My idea of fun on a Saturday...

Stan and I worked on his new "Super T-Belly" last weekend. We spent a lot of time talking about design elements, and I got a chance to explain the shaping process, what I was doing and why. Of course we had to swap surf stories, which is always part of the deal when surfers get together. Is this a cool gig, or what? Here's some more shots of the shaped blank....

Board is now in Ray Lucke's capable hands for glassing. I'll post more pix when its done.

 

Today is TSJ Day....

My favorite surf mag arrived in the mail today...

If you don't already read this cover-to-cover, you should...definitely worth a cup of coffee at Barnes&Noble.

New Board for Tom...

Chris brought in his dad's 15-yr old Stewart and asked if I could shape something similar. I kept the outline similar, but made some changes in the bottom contours to update the performance. I used a "green" density foam blank from USBlanks and 6-oz Silane cloth on deck and bottom. Replacing the 3/16" cedar stringers with 1/8" cedar compensated for the extra weight of the denser foam. End result is a board that is more durable but no heavier than the board its replacing.


Father and son with old and new

Old and new bottom view

Board dimensions: 9'6" 18-3/4" x 23-3/4" x 14"   3-1/8"  Custom laminated wood tailblock and new True Ames fins finish off this classic beauty.

Dolphin Fan's Noserider



Dolphin fan Ilan and brother Tito

       I shaped this 9-6 Neo Single-fin for Miami Dolphin Fan Ilan. Boards dimensions are 9-6 18-3/4" x 23" x 15-3/8"  3". Board has typical Neo features: half-length, blended nose concave, moderate "V" in tail and eggy, 60/40 rails.

The two 1/8" cedar stringers can be seen clearly through the tourqoise and orange resin tint glass job (by Ray Lucke).  A clear True Ames "Slick" model center fin finishes off this noseriding beauty.

Ilan was able to watch the entire shaping process from raw blank to finished shape.





Heading to a nearby break for a little tip-time...

New SUP...finally

This is my first SUP. The design was a cooperative effort between Ray Lucke and me. Having glassed a large number of SUPs, including limited-class racing SUPs, Ray has a good eye for what works. Using Aku Shaper, the designed shape's file was sent to Marko Foam who machined the 1.7lb EPS blank. After receiving the blank from Marko, I made some adjustments in the thickness of the nose and tail, and added the wings to the tail to get tail-width down to 17". Dimensions are: 10-0 20-1/2" x 32" x 17"  4-1/4".  I wanted an SUP that would offer good paddling for flat-water touring, but would still be spunky enough to surf.

Board was air-sprayed light yellow, and glassing schedule was 6-oz E-glass + 6-oz E-glass deck and 6-oz E-glass bottom. Red pin line and gloss & polish finish completed things. After glassing, the dual leash cups, one-way air vent and deck pad were installed. Fin set-up is 2+1, with FCS Fusion side-bite boxes. I plan to start off with a 9.5" True Ames Faberow Flex fin, and will switch to the 7.5" TA Wayne Rich Power fin with TA Side-bites after I get a little more comfortable surfing the board.

Already I'm very impressed with the lightness (26lb) of this board despite its huge size. You'll definitely see me building some EPS/Epoxy longboards in the near future.

More Surf Quotes...

This quote from another master surfer/shaper helps me get through the "dry spells"...like today.
Lopez was asked how he manages to live in Bend, OR, so far from the ocean and surfing.

‘There are always moments in surfing that hold you over-that’s the thing. It really doesn’t take much. For me, it’s always been a moment here or a moment there: a good turn, a tube, a drop, those kinds of things can carry you for a long time, months, sometimes years.”

-Gerry Lopez, “The Surfer Interview” September, 2004

I have a few "mind-videos" that I replay when I haven't surfed in a while. None look like the above, however...

Winter swell dreamin'...

Late Fall is a time to put away the noserider and break out the “winter board”. In this case, a 9-6 blue tint, reverse-lap, pinlined Nova Speedster Pintail, sporting TA side-bites and a 7” Wayne Rich Classic center fin, all in red (of course!). Dimensions are: 17-1/2” x 22-3/4” x 13-3/4” 3”

What's unique about this board is that I used a “red” density USBlanks blank. This is the density that most PU shortboards use. To counteract the lower density (and to prevent excessive heel denting) I used the more expensive, but stronger Silane cloth, instead of E-cloth. End result is a relatively lightweight longboard, which will resist excessive denting (or so I hope)

I kept the rocker at just over 4” in the nose and just under 4” in the tail, and used more of a continuous curve throughout. There's slight concave in the nose and a fair amount of V in the tail.

Like all of my "Shop" boards (wink, wink, nod, nod) this one's for sale. Shoot me an email if interested.

My Cure for Flat Spells...

