Any interest in a build thread?

[Fiveflat]

Fiveflat, it's your board 'bro! Did you want ot to be a single fin with a huge kookbox or just a cruiser? The rocker is pretty substantial and might lend itself to the single fin. Your call, what'cha want?

I was thinking big deep single fin with a round nose kinda like that thumb board you were showing off a few weeks ago. Most importantly, this is gonna be something I can just chill on, with my son on my shoulders while I drink a refreshing beverage

[Surfdad]

Thanks for the question Tigetrojan. A heavier density foam can help resist breaking, but we'll also need to recognize that the external fiberglass schedule has a lot to do with that also. As a rule of thumb though, higher or heavier density does equate to a more sturdy board, all other things being equal.

Now I should mention this board has a single wooden stringer in the middle and that too helps with break strength. I'm not a big fan of center stringers, but for our purposes here they are more than adequate.

The wooden stringer is a little pesky to shape, because the adjacent foam is so much less dense, if we are sanding or planing the foam disappears much quicker than the wood, so we have to take the stringer down slightly below the foam and then sand everything flush. If we leave the stringer "proud" or higher then the adjacent fiberglass, it will rip in use.

As for cost, normally higher density does equal more cost, but I've not really paid that much attention to it with PU blanks. Often times a supply house will only carry a single density for all of their blanks and if you want say a BLUE or RED density it's special order and ALWAYS more expensive.

[Surfdad]

Single fin, rounded nose it is. I can't really make it as round as the thumb, because we don't have enought material, but I'll shorten the length up some and blunt out the nose a little. Just won't be as full as the thumb.

If you don't mind, I would like to add some Futures side bites so that I can document that for folks. The single kookbox isn't a frequent choice for behind the boat, but the futures are and I believe that will prove more useful to folks. You can leave the side bites out or add them if the board winds up being a little fast for cruising.

[Surfdad]

So lets get in to some shaping. Fiveflat is looking for a round nosed cruiser. The blank itself is an ocean shortboard, so we can't really develop a noserider or longboard, but we can certainly round off the nose so that it's a little more mellow.

Shapers typically have templates for certain curves used on the outline. The most common arrangement is one side of the template does the tail shape and the opposite side does the nose. The template is usually wide enough to reach the stringer so that the edge of the template is aligned with the stringer and then the outline is traced. THEN the template is flipped over and the opposite side of the board can be traced. That is both sides of the tail are done and then both sides of the nose are done.

Mostly I've seen handsaws used to cut the outlines. The reason is that close tolerance blanks usually have a dome on teh deck which would possibly cause an angled cut. A long blade in a handsaw can usually cut a nice vertical slice.

A word of caution here, is to not cut too close at this stage. We will be shaping the rails and trimming the skin, if the outline is EXACT, it will wind up less than the desired shape after we are done doing all of our shaping. I like to leave about 1/8" outside my pencil mark and then when I shape I usually have only about 1/32" left to shand down to my desired final shape.

Here is start, where I have traced the outline of the round nose.

[Surfdad]

I really should have just posted this picture, the handsaw I use for cutting through foam.

[Surfdad]

My first cut is rough, just like when working with wood. It's easier to trim a little more later than get the foam to grow back.

[Surfdad]

Next I use the surform to bring the curve down to my allowable tolerance. I also "feel" it by running my hand over the cut looking or feeling for imperfections. Just go slow and keep checking. It's hard to tell, but the first picture is after I cleaned up teh cut and the second picture is after I have hit it with the surform a few times and run my hands over the curve.

Again, remember, it's easy to over shape, especially the rails. Learn to walk away when it's close and not PAST close.

[Fiveflat]

Looking awesome Surfdad! Futures in the side are probably an excellent idea regardless of my comment earlier. I was a little worried that without them I'd be wishing I had them for extra stability.
The deep single was just a thought, considering what I know about longboards, not so much what I know about wakesurf boards but I really like the idea of futures now too.
That nose looks GREAT so far! You think a squash for the tail?.

[IDBoating]

I think I will watch this thread for a while before jumping in, buying a blank, and giving it a go myself. You know how they say "Read the entire instruction manual before beginning."

One request, when the time is right: It would be nice to have a general discussion of the pros and cons of various shaping options. For example, this type of rail is better for X but worse for Y; this shape of tail works well if you want the board to do Z but use this other shape if you want to do Q. That sort of thing. You did a great job explaining the different types of foam, I guess I'm hoping for a similar review of board shaping options.

OK, one other similar request: Quantity and placement of fin boxes. I can guess at how placement affects things but it would be nice to hear reality from an expert (you!).

Thanks again, this is the most interesting and exciting thread to be on TigeOwners in quite a while!

[Surfdad]

@ WABoating - thanks for the input and compliment. I'll make every effort to get into useful detail about the fins, please remind me if I forget!

@ fiveflat, the blank really only lends itself to a squash or or maybe a pin. I'm a little concerned with volume and your desire for a cruiser, so my recommendation would be to leave the squash to retain as much volume as the blank has to offer.

[TigeTrojan]

Surfdad, I come check this thread every morning for updates. The suspense is killing me! Just kidding.

I did want to say that your son's website is really awesome. Tons of good info that anyone who is interested in this thread would probably like to check out as well.

[Surfdad]

Thanks for the reference to FlyBoy! James and I both are members of the LLC, James and I talk about most of the topics/post, but I write most of them. He sleeps too late.

[Surfdad]

So back to the shaping. As I mentioned earlier Polyurethane blanks form with a slight skin and you basically need to skin that off. If you have no other shaping to do, then just running an electric plane over the surface is all you need to do.

BUT before doing any skinning I like to check the thickness with a set of calipers. This will allow me to check the uniformity of the thickness and also if I plan to change the thickness, I can get an idea how many passes I need to make with the planer.

[Surfdad]

On this blank I am going to leave as much volume as possible, as it's destined to be a cruiser. I'll probably put in a light concave on the bottom, but leave the deck as is.

I set the planer for the lightest cut this plane has. Polyurethane shapes like a dream compared to EPS and you can use standard blades. EPS tends to tear when used with blades and most shapers use a "barrel" in place of the blades for cutting, which is much like a rasp, it sort of grinds away the foam, rather than tearing. You can still use the standard blades, but it may leave "pukas" in the foam where it tears the beads out. Not a big deal, but it might require more hand finishing and some filling with spackle material.

Most shapers like to run the plane on a slight diagonal to allow the bottom of the plane to glide along the dome or any curves better and not gouge the surface.

This picture shows the diagonal that I use and you want to sort of walk with the plane down the length of the blank so that you retain the same pressure on the blank. You don't want to create any undulations on the surface. Nice and easy and same pressure along the entire length.

I like to start at the tail and work towards the nose and you can also walk backwards maintaining the same diagonal angle with the planer. Just be sure to move the plane over one width

[Surfdad]

I haven't done the rails yet and I'll save that for a separate discussion. This is a picture of the bottom and you can see the difference in the freshly mowed foam and the skin that I'll be taking off. Don't be afraid to cut. You can usually fix any issues, with more mowing, but also don't be careless.