6' Mini Simmons(esque) done

Finally got the hybrid (wood over EPS) board done, and it's ready to ride. It ended up 6' x 24.5" x 3.25. Unusual all around, way to much volume for most people, but it was put together for the mushy waves we get here on high tide and where nothing else works (besides a real long board)...super long boards don't fit into my car so I though I'd give this a go. It was fun experimenting with the shape, new materials and the resin tint over the paulownia plywood. The bottom is flat, so it won't have the hydrodynamic lift of a concaved hull, but there is plenty of surface area to help it get up on plane. I'll give it a go tomorrow, and report back how it went.

Summer Update

It's been a while since I opened up the old blog....when summer arrives life gets moving pretty quick. I've been out in the water pretty well every day for last six weeks, with a few days off here and there, but basically going at it every day...had a few multiple session days before and after work and must say...it's bloody wonderful. Nothing finer than this, lots of different waves rolling through and beautiful conditions...already in the spring suit as well. Wish it were like this all year.

I've finally almost got the EPS core paulownia mini simmons ready for glassing. The weather's nice and warm now, so it should cure up nicely.
Tomorrow the swell is jumping up to 2 meters again...will update again when we hit the summer flat spells.   

EPS sandwich experiment

Picked up a block of EPS foam at my favorite home improvement center in Sapporo ("Joyful AK", just around the corner from Costco), with the intention of trying to make myself an EPS/wood sandwich board. Most of these types of boards are built with thinner veneers vacuum bagged around the blank, but I don't have that gear, so I'm giving it a go with a low tech approach. I split the blank, put a stringer in it, then shaped the blank into the foil shape. I picked up some 5mm paulownia ply for the top and bottom, and have glued up the bottom sheet. For now, the goal is to get the top and bottom sheets on, clean up the outline, then build up solid paulownia rails, and finally glassing. This is a new process for me, so I have no idea if it'll work out, but it's interesting giving it a go. I throw up more pictures as I proceed...   

Ska Interlude

I don’t usually do music on my surf blog, but I just ran across this mighty mighty fine ska playlist. For those who are “Ska’d for life”, it’s a real treat:

http://ska4u.com/2014/02/27/for-ska-week-heres-the-worlds-best-ska-playlist/

Repost

Here's an entry from last week I failed to post correctly...it's out of order, but shows how the rebuild progressed.

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote on the old blog. Been real real busy, lots of waves over the last month, some really great days. Throw in the the beginning of the semester, and all the other stuff going on, and the schedule fills up pretty quick. I've finally got the rebuild sorted and glassed. Now just some sanding, a clear coat, add the vent, and its good to go. Looking forward to riding this one, should be ready go by next weekend. 

 sanding

 glassed

 Had a BBQ down at the beach last week with the Kako boys (a send off for one of the crew heading to Sudan for PKO). We said we'd do a bit of a parking lot clean up, and Chiba-san shows up with this! No messing around with these guys!

Another shot from Mark, I haven't taken any wave shots this last month...too busy surfing, time to dust off the camera.

Finished the rebuild

Finally got the rebuild done. Now instead of sitting in my office, this board is actually in my rotation. It was way more work than building one from scratch, but it feels good to rescue it. I took it out Saturday evening in some fun little beach break peaks and it went well, drawing nice single fin lines, but being a bit slow on the cut backs. Overall, very pleased with it.   

View from the kitchen window. Four of these little guys live in the mountain behind the house. This one is pretty bold, and is always munching the grass in the side yard.

End of March

It's the last day of March, the snow is pretty much gone, the sun is shining, and the waves are up. It finally feels like we made it out of winter. Here's some pics Mark took this morning, really fun, and only two of us out. Hopefully the swell lasts into tomorrow...I'm too tired out to write any more, so I'm off to have a beer and rest up for an April Fool's session..