Electric Planer Help on the Alaia

Marlon and I made a run to the beach, but the surf was on the small side and the wind was on it (again - not enough to wing, but enough to put some texture on it).  We decided to pass.  We went back home and I broke out the planer.  First up - Marlon's alaia.  I took off thickness from the entry rocker section, the top of the rails and a little off the nose top deck.

I probably saved Marlon two days of sitting out there and shaving off the excess with the block plane.

This board is getting close to being finished - pretty much refining the rails and edges now.

Made Some More Progress on the Foil

I broke out the bench sander and blew through the last of the bulk sanding.  On the fuselages I got the tail upcuts and the noses rounded out. 

Then I shifted over to getting the tail wings roughed in.

All of this work actually went very quickly.  I think I stuck a 30 grit belt on the sander the last time I used it.  And the horsepower in the motor - doesn't stop or bind for anything!  I really should have done this earlier.  I'll use the plugged random orbital sander this week to get the shapes all dialed in.  That'll get me in position to start laminating sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Slowly Getting Ready for the Build

Marlon and I went surfing on Saturday morning.  The surf was small and the tide was high - not a good combination for conventional equipment.  That got me thinking I need to get a hydrofoil completed.  I got a third of a step closer - I cut out one of three main wings using the scroll saw.

I'm going to cut out the other two this evening - I'll use a jigsaw with a new blade.  I think I need more time on the scroll saw before I use it for finish work - possibly more tension on the blade to make it more responsive to the turning wood?  Anyways - nothing a good sander can't handle ;)

The Start of Something New

Or perhaps a better way to classify this is "A new way of doing an old thing"

 I'm getting ready to take a new look at surfing and SUP. I'll keep this mysterious for now...

Kickboard Over 90%

I used a hole saw bit to open up the bottom of the screw holes. After a little cleanup with a chisel, the main work is finished on the kickboard. The handles are an old pair of windsurfing footstraps - real old - check out the 'Naish' logo - I feel good that those things will get a new lease on life and to actively generate stoke again!!! I'll place some epoxy in the bottom holes to ensure the T bolts stay put and are watertight. I'll also run the sander over the back of the board to smooth out the grain (I did that to the hand plane and it is a much nicer finish). After that, I'll recoat the board with poly and it's done!!! This board feels really well balanced and as expected, I can't wait to get some sloppy waves on it!!! Between this and the paipo, I should never complain about crappy surf again!!!

Final Steps towards the New Surfcraft

The weather is getting colder...

So there is more time to get these two new mini sleds dialed in. I'll be cutting the strap slots and drilling out the T nut holes tomorrow. After that, a little epoxy, some curing time and I'll be waiting for the Spring thaw.

Paipo Ready for Poly

So here is the nearly finished paipo. I just need to label the board (burnt in branding), fine sand and coat with polyurethane. I'm going to try to have this one done before the next time we head down to Virginia Beach. There is gentle entry rocker on this one, mini-surf rails down the sides and the tail is what used to be the nose when this was a whole alaia (the one I made in California and that hung on the garage wall in Gulfport). I cut it in half over a year ago and surfed it at chilly North End Virginia Beach (rough cut and boxy rails didn't help much). Now with the shape, volume and rails dialed in, without even having this thing touch water yet, I am confident this will quickly become one of my favorite boards - and why not - shaped to ride anything, especially East Coast slop, getting quality rides on generalist equipment is way better than not getting any rides on specialty boards.