Balsa # 57

I started this board several months back for a customer who had some balsa lumber he wanted made into a board. It was quite a process gluing up the blank, milling rocker into it, cutting the outline and shaping the board. Then came the whole glassing and finmaking process. This kind of project really makes you appreciate the history of the surfboard and what previous shapers have gone through to build better boards. Hope Bruce gets this thing in the water soon!

Outline Shot

Tail 

S.B. Woody Club Logo

Custom D Fin (Redwood and Maple)

#55, #56, #57

It's been a while since I've had time to post about my projects.  I recently finished two boards, one for a friend of a friend, and another for my main customer, Tyler "Quaidee" Larson.  Tyler's new stick is 9'9 x 23.5 x 2.75.  I was going for a Peck Penetrator-inspired long board.  Low rocker, wing nose light belly in the tail area.  We went for the classic aesthetic with two dark wood stringers 10" apart and a dark blue band across the midsection of the board.  I got to try the board in some small surf and I was impressed with how it turns and trims.  How it performs on the nose remains to be seen.  Overall, I think Tyler is happy.

                                                We glassed in a 9.5" Greenough 4a

Rocker Shot

The next project was a modern short board for my buddy's friend.  Dims were 5'9 x 19.75 x 2.5 if I remember correctly.  I used a deeper single concave than I usually do on this board, and then blended into a double concave through the fins.  Hopefully, Drew gets a few good barrels and turns on this board this winter.

My current project is a traditional late-50's balsa long board for a local collector.  I was approached about building a balsa board and am in the process of gluing up the blank.  This will be my second balsa board and I am looking forward to making the board as true as possible to the longboard era.  Estimated dimensions at this time are 9'5" x 22.5" x 3".  More pics will follow as the project evolves.  Here is a shot of the blank after gluing.

Still have two more rail pieces to glue up once I true up the deck a bit.  Thanks for reading.

8'0 Retro Gun (#54)

70's Era Single Fin Gun.  Bright orange bottom with a light blue logo.  Tapered rail lap accented with a black pin line.  Board paddles great and is loose in waves over shoulder high.  Looking forward to riding this throughout the winter here in Socal and Norcal.

8'0 X 21" X 3 3/16

Paddle machine for those clean, overhead days.

This angle really shows the foil and the period beak nose.

Mexico

A short photo gallery...

Tyler Going Straight

  Tres Langostas por Tres Amigos

  Empty Rights (fairly far from the highway)

   Ghost Harbor (Escalara Nautica)

 The Campo

Several days of glassy, warm, empty surf.  Great trip overall.

#52 and #53

These are two new shapes for my friends Tyler and Matt.  Tyler's board is a 7'4 with a hull outline.  We decided to experiment with George Greenough's edge design, so the center area of the the board is dead flat to promote fast planing.  The turned up rails in the nose and midsection of the board allow the board to still roll onto an edge, giving the board a bit of a hull feel.  I lowered the rocker in the tail by 1/2" on this one, but kept the nose rocker stock.  Blank is the 7'4 SP Blue. Should be a fun shape for clean waves this fall and winter.

Matt's board is a modern log.  9'8 x 23 x 3.  Not quite a 20" nose. I designed the board so that it would pivot from the tail and noseride well.  The rocker is kicked in the tail a bit and fairly flat though the nose.  There's a big single concave under the nose area for lift.  Blank is the 10'2 B Green with 1/2" Darkwood stringer +1/4" tail rocker at 24".  I think Matt is eager to get his son Oliver out in the waves.  He seems stoked!

#51

Here are a few pics of a stubby shortboard I just finished for my good  friend Keegan. Dims are 5'8 × 22.5"× 2.25. Single concave to a pronounced spirally vee bottom. Should ride loose and fast.

#50

Here are a few pics of my personal 10'0" pintail.  The board features a half- inch redwood stringer, two offset t-bands with redwood and blue, high-density foam, and a custom glass-on pivot fin.   It rides great in small waves up to head high.  Very stable on the nose.

A little tail flip to aid in nose riding.

Outline.

Pintail.

Light blue pinline on the deck for decoration.