I have tried the board twice at Ocean Beach, which it was built for. First time was waist high but well shaped, the second time wobbly head high surf. Impressions so far: The volume is slightly lower than I expected, so it may not be good for the bigger days. But the volume seems very well distributed. I had deliberately moved it forward with respect my main shortboard, making this one more comfortable to paddle. Overall the board duckdives, paddles, and catches waves well. It feels fast, somehow "slick" on the bottom. I haven't gotten in many turns yet, so I will write more after I get to try it in better surf.
I built this board to replace my T&C shortboard that I just love, but that broke twice, and is completely dented in on the deck after a few years of use. It's pretty silly - shortboards are normally glassed so lightly that they only last a few seasons. So I tried to build a board that will last longer, and used double 6 ounce S-glass and epoxy resin. The board weighs exactly 8 pounds including fins, wax, everything. It feels light for the glass job. It's lighter than my OB semi gun, and a bit heavier than the good old T&C. There are no heal dents after the first two sessions, so far so good... It feels different than the typical 4 oz-glass-job polyester board, but it's a hard to say exactly what the difference is. It's not too stiff, and it's not bad, just different somehow. More testing is needed - I'll report back after more surfing!
Below are a few more pics from the construction.
My low tech backyard cleanroom, where I did the the hotcoating.
Detail of the leash plug - color matched!
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2 comments:
Hey Bro, I really like your board, your wife was right on with the color combo. It looks sick! What resin tints did you use? Brown isn't a common color so I was just wondering. Anymore comments on how the board is working for you, or how durable it is?
Hi Burly,
Thanks! Sorry it took me ages to respond. The brand of tint I used is called "tints-all": http://www.sheffieldbronze.com/tintsall/index.html
You can buy it in little tubes at the paint counter at Home Depot.
I went with this particular brand, as they have proper material safety data sheets online, and I used only those colors where the pigments are reasonably safe. Some pigments are carcenogenic, which makes for carcenogenic dust after sanding... I am paranoid about that, especially since I have young children.
I haven't had time to surf all the much lately, but the board is holding up really well. The 2x6os s-glass in the deck seems to be a good compromise of weight and durability. So far, no pressure dings at all in the deck, while there are a few dents on the (single 6 oz) bottom. The bottom dents look similar to on my poly board, I guess from hitting the board during wipeouts. So overall, the deck strength is a huge improvements compared with my standard poly boards. I think I'll stick with this glassing schedule.
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