Like most of you, I absolutely hate flat spells. Its bad enough when the waves are so small that you have to drag out your 9-9 (or something bigger) just to catch a wave or two. But there are days when even a 10-0 won't get you up a riding...because there are simply no waves to ride. And again, like many of you, surfing is my only form of exercise. Can't play soccer anymore due to bad knees, likewise running is out for the same reason (and because its just so boring). Roller hockey, softball, other team sports require a commitment that I just can't make ("sorry I missed the playoffs guys, but the surf was just too good"). Hate going to a gym and I'm only good for about two days of body-weight exercises (push-ups, chin-ups, etc). Likewise for cycling or swimming, after a couple of days I'm struggling to answer the question "...and why am I doing this?" So, SUPing seems to me to be a good way to stay in shape for surfing. It gets out on the ocean (or bay or lake or ?), lets you enjoy some peace and solitude, helps to build core strength, and burns a few calories in the process. So, here's my first attempt at shaping and building an SUP.
Ray Lucke and I worked on the design using the Aku Shaper software. Dimensions are 10-0 20" x 31" x 17" 4.25" thick. The file was sent to Marko Foam and used to machine the 1.7lb density EPS foam. I finished shaped the blank, adding a couple of wings to the tail to facilitate turning, and thinning the foil in the nose. After air-spraying the yellow color, the blank was glassed with 7.5oz E-Glass using RR Epoxy Resin, two layers on deck and one layer on the bottom.

Lots more to be done; sanding, pinline, glossing, polishing, air-vent, deck pad, leash cup and recessed handle for carrying. Board will be set-up as 2+1 and is designed as a "cross-over" SUP, or one that can handle flat-water paddling or be surfed. I'll post more pix when she's done, so  stay tuned...

Latest T-Belly...

This twin-fin T-Belly is headed for Nor Cal. It was just polished out yesterday, so I thought I's take some good pix before it heads up there.

The T-bellys have a number of unique features. The deck has a 1/4" concave starting about the mid-point and deepening towards the tail. Thickness along the stringer is 2-1/2" while thickness at the rail is 2-3/4". The concave offers a snug fit for the rider.

 The bottom also has a beveled rail in the rear half of the board the facilitates rolling the board over on the rail to turn. With less than 1" tail rocker, the bevel offers an additional 3/8" of rocker at the rail.

The bottom is relatively flat in the middle transitioning to slight convex or "belly" in the nose.














I don't like the look of handles or straps on the deck, but realize that there is a need for grip enhancement. Taking a cue from shortboards built for doing aerials, I add "thumb grooves" to the front-half of the T-Belly for better grip.

My New Velzy...

I made a ridiculously low bid on this 9-6 Velzy “never-ridden-never-waxed-with-original-foam-packing-pad-taped-on-bottom”...and I won!! I caught the auction on the next to last day. There was one picture of the deck, shot from the tail, and a close-up of the signature, but no dims and not enough time to ask questions. I bid thinking I would never get it so I wasn't too concerned. I assumed that the board was a single-fin, pintail noserider with boxy 50/50 rails, and thought it would make a great small-wave board. The lady I bought it from told me she bought it from Velzy's widow shortly after he died in 2005. The lady stashed it in her garage and left it there just as she bought it. And, yes she was disappointed that the winning bid was so low. (another Velzy, bought by her friend at the same time under the same circumstances, fetched $1100 at a recent sale)

When I went to pick it up I discovered that it was indeed a “new” late model Velzy, but I was surprised by the shape. As can be seen in the pictures, it looks remarkably similar to a Taka DT2 or DT3 in outline and rocker, with pinched eggy rails and a 2+1 fin set-up. Hardly the traditional NR that I was expecting, but a beautiful board nonetheless.

I spent the day today "blueprinting" the board shaped by arguably the most famous shaper of all-time and one of my surfer/shaper heroes. Here are the dimensions I collected: 9'5” 18-3/8” x 23-1/8” x 15” 3” thick, NR 5-1/4” TR3-7/8”. Bottom has shallow (1/8”) blended nose concave that extends 36” down the length. There's a short (maybe an inch or so), flat section right where the nose concave ends that begins to turn convex or rolled panel V as it progresses towards the tail. At 48” up from the tail, this V is 1/4” deep at the rail, where it remains until 12” up where it becomes 3/16” and then progresses to “0” at the very tail. The rail is turned up in the last 6” of the nose and then becomes more of a 60/40 egg rail, turning down hard in the last 12” of the tail. Nearly half of the nose rocker is in the last 6”. This flip is undetectable from the deck side, as the bottom has been brought up to the deck. The final 3” has nearly a 1-1/8” radius. Yeah, I know...geeky shaper stuff. Here's the best part...

...of course I'm gonna ride it!