Instagram

I only can seem to keep up with limited media updates at a  time. Recently I have been hitting the instagram pretty hard so go check it out! Also get the occasional
evening surf in.

Tailfeather again

So back in August when I built my board with interchangeable tails I was excited that I was onto something that I had been working on for a while. After a fun trip to San Diego and surfing it for a few months I decided it had some serious potential to allow multiple different ride feels from the same board. With the recent purchase of some new equipment I am stoked to make some new ones soon since the major issue was the challenge of the concept was making mortises by hand.
In today's news Shapeshifter Surfboards out of San Diego release the newest best development in surfboards, an inter changeable tail!

Wood fins

Been making a bunch of wood fins lately which has been pretty fun. I forgot to take photos of most of them like normal but here are a few to check out. Single fin fits into a box, glass on keel fins and glass on bonzer set. All are from off cuts from various construction projects I work so trying to minimize waste wood as much as possible.

Winter Wanes

Few quick pictures from a few evenings ago. Fun small waves with nice sunset.

Get Away

After a long Winter a warm escape was needed so headed South for a nice break.

Not a lot  of waves since it was a protected island but some fun small ones here and there.

Chance to shed winter layers and enjoy the sun should never be passed up.

Foam R+D notes

Some notes on the new stringerless Varial foam blank that I shaped up and had glassed. The foam off gassed a very strong rubbing alcohol smell but we were assured that is normal even though I got a serious headache with a respirator on. Shaping it was pretty fun it cut nice and smooth and had a different feel than regular PU or EPS. It did build up a lot of static coming off the planer and stuck all over but nothing that couldn't be vacuumed up easy. The foam was denser so it was less inclined to the easy dings of PU but for the final screening it was very hard to get a super smooth surface.
The board was glassed by one of the best glassing guys who we happen to be lucky enough to have semi local. Sprayed pigment on the foam and it came out rather nice looking. Finally got to ride it twice on some really cold days then like normal we had a lack of waves. About a week later I looked at the board and noticed some serious color changes going on. Since I have dealt with UV degrading pigment before I covered half the board to provide a comparison. However a day later the color was worse and spread around the whole board in an odd pattern and a few random blotches. Closer inspection showed the center fin box and become loose even though it was never used. Assuming the blank expanded and contracted so much it cracked the resin around the box. Might be a candidate for a vent, how ever I did put a slight ding in the board bringing it back to the shop and it immediately let of its obnoxious smell so not sure if a vent would do this also. Since the blank has gone through serious R+D by the company and had no problems the only real difference is temperature. It is damn cold here with water mid 30's and air in the single digits, possibly this is to much for this blank. So thats my observations take it for what it is since I only got to work with one blank.

Winter is cold

Finzzz

Been working on making fins a bunch recently and figured I should post up on it. Here are a few pictures of how I put together a set on bonzers for a new 5 fin I am working on.

Glued up some Birch, Pine and Mahogany strips to lay out the templates on.

 With the bonzer set up a little different than the normal glass on I put the cant into it to help it sit nice and flush with the board. Precut guide and a rough rasp made it a pretty simple task since they are pretty small to run on my saw.

Ended up looking pretty good all shaped up and ready for foils. Next time you see them they should be glassed on the new bonzer.

R+D

Working on surfboards in the Northeast is a challenge. Getting materials is costly and harder than in most other places so we are always on the look out for new sources. Down at Surf Expo Charlie, owner of Maine Surfers Union, was on the look out and ended up coming back with a new stringerless blank. This is one of the first ones up here from Varial Surf and it is supposedly a new stronger denser foam that can make a lighter longer lasting board. We decided to make up a fun blunt nose pin tail that has both a single fin and twin keel fin set up. The board ended up at 5'10" x 19 7/8" x 2 1/16" with fairly thin hard rails which really help bite into the face letting you have more control in the critical section with a wide board like this or give you the ability to pump down the line if it flattens out. The glass job was done by Twin Lights Glassing and as always came out perfect. Now we just need some swell to test it out in.

Lucky swells

A few pics from one of the last swells. After a few weeks of weird small swells with funky wind it would be nice to get some waves like this back.

Arctic Vortex Surf from Neto Nomads on Vimeo.

Few clips shot from a phone during one of the -35 windchill days. It was tough to get into them with the gust coming up the face and freezing on the board but some fun shoulders were peeling through.