The Mini-Simmons

Glassing it today finally, I put it on hold for the Christmas board but its time before something bad happens to the blank.
6'6" by 22.5 by 3.
Nose is 17, tail 19.
S decked.
Spooned nose.
Stringerless for 2/3rds.
I might go clear on this one...well no, I used a blank that had some nastiness, a few small voids that I had to fill.
So color it is.
Or white.
Nope. Too retro.

It will be up for sale after I ride it.
After watching a board like this being surfed, I know I would want a 7'4" or longer. Maybe 8'0".
Swift gets 1050.00 for theirs.
I might get 100.00 for this one.
Get your order in now.
Right.

Scored some Volan from a friend in Newport, heavy 10oz stuff.

Not going on the Simmons.

Got waves yesterday...the Old Man of the Sea told me my timing sucks.
And it did but it was still rideable.
Had fun.
Found a better fin set up for the 8'0".
Its still too fast for mushy waves, puts me out in front too often.
Rocks were hungry too.
But I wore a leash for the first time in two months.
I left the Place That Eats Fins and surfed the fish at the BB. It was walled up more or less but damn, that fish is fast on the pump.
While I aint 15 any more, I can still throw some fans.
And ollie whitewater.

Going to try it again today, maybe show up an hour earlier.

Yeah.

See ya.

Home....

Took a trip to the Big City.
Ate some food.
Laughed at the bearded hipsters.
Good to be home, rising tide, winds are offshore, its 37 degree's out and the swell is 10' from the right direction.
And not one bearded hipster in sight.

Delivered the Christmas board.
He was happy.
I was happy.
I got paid.
Left blanks for others.
Sissyfish too.

Life is good.

Gone surfing.
See ya.

Done

I worked out a deal for a guy in Portland, my first 'board order' where its actually sold before its made.
9'4" by 23", 18" nose, 15.5" tail, slight roll, 50/50 almond rails. Slight nose concave, a bit of V in front of the fin.
Basically an old school log with some refinements in the foil.
Made for a beginner to carry him through the learning process but still give him some performance.

Pinlined....Done.
14 hours, start to finish.
All resin tint, double six deck, single six bottom.
The last board I will have to relief cut the nose cloth, I finally learned how to roll it up and over...yay!

Had a go yesterday...

Surfed some small but glassy 3' windswell on the triple.
I was alone for the first hour and then a few joined me to the south.
When I left, there were 4 suiting up for the other spot, I looked but I couldn't see why.
Today...
I have the 9'0" finished except for the box and tail patch.
Start to finish in three days...not bad considering.
It took me 8 hours total to shape it, glass and finish it up.
Resin tint blue bottom, resin tint yellow deck, muted green where I wrapped the rails, red pinline to cover the lap (though I could almost leave it).
The box will take and hour and then give it a nice bath.
My neighbor laughs when he sees me bring a new one out for this ritual.
but a clean new board is a happy new board.
I learned a few things on this one.
Cleaner planer passes on top and bottom.
Only two hours to shape the blank.
Cutlaps at 2 inches are easier than 2 inches more onto the deck or bottom.
Flat block sanding by hand is faster if the bottom hot coat is super flat.
I can put on a hot coat super flat.

The board is a present, supposed to be under the tree in Portland tomorrow morning,
It won't make it due to snow but it would have.
Oh yes.
Pics later...

Oops.

Never leave a blank where there may exist a five year old with some type of weird bottle squirted paint, a Sharpie or two and a black crayon.
The art blank is creating a bit of a stir here...

Didn't surf today but I did do this...

Its a standard issue 9'2" Log for a guy in Portland.
neat. Its blue.
Three drop blue.
Deck will be yellow.
I moved the glassing to a little cubby, better to vent the fumes and keep it warm.
Its cramped.
Very.

Too much board...

Had a go yesterday in some sandbar waves, was fun out but I had too much board with me. Would have ducked and got covered up but could not risk snapping off the front six feet of noserider. I saw a few waist sets come through and chose the noser, bad call. Would have been fun on the fish instead of worrisome on the log. Some days are like that.
Almost paddled this am but the cold was a bit much for 2' sloppy leftovers. It was huge outside and the BB looked like a hurricane was sitting offshore....

