DIY custom surfboard project

[mattsask]

Hey guys, with the season coming to an end here in Canada, I'm looking for a project to keep me busy this winter. I've decided that I'm going to pick up some gear and have some fun (or maybe pull my hair out) building my own board. So far I think I've decided that I'll get my supplies from green light surfboard supply and use one of their "ws series" blanks.

I guess I'm just hoping to have a discussion about it, hopefully you guys have some suggestions, pointers, insight into shape , fins, etc. This will be a labour of love, so I'd like to get it right the first time. TIA

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[KG's Supra24]

Paging Parker Surfcraft ....

[muehlcj]

Hey guys, with the season coming to an end here in Canada, I'm looking for a project to keep me busy this winter. I've decided that I'm going to pick up some gear and have some fun (or maybe pull my hair out) building my own board. So far I think I've decided that I'll get my supplies from green light surfboard supply and use one of their "ws series" blanks.

I guess I'm just hoping to have a discussion about it, hopefully you guys have some suggestions, pointers, insight into shape , fins, etc. This will be a labour of love, so I'd like to get it right the first time. TIA

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Dude awesome! Guys at GL are great dudes. Shoot me e-mail [email protected]. I'll help as much as I can.

[mattsask]

Holy crap, looks like I hit the jackpot here! Really looking forward to picking your brain. Thanks man, I'll be in touch soon.

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[yukon2007]

Let me guess it will have a Rider motif!

[mattsask]

Let me guess it will have a Rider motif!Hahaha. Oooh boy.. I was thinking I'd try and get some plum crazy purple metal flake to match the boat.

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[PuraVida]

I made a 3 boards last year for a winter sanity project. Overall it was a fun learning experience. One of my boards didn't surf very well but the others are great. Check out the following link, it has some good info. http://www.surfersteve.com/introduction.htm Here is a youtube video of steve's process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m4XBSIM8b4

Andrew has another helpful video series on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCVo0oPEuLk&list=PLHeE1mcmnNBSXs0ymSgrxwF5od6gqvX07

Greenlight is a good spot to purchase some of the supplies and they have a good help center.
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[PuraVida]

I am looking forward to using proper EPS foam this winter. My previous projects were done with cheap XPS foam I purchased from Menards. I had some bonding issues with the XPS. My board that didn't surf well had too much rocker, especially in the tail. Planning to build a 4'-10" version of the phase 5 hammerhead in an effort to get better at shoves. The hammerhead is only available in a 4'-7" version that is on the edge of being too small for me. I also plan to build a ~5'-8 fun board but i haven't worked on the design yet much.

Best of luck to you with your board building. I warn you that it may turn into an obsession.

[mattsask]

Nice! Thanks for the links. The more I research, the more questions I have. Haha. I haven't reached out to Parker surfcraft yet because my mind is blown just from reading all the how to on the greenlight site. I don't even know where to begin.

Pura Vida, how did you decide on rocker? Did you do any concave on the running surface?There isn't a ton of info online about shaping boat boards. Seems like staged rocker would make more sense for a fast surf style boat board, but maybe I'm wrong.

Any designs you would recommend? I'm wanting to build a lightning fast surf style board that is slashy and airs well.

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[Ed_Geary]

Do a search on this on wakeworld. Guys were doing this as far back as 2004. Some very interesting designs.

One guy was surfing a bathroom door, one a board from cardboard

Some of the names I recall are "Bigshow" and "surfdad"

[muehlcj]

Nice! Thanks for the links. The more I research, the more questions I have. Haha. I haven't reached out to Parker surfcraft yet because my mind is blown just from reading all the how to on the greenlight site. I don't even know where to begin.

Pura Vida, how did you decide on rocker? Did you do any concave on the running surface?There isn't a ton of info online about shaping boat boards. Seems like staged rocker would make more sense for a fast surf style boat board, but maybe I'm wrong.

Any designs you would recommend? I'm wanting to build a lightning fast surf style board that is slashy and airs well.

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You want to have 2.5-3" nose rocker and .25-.5 tail rocker. Keep in mind more rocker will slow it down. The straighter the rails from nose to tail the faster it will be but the harder it will be to make tight turns. Key is to find the right balance of those two aspects.

A slight concave starting 12" from nose and ending at your front fins or reducing from that point out the tail is a good idea.

Before you build a board you should buy or build yourself a shaping rack and a glassing rack. Google either for ideas.

[mattsask]

You want to have 2.5-3" nose rocker and .25-.5 tail rocker. Keep in mind more rocker will slow it down. The straighter the rails from nose to tail the faster it will be but the harder it will be to make tight turns. Key is to find the right balance of those two aspects.

A slight concave starting 12" from nose and ending at your front fins or reducing from that point out the tail is a good idea.

Before you build a board you should buy or build yourself a shaping rack and a glassing rack. Google either for ideas.Thanks! I've been doing a ton of reading on board shaping lately. I figured I better have a pretty solid understanding of everything before I contact you with a million stupid questions! I've got a list that I've been scribbling down, Just haven't put it in email format yet. I'm super stoked you reached out, I couldn't imagine having a better source of information.

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[mattsask]

What would you recommend for distance between the legs of the shaping rack? Most of the plans I've found online recommend 48" but I'm thinking that would probably be a bit wide for a wake surf board. Also, it looks like the blanks on the green light sight have exactly the rocker you recommend. That's a bonus.

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[PuraVida]

I agree with the rocker notes above. Less is better for wake surfing. Cutting concaves can be tricky but worth it for the speed gain.

I went 3' wide on my rack.

I have always been curious above volume. I understand the need for it in the ocean but since the board is already planing when wake surfing it shouldn't make much of a difference? Planing surface area and shape of a planing boarding affect speed more than volume??


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[muehlcj]

I agree with the rocker notes above. Less is better for wake surfing. Cutting concaves can be tricky but worth it for the speed gain.

I went 3' wide on my rack.

I have always been curious above volume. I understand the need for it in the ocean but since the board is already planing when wake surfing it shouldn't make much of a difference? Planing surface area and shape of a planing boarding affect speed more than volume??


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For boards in the 4'-5' range 33"-39" works well for shaping and glassing. The shaping rack should be waist high and glassing should be chest high.

Volume is def for paddle ins and maximizing wave count in the ocean. Wake its more about strength, the countours of the board, the rail shape things like that driving the volume of the board. Don't discount extra volume on small waves or inexperienced riding.

The surf simply guys have a awesome formula for what volume a ocean board should based on skill level. It uses volume as a percentage of body weight. I would like to apply that to wake.

[bluesurf]

I have built 3 for behind the boat and a few surfing. These are my 3 wake surf boards. The big one is a mini Simmons and is so much fun to ride as is the orange fish. Best advise I have is to build one and take a ton of notes as to what worked/did not work then build another right away. I found tons of info on swaylocks where you can find answers to just about anything aspect of building boards. These 3 were built from broken surf boards.