Surfboard build WIP

[Chris152]

I'd be tempted to go slightly deeper and glue a piece in the base of the hole before you fill with resin. only needs to be 2mm more.

Doh! Missed this, just got back in from filling with glue and sawdust. Looks fine and as long as it stops any leaks, should be ok. I'll remember for next time not to drill holes where the support for the fin box will go.
Once that's dry, just the attaching of the box and we can get it in the sea! Swell tomorrow, then it goes flat for days...

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I'd be tempted to go slightly deeper and glue a piece in the base of the hole before you fill with resin. only needs to be 2mm more.

Doh! Missed this, just got back in from filling with glue and sawdust. Looks fine and as long as it stops any leaks, should be ok. I'll remember for next time not to drill holes where the support for the fin box will go.
Once that's dry, just the attaching of the box and we can get it in the sea! Swell tomorrow, then it goes flat for days...

It is really, really important that all the epoxy has a good week with flat calm conditions, so it can set properly before it gets wet and dinged. (I may be lying, but it might make you feel better?)

Good news - another tropical storm in the Bahamas, so give it 7-10 days, and surf's up!

 

[Chris152]

It is really, really important that all the epoxy has a good week with flat calm conditions, so it can set properly before it gets wet and dinged. (I may be lying, but it might make you feel better?)

Good news - another tropical storm in the Bahamas, so give it 7-10 days, and surf's up!

Actually that does make me feel better! I'd not read/ seen that - I'm sure getting the fin facing exactly right is important, but was also wondering if I should get on with it this evening ready for tomorrow - another big mistake averted at the last moment. (homer)

 

[Chris152]

After a while staring down the board I start to go googley-eyed. I'm sure the two sides of the V aren't perfectly symmetrical but the squares help with alignment, together with a small piece of red plastic in the centre at the nose end.

As you fiddle the box into alignment, the resin spills over the top, some gets wasted and the resin level ends up too low, so I need to do another very small batch once it's tacky/ once it's dry (which is better?) to raise the level again to the same as the board. Then I have to saw and sand away the excess of the fin box.
One thing that's disturbed me is that that fin's off the board I usually ride (I'm not buying another fin til I know this board works ok), which means I can't surf today unless the resin gets its skates on and hardens... :?

edit - what kind of saw do you think would be best for removing the excess from the box? Something without a back - a Japanese saw?

 

[Chris152]

I used a backless flexible saw I'd picked up in Lidl, seemed ok tho it did get a bit close to the woodwork at one point!

Sanding the excess finbox was pretty scary, scuffed the finish a couple of times but nobody's going to notice:

Anyhoo, apart from putting a tiny bead around the air vent and leash plug (which I think I'll try to do with a syringe), WE'RE DONE!!!

Just the one photo to add (the one that really matters) but it looks like we're going to have to wait til the end of the week for that one.
Thanks to all for your support, especially novocaine - that's two projects you've talked the boy and me through (remember the Seagull motor?!), and Tn - roll your sleeves up and get started!
C

 

[novocaine]

Stunning Chris. Looks amazing.

You could have used a block plane to cut the fin box down (sorry i didnt see it yesterday) but a flush cut saw is just as correct a tool if not more so.
A weeks curing time seems about right.
Is the next project to sew a bag for it?

 

[Chris152]

Is the next project to sew a bag for it?

Don't ask about the next project! I was heading to bed last night when, feeling a bit more confident about making watercraft, I thought I might just take a quick look at boats to build - a long-time dream of mine. Among the quite unrealistic 1950s sports boats I imagine, I found this a couple of hours later:
https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/aw- ... ans-id.htm
plywood skin, and apparently 'Anyone with a basic knowledge of woodworking should be able to make this boat' (they seem to be quite realistic about skills needed - not that I'd know. I've seen the warnings on here about building your own boat!) Study plans at https://s3.amazonaws.com/planswalters/M ... +plans.pdf
I woke up this morning later than usual, but it still seems like a possibility. I'd have to empty the garage of all but essentials and it'd still only leave 1' either end, plenty of space either side, and I can cut and prepare wood elsewhere. The long term plan's to move by the sea in about 5 years time, should have it finished by then...
I might have one or two questions along the way, best ignore them from the outset! ha.

 

[Bm101]

Great project, interesting thread and a fantastic result Chris. Hats off to both you and your lad for getting round the obstacles and building a beautiful board. The use of timbers in the stripes gives it a magic look. Proper Old School. 8)
We want vids of you hanging 10 next fella.
I was a skater many many moons back. Proper into it for years. I only went surfing once with some mates. One surfer, the others like me had never surfed. It was in Devon and hardly big waves. Skating history did me ok and I nailed the hop up to feet well enough for first try. That was about it, but enough to get a feel. I really enjoyed carving big drifts doing some minor downhill stuff as a kid and you could tell that skating came from these roots. The balance was different, suppose thats's a no brainer when you take physics into account. I'd love to have a go again mind! I can see why some people get lost in it.
Great thread Chris, thanks for sharing.