Otherwise, laminating the longboard today, deck and bottom...I will shoot some pics as I go. This is the board for Christmas. I am not worried about getting it done, with the weather being what it is, getting it to Portland might be out of the question.
Its fun to just shape a normal old school log. Slight belly, upturned rails the last third, no concave. I did the blank in two hours.
Two hours.
My first took six at least.
Lets see how the lam goes.


Anyway, thats it on the retro front.
See ya.

The first....

Order for a board...nothing special mind you, not a fishy or a Simmons or even a Hull type thing but still, to have someone contact you, talk about board designs, how they surf, why they surf, what they are looking for in particular..."you want a deposit?"

Yeah, its cool.
Done by Christmas?
Yes.
Mowed foam till the wee hours, put in the box, did the masking, chose the colors....
Done by Christmas.
Yes.
At least I hope so, its supposed to be under the tree on Thursday.

Whew...
Going surfing now.
I hope anyway.
Last night blew in a rager that woke me up at 1230, 45 knot winds, etc...

Anyway, see ya.

Nothing but boards...

Stayed up till 1 am sanding and foiling and sanding and foiling...
Put the fins on the fish, more sanding and foiling...

Was up at 0630 for more...sanding and foiling.

Giving the fish a bath right now for some more....sanding but I am done with the foiling.
Need one more round of lay up at 45 degree's and its done, more than done.
Gonna go ride it this morning as is my tradition.
Ride it before its really finished because when you make you own, there is no other feeling better in the world than that first wave.
Well, making that first wave maybe.
Don't worry, I take 600 grit wet/dry out in the water with me and baptise the board while I am at it.
More sanding.
Love the colors of that fish, hate the execution.
Keep telling myself I will do a clear board but those resin tints...I like color.

See ya, go get some, wind is outta the south at 19 knots, swell is getting beat down by that very same wind,
But we know where to go.
Oh yes we do.

I hate sanding...

I really do.
I have great sanders, medium pads, hard pads, soft pads.
But its nasty, dusty work.
I like the results and sure as shit, tomorrow morning I am riding the Simmons.
Or whatever it is.
I will get pictures of it tomorrow hopefully if it doesn't get snapped or burned in disgust...not really.
Its quite a departure from what I usually surf.
It weighs 6.5 pounds.
The log I rode yesterday is 17 pounds.
Oh boy, can't wait for the first wave on it.
I should make up a leash loop real quick, I am going to need it unless I feel like swimming.
That wide ass tail, I will eat a big breakfast so it will at least sink in a turn.
Anyway, I still hate sanding.

I started another hull at 8'4", kinda pushing the design a bit but with the narrower tail outline, it should work like the the 8'0" squirt gun I built.
The dims are identical except I pulled the outline at 36 inches, through the arc a 1/2 inch. Should do it. It looks right.
Same V panels to knifed rails.
I have a 9.5 inch fin just for the bastard, might foil it out even thinner for flex.

Anyway, its late, back to the sander while the wife and child are out spending the night at Grandma's.

I have two more fins to foil and then I am done for the night.
Ha.

See ya.

Skinners....

suck.

Took the day off to surf...

Waist high A frames every where...
Rode the 8'0" Hull and was able to match its acceleration off the tail. What a screaming design and though more suited to point breaks, surfers who look further down the line than the next snap can really push this design.
Swooping bottom turns around sections, more control in the pocket than any board I have ridden in 40 years of surfing.
I want one in an 8'4", just a bit more foam in the middle while keeping the outline.
And that resin bead tail too.
Hot coated the fish, might do the deck tonight still, its warm but only at 66 right now in the shop.
Should fire up the wood stove.

Anyway, my hands needed the day off, there are so many things that can wear on your hands while building and shaping boards, from the sanders to the Acetone, ouch.
Of course, the cold today while surfing did not help at all.

Hoping to sell off another board or two, the wife is muttering a bit.
I have dropped a bit of cash but I know I can sell at least one board a month...
Right?
Thats all I need to do and she will be happy.
Besides, its Christmas.

Take care.

Well...I do have heaters...

My little shop (currently infested with 70 blanks, so it isn't that little...)
gets a bit chilly when its 26 degree's outside.
I decided not to glass last night and then I remembered the two heaters I have...
So I fired them up and an hour later, it was 71.
Taped off the fish, mixed the colors, puffed a bit and went to work...
Looks good. This morning, I will do the deck and then the whole board again in 4 oz.
Fin it and ride it....it will be on craigslist by Friday...
Its stringerless...
6'6" from a Lis template I stretched, wide point 2 inches forward, Griffin rails, keel fins.
Flat bottom throughout.







