Fish`

[ado]

Hi all

I am venturing into the world of surfboard making and making a fish to add to my quiver. I was wondering if any others around my weight and size had ridden fish. I'm 5'11 and 100kg and big in the shoulders/chest. I am an average to intermediate surfer and like to ride alternative equipment. I am looking to build a fish with dimenstions of 6'2 x 16.5 (n) x 22 x 16 (t) and possibly 2.75 - 3'' thick. It will have bugger all rocker, especially in the tail. I ride a 10ft log and a 7'5 retro single which i am loving. Love the idea of speed with a fish.
Any ideas/advise?

Cheers
Ado

[scot]

ado,
try out the software from www.aps3000.com
it lets you play around with templates and rockers, etc to design a board.
then you can print it out to create a template.
it gives a good indication of the volume of the shape as well.

the dims you have should be ok but i wouldnt go any longer for a fish.
cheers,
scot

[ado]

Hi Scot, cheers for the reply mate.

I've already made a tempalte out of MDF using a piece of dowel to make a nice curve. It looks the goods and has a really smooth and curvy outline with the wide point about 4-5 inches forward from the mid-point. Pins are 12 inches apart and about 6 inches deep. Looks like it will have alot of float being 22in. wide. Interested to see how it will catch waves.

cheers
Ado

[ric_vidal]

I've already made a tempalte out of MDF using a piece of dowel to make a nice curve. It looks the goods and has a really smooth and curvy outline with the wide point about 4-5 inches forward from the mid-point. Pins are 12 inches apart and about 6 inches deep. Looks like it will have alot of float being 22in. wide. Interested to see how it will catch waves.

Ado, I did a 6' 1andapoopteenth" x 20 x 2 3/4. Nose and tail are both about 14 1/2, crack about 6" deep x 8 1/2" wide and it floats and gets around OK and I’m not far off your size. The planshape is just a fairly even curve and widest point quite central.

I went for a double to single concave and made it into a quad and it doesn’t seem to have the backhand frailty of similar boards i.e. not skitterish.

Having the forward area is going to drag you forward when you ride it, but since you ride a variety of craft this is probably not so much of an issue.

Good luck with the project

[ado]

Thanks Ric for that.

What do you think about ploy vs epoxy for first time glassing? Some are saying to go epoxy cause it gives you more time and you dont have to rush so much. I like the idea of a trad poly board though but am scared that if i work too slow then I will have a shite load of ploy resin half done on the board. Anyway, fun times ahead i'm sure.
Cheers
Ado

[smw1]

I'm a bit lighter than you, admittedly, but my max fish width is 21. Whilst your board will be a bit longer than your average fish, 22 still sounds like quite a lot of foam.

If you have any (generous) mates with fishes, it might be worth trying them out to see whether you really need to go quite so wide.

Have fun.

SMW1

[Dingus]

and made it into a quad

Quad? You? nah I can't see it....

[ric_vidal]

Some are saying to go epoxy cause it gives you more time and you dont have to rush so much. I like the idea of a trad poly board though but am scared that if i work too slow then I will have a shite load of ploy resin half done on the board. Anyway, fun times ahead i'm sure.
Cheers
Ado

Ado, I haven’t used epoxy at all, YET, probably will one day as I plan to do at least one board with extruded EPS and some other more exotic foams so I will have no choice.

Personally, I always use UV curing resin. It is the absolute “ants pants”, gives you all the time you need to do your laminates and fiddling around with fish tails is not my idea of fun! One thing with glassing is you have to be very systematic if you use ‘normal’ resin.

Once you’ve done your laminates you can just use normal filler if you want or continue with the UV.

The UV catalyst is just an additive to normal resin and won’t go off until exposed to a UV light source. It is safe under incandescent and fluoros. I glass my boards in the garage on a stand that is like a sled (dashing through the snow) and when I am done I just drag it outside. Will still cure in cloudy weather. Otherwise you get fancy and build a light box with tanning lights (work on your tan at the same time), ultra violet lights or those big buzzing industrial mothers (sulpur dioxide?) they put in factories.

It goes off like the proverbial when exposed to the sun.

Yes it costs a bit more to do it this way but I would rather get a result than stuff up a good shape. They have small quantities to do 4 kg of resin which is enough to do your board. A lot of the commercial places are using it now too.