[youtube]66-sCRx4QRI[/youtube]

 

[Trainee neophyte]

The really cool thing is how quickly you got this fnished. No "three years in the making, with a cast of thousands", just bish, bash, bosh, job done. Looks really smart. A few spins out on the water, and you're going to want another one, to try out a different design. Just change the rails about, and perhaps....

I have lost all enthusiasm today, but cider and sleep will sort that out. I need to get cracking because come November, I won't have any time for anything except work. Ideally I would like to get on the water before then. Consider this a call to action - everything ordered by the end of the week, I promise.

About your duckworks boat - perhaps something with a sail? A catamaran you can hang out over the water and get 15-20 knots with. Small, easy to build, portable, and goes like stink. Save the mini gin palace for when you are retired. Maybe a windsurfer? It's just a paddleboard with a sail stuck on the front. Need for speed!

Congratulations, well done, and it will be the first of many. If nothing else, your son's mates will all be putting orders in. (hammer)

 

[Fitzroy]

Great build thread, looks super sweet, can’t wait for the money shot!

Fitz.

 

[novocaine]

I always get worried when I see plans with loads of pretty rendering but real pictures, I wonder if the designer has ever actually built it.

It doesn't look like there is enough bracing and the lack of gunwale on such a thin ribbed structure would worry me. a quick google shows at least one person has built one though, so I'm sure it will be fine really.

The lack of down below for the cabin boy is a worry but I'm sure you could find other euphemisms to spout in a salty seadog kind of way.

I'm off to look at canoe plans again. after I've done the guitar, after I've done the new kitchen, after I've done the car, after I've done the bike, after I've done the garden, after I've done the conservatory roof, after I've done the sword for the kids, after I've done the new table, after I've done the......... just after I think. married live is hard .

 

[NickM]

I love it. Well done.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks fellas - we're very happy with it, and if it doesn't work so well in the water it'll look good on the wall Now it's on with the next, which will be a 9' noserider, just trying to find the right design.

Chris - I think all the board sports are kind of similar in basic principle and muscle memory shifts from one to the others. A good friend who got me into surfing moved to Canada many years back and started snowboarding (which he'd not really done before), about 10 years later he sent me an article in ski Canada about how he and another bloke launched snowboarding on the east coast! Seriously, if you're ever over this way and want to have a bash in the sea let me know, we'll take you if there is any swell. But don't expect waves like in that vid - nor surfing to match (at least not from me!) - brilliant noseriding, he looks pretty much at home on a board.

Tn - I know, I know - that design's more the kind of thing you really want to park up in a boat house at the end of the garden after a day playing in the sunshine, which won't be happening! Less a dream, but more realistic is a decent size rowing boat with a motor that can have a sail occasionally. Ho hummm...

novocaine - Thing is, you've let the cat out of the bag already - you clearly know about boat design and could be a wonderful source of advice and info, once again! ha.

I won't be doing a wip of the next board but will post it up in the 'Post a photo' thread - could be a while before it appears tho, especially if I find a do-able boat design! Thanks again, C

ps, Tn - one thing I'd try for the next build is to make a steam box for the rails - doing them with an iron in situ can be tricky as, as you've seen in my efforts, doing it in situ can cause the dried glue beneath to release, and because I had to wait til the glue on each strip was fully dry before doing the next strip (next day). I think that if you steamed several at a time in a box, you could slide them out individually, clamp into place, then add the next, and so on, then leave to fully dry in shape before glueing all in one go (with careful clamping I guess -each will need appropriate pressure). That way, you could get maybe half of each rail done in a day? That said, I've never used a steaming box...

 

[novocaine]

I know nothing.

 

[Chris152]

The problem with surfing and photographing is that it's tricky to do both at the same time. Soooo, knowing that the swell would drop through the morning, I finally got out of the sea to get the camera once the swell was on its way out. Still, I got a few shots of the boy putting the board in action, albeit in diminished and now crumbly waves. Neither of us has surfed a single fin before, it needs smooth turns and doesn't like anything too quick, but it moves with the wave really well, we love it!

Waiting. And waiting...

Happy days!

 

[Trainee neophyte]

The problem with surfing and photographing is that it's tricky to do both at the same time. Soooo, knowing that the swell would drop through the morning, I finally got out of the sea to get the camera once the swell was on its way out. Still, I got a few shots of the boy putting the board in action, albeit in diminished and now crumbly waves. Neither of us has surfed a single fin before, it needs smooth turns and doesn't like anything too quick, but it moves with the wave really well, we love it!

Waiting. And waiting...



Happy days!

