A couple of Thruster Compsand Builds for Samoa

Late 2013 my awesome wife suggested we take a South Pacific holiday. I took a surf trip to Samoa back in 2006 which was good to me given some epic days of surf. The choice was easy for me - I suggested Samoa for our trip as the people are friendly, hospitable and is probably the safest country I've ever been to.

We booked in a few weeks before Easter 2014. This gave me only three months to complete a couple of boards to take with. I went hammer and tong and completed them with barely a week to spare. I did get the opportunity to test one out at Burliegh on a 4-6ft day. The surf was epic the board (the one stripey deck) was good but didn't quite have the right amount of volume. I guestimated it was a 32L - I had a 3.5hr surf session none the less. I ended up just taking one board which had a little more volume.

I won't go into detail of how I didn't get surf over in Samoa, but in short I didn't get much surf in Samoa - unlucky!

The builds are as below. I was happy with the end results. They draw their fair share of attention everywhere you go.

Rail strips on and fins marked out ready to put in fin blocks for FCS reinforcing.

I used Paulownia for the blocking for the FCS fin plugs. It's the lightest wood I had. I've heard of guys using a higher density foam for these reinforcing blocks or alternatively you could use a higher density EPS foam this does however double the weight of the foam blank.

I tried my hand at pyrography ... semi successfully. 

The board on the left is the one that stayed behind. If I was about 5kg lighter this board would be perfect.

Lamination coat went on like a dream.

I was super impressed with the final result ...

Hawaiian Hot Grip make these semi see through tail pads. They are a little heavy being made from some sort of clear rubber. These do give a lot of grip mind you and aesthetically they are the best I could find. 

Versa Traction deck grip is dead set awesome stuff. While it's not 100% clear it does still show off enough transparency to appreciate whats underneath.

Nice set of FCS bamboo fins I got off eBay.

Some more bamboo fins.

This magical shots are taken at Aganoa Beach on the island of Savaii in Samoa. The place boosts an amazing right hander that barrels when the swell is right. A friend and I scored it at 8ft back in 2006 - was epic and we where totally out of our depths.

This board has become my goto shortboard. I didn't score fantastic surf over in Samoa but I did surf regularly albeit at 2ft none the less. On my return home I scored another epic day at Burleigh around the 4ft mark. While it wasn't all time it was fun and caught some epic waves!

5'6" Mini Simmons

Everyone needs a mini simmons in their collection of woody quiver. It's the quintessential board for those smaller days where you need a little more volume to paddle onto waves. They are the right mix of everything if you like to just cruise and not get to radical with things like airs etc.

I'm more of a cruising surfer then a tricks guy so looked forward getting this one punched out and having a play out in the line up.

Framed ready for gluing onto the deck.

I made up my own guides from pine to rip bead & cove rail strips. It worked a charm and got perfect strips every time.

Deck & hull ready to take shape.

Glade I invested in a bunch of spring hand clamps. These things come in handy!

Glass on keel fins made from Paulownia, Western Red Cedar and recycled pine.

Fins glassed on. I based the position on about 20 others I googled.

Vent plug in to prevent hot air expanding inside while commuting and laying on the beach.

The vent hole doubles up as a GoPro mount.

Ride Report:

This board is in it's element in smaller stuff up to about 4-5ft. I've had it out on some rolling 6ft surf off a point and it seemed to go a little slow for my liking. Like the tail bogged down. I think thats when a modern day thruster works better the water release of a skinny tail is second to none.

None the less this board is easy to paddle and have had some really good surfs with it mainly on the Gold Coast. It's been my goto board for most conditions around the 2-4ft mark.

Meyerhoffer 9'2" Hollow Wooden Surfboard

I'm a sucker for something a little different, which led me to making a Meyerhoffer 9'2" HWS. An interesting board & equally, interesting to building.

The idea behind these is the board performs more like a shortboard when you want to do carving turns and has the added bonus of being able to be ridden like a longboard when riding mid way or up near the nose.

The board build process wasn't actually all that different to making any other fish bone framed hollow wooden surfboard.

 I thought it would be a good match to base this on a longboard but I was wrong. It actually comes out wider especially in the tail. I should have taken some measurements prior to cutting out the ribs so I can eye ball and draw out the ribs that fall short

 Chime strips glued on. Things are starting to look funky.

 I glassed the inside of this board which will create superior strength.

 Deck planking prepped & almost ready.

 Woohoo - getting there slowly.

 Slight concave in the nose. Should give it a good bit of hold down the line!

 Vent plug.

 Glassed on plywood fins.

 And the final result... Polished and ready to be surfed.

Surf Report:

I've surfed this board a handful of times and it's quick down the line. It does have a tendency to not track so well and really need to muscle it a little to make it turn. I can't really figure out why as the fin setup seems to be right. It is about 1-2kg heavier then I would have liked. Other then that it is a fun board to ride, easy to catch waves and very easy to paddle thanks to the cutaways.