Avocado trees, well endowed tomatoes, and big waves...

Responding to various requests, I'm throwing up a few pics.

First, the avocado tree that actually started growing from a seed I put in my garden (it's now been put in a pot and will be live in my office over the winter).

The best day of the year for waves...last month. Got out with two other guys and had it all to our selves. Lots of people came to look but no one wanted to come in. The key was picking the ones that stayed open...awesome day.

I had some unusual tomatoes this year...I hope its not from radiation...

 It been a beautiful fall...how blue does the sky get in Hokkaido? This blue.

Board 4....last of the year

Finished up board four and already have taken it out for a couple sessions. It rode really well, by far the best so far. Takes off and catches waves really well. The rails and outline turned out to be a little off, but the weight and overall feel of the board is the best so far. This time I used a new vent I got from Wood Surfboard Supply, and it works like a charm...really easy to install. I like it better than the Goretex vent I used on the other boards, it feels really tight when riding, almost like an inflated ball, and after your session when you open the vent the air hisses out and the board seems to "relax" a bit. Pretty simple mechanical setup, but it seems to work really well.

For those in the family wondering what the black Japanese character is on the board, it is a black (Kuro), tree (ki), meaning Kuroki, a tribute to a little town in Saskatchewan and to wooden  board building in general...who would have thought that this particular bundle of genes would have passed through a little farm town in the Canadian prairies named after a Japanese general to a life in Hokkaido...ah the beauty of chance and providence.  

That's it for board building for the winter, but will be planning for the next build after the thaw. Time to wrap up my thesis anyway, so its the perfect time to take bit of time off and get back to the research grind. I will, however, try to keep this updated with winter surf pics from Hokkaido.

6'8" Twin Fish: Paulownia and Red Cedar

The new vent

Board #4

Well, I finished the 6'7" single fin and took it out for it's first run. Pretty small day, maybe thigh high, but pretty clean and a beautiful day (still trunkable here). Didn't think it would be enough board for the day, but I was pleasantly surprised. The reduced weight really made paddling easier, and it pumped and went smoothly down the line. Unfortunately, there was something up with the vent, I guess I didn't screw it down tight enough, and quite a bit of water got in the board. It's since been  drained and is drying out. A bummer, but my own fault...hopefully  I can can salvage it.

I'm under way on board number 4, my last for the year... I'd like to get this one done and up and riding before the snow starts falling. I started by making a frame this time, this seems to be the most popular approach, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was interesting making the frame, lots to think about. After making the frame, I laid up the bottom, and have started to build up the rails. I'm working off a 6'10" fish template, but have shortened it down to 6'8". I'll post again when I get the rails done.

Board 3: Finishing

Just finishing up board #3. No glass this time, just a few coats of spar varnish and we'll see how that goes. The board is already way lighter than the others, in terms of both weight and the finish color. When I get it done I'll throw up some finished pics. I made some big mistakes in terms of not using enough wood in rails, and thus limiting the amount of shaping I could do on them...but, as a test board I'm pleased that I'm finally getting the weight down, let's just hope the varnish finish will be enough to keep the water out.

Paulownia with cedar stringer 

Board #3, a 6'7" single fin

Board 3

I've been working on board #3. I used the same build approach as the last one, but have tried to reduce the weight by drastically cut down on the amount of wood and shortening up the length (it's a 6'7"). The results have been really positive so far, the board is probably half the weight of the others. I'm not going to glass it, just marine varnish...I'll post up further pics as I varnish it and get the fin on.  

Surf Trip

It's been while since I updated the blog, so here goes. Back today from a surf trip up the Hidaka coast to Hiroo Town. Got some really fun waves, ate some really good BBQ, and drank a few too many beer. It's been 16 years since I'd been out to Erimo misaki and surfed Hiroo...must say it was nice be back. Here's some pics from the trip, starting at home at Kako here in Noboribetsu (first three pics) and continuing in order to Erimo and Hiroo.

Finished

Board number 2 is finished and out the door...actually, I took it out for a few waves this morning. The conditions were a bit steep and fast for the board, but looks like it'll be fun. It's got more float, and takes off quicker than the first one. Still, it's heavy (about 11 kilos)...but should be fun in the small summer waves. Here the line on it:  

7' x 23" x 3.13" single diamond tail; hollow wood (paulownia and cedar). 

One of these days I'll get some pics of the wood boards in action.