Ask Carroll

[Natho]

thanks Nick. I'm excited.

[Nick Carroll]

How many boards would you estimate you have broken beyond repair?

And how many would your wife estimate you have broken?

oh shit I didn't answer this.

I reckon I've broken beyond repair about .5% of the boards I've owned.

My wife honestly couldn't give a fcuk how many boards I have, as long as they're not in the house. Except the 8'6" AB I didn't mention, with the aquamarine deck tint and the full carbon glass bottom and red pinline, which hangs in the living room. She likes that one.

[Beanpole]

This has brought up an issue I've always randomly thought about.
What do you reckon would be the easiest type of board to shape and actually have fair chance of it working?

Presumably not a big wave gun.

[gardie]

Back on the subject of Noa I saw him out at Snapper riding a lid but standing up a few years ago.

Asked him later and it turned out he had broken the last of his boards that morning.

Anyway was doing full carves and then someone paddling got in the way so he just did an air over him. Landed and just kept going.

More talent in his little finger than I will ever have.

[MrMik]

This has brought up an issue I've always randomly thought about.
What do you reckon would be the easiest type of board to shape and actually have fair chance of it working?

Presumably not a big wave gun.

I think an all-rounder would be the likely candidate. Jack of all trades, master of none sort of thing.

Whatever scenario you want to shape your first board for, choose
a scenario that you have frequent access to.

If you chase big waves around the globe regularly, then shape a gun by all means. If you only get the very odd chance for catching a big wave, then rather get a reputable pro to shape you a board for the occasion.

[Nick Carroll]

Komrade Nikolai
I have one swim left before completing the one months of first beginner superplumpers drill. Will I need to provide the feedbacks before moving into next drills?

yeah, principally I wanna know if the session feels easier or harder than it did at the start.

[Nick Carroll]

This has brought up an issue I've always randomly thought about.
What do you reckon would be the easiest type of board to shape and actually have fair chance of it working?

Presumably not a big wave gun.

I think it would depend on what type of board you wanted to have a go at.

If you sorta have a strong (if vague) idea about that, then you'll have a better chance of doing an OK job.

A mate of mine just shaped his first board, a very flat rockered modernised version of a 1968 Lynchy outline, chined rails, slight concave foiling out to a broad flat vee behind the single fin. It's nothing like he's ever ridden but he had a sort of mental picture of what he wanted and why (gutless little Syd beach breaks in summer and possibly smaller days at the notoriously fat and appalling Pool at sth Newport). It was his personal investment in the idea that allowed him to pull off a v symmetrical and one off board.

[Beerfan]

This has brought up an issue I've always randomly thought about.
What do you reckon would be the easiest type of board to shape and actually have fair chance of it working?

Presumably not a big wave gun.

Beany, I shaped myself a thick flat keel fish. Totally fluked it and it was an unreal board, surfed it for 3 years ( I bought a few boards in between but ended up selling them because I always went back to my little fish ) in 1/2' - 3', and a few times in 3-4' with great success. It was too big for me and heavily glassed so I thought I'd strip it and do a narrower one. Epic fail. Wish I didn't do that.

Grab a 6'2" kneeboard blank from midget. Draw the outline ( spend time to get this right ). Cut it out square It up then screen the rails. Dead flat bottom. Glass it and get someone to glass some keels on ( or to glass the whole thing, so much easier ). Mine was so thick it wasn't funny but I put some time into thinning the rails out. Like i said I fluked it but it got me off the minimal for good. Ok except for now but it's a rehab board and I'm working my way back to my little JD's.

[Beanpole]

Good advice for sure.
I would imagine knocking out a fish would generally be easier than a bladey barrel riding shape. Not that I would particularly want another fish but could be fun to make one. The less foam the greater need to get it right I suppose.

If anyone up North remembers Huey Peerpoint That guy used to make some wild looking backyard shapes back in the day. Used to look like a diamond in plan shape....and I don't mean diamond tail. Don't know if it did much for his surfing but he used to go hard on them.

[Natho]

Nick's suggestion re bottom for my step up sounds good. Part of me wants to just do slight entry vee to flat to vee off the back third for less chance of stuffing it. Then my mate suggested we just run the fukk^ through the machine. But does that kind of defeat the purpose?

The alternative is he has measured up one of Nick's little bros prized Rawson's. So I could run off that as a base for outline and bottom curve. But then again only Pat Rawson can shape a board like that in my opinion and I'm just a foam hacker at this stage.

Other option is I have the measurements for a nice outline of a 7'0 Bushman that Bushy did for Pancho. I love the outline, so could just measure up the outline and just run with the rest from there. The outline has a bit more width which would suit Sydney a bit better than a narrower Hawaiian step up.

Then Im thinking for glassing the bastard 6x4x4, though I will leave that part to a pro.

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[Natho]

yeh certainly what I was thinking

[Nick Carroll]

The machine won't defeat the purpose. You can get a crude cut down which locks in the rocker, which is the big thing. Then you can hand work everything else into place. I would suggest using the Bushman rocker because Tom's Rawson rockers are not normal, and Jeff's rockers are superb.

And there's no such thing as a flat bottom. They look flat but they never are.

[Natho]

True. Tom's classic boards are very rarely 'normal'. Like some of those wide point forward with very pulled in rounded pin Phil Byrne's he was riding. I had a 5'10 one of his many years ago with 5 plugs (before anyone was doing 5 plugs) with straight tail rocker. Weird fkkink thing that only TC could ride.

[el rancho]

just don't mess up the rails in the back end. need to mark out where your front fins will be and make sure you take the hard edged rails on the bottom up past that point by a couple of inches at least.

[Nick Carroll]

yeah well you will find that the rail edges are made by the sander not the shaper so much.

sanders are the missing link in all this. Pay attention to them.

[steve shearer]

Byron Bay has the best glasser/sanders in the World.

I'll fight anyone anywhere who disputes that.

Actually Lennox Head has the absolute best in Aus, second only to the great Jack Reeves.

And he plays in a punk band with a single called Off My head in Lennox head.

[Hollowed out]

Byron Bay has the best glasser/sanders in the World.

I'll fight anyone anywhere who disputes that.

Actually Lennox Head has the absolute best in Aus, second only to the great Jack Reeves.

And he plays in a punk band with a single called Off My head in Lennox head.

Jesus shearer that is some weird claim backed by a confronting great that beggars belief.

shit I could name several guys each with over 40 years experience as sanders and glassers who still cable of such levels of accuracy and quality work that modern day production could not hold a candle to.
However, they are considered relics and work very much "cottage" are not mainstream and do not need to go by such questionable bynames as "Off My Head" which would by title alone give one an impression they have other issues that would seriously challenge their ability to be called the best at anything bother than copious consumption of certain substances.
So ya wanta fight, see you at the point at 7am on Saturday and if I am not there please start without me