I use Soltek which is a yellow powder http://www.soltekonline.com.au/catalyst+.html and Shapers Australia have a liquid version, but I haven’t used it http://www.shapers.com.au/

There can be a trap with it for large decals or dark colours but other than that it is very good.

I suspect you will be able to acquire one or the other over yonder. Have fun! PM if you need any help, every other bastard does

[ric_vidal]

...and another thing Ado, have you been introduced to ‘Fred’?

If not you better... ask Fong, he is a convert

‘Fred’ is a tool for shaping bottom rails, developed by John Carper (JC) and someone else and I was introduced to it in his instructional video/dvd ‘Shaping 101’.

Basically it a block of wood (MDF) with a 30 degree cut on one end. On the angled cut you stick small Surform blades in opposing directions (so it cuts both ways) OR coarse sandpaper mounted on another strip of timber working off the 30 degree face. I recommend sandpaper to people as our foam can tend to tear and do all sorts of nasty things. If you use sandpaper you can also make the tool shorter which would also be beneficial.

You then use ‘Fred’ by running with the flat edge along the face of your square cut rail so it cuts off the bottom edge of the deck. When you are happy with that distance run the flat face along the bottm of the board so it cuts down the rail.

You will be left with a bottom rail made up of two chamfered cuts. Then you can attach it preferrably with screen, but sandpaper would do, and round it over so it is schmickoh!

If the tool description is hard to get your head around I’ll send you a picture. Just don’t have one at the is point in time, hang on, changed my mind, here’s a picture...

[ric_vidal]

Quad? You? nah I can't see it....

Well not yet anyway

[Dingus]

Quad? You? nah I can't see it....

Well not yet anyway

Well you can't rush a genius. Take your time mate

[ado]

Hi Ric ,

Thanks for the tips. That tool looks good but no real idea as yet as to how to shape rails and what kind or rails to shape for the fish, how to shape a vee/ etc. Its learn as I go stuff - getting the 101 video which should help heaps.
UV resin is out as I dont have a garage or shed and will be doing everything outside, mostly under lights in the cool of the early evening and during the days if its cool.
Ado

[ado]

Cheers Salty

[ric_vidal]

UV resin is out as I dont have a garage or shed and will be doing everything outside, mostly under lights in the cool of the early evening and during the days if its cool.
Ado

OK then, best advice I could give you is to get help when glassing you could use an extra pair of hands.

There is also a glassing 101 video/dvd xmas is just around the corner

[WANDERER]

Ric makes glassin sound scary... Ive done a board with standard catalyst and it wasnt too hard, preparation is the key, havin everything ready to go and a plan of attack in ya head.

at the end of the day, the first board you make is definitely going to be the dodgiest... its called learning.

[ric_vidal]

Ric makes glassin sound scary...

OK it scares me depends on your expectations of the finished result. My expectations of myself are perhaps too high, relatively speaking, and yes you can hide the sins of the world.

[ado]

Right now, everything about making a board scares me - hell i even stuffed up my first attempt at making a shaping stand. I also managed to tear my first template because my hand saw slipped. Jigsaw sorted out the next one. So with my awesome skills, my first board should be up there! still i cant wait to get the process started. I'll take your advice Ric and get a mate to help me with glassing when its time.
I think the most confusing part will be the rails - for the fish ive heard tucked under which i take it is quite a pronounced edge along the rail. Then there is rocker and dont even get me started on bottom contour - some say all flat or all Vee or concave or double concave or concave with v - well you get the picture.

Ado

[Beerfan]

Ado, listen to rick. I started making boards not long ago because of ric. I second his advice on UV resin. Put up a tarp if you have to mate, i just laminated a 6'2'' x 16x22x16 fish, and it was the second board i ever glassed. I had no kinks whatsoever, and 2 small air bubbles. Also, your fred can be two bits of wood, one with the end cut at 30degrees, and screwed into the other one. It doesnt have to be a sureform blade, 30 grit will do quite fine. The hardest part i reckon is sanding, its a big pain,but you'll get there. Here's a few pics. I cheated a bit on this one, as an xmas pressie, my wife paid for the fins to be glassed on, and the filer coat done ( which is kinda silly, coz the filler is the easiest part,but hey, im not complaining! )

[img][img]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j157/ ... sh-lam.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j157/ ... done-1.jpg[/img][/img]