In a hurry...

Always in a hurry...
Supposed to run up to Portland today but I think I am blowing it off till tomorrow...
Surf was good yesterday, too good...even the lower tides didn't screw everything up too badly and most spots were rideable through out the day.
I was up early and fit the box to the SUP, put on the hotcoat and had the fucker in the water by noon...its not finished of course but it doesn't have to be to ride it.
I was in a hurry...
I had worked pretty hard on the board, cutting the blanks, fitting them together with a new stringer, shaping it out with a concave deck, full outline but with lots of curve to it, especially through the tail.
I hit the local SUP spot, suited up in 2 minutes flat, scraped the deck with wax real quick and hit the water.
I was really concerned about how well it would float me and as soon as I stood on it...Well, I was happy.
Its a surfing SUP...
9'4" by 31.5 by 26 nose by 22 tail, thickness at 4.25. I can pivot turn it at a dead stop, whip it around and go. It surfed pretty good in the 1' slop but its not much of a noserider. I got close to some fives but tens wont happen I think. Its loose-well, as loose as a 9 inch base fin at 10 inches tall will let it be. Did a few drop knee turns backside, some classic poses in trim (paddle behind my back-thanks...) and even managed to kick out over the whitewater and stay on (twice!).
I fell a bit just paddling, that part is tough in SUPing, its a whole nother set of muscles you work doing this and fatigue got me the second hour.
My hand was fucking killing me but stoke is a powerful pain reliever, it was hard to grab and twist the paddle with my hand but ya know what? It was worth it.

Its only my second time SUPing, the first was on an old windsurfer I have, using a canoe paddle...kook! But I didn't know if I wanted to build one or not and trying it out that way was pretty cheap. A buck for the board and 8 bucks for the paddle.
So I am pretty stoked, I have a SUP, its made right fucking here in America and it cost me 175.00 and 18 hours of work.
The only issues I have with it are a bit more nose rocker in the last 12 inches would have been good, a bit of a flip in the nose for the tighter take offs.
Oh...the other SUp'er out was on an 1800.00 custom Jimmy Lewis...
I was out on a custom Tony Lewis...ha!
And I have a sequined fabric inlay on the nose...

Well, I need to get up out of here and think about Portland, I have 6 blanks to get up there but I don't want to waste today sitting in my van all the way to Babylon...so some courtesy emails need to go out, after all, they know they are dealing with a...surfer, we all know how flakey they can be....

Mahalo and see ya in the water....

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