6'6" Single Fin

A single fin is born...

Ride Report:
This has become my go-to board for anything from 2ft to over head. Not being a performance surfer (airs, big cutties, etc) this board suits me to a tee. It glides down the line and is super smooth. It's easy  to paddle into waves and has a low rocker so gets going. I just love it to bits! I've recently seen some more single fins and am amped to make more:

• Square tails
• Rounded tails
• Shorter - maybe 6'3"

The fin in the pic goes really well to and recently bought a 5.5" which is a bit looser. Surfed it recently at Burleigh at 6ft + with open faces. Only caught 3 waves then - SNAP! My leash broke. The sweep was intense too! Had a ball and caught waves with ease to only line up a shoulder that ran for a good 100m + 

9'6" Longboard

Having not a single longboard in my woody quiver collection I figured it's about time I knock one up and make more use of some of the points around the traps :- Noosa, Burleigh, Currumbin etc.

I didn't take any pics in constructing this board but it basically follows the same process as any of my other compsand boards.

I drew inspiration from Donald Takayama's In The Pink in designing this board. It's probably a little more nose rider orientated with having a convex tail end and a down turned nose rail.

Size: 9'6" X 23 1/2" X 3"
Rails: 60/40

Shapers fin I bought many moons ago. 9.25" Axe!

 

Deck was an absolute labour of love them wiggles are never easy to glue up. 

GoPro nose mount - looking forward to getting some footage on this beast!

 

9'6" Nose Rider

I made this board in parallel with my 9'6" Donald Takayama In the Pink replica. My attraction was to take my longboard skills to the next level and master nose riding.

Size: 9'6" X 23 1/2" X 3"

I did some research into the characteristics of the board and from various sources came up with this design. One of the big influences in the design came from Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski. Check out he's videos here:

The Physics of Noseriding

Physics of Noseriding Part II: Outline, Rails, and Rocker

This board has been nothing but a master piece from the beginning with a lot of detail in hte actual wood work. I question myself every time - why oh why do I go to such lengths - it's a labour of love!!!

From this angle you can really see the flick up on the tail and the major convex. This helps in pulling the tail down. Together with the added weight it cuts through any chop on the surface and holds a tidy stable line.

Man did the colours pop when I glassed this board, it really came alive, the grain in the wood exposing itself in all its awe!

And the final result ...

Wooden Compsand 42" Bodyboard

I've had this one on the back burner for some time. I cut the blank out of EPS and that's pretty much as far as I got, until recently... This build started from copying an old Rheopaipo bodyboard which was coming apart like most bodyboards after some use.

Rails on this board is 50/50. I've kept everything pretty much the same for simplicity and not really knowing how it could be improved. There are some deep dished concave twin channels in the rear.

Was a super quick build. I'd estimate around 25-30hrs.

 

 

 

 

It wasn't all that easy persuading the Wester Red Cedar strips to follow the curve up to the nose. I gave them a soak which made it comply a little easier.

 

 

 

This should be one fast bodyboard. I think I'll have to use some Versa Surfboard Traction for grip. I've used it on previous boards and it works like a charm - fuss free!

 

 

 

 Hand cut abalone with wood burning outline.

 

 

For Abhinav a friend who I owe some thanks and doubles as a belated b'day present. Will be borrowing this off him at some point to test it out.

Mini Simmons - 5'8" compsand

My hollow wooden 5'6" Mini Simmons, although I love it, it just doesn't have that much speed down the line on the bigger stuff. To overcome this I'm experimenting with this diamond tail mini simmons.

The Western Red Cedar I'm making this from was left over from a 12m Van de Stadt Yacht. It was joined in 12m lengths so had to cut it down in length to A) Transport it & B) Size it down obviously. The WRC is a little random with giant dowel joins here and there as well as scarf joints with some sort of epoxy. The state of the wood has been a little challenging to use but figured it's imperfections will be it's appeal...

Blank prepped and skins ready for bagging. 

 

I've recently come across sia Abrasives which can be purchased from Shapers here in Australia. I haven't been to happy with the result from Epoxy Resins as far as getting a good gloss\shine but these SIA pads are a game changer and worth every penny.

 

After Cut & Polish followed by a polish cream she's come up trumps - very happy with the result.

 

 

Ride Report

Conditions: 2ft, light to moderate cross wind on a open beach break coming into a high tide.

 

Although surf conditions where a bit ordinary this board did come to light on a handful of waves. Easy to paddle and turns much better then my other mini simmons thanks to the Dick Van Straale ultra-modernised Fish Keel fins and diamond tail. It's super fast too and like the agile factor.

6'2" Plankish Whale - Compsand

This is one big bastard - a chunky machine which by rights will catch waves like a longboard. My first compsand build which has taken a back seat as I caught the crazy compsand build bug. Pretty typical of me having a couple of boards on the go.

Was a learning experience buying the foam, making the hotwire foam cutter and setting up a vac bag.

These pics tell the story ...

One big block of foam - that is all!

Made this foam cutter - it's a little slow but does the job. More omph (amps) would be most welcome to speed things up. I think I'll be talking to my neighbour, a sparky by trade, to spruce it up.

 Plane shape cut out. The blank looks pretty uninteresting but it's only a couple of hours away from being finished being shaped.

 Foam blank shaped, deck & hull prepped - 6mm thick skins made from Paulownia and Western Red Cedar.

 And none edible sandwich coming right up ...

 The vac bag clamping begins.

About 3hrs in the bag does the trick. I've been told 2hrs should do it but make extra sure the glue is cured before shutting off the pump.

 There are multiple options to glue on the rails. This is one of them. Thick masking tape would is a good option also.

 Looking raw. Ready for the nose and tail block.

 I love the grain in Western Red Cedar, you just can't beat it!

Pyography isn't my strength. You need a steady hand and lots of patience.

The deck on this board came out amazing. Once the glass hit it the colours really popped. Used sia Abrasives which can be purchased from Shapers here in Australia after dry sanding. Really chuffed with the outcome. 

Western Red Cedar fins came out amazing too - glade I went with the quad setup!

 

Ride Report

Fantastic ride. Paddles like a longboard. Very predictable and forgiving!