Projects getting done.

I haven't had much time this year to build boards.  My current project is a kitchen remodel on my beach house.  It's almost done.  I'm looking forward to clearing my bench and lofting my 6' 6" quad fish.  Best wishes to all during the Christmas season and the New Year.

Busy with other stuff.

It's been a while since I've posted.  That's because a lot of other things came up that needed my attention more.  My latest fish build is still on the shelf waiting for my work bench to be cleared of other projects.  It's been pretty hectic for me lately.  Plus we are in hurricane season still so, there have been some fun days of surf.

I hope to complete my other projects soon and get going again on my balsa cedar fish.  I have plans available for a 7' and 6'6" fish if anyone is interested.  The price is $20 plus shipping.  That includes the ribs and spar patterns.  You can contact me at woodylogicsurf@yahoo.com

Started the 6'6" quad fish

I did the full size drawing so, then I made my patterns.  Here is a picture of the spar and ribs.

There is a lot of rocker in this one.  Nose is 6" and tail is 2".  It should finish out at 21 1-2" wide.  I'm looking forward to this build.

Thinking lighter

Now that the water is warming up.  I find my sessions a lot more fun.  My last build was fairly light with the balsa cedar combination.  It was just a little heavier than I'd hoped for.  For my next build I'm thinking of an all balsa board.  It will probably be a copy of one of my fishes.  That type of board works really well here and I love the way it feels under my feet.

The length will be 6'8" and about 22 1/2 - 23" wide.  The thickness will be just under 3".  For fin set-up I'll probably go quad since that's what I ride most of the time.

I have three 6'8" fishes.  They are all slightly different.  The one with the flatter rocker is good for high tide mushy conditions.  The thruster is better in bigger waves.  They all have their own unique good features.  So my quiver is these three boards.  I also have a longboard for really small days.  I use the think I wanted to ride a shorter board.  That's not my feeling anymore.  I'm very happy with what I've got.  They're just right volume wise and length wise.  I'll start copying and designing soon.

Funfish is done.

It's been wet sanded and polished out.  I'm pleased with the overall finish.  The polyester is a lot easier to work with in a lot of respects. The board weight is about a pound maybe two more than the foam one.  This board is a lot stronger.  I loved working with the balsa and cedar combo.

If anyone is interested the board will be at the Surfari Surf Shop here in Ormond Beach, FL.  I'm open for custom orders if anyone is interested.  Send me an email and I'll get back with you.

Got hot coat.

Finally some nice weather again.  That gave me a chance to hot coat.

I used the Solarez for this.  It worked out well and I'm happy with the outcome.  This one is almost done.

Fins get glassed.

I got some beautiful fins from my friend Lance Carstens out of Gresham, OR.  The colors seem to fit with the balsa and cedar on the board.

I plan to hot coat and gloss coat in the next week or so.

Fast glass

It's a nice sunny day here.  Perfect for glassing.  First I did the bottom.  Once it was in the sun it only took 3 minutes to set.

The laps got sanded.  I installed the vent port and leash plug. 

Then I glassed the top.

The bottom and top took about 1 hour to laminate.  That's much faster than epoxy which takes about 2 days.  Just saying.

First seal coat.

The first seal coat is on.  Solarez is easy to work with and drys fast.  This board is going to take a couple coats. 

Closed up and ready to seal.

The top is closed up. It's time to protect the balsa with a seal coat.

 
For this I'm going to use Solarez before glassing.  There are a couple reasons that I'm using polyester on this one instead of epoxy.  I like the fact that the resin hardens from UV.  That means minimal waiting for curing.  The other reason is I hope this board has a little flex.  All my epoxy boards are very stiff which is alright sometimes, but sometimes it's nice to have a little flex.  I'm using Sun Cure for the laminating resin.

Seal balsa with Solarez.

Now I just have to wait for a sunny day.

Shaping up

I have been busy with a few remodeling projects on the house, so I haven't worked on the board for awhile.  Shaping the rails is always a challenge I look forward to.  The first pass on the top is done.

It still needs a lot more work, but it's getting there.

Now the rails are shaped.

Funfish coming together.

There are a couple things I really like about balsa wood.  It's light and it's easy to work.  For a long time I was afraid to use it.  Mostly because I didn't think it was strong enough.  Now I'm feeling pretty good about it's strength.

I sanded the top and bottom panels.  It still needs rail strips and the middle needs to be closed up.

The board feels light and strong.  It's straight and it hasn't lost any rocker.

My next step is to add the balsa rail strips.  That won't add much weight.  It feels like this board will be less or about the same as the foam one.  That makes me excited.