Outstanding!
So - how many more will you build, and what changes? I've just seen your steambox idea - people use pvc drainpipe, but a few planks nailed together also works, I believe. I would love an excuse to have one, but the first build won't have strip rails - more of a canoe type of thing. Order for plans may go in today, if I don't have a gas/plumbing crisis. Currently it's a minor problem, but I'm just about to get the spanners out. If you hear a loud bang...

 

[Chris152]

We'll probably just do one or two more - a 9' longboard and then (maybe) a short board, something like a fish (thick, wide and lots of volume to offset weight). Two problems - 1. I'm going to have to reorganise a spare room to do the build in as it'll be longer and a pita in a room we're trying to use - which is quite a lot of work moving stuff around; 2. with my *slightly* more realistic hat on, I'm now seriously thinking to build one of these this winter - https://www.storerboatplans.com/boatpla ... ghtweight/ - which will involve a complete reorganisation and some emptying of the garage. I'm not one for reorganising.

Apart from changing the method of steaming the rails, the only real differences I'd make to the board build (apart from avoiding the obvious errors) are: use decent quality and light wood top, bottom and rails (the one we just did is heavy, and you certainly wouldn't want the 9' equivalent landing on your head); cut the nose and tail blocks (rather than each being one piece) so they're book-matched;and keep the resin warm before use (cold can be the cause of the bubbles I got, apparently). I'd also like to get the ribs cnc routed this time - trying to be accurate with the bandsaw around the tight curves was difficult and tedious, after a while staring at a black line with a white background made my eyes go funny. But Fyne won't sell digital plans, so I might have to either go elsewhere or get the paper plan scanned. Those are the ones that leap to mind.

Hope you got your plumbing sorted and put in that order!

ps On weight for your SUP, it might be worth considering Gaboon (Okoume) ply - I'd not heard of it, and it's expensive, but they recommend it on the dinghy build link above as it's significantly lighter than regular ply.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Okoume is what they all say to use - no idea where to source it here. I may have to go with the nasty, cheap stuff they use to skin internal doors - will have to see what is available.

Mostly we don't have a huge portage: park the car next to the lake, throw the board in and step off. Very civilised. The lake connects to the sea, so it's about 10' of struggle to get in. Still going to be heavy, though, and 14' long it's going to be like single-handedly launching an aircraft carrier.

The skiff looks perfect - I am convinced I need one of those, as we have lots of flat water and light breezes, it will fit on a roof rack, and we can go island hopping for extra smugness points. My brother put the dampeners on it by saying it will just fall over because it has no keep, but he spends lots of time on boats in mad weather whilst drilling for oil. Need a paddleboard first, though, and I quite fancy a windsurfer, although we don't get hugely windy here, except in the afternoon which is summer siesta time.

Frankly the list is long. A voyage of discovery. I'm thinking the paddleboard is just a cheap introduction to boat building, and as I get older, I will want to sit more and let something else do all the work.

Thank you for the WIP, the advice, and the encouragement. Great to hear the board works, and unlike all your plastic ones, this should be indistructable. Eco-friendly, too.

And thanks to Novacaine for his input too (that sounds wrong, somehow) - I learned a lot, and it wasn't even me doing the work!

 

[novocaine]

well thats sorted then. looks spanking and whilst the sea wasn't playing fair it looks happy enough. take the fin off if you want a real learning curve . wall paper stripper and piece of drain pipe for steam bending, make sure there is a vent at the other end, also, do it outside, or your workshop will be like a sweat box.

Looking forward to the longboard, I'm of the age now where that really appeals to me (as a longboard on the land does too).

the skiff is a wide flat bottom, it'll sit on the rail and assuming you can get your buttocks over the side on a really windy day it's unlikely to tip over. if you haven't sailed before, find somewhere to higher a laser and get some help. I'll stick to boats that need oars.

surfs not up buddddddy.

Waveless afternoon. Not an issue. by David Rees, on Flickr

 

[Chris152]

Island hopping in Greece does sound rather good, Tn! The boat'll mainly be for rowing and motoring, maybe sailing on light winds, easy days? Novocaine - I did do rya level 2 dinghy sailing in a Wayfarer years ago but on the last day it was really windy and pouring rain when trying to do the man-overboard drill, so they offered to come back another day and complete it - which of course, I never did). Hmmm, I'm now looking to see if there's a boat that ticks all the boxes and isn't too small. I've a feeling that as time goes by and my bones get more creaky, sailing might be the way forward. Highlander 14 - http://www.selway-fisher.com/GPDinghyover13.htm ?

As for that skateboard, we were in a surf shop the weekend and the boy saw a longboard (skateboard) and announced that we need to build another one of those (we did a couple years back, almost flat decks as I didn't have confidence to laminate and shape in a mould). Is there no end to it?