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The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:01 am
by Cpt.Caveman
So heres the start of my finless beast. I started with the 7'5" longboard blank and didn't change a huge amount of the plan shape. Just proportionately shrunk it down to 20" wide and reduced most of the width of the whole board 1-1.5". Chopped off 4" of the nose and tail to help flatten the rocker a little. Re-rounded the nose. Sitting at 6'9" x 20" x 3" right now (with the crust).

I'm thinking the rocker will need to be much flatter through the guts as a finless board to keep a good long rail in the water at all times. I'm in two minds about just shaving off some thickness in the guts to flatten it or chopping another x inches off the nose and tail again while shortening again. Maybe a bit of both.

I'm in two minds about straightening the plan shape through the middle some more, I think that will help for hold. Rather than being a mix of a mid-length hipster plan shape and a map, I might go - round nose, straight plan shape two thirds down the board, into a gradual pulling in in the last third but still very straight. I'm betting on standing in the middle third of the board the whole time while surfing it.

The lines drawn on the bottom are where the finger channels feeding into deep single concave will go. Concave deepening as the tail goes and will exit very deep out the tail. Two main grip points from the channels, one being around the rear foot placement (which I've estimated by drawing the circle near the rail), and the other being the corner of the rear tail.

Next step will be mowing foam and getting the rocker right. Will wait for some buddies before I do that.

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Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:45 pm
by swvic
I can't view the pics. I even tried to open them in another tab, but it was blocked by my employer

This is part of what the IT Crowd say;
The website you have tried to access has been blocked by Deakin University's web filters.

The site blocked has been identified as containing inappropriate content.
What are you up to, Cptn?

I could go through the process of having access enabled, but it's easier to look from my own internet account. Also, I like the idea that people here might think I'm some sort of deviant because RS has had me clicking on quite a few inappropriate links

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:53 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
Haha I fish finless surfboards were naughty and inappropriate. Maybe some people think they are.

Maybe your work is using some sort of autocorrect for forum drawl which is set to the all time lowest setting for realsurf. It autocorrected finless surfboard to (naked) Finnish surf broad. Still, worth a look any case. Have it lifted and see what happens, haha

At the moment they are Matt. They are just general purpose saw horses but def not ideal. Will done some of the major work at a mates place who has proper stands.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:51 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
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Pulled in the outline a little. 19 3/4" and straighter through the guts.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 4:08 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
haha tis temping! Mainly because I don't have the garage tidy enough to withstand the huge dust from planing yet, and I need to get the planer barrel suitable for surfboard blanks rather than timber.

Next step is taking off the crust, flattening the rocker by taking out volume in the guts, and getting the thickness where I want it. I'll just be patient until the conditions are right to start mowing foam.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:16 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
Garage sorted a little more now, its ready to get covered in foam dust for some planing. You can see a lot of shittle in the background there that probably won't do too kindly to a shower of foam dust.

Shes ready to go captain

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:49 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
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Flattened the rocker and took the thickness down to 2 1/2. I'm not super happy with the rocker, Id prefer it to be a lot flatter. I'll have to get a different rocker in the blank next time because I feel like ill loose too much thickness if I try to take it down any more.

Wingy - it's going to have a medium single conc starting as the nose flip curves, going milder in the middle, then deepening a lot as it goes into the last 1/3 of the board. It'll have four finger channels with the sides of them that will drop off into the concave. The second two will meet the tail corners almost making a slightly deeper single within the single if that makes sense. They will all flute out the back.

Trying to use concave and rounded edge channels for hold. Plenty of people at sways claim the hard edge channels actually create lift rather than hold.

I'm using UV cure resin for the glassing thank god.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:28 am
by Cpt.Caveman
Matticus Finch wrote:Careful Caveman!

Depending how long you need to wait before you move on to the next stage you might end up with a hand plane. Doing little bits and slight changes is very addictive.
Dear god I did it again, its a 6'4" now...