Red with two drops of black, straight yellow...see through white on the nose and down the middle.

Clean deck, hmmm...color or clear?



Nice....

Note the opaque white, I wanted to show it was stringerless by leaving a clear line down the center, looks ok.



Always roll your tape, always.

Too cold to...

Surf, too cold to glass...made some fins...
Finished up the Balsa insert stringer too.
But wanted to surf.
Or glass.
Shaped a fish for fun.
I made the fins so...
Keel fish.
We called them Rocket Fish.
Pavel outline with a Beatty nose.
Hmm.
Its big enough for me to ride, thick and wide.
Anyway.
I used the "Griffin Rail" on it.
He does the RIGHT rail for this type of board.
And you have to have the right tool to do it.

I wish could surf today.
Its offshore and about DOH.
But you cant get to it.
Tides wwaaaay high too.
Oh well.
Think I will make some fins.

The Log...

This is the 10' I recently finished...
Its for sale at 350.00 or best...buy it so I can build another one.
I was not quite up for the challenge of the colors, all resin tint and cutlap, real old school stuff. It came out alright, not great but its solid except where the colors weeped through the tape.
ALWAYS USE GOOD TAPE!
Thats what I learned.
And nose concaves are fun.
This board rides just like it looks, deep pivots and drop knee turns from the tail, perfect trim and control from the nose.
Its a great rider.

Finsihed the rail bands on the SUP, set it aside to start on a stringerless fish.
I want to glass both at the same time in the same colors.
My personal board sizes are shrinking...well, except for the Log.
Thats my new blank next to it....
Yeah....

Insert stringer right about....

Here...
Since this board has such a spoon nose, there was no way I could trust it to hold up under our conditions..besides, I had never inserted a stringer before so...
Anyway, went well, I had planned to do two more down the rails but its good to go like it is.
1/8th Balsa....

Speaking of fin foils...

Yeah, up early to score some up-the-bay waves but thought I would look at some wood in the shop first.

I made a set of fins for the Simmons inspired chip, I used the dims and outlines that I got from sways and others.
They look right.
But as they are as glass ons', they have to do more than look right.
Hmmm.
Fin foil.
Up till now, I have been putting a fin in my left hand and copying it with my right.
Its easy to copy something, especially in wood.
The cherry chocolate log has that David fin, its an exact dupe of the glass original and it works just like it should.
I have copied the Harbour HP 10 fin, an old set of original Rocket Fish fins (probably Rainbow made as the board was from Clydes shop in SB, c.1977) and the half moon Simmons style fins.
But for the future, the Hull type boards, I simply cant keep buying fins so I have to learn to lay them up in glass rather than shaping them and then laminating wood.
Trouble is the bases, it has to very strong at the base or Arago will eat it.
Arago already has two of my fins on her rocky point.
I would rather repair a fin box than lose a fin.

Anyway, the whole foil/lift/response/wag/rake and blah blah...quite complicated for such a simple little thing.

Back to sways....
See ya.

One more thing...

Today, on the way to Florence, I finally figured out how a wider fin base gives lift.
Wegener knows.
A whole lot of others know.
I did not know and then, whammo, I knew how a thick fin base and cord gives lift.


Oh yeah, today I sold the last of the boards I own that some one else made.
Ok, I hung on to the Model A...

I finally got a camera...

And it works....
This is yesterdays shaping, thanks to the info from headhigh of NorCal, I think its very close to what a mini Simmons should be.
Fins and glass tomorrow...
I am still doing rail bands on the SUP...9'6" by 32" by 4" in the meantime.

Shaping day...

Pretty productive yesterday...
Finished the single fin...8'1", 23", 17" nose, 16" tail...paneled V to a hard resin bead tail. I did the rails with a soft tuck at 36", I Like the way a Hull surfs but I do prefer drawn out turns and being able to lay a board on rail. I need to put in the leash plug-doesn't matter right now as I do not own a leash.
Not one.
Supposed to be some surf today, we have a SE at 4 knots and the buoy is showing 12' at 14 seconds here.
Hmmm...
I did ride the Rambler log yesterday for all of a 1/2 hour. It was crap out but I was there so...
Love the new Hotline suit.

