I've decided I'm going to build a board

your sharp SUP.

 

*You're not. HAHAHA

 

At least you spelled your name right this time.

 

he still can't spell "you're"...spell check and he's still getting it wrong

 

noted. Sup already called it. thank you fine citizen.

 

Hey dude, btw, You're has an apostrophe in it, anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

 

Ha ha! I will gladly pay someone to build me a custom board after shaping a couple. What a mess. The ones I shaped were for gutless everyday waves. For epic surf, go with a professionally shaped board. It's a no brainer.

 

Bill Cosby, dude, just start shaping. You don't need validation or approval from any of us clowns on this site. Don't worry aboot people telling you to forget it. If you have the desire to do it, then go for it.

Just think if Al Merrick listened to people who told him it wouldn't be worth it. Kelly Slater may still have hair and be drinking beer under the Cocoa Beach Pier.

Who knows, you may have a real knack for the art and might become the next Rusty, if you're wholesome or Matt Biolos if you drink and do drugs.

You'll never know unless you try.

 

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

still can't find the disk with the close-ups, but I found a couple of boards my friend made for me. Obviously, he was pretty good at pin-stripping and color.

below is probably about the tenth board he ever made...and it was damn near perfect. Super tight, high performance short board. As was mentioned earlier, the tolerances of the blanks are so close to an already shaped board, most of the work is already done for you.



below is a fishy groveler he made out of a standard blank (they ran out of fish blanks, so he chopped the nose off a shortboard blank...or something to that effect). This thing was amazingly fast for the shape. The rails were kinda boxy/not real clean and the flat entry rocker got me a few times, but this is my favorite board of all time...so far. Sometimes the magic boards are the ones full of flaws.

 

there you go. add a few 2x4's across the bottom and throw a cinder block or 2 on there. weight is good.

 

Nice, brah! Now all you gotta do is find a strapping high schooler that lives on your street to come over and lift those for you!!!

 

Confidence in your equipment can make the difference between making or not making a wave... or a session. And for surf with consequences, most people have more confidence in a pro builder than themselves.

But I'd have to say for average east coast surf, better waves make almost every board work better.

Everybody should build their own board, at LEAST once. I'd say build yourself a half dozen boards. You'll learn a lot about surfboards and how they work, you'll get a greater appreciation for those who are talented at the craft, and you'll even learn a thing or two about yourself along the way. It's a win/win.

And you know what else??? It takes a lot of the mystery out of it, too. Anybody can build a functional surfboard. The secret a lot of board builders don't want you to know is that there's a right way to do everything, and if you know the fundamental principals of board design, and have some degree of skill with your hands, you can build a board that could give you the session of your life. You don't need a guru shaper; you can be your own guru.

 

now go download the free version of AKUshaper. you'll have fun messing around with it. like i said before, you can print outlines and make good templates. easiest way to do it.

 

is that an arrowhead? j/k way too much curve and way too narrow and pointy in the nose. you can also import pics of boards you like.

maybe go for something similar to what you already have at first. your guide is right there then. or go to a surf shop and feel/look at boards.