Hey J good points, and thanks for posting your board. Thanks also for the explanation that you guys are beginners making boards w/o blanks and maybe w/o boards to copy, and limited by the 8’ sheets of foam you are using.
I’ll share some observations as a backyarder, take what you can use and ignore the rest.
I started off in similar situation, but not exactly the same. My very first board, a HWS, was a direct copy of a surfboard I had in my possession. For a first board, it was a good way to go. Freed me up from design considerations, and left me to concentrate on learning how to build a surfboard. But since that first board, all the boards I’ve made since then have been designed by me from scratch, without a board to copy (I do have access to blanks with stringers and available in longer than 8’ sizes).
Like you guys, I was just getting into surfing at the same time I was getting into making surfboards. Difference is, I was getting BACK into surfing, after a long time away. So while I may have age as a limiting factor in my surfing, I had the advantage of a lot of years’ surfing experience in my past.
I learned that even without boards available to copy, you can learn an awful lot from pictures of boards on the internet, and from studying blanks catalogs, both pictures and comments.
I can’t really give a definitive answer on length - if 8’ is your limit, then you have to go with that. I will say that I think you will learn faster, and have more fun as a beginner (especially at the size Ham mentions in his original post) on a 9’ or longer board. You can pack more volume into an 8 footer, but it won’t have all the stability and wave-catching ability that a 9 footer (or plus) can. I also think adding a stringer is a good idea, but I’ve never built a foam board without a stringer.
I don’t put much stock in volume calculators and the like, usually they’re used as a sales tool on a website. I do put a lot of stock in what’s being done by experienced shapers to make practical and enjoyable boards for older or bigger guys. That’s why I mentioned the names I did, in my recommendations. I don’t know if Ham took the time to actually look up the names I gave him, so I’ll post a few pictures here. These are all pics by guys who are working with much higher volume boards than usual, and are masters at shaping and foiling a board for performance.
9-3 by Joe Blair, posted and likely glassed by UncleD
8’ x 23" “Squish” by ACE
8’ x 25" by UncleD
IIRC this was 8’ x 23" Lineup Killer by Tom Mahady
Joe Blair has a website http://jblairsurf.com, which Ham would have found if he did a google search. ACE also has a website, http://www.acesurfboards.com, in addition to being a regular contributor to Swaylocks. Tom Mahady’s website is http://mahadysurfboards.com, he too is a Swaylocks guy. IIRC UncleD is not a professional board builder, but builds professional quality boards for bigger guys, and is another regular contributor to Swaylocks.
Since beginning to make my own surfboards 5 years ago, I have learned to absorb everything I can from the internet. But I have also learned that I have to find what works for me and go with it, despite negative comments I might get from the internet. You have to find a balance between absorbing and ignoring
I draw my templates by hand then scale them up using a grid to create a spin template - I have been told the right way to make a spin template is to copy an existing board. I shape with a surform - I have been told a surform is the best tool to fu@k up a surfboard, and is better used as a doorstop. I sometimes paint my blanks with a roller or paintbrush, I have been told this is the wrong way to paint a blank. I glass my poly blanks with epoxy, I have been told poly blanks glassed with epoxy are ugly and problematic. Etc. etc. My point is, you can’t let someone else’s negative comments discourage you from finding and going with the way that works for you.
In the end, you are the master of your own journey, build the boards you like, and have fun surfing them. I build all my own boards, for better or worse, and I would never want to go back to just riding what I could buy.
Hope this is some help or encouragement to you and Ham!