Chopping down a fun shape?

first off your in for an adventure... i would say strip all the glass and re glass it all if you want it to last. if you really dont care and just want an ocean floaty toy than chop your tail shape it to what you like than glass over the remaining area. have fun take your time and do it right the first time. dont let anyone tell you not to do it. you clearly have the idea in your head and ideas are the most powerful things in the world. this idea will be with you until you do it. so go at it. whats the worst that can happen it doens't work well and your down $100.00 not the end of the world.

 

Did you consider just selling the board for 75 bucks which would pay for a perfectly good 6'6" blank?

I think lopping the rear foot and a half off will result in a board that is massively thick in the tail and with no tail rocker and soft rails where you don't want them.

I've stripped and reglassed three boards so I have a bit of experience and my suggestion is either to buy a blank, or completely strip the glass off the funshape and shape the new board properly.

 

I agree w/Mitchell. Your best bet is to get a blank - just like a carpentry project is easiest with new lumber etc, shaping a board is best with a fresh blank.

Chopping just the tail off will throw off 2 things that make/break a board, rocker and foil. I rode the single fins we had back in the late 70's, they got in to waves good but pretty much just trimmed and went straight well, not too much performance = a 6'6" single fin frankenboard probably wont be too much of a step up in performance from a well shaped 8'0" tri-fin thruster.

On the other hand choosing the right blank with well designed rocker, and a bit of foil already in it can be turned into a decent riding board by a first time shaper (skin it, template, turn the rails a bit and sand it smooth) I suggest Swaylocks.com for tips on shaping or re-shaping .
But it is your board and hell it could be a good time even if it ends up being a POS - take some pictures and good luck!
Jim

 

If you really want to do it right.... follow the above advise...
If you just want to have fun with it- chop it up!!! I did this with an old longboard I had. I broke the board into two some time ago(while surfing)... I took the tail section- which was still about 6ft... and reshaped the nose. Sure it looks ugly, and every one stares at you funny when you first paddle out (until they notice that you can actually ride the thing...) but the board it one of my favorites! It catches waves like a longboard! the best board for summer, cause I don't care if it gets dinged... plus I have found with the way that the tail is shaped- I can ride the thing finless! My suggestion- cut off the nose and reshape the nose- its easier and you will not have the problem as stated above (a fat tail)

 

Its called stripping off the glass, I've never heard it called delam. Delam is a whole other issue.

Here's how I did it. Circular saw, masonry blade (sruper tiny teeth) set the cut depth to about 1/4 inch. Run the saw back and forth from nose to tail each groove about two inches apart and just deep enough to get through the glass and hit the foam. Also hit the nose and rails. The glass will peel off the blank like a banana peel and if you set the depth correctly you will just have a bunch of shallow groove lines that will sand right out.

 

sounds reckless and i love it... haha, usually i grind the the area or whole board down than use a razor slice the top and bottom, than do the rails separately. rails are the tough part, and if you are doing eps/epoxy it is going to rip huge foam chunks off as well. poly is cake, it just flies off

 

i stripped down one and made this, 1st time i ever shaped and no template

 

thanks, i made that like 2 years ago but never glassed it because of the fin boxes and repairs that effed it up

 

I've never seen a re-shape that was worth the effort and expense that must have been put into it... soft foam, whacked rockers, crude foils... I'm sure there are a few good ones out there, but I've seen many, and the ones I've seen have been inferior products for the money and time put into them.

Although... I did see a beautiful "art board" that was a reshape done by Ronnie Jackson. It was unbelievable.

 

I was thinking of re shaping a 7'4" fun board into a 6'0" short, flat, and fat summer board..... Was thinking of leaving the fins and taking all the length off of the front. Anyone done something like this?
thanks,
M

 

I think losing a foot and a half off the front of the board will leave you with so little nose rocker that the board will be a handful on any kind of fun wave (the forward rails and nose will dig or nearly dig while paddling, turning etc.) and the front of the board will be way too thick. It wont be easy to cut in the rocker you need from the flat front end slab your starting with. Broken record here: my advice - sell the funshape, buy a 6'0" fish blank.

 

I did this to a beat up Spyder board a few years ago. It wasn't for me, but my ex's little sister. I have no idea how it rides, but i can tell you that you'll learn alot in the process. This one i found in a dumpster and was just using as a coffee table, then decided it would be good to repair the broken nose and tail and delamed deck. I'd say go for it, then experiment with different fins.

 

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