There was too much nose lift that would have pushed water when I was surfing forward on it, so I chopped off 5" off the nose rather than taking the thickness down any more. Its all foiled up now with rails finished and everything done except the concave and finger channels. Lookin shmick! (if I do say so myself).

I'll surf it finless first of course, as thats the plan, but I'm tempted to glass a fin in. The rocker looks like it might be a touch too curvey for finless and may like a fin.

I'll post pics later.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:05 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
Matticus Finch wrote:Just put some plugs in, you do it after glassing anyway.

The probox plugs have inserts that go in them too. Otherwise, some FCS plugs won't make much difference to water flow.

I used some bonzer FCS tabbed fins to give a semi-finless feeling, something like that might work well, or you could even try some of those single tab knubster fifth fins that are getting about, or like these ones from shapers.

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Thanks for the tips Matt!

I'm attempting quite a deep concave for good grip finless, so I don't know if I'll have enough thickness for tabs. I'll see..

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:06 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
A few shots of the beast completed :)

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Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:23 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
Haha yeh thank god I'm getting some help from someone.

They are mates blanks who will be using my garage for shaping. Lucky them !

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:04 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
Finished!

Had amazing help from Craig at Splash Ding Repairs, and it wouldn't have turned out as well as it did without his help. He did most of the glassing and sanding except for the channels (I don't blame him).

The power tools and UV resin made pretty handy work of the laminate and hot coats, plus sanding of most of the board. The channels had to be sanded by hand naturally, but that was okay. A bit of pleasure and meditation from careful work in the man cave!

Came out pretty interesting! Gradual low rocker all the way, flat at the rocker apex into gradually deepening single conc as you go towards the tail. The deepest it gets to is almost 1/5". The rails are very low and 50/50 from the nose down with a slight bevel edge which almost creates some rolled dome around 2" in from the rails, but it goes dead flat after that.. The 50/50 rails start changing into reverse rails (bodyboard style rails) as the channels start, and blend into a full 30 degree flat angle (or so) as it gets near the tail. I'll take more photos if anyone wants. Hard edges only start after the first channel exits the tail to keep as much grip as possible until the end of the first channel.

Just waiting to get over a head cold and for some swell to test it out !

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Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 10:33 am
by Cpt.Caveman
Thanks mate, I'm pretty chuffed with how it turned out !

Mind you I had a lot of help from Craig at Splash Ding Repairs, he did most of the work and I sanded the channels.

I did go through the glass to the foam a couple of times with the channels but with UV resin and a flashing bay it was so easy to just patch it up, flash it, sand it within 5-10mins and keep working. Such incredible stuff, I don't think I'll ever go back to regular catalyst, its just such quick and messy work when you don't have the skill and speed behind you.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 10:58 am
by alakaboo
Have to say, that looks roughly 300% less shit than I was expecting

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 1:32 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
alakaboo wrote:Have to say, that looks roughly 300% less shit than I was expecting
lol that sounds like a compliment, thanks!

If it doesn't work finless in looks perfect as a cruiser single fin too. We'll see how she goes!

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 12:19 pm
by Cpt.Caveman
I tried this board out and it actually goes pretty damn good!

I feels like it paddles slow, I have no idea why because it would have around 36-38L of volme going for it and a flat rocker.

So far in 2-4ft beachies it holds in like a tropper and has an awesome flat pannel in the middle 3rd which is really easy to spin and slide from. Put a little more weight onto the back 3rd and it bites beautifully. Even got a little cover up on one wave.

Took it out the next day and dinged the bugger. Its pretty much fixed, its just been too pumping to not take out shortboards, haha.

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 7:43 pm
by SURFFOILS
Can I interest you in some finless boxes.....???

Re: The Finless Beast - R&D Log

Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 8:28 am
by Cpt.Caveman
Yeh I'd love to try some finless boxes!!!!

Do you have some already shaped into boards or do you need me to supply a board to try them in?