Building a cedar surf board

[JohnnieMo]

Still not sure on the shape. In looking at it now it looks too fat in the front. Too fat overall really. I was limited on length of the board stock, so I went fat to make up for it. Given I have no idea how to design a surf board this is really just a guess. Regardless, it is very strong. So strong I am leaning back towards a non-fiberglass coating. Total weight is 16.5lbs before planing and sanding. I expect a finished weight around there. The Ronix is 8lbs for reference.

I tried an experiment printing to tissue paper and putting it in some Polyurethane. Turned out pretty cool! I need to put some graphics on this thing but I'm not sure what yet.

[Chugh2o]

Awesome! This is making me want to build one now. I am almost done with a foam board that I am making and grassing but I think the longboards look like way too much fun so now I want to do this! Very cool


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[JohnnieMo]

Awesome! This is making me want to build one now. I am almost done with a foam board that I am making and grassing but I think the longboards look like way too much fun so now I want to do this! Very cool


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Thanks.... I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. It's a fun project.... however if it surfs like a barn door I probably won't be recommending this to anyone. We shall see. I'm in to it about 25 hours or so thus far.

[JohnnieMo]

Last night's reel.

I did the rails with the router. I guess you'd call it a blended soft rail. Larger radius on the top and small radius on the bottom. I am pleased with it.

[JohnnieMo]

Well the first surf is in the books! Unfortunately I was in a bit of a crunch for time so I didnt remember to bring the traction pad. That polyurethane was pretty slippery. I also only had the centre fin installed. With all that said it surfed well.



It really liked to go straight ahead and carried a lot of momentum when it did. I could hold a wave further back than any other board. However its weight made it hard to pump. You would barely be able to move it. Turns and cuts were possible but it tended to kill your speed a lot. I think adding the thruster fins will help the turning a lot. Obviously being so slippery I couldn't work it very hard. However it would be possible to nose rode this design.

It's s blast and I look forward to working it in.

I am in he process of editting and uploading a very long YouTube video of the build. Should have it up tomorrow.

[Chugh2o]

Good to hear it surfs well!


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[JohnnieMo]

Here is my first video. This is just the surfing portion. I'm sure this is the one most people want to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y2K3la4Azc

I've also got a DIY build video pending, but it is about 50 minutes long. So it's pretty much just for folks who want to build one like this.

[Ruger761]

Looking good! Makes me want to try one out myself

[Chaos]

Nice job. Looks good, and clean unstated work with the logos, too. There is a simple adage that wakesurfing hasn't keyed into. The bigger the logo the bigger the kook. If you need a massive logo all over the board to show what the brand is, you are obviously doing your job wrong.

Nick

[JohnnieMo]

Nice job. Looks good, and clean unstated work with the logos, too. There is a simple adage that wakesurfing hasn't keyed into. The bigger the logo the bigger the kook. If you need a massive logo all over the board to show what the brand is, you are obviously doing your job wrong.

Nick

Thanks Nick. And thanks for the assistance throughout. As for logos there was one more to go on today.



I actually had a largish maple leaf I was going to put on the board but I tore it by accident. I'm glad it didn't work out.

The traction pad hides the beautiful wood finish but I still think it will look better than wax. It's a necessary evil to surf this thing. And that is exactly what I plan to do! Lots of it.

For those waiting with power planers in hand - here is the build thread in its 52 minutes of riveting glory.

https://youtu.be/gcxqOBu3jwI

I'll put up more videos once I get some practice on the thing. I'll make the other Alberta guys surf it too.

[Chaos]

Nice work. I like the large dowels. I built a table top using a similar method. Yes, probably overkill for strength, but makes a great method to line it all up.

I like a drill press also for chambering. Some like to use a router (usually fairly soft wood like balsa and others) or a circular saw.

Nick

[JohnnieMo]

Nice work. I like the large dowels. I built a table top using a similar method. Yes, probably overkill for strength, but makes a great method to line it all up.

I like a drill press also for chambering. Some like to use a router (usually fairly soft wood like balsa and others) or a circular saw.

Nick

I came up with the dowel idea very late in the process. I was planning on using short dowels, or even biscuits to hold the thing together, but the long dowel idea was a bit of an epiphany. The key is obviously getting the holes in the right spot, but with my drill press jig it worked remarkably well. I highly suggest this approach.



If I was doing this all again, I think I would try shaping the individual slats with a router and a flush trim bit. It would mean doing twice as many as I couldn't double up the boards, however it would be brain-free work. You just set up the jig and cut. You are guaranteed to have 22 boards EXACTLY the same shape. You could also cut down on a lot of the table saw prep time. Just create a template and then start routering. I think the entire build could get down from 40 to 20 hours.

[007]

I haven't followed this closely, but super cool man!! Great job!

[JohnnieMo]

Finally had a chance to surf woody again. Traction pad made all the difference. I've never recovered from as far back in the wave as I have with this thing.

Sadly I don't have enough internet here to post a video but here's a snapshot.

[JohnnieMo]

Here is the video I put together of surfing "Woody" last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85IvnXgI7-c

Results and Thoughts:

- This thing surfs very different from anything else I've ever tried. The board itself has a lot of momentum. You can hold the wave much further back than any other board. However it's also not very dynamic. Cuts and turns tend to be quite muted. It is a great cruising board. You can literally just stand there and not move if you get tired. It will go all day.

- One of my fins fell out. When I did the two outside fins I forgot to properly stir the epoxy. I hoped it would still harden, but it didn't. So this board will live on as a single fin. I think it is for the best this way.

- If I was to build another one, I wouldn't change much. I think I know how to build it faster, but not a whole lot better. It is extremely strong, the shape is pretty decent. I might make the rails a bit sharper. I would prefer a larger traction pad, as smaller riders can literally walk all over this thing. I might add a bit more rocker to the nose. I kept the templates so if anyone wants them, I can provide.

- I wouldn't use the Polyurethane finish again. The triple thick stuff makes a strong coating, but it looks blotchy. A glass finish would also speed up the board IMHO.

- The decals I added don't look great. I think it was the glue I used on the tissue paper. Against a white foam board the tissue paper would be invisible. Against the wood board you can tell its an attached graphic.