New Belly Slider

I was recently cruising my favorite surf sites and ran across a really neat looking wood belly board.  As a shaper, I'm not above taking inspiration from other designs.  The shape is unusual, I think, because of  the pin tail on such a short board.  This one I found also had some neat turned down rails near the tail to act as little fins.  Pretty cool.  Of course I got all excited because I like belly boards, and ran down to the garage to see if there was anything lying around I could use to make one.  Yes, there was!  I cut down and reshaped an old 6 foot alaia that did not work too well.  I wanted to do the turned down edges, but end up recycling some old bonzer-style fins I found in the bottom of the old fin box.  Alot less work, and probably more effective.  Maybe.  I think it looks pretty cool.  It's about 4'7" long and about 20" wide.  We'll have to see how it works in the water!

710 Finished

Finally got some pictures of the  new board to post.  I've ridden this  board for the last 2 weeks in surf from 2 feet to about 5 feet and I'm learning how to really enjoy it.  I've learned to stay on the tail so I can use my weight to drive off the bottom and really how to pump across the wave face.  Trim in only a short step forward and really it can be ridden is juicy surf without moving the feet at all...something new to my longboard style.   I have found it to be very fast, super loose and turny and easy to paddle.  The low rocker is not a problem on late drops.  I can now make sections that before would have taken me out.  I think the extra rake on the fin gives the board a little extra drive out of the bottom turn, because when done smoothly, I can really feel the board accelerate back up the face.  So I'm pretty stoked with the performance of it.  Eddie of Island Influence told me his old-school shaper's forumla for placement of a fixed fin.  Definitely works Eddie!

Nice

This was my reward for surfing solo at sunset in epic ankle high surf.  Gotta love out December days!

Watchagonnado?

This is what happens when the wife bans you from glassing in the garage! 

710 Getting Closer...

This board has come together pretty quick and I think it's going to be a nice one.

Layout on the left, work on the right 

Gluin'.... 

Laminated ply and redwood core fin 

All clamped up!

Wood Quiver, circa 2008

710 Single Fin

My head was full of so many ideas while working on the ugly stick that I started a layout for a new board after getting the ugly stick in the water.  This will be a 7' 10" single fin, egg shape with a pintail.  The rocker will be lowish, maximum width of 21.5", a 16" nose and a 15" tail, 2-3/4" thick, but no super fat rails on this one!  Oh no.  Son Andy is helping with this one and it will be his board (maybe!).  Here are a few picutures so far. 

Here is my layout of the keel on a ply sheet.  I like to use battens to make fair curves.  I start with the top of the board curve and then add the desired thickness at each rib station.  I space ribs at 8" on center.  When the curves look good and fair, I subtract the skin thickness for the top and bottom and cut out the keel from the plywood.

Nose to tail view.  

Here is the nose blocking, final shaped.  When the top is installed, I'll have the finished shape of  the nose and tail already, so there is no guess work or redoing the layout.  Then I just have to fair the rails inbetween.  

Pintail.  Nice!  Still need to install blocking for the fin and tail.  

Using Bobby's hand plane for the bottom of the nose curve!