Trying my hand at shaping: What shape should I start with?

[kielsun]

7' would probably be a good stepping stone for me. I'm 5'11" and about 175 pounds and while I'm not a beginner, taking six years off from surfing after moving to MD from CA didn't do me one bit o' good.

Funny, I was actually looking at the Spherical Revolver on the Harbour website last night to get some inspiration in addition to Gary Hanel's various egg shapes. I haven't bought the blank/kit yet because I won't have a place to work until later this month/early next. Was thinking of going with something from Greenlight. Would be amazing to use the template!

[LBCrew]

Epoxy is more sensitive to cold and humidity than Polyester. Suncure is a good idea if you want to go PE and you're not sure about your skills... it will give you a bit more time to get it right. Epoxy is very user friendly in that way as well, and you can keep your materials warm in the house, then bring them out into your shed just before you're ready to glass. A space heater or two will get the air temp up in the glassing area, but won't warm the materials.

So decide what you want to do... EPS/Epoxy or PU/PE... (I vote for the former)... and get your space, tools, and rack ready. Greenlight's got everything, and just moved to a bigger space in Manasquan, right on 71.

As for your dims... I think your nose rocker is a bit on the low side. I see you like those numbers, but I'd consider going to 4" or more. If you want to take it out in some bigger surf, stay on the low side of your width range, and know that for a guy your weight, your thickness is going to give you extra foam... more than enough. You'll either end up with full rails, or a crowned deck, which is fine if that's what you're shooting for.

[mitchell]

I'd like it to be able to ride in OH surf without being too squirrely, but it'd be fun if it could also catch waves all day in mush.

Length: Somewhere between 6'4" and 7'2"
Rocker: 1.5" tail, maybe 3-3.5" nose

Agree with LB Crew...I know there are those who dont mind riding flat rockered boards in solid sized waves, but for a mid 6 to 7 foot length board, 3-3.5" inches of nose rocker is really flat. The best 6'6" egg i ever had had 5" of nose rocker and would drop smoothly into OH waves. Ive tried riding eggs with 3-4" of nose rocker in steep hollow waves and the forward rails really have a tendancy to hang up at the bottom of the wave, and even turning in the pocket. I'd go with more than 4" of NR for that board, unless you plan to just surf it in mushy waves.

[Glass]

Go to Swaylocks.com and you'll find a world on info and people happy to answer questions. I shaped with a peice of gritty sanding belt cut and tacked to a 12" section of 2x4 and a surform hand plane. Both tools worked fairly well. Make sure you keep your nose rocker low ( flatter ) which you would want anyway in a fish. I had a tendency to start sanding away on the bottom of the nose making a big flip so I ended up pushing a wall of water ahead when paddling making it difficult to catch waves.
Based on your riding history and size I would go with a larger than usual fish, say 6'2" or a full funshape at 6'6". Either would give you easy paddling, plenty of glide on flat sections and more maneuverability than your longboard.

[skippet]

here's a walk-through with dims..

http://www.surfersteve.com/introduction.htm

[kielsun]

Looks like I'll be shaping my board in a couple of weekends with mgarbutt's help! We'll be using the Spherical Revolver template and making a few tweaks. Stoked!

[biglikecornbread]

Good luck brah...... Post some pics.

[kielsun]

We shaped the board yesterday! AKA I learned along the way under forum member mgarbutt's excellent tutelage.

Dims are as follows:

7'2" x 21 3/4" x 2 5/8"
16 3/4" nose (4.5" rocker), 15 1/2" tail (2.25" rocker)
It'll be setup 2+1, but I'm primarily going to ride it as a single-fin.

It actually ended up being more like the Harbour Super Revolver than the Spherical Revolver. Bit of concave to give it more drive than the Spherical and more rocker. We "dipped" the nose with deep turquoise and kept it a bit abstract. She's a beauty! Stoked!

[dcsurfer]

nice, i finished shaping my first a week ago.

[kielsun]

I'll upload more pictures later this week, but this will have to do for now: