A freshie

With calipers the thickest point of the board is 3" ahead of center. The wide point on this template is dead center. Some of what you are seeing is an optical illusion from the photo angle. I'm probably holding the camera even with the tip of the board or higher......I'm 6'1. If I was holding the camera at a height even with the middle of the board you'd have a better perspective.

Shaping boards for your own grom is a special challenge. Grom boards are more difficult than anything else to shape to begin with. In my case I have to blend what the grom wants with what 32 years of surfing is telling me the grom should be on.

 

The real cost isn't the tools. The real cost is the learning process. I've been at it a long time. Started out in my parent's driveway in 1989 with two sawhorses, a hand saw and a surform. You can still see the spot on my parent's driveway where I glassed my first board. Back then there was no internet to point the way and other board builders weren't exactly sharing info. A few of the boards I made back then worked.

Expect to make a bunch of screwed up boards before you get it all down. I do every aspect myself and each part of the process has its own set of pitfalls. The past 5 years I've learned and improved a ton as the board count has gone up and I've become older and wiser. The boards I'm making now would blend right in with those on the racks in the shops but I've spent thousands of dollars on foam, resin and sweat getting to this point. I've also saved thousands of dollars compared to if I was paying retail for boards in a surf shop.

There is also a lot of good (and just as much bad) info on the web regarding board building. The trick is to weed the good from the bad. There are a lot of beginners out there posting shaping videos on youTube as if they are seasoned pros.

If you really want to give it a go, get yourself a blank (or half a dozen ) and some sun-cure resin and give it a go. Being in OCMD you could get your supplies from US Fiberglass Products (WRV) or your way to the outer banks or you could buy on-line from Surfsource.net or Greenlight.

 

Product testing at Lower Trestles. Not the same board that started this thread......just a bigger one with the same paint job.

 

Another build from this past year. Will be back in the shed in the coming weeks. Have 4 boards lined up to build.

 

That one is a 5'8. It is as close to an exact copy of the MR Retro 1976 Bumble Bee as I could make.

 

We've been going out in early November the past couple years and have had real good luck. Mellow crowds and good surf.

 

Thanks.

 

The picture I posted from Trestles was the smallest day of our trip this year. It was well overhead at Lowers the first 2 days with no wind. Days 3 - 7 we had good surf each morning until the wind came up around lunch time. Never went below chest high. Evening glass a couple of days too.

 

I had the beaked nose on it but thought it looked dorky so I shaved it down into a modern style nose. This board is tinted resin. Did use the template to mark out.

Made my own glass on fins from scratch too for this one.