It just keeps coming...

The waves just keep coming...last night was bigger and really fun out here at Kako, but this morning there were still fun waves on a dropping swell. The left stayed open all the way across, nice rights too. I had it for an hour all to myself this morning, and will hit it again after work. Hokkaido at its finest... 

 Wakuwaku, waves crashing over the tetras

 Clean peaks

The left

Mini Noserider Update

Been really busy lately, lots of work and writing, but also enjoying some good surf...been out 10 times in the last 9 days...and it's supposed to pick up again tomorrow...Ooohah, to quote Pacino. I've made some progress on the mini noserider, it's coming together nicely. The rails and rocker are getting better than previous boards. That said, the 6'6", my most recent, has become my daily driver...it's been a blast riding the single fin.

 

 I'm putting the fin box in before glassing this time, it's made the whole procedure much easier.

My shaping shed's back in action after a long cold winter.

6'7" Mini Noserider

Been busy riding the new board and am now working on yet another...just can't stop making these things. The one underway now is a 6'7" mini noserider. I've been looking long and hard at Linden's Compressor Model and wanted to make something similar for myself. The "blank" is done (framed and hollow like the last one), so now it's time to smooth things out and shape the rails. I'll post more pics when it's shaped and ready to glass.

 

The 6'6" diamond tail has been working well, it goes surprisingly good in the small surf considering it's size. Width and thickness appears to be the way go. It has been my go to board for the last few weeks. 

 

It's been cool here in Hokkaido, and the surf not so great recently...that said, still got out four times last week and am just super happy that the snow is gone. Next week we should get our cherry blossoms here in Noboribetsu.  

 

Pics of the new project: 

 

 

Venting...

Here's a pic with the vent installed...Rode it this morning, pretty fun...more pics to come.

Glassing the new board

Time for an update. Hawaii was great, had some really fun sessions out in Town...now it's back to life and work in Hokkaido. Spring has arrived, and we've had some decent waves. I've also managed to glass the new board. The second coat is done, and this is how its looking at the moment. It's a bit lumpy here and there, but I'm thinking about just riding it as is and see how it goes. Will post more pics later...

Sanded and ready for first coat.

After first coat.

After second coat.

Break time...fun clean little lefts.

 

Board update: sanding

Cleaned up the blank, shaped the rails, and am underway with the sanding. Up to 120 grit at the moment. Some of the cedar sanded up quite light, while some strips stayed dark, it'll be interesting to see how it all looks under the glass.

Off to Hawaii this week (looking forward to the warm waves), so it'll be a few weeks before the next update.

  

A Belated New Year's Resolution: A True Daily Driver

Underway on the first board of the year so I thought it time to update the blog...
This year my goal is produce a true daily driver, something approaching a regular board's performance and lighter that the ones I made last year.

I thought I'd try to keep the weight down by shortening up the boards (to a reasonable degree for a 90 kilo+ rider), and try to compensate for length with more width and thickness. With that in mind, I made up a template for a 6'6" diamond tail, approaching 23 inches wide and 3 inches thick. I also tried to lower the weight by using 4 mm plywood for the frame, and 10 mm planks for the skin/decks. We'll see how that goes.

Here's some pics thus far...I'm liking the way it's coming together. Once again, I'm using paulownia and western red cedar for the deck.