RealSurf Surfers' Forum

It drove me nuts trying to figure out how to do it. Then a light bulb moment. Set up the mal on a level surface, shine a spotlight on it from the side, put a sheet of cardboard behind it and draw the rocker line on it, easy! take foot out of the middle of the mal in the straightest part and blend together with half a bottle of bourbon. take a 3m long piece of chipboard, glue sandpaper on it and use it to clean up the shape. Then realise you have to take 12mm off the thickness to allow for the powlonia planks. More bourbon and bandsawing. Put a block of wood in the middle of the chipboard and weight down the ends to make a convex shape to sand the deck profile with. The shape is perfect, the bottle is empty, go to bed.

Haha thanks Matticus. I actually teach CADdesign and computing and am very capable with all the board CAD programs, BUT! I don't know, I just like nutting it out and figuring out how to do things. Call me old fashioned or just plain stupid, but ah well it just seams a bit more organic? if that's the word. I often wake at night and lay in the dark thinking of all the ways I can do things, I actually enjoy it. So, I'm not going to drill the spars to lighten them, I'm making them from solid paulownia, not 3ply, which means each section of the board will be independent. "AHH", you say, "but it needs to be vented". Yes it does, but I will drill a small hole between each chamber and glue a small patch of Gortex over the hole. It'll be like the Titanic! but without the busty chick on the bow hahaa. I'm doing this because I will be thinning out the deck and bottom boards to around 4mm each, which will weaken the skin, but I'm looking to make it light. I'll post pics of the foil/rocker and cross spars tomorra.

Hmmm, I like that term...'"on the fly"... exactly how I do it. Make a wooden board with computer input, pfft, seems like blasphemy to me. Carve the thing out of wood with tools and sweat and vim and vigour. That's what I'm aiming at.

I'd flag the goretex unless it has a lot of surface area compared with regular vents.

Moving right along, and bending the boards with a bucket of water and a wet towel to steam the wood into shape.

Gentlemen, we have a frame and rocker profile.

You guys need to man up, woodworking is part of the human experience and you should be embracing it. Take off yur skirts and have a go........pussies. Jus kidding . Here's where I'm up to, the strip around the rail line is called the chine log, it sets the shape and gives thickness to shape the rail into. Outside of that is the first rail strip, you can see the convex top that the next strip fits over. Under the clamps on the other side is the second strip on that side. Its now just a case of gluing strips on until the rails shape is complete.

Two bottles of bourbon, although I did share one with the son in law as he was working on my parents vintage caravan out the front of my place. Poor bugger has no idea about surfing and can't understand why my daughter insists on taking at least two boards on their trip to WA. There was a lot of time(16hrs?) invested in planning,measuring and cutting the frame. It would be much quicker(but less fun and more expensive) to simply order a set from Surfing Green or someone. The actual gluing part takes no time at all, 30mins maybe? waiting for the glue to dry before adding the next strip gives me time to steam and bend the next set ready, then go for a surf or go to work. I will be finished the rail strips by the weekend, then it will be ready to position blocks for the fin boxes to go into. I may be ready to glue the deck on by early next week. Cost so far: Timber (pawlonia) $255, glue (titebond3) $23, 2ltrs Bote cote epoxy+5mtrs 4oz Eglass $72. Fin boxes and leash plug $35. 750ml Jim Beam x2 $64.

Switched to the Black Douglas last night, change is a good thing. Yeah, well won't be driving to the rock any time soon in my car. By the way SB was pumping at the weekend, saw 30 punters out, probly the biggest crowd iv seen out there. Biggish, 6ft sets did the trick. Good sand too.

Lots of action over the last few days have given the rails a cursory shave and carved in the scarf joint ready for the top to go on.

Maybe, but I'm going to do some fairly intricate inlays, so that may take a while depending on the weather/waves.

Happy with the bottom shape and rails.

Ready for glassing.

Thanks Matticus. Its been about a month so far, so the build is probably longer than it seems. I'v also got a lot done thanks to the constant NE winds on the coast so instead of a coupla surfs its hours in the workshop, which is almost as much fun. I do as much planning of different aspects as I can, but this is only my second hollow board so I'm still making mistakes along the way. Once the deck is on the rough planing is done with an electric planer just like a foam blank. Sanding into the final shape takes much longer than foam cos the wood is harder, but that has its plusses as it is difficult to accidentally take too much off. Mind you I sanded through one spot where on of my spars was slightly high and that pushed the rail strip up and suddenly I had a hole in the rail. It was painstaking to slice the sections of rail strip out and replace them. I will take a pic of the final repair later. I'v now got the glass on the board and I'm waiting for it to go off, then the hot coats and its ready for the fin plugs. I hand painted the Parrot fish logo using 'Black Japan' wood stain. I just couldn't be bothered cutting it out of veneers and setting it in.

Hey Wingnut, I'v joined an elite club! I got called a cnut for dropping in on yur old mate Jughead this morning haha. the board is finished and I surfed it a few time but not in waves it was made for, so the jurys out still. It paddles grat and has the mal 'glide' so happy with that and it is as smooth as a baby bum in the turning department. I waiting for a new FX lens for my camera and I'll take some glamour shots of it later. Happy new year all.
Nikko

Amazing looking board. I noticed you packed the hollow sections with foam. Was that to stop depressions in the deck or does it add to the overall floatation? I'm assuming the hollow sections are water tight but will the foam give you some insurance if one of the sections is breached ala the Titanic?

The foam was a last minute decision, made in a moment after I looked in a box and found a whole heap of styro blocks sitting there. I'm not sure if it adds floatation, but the board does feel more solid and doesn't make that hollow board slapping noise in the water. I don't think the deck is dentable with 3-4mm of wood and then two layers of 4oz and epoxy. My wooden boards both feel ultra stiff in the water and that provides instant feedback to your feet, its quite unlike any other board I'v ridden. As these are the only wooden boards I'v been on I can't say about other ones. The final dimensions are 6'10"x21.5"x2.5". Weight is 4.1kg which is all but undetectable in the water.