. Go figure. This was the last shortboard I purchased and I expect it’ll be the first to go. If you don’t know anything about this revolutionary shape visit this link for more info…
http://www.alexandersurfboards.com/model_two.html
This board is unreal. The paint job alone is worth over $400 acording to Jeff himself. I spoke with him extensively before I purchased the board and he told me that he custom made this board for the painter at HIC but the guy got strapped for cash and sold it on consignment having never ridden it.
I only took it out in the water about 4 times, but WOW!!! what a feeling. Speed Freaks is only describing the surface of this board’s capabilities. The control is unreal. Just imagine a turn and the board practically does the work for you. This board really starts to shine on head high + waves. The more hollow the better, but don’t think that it doesn’t outperform most fishs on smaller surf cuz it does. This board is a 6’ ?" but it gets into waves like a 6’8" because of the deep channeling down the center of the board. Most boards have the stringer going all the way through the board from tip to tail, but this shape doesn’t have that, so there are two carbon fiber supports in each of the noses for strength and to help load the board better on snapping turns. I won’t boar you anymore with amazing details, but I promise, this thing will sell to the first serious person that comes and takes a look. Please only serious offers and I’m not in any hurry to sell, so I’m firm on the price until further notice. Thanks for reading my novel. kywds: short board, shortboard, surf, surfboard, waves, board bag
(Not my ad)
Great thread, Bernie! This was the main one I was looking forward to sitting down and catching up on upon my return from mexico.
And good onya for pulling up the pics again of bert’s magic carpet board. I was just thinking about that shape the other day and wondering where I would have to look to find those pics again.
How was the trip? The new bonzer? Maybe a new thread… 
Hi Bernie,
Interesting thread mate.
WRT Bert and fins, I think I recall him saying that he never rated 2 or 4 fins when compared to 3 and 5 or 7! loss of grip/drive when transitioning from rail to rail?
For what its worth, that firewire hardly looks like a ‘Bert’ board.
This was made in response to the cutaway mental templates of Halcyon.
I did center fin and rail fin cutaways of various sizes and shapes. I concluded rail fin cutaways don’t really work. For a center fin, sure, that water near the fin base is not moving like the rest of the water, and a cutaway can promote attached flow at greater turning angles…but on the rail fin, the water very close to the board is laminar and moving very fast…that is EXACTLY where you want a long fin chord. There’s certainly still a boundary layer, but I can tell the difference at even 1/2 inch cutaway in lose drive.
Personal preference is to keep cutaways on center fins, and make the fin base the longest chord on the fin for rail fins. The advantage at the base of the fin is substantial ie: a half inch longer chord there is a much bigger impact than a half inch longer chord 2 inches up, and this effect is VERY different on center and rail fins.