Today is a shaping day, I trued up the SUP blank halves so I can glue them up. I used a Redwood stringer that I planed to 1/2 inch, its touch heavy but I think the board won't mind. Its going to take two to line it up and glue it...I need a rocker table...
Anyway, see ya.

Hot coats....

I finished off the hot coat on the new hull last night and for the first time, very little sanding...yay...
I have used good brushes, bad brushes, a roller and a squeegee...
It turns out that its mostly technique-like I didnt have any and now I do.
I have a camera coming today so I can start putting up pics in progress.
Now I have to find a fin for it as I have nothing that will work.

I made the stringer for my stand up board yesterday, might glue it up today, its going to take two people to do it and Mike is coming by to start his log shape anyway.

Might get some surf today, after the weekend, just haven't bothered looking....
Anyway, thats the news from retro...
See ya.

I love it....

Surf was crap yesterday...
But I just had to ride that Rambler model.
So I did.
10 over for 10 seconds on the crappiest wave I have had in a while.
No perfect peelers like Friday and Saturday.
But the board didn't care.
When I slipped off the tail and the board took off for the beach...I almost enjoyed the swim.
Until I realized it was going to be a loooong swim.
That was my last wave.

I like the fin I made.
Will make another one.

Nolan bought the Bio Board.
I bought a new Makita orbital.

Glassed the '70's round pin last night, going to hot coat it this morning and stick the box in for its Harbour fin.
I did a one drop blue tint on the deck, clear bottom.
Once again, my laps collected sprigs of color where they should not have.
Its easy enough to fix.
I hate those guys at Moonlight.
But I am getting there.
I have fallen in love with colors.
And resin tints.

Shaping a SUP today or at least starting it. I have to make the stringer for the blank I am using and get the width down to what I personally need. I can make it about 31" by 9'2" and have enough volume at 4 1/2 inches thick.
I think.
Right now...the blank is 35 inches wide....float a fat guy for sure!

Oscar emailed me a template for the Liddle slider, maybe in a few days...
First things first.

Like going surfing.
See ya.

First time...

Finished the fin up for the 10' triple stringer...first time to glass on a fin.

Its a dead on dupe of the old David fin from his noserider. I couldn't use the original, its my Dad's from 1970 and, as its a box fin, no way could I fit a box to the thinned out tail.

I laid it up using the 45/90/45/90/45 method and its firmly in place. I wanted to fair it out this morning but the surf is getting better by the minute and I simply have to ride it. I will take sandpaper with me and do it between sets....the deck is sanded as far as I care to go with 320 grit, the bottom is at 600 and that too is plenty smooth.
Shiny=slow...
Its too bad the laps leaked, the color is great, blood red resin tint with the chocolate brown resin tint nose...but those lap lines where the tape leaked just fucked it up. I could do a rail band in chocolate brown to hide it but....I dont care to hide my mistakes, better to learn from them and move on.
This board was the hardest resin tint I have done so far....next board is clear dammit!

I took 4 blanks down to Eureka and surfed a secret spot with the guy I sold them too.
Just he and I out on some nice 4' peelers. Lost my board twice and it made for an interesting swim, the board would bounce along to the inside, get in the rip and then head south.
It was easier for me to swim north and then chase the board down the point and swim out and get it.
He told me to bring a leash...but that board has no plug so...

I sold off the Bio board, sad to see it go as it was a magic board for me. I do have the dims and I can dupe it easily enough but its time to move on to other shapes I want to ride before I die.
The yellow 10'6" went to the same guy, no doubt I will see both boards around town.

After surfing today, I will get back to the new hull, its shaped out but I need to refine the nose a bit and thin out the tail for flex.
Bill sent me directions on partial stringers, I have 20 blanks that are stringerless and I want to experiment with flex. Zamora just did a 5'5" with only a tapered stringer for 3 feet of it. I want to try it in a flattened 7'10 Hull I have in mind...but much longer than 3 feet!

Anyway, coffee is ready and the fire is going for the wife when she wakes....
See ya.

Yeah...

Its a full circle thing, you start out riding whatever the shop sold you when you were a kid...and you keep surfing different boards through the years, never really settiling on one board design or one shaper...
Then you figure out...hey, how fucking hard could it be to shape your own? You know what works for you and defineatly what doesn't.

So there ya go.
Shape it, glass it, ride.
It wont sink, trust me.