Skip to main content

Waterlog Surfboard, Part 4

My Grain Surfboards "Waterlog" 10' surfboard is almost ready for fiberglassing. 

I've been working on a number of final details before glassing though. 

Shaping was harder than I thought it would be. I used mostly my block plane and it took a long time. I never perfectly matched the templates the Grain supplies but I think I'm close enough for my first surfboard. 

 

Overall I think the shape looks good, and I don't think I got anywhere near taking too much off. To better match the templates I should have kept going. 

The nose and tail also look good but don't perfectly match the templates either. Oh well. I'll still float. 

I cut the tail off and added a laminated block of Peruvian walnut (to match the pinstripes) and white cedar from one of the cutoffs. I didn't want to put in too many colors like some people do and end up with a rainbow of colors. This is pretty classy and not tooooo busy I hope.  



Here's the final look after shaping the tail. 

I also added the logos. I do that before fiberglassing so that I can get them aligned as best as possible and so that I don't have to worry about them shifting while squeegeeing the fiberglass. 

I also use rice paper instead of the acetate that Grain sends. Rice paper pretty much disappears under epoxy and doesn't have a potential for delaminating like acetate does. The "Stix of Wood" logo is mine. 

This is the bottom logo. I forgot to lay plastic on top of it and am worried that the edge of the Grain logo might show under the fiberglass, but it shouldn't be too noticeable.  

 

Here is the top deck logo. I used some plastic sheet on top of the logo so that I could squeegee out the excess epoxy. The plastic sheet will easily come off when the epoxy is cured leaving a smooth logo. 


 

 Next it's time for fiberglassing!

 

Aloha!

 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Rogue Manual

I've posted about this earlier, but thought it might be good to post it again for anyone who may be interested. I've started to write a manual of tips and tricks for Pygmy solo kayak builders. It covers the taping method, so that your boat doesn't have hundreds of holes all over it. I'm on version 2 now. Version 2 covers several other tips and tricks from myself and from others as collected over time. ATTENTION : Use the manual at your own risk! The only person responsible for any mistakes or problems with the building of your boat is you. Always use the official Pygmy manual that came with your kit. Only do those tips and tricks that make sense to you. If something in the manual doesn't sound right to you, then don't do it! Neither I, nor Pygmy Boats, nor anyone else except YOU is responsible for the safety of your boat and the quality of your build. It's in very rough draft form right now, but if you'd like to read it, please send a $10 donat...

Annapolis Wherry Spacered Inwales Installed

For the past week (yes, WEEK!) I have been working on the outwales and spacered inwales. The inwales and outwales are such an obvious part of the boat that you really want them to look as good as you can possibly make them. And doing that takes a lot of time and patience.  The spacered inwale kit is an addition to the basic wherry kit. The kit includes the OUTwales, but does not come with INwales. We like the look of the spacered inwales and find that they have some function too for securing things to the hull. They look nautical.    The spacered inwale kit comes with inwale rails, sticks you cut to make the spacers, a replacement breasthook for the bow, and replacement quarter knees for the transom.  They leave it up to you for how long to cut the spacers and how far apart to space them. The manual that comes with the kit is extensive.  I like the look of rounded spaces. No, it's not the normal look of spacers which are supposed to simulate the ribs on a wooden...

Annapolis Wherry Hull Painted

If you haven't yet, please read my previous post regarding amine blush and primers.  After thoroughly washing the hull with water, and then priming, I was now ready for top coating.  I used Interlux Toplac Plus in Matterhorn White. What a great paint! OMG... this stuff seems to have magical properties! I've never used a paint that does not sag or run, even on vertical hull sides.  Of course, you have to roll on a light coat with a foam roller, but even with a thin coat like that, most paints would still have runs. This one doesn't! And you don't need to tip it either! Just roll it on and walk away.  It gets better too... you don't have to sand after each coat! As long as you roll on a second coat after 16 hours but before 3 days, you don't have to sand. Nice! I did three coats in three days with no sanding between coats. There's a slight bit of orange peel, but most of the surface issues are due to my poor surface prep instead of orange peel. To be honest, ...