Polishing

Friday i will polish the Long(ish) asymmmetric… been a long week of other stuff and will be so good to finally get that board finished. Very excited to ride it.

10ft triple stringer Gliders

John is my business partner from Natural Path Building Solutions, our eco-building company. John doesn't surf but is fascinated by surfing and boards, helping me out with the recent Blood Sweat and Tears when the epoxy started to kick before the jigs were set.

Having broken one learner board (he is 6'2" 18 stone, all muscle) we decided the best thing was to build one. So John and I are going to make a 10 foot triple stringer glider each... under my watchful eye (and rescuing hands if needed) he is going to hand shape, glass, sand polish his own first surfboard. The first unbroken wave he rides will be on top of a board he created. I think that is going to be pretty unique and special...  first job is to make some templates... 

PS Thanks to Chris Hartop for organising the foam.

Pinlined…

This board is kind of special… it’s one of those i have done everything on myself. Most boards I get the very best craftsmen to glass, sand, gloss and polish; it’s what they do every day and they do it better than me, so my customers get the best possible finish, the strongest possible board… but my own I like to do myself, and the relationship you have with the board is definitely enhanced… the way you sand it reflects the way you shaped it, all the subtleties maintained, the tinted freelap, the pinline not trying to hide the bleed but highlighting it… This one just feels extra special, perhaps because it reflects my new train of though on asymmetry, but in a long(ish) guise… I truly can not wait to ride this, hopefully next weekend…

80 grit…

Just been attacking the “Longish” with 80 grit… sanding really is an overlooked art… so easy to sand through and create a weak point on the rail;. I like the way Daz has been showing me to do this one, he calls it an  Australian Hot coat… just do the rails and fins… then finish with a gloss coat. Hope to have this one ready for pinlines  and ink by the end of the week with any luck.

Go west

Florida bound…

1 x 6’6 Atlantic POD

1 x 6’5 Orca

Sorry no time to take pics but hope to get some from the U S of A in due course. Had a special box made up to keep freight to a minimum… then wrapped them in other older cardboard and straps for added protection.

Hot

Today’s hot coat on the asymmetric long(ish)… laps only. These will be sanded back before a final gloss coat… all in the interests of reduced weight but equal strength.

Going to be a logo free deck with a little ink on it…

In search of lost weight…

I am taking a masterclass in hotcoating and sanding from Daz at the moment with a view to shedding significant weight on my new Long(ish) board…

Fin asymmetry

Nalu

For Merrick.

hand drawn pinlines

More tint

Concave tint

Metallic silver grey asymmetric

New pigment i am trying… not as metallic as the copper bronze but a lovely colour…

More asymmetry

    

Atlantic POD for Florida

Merrick’s Atlantic POD bonzer EVO6 6’6” x 20 3/4” x 2 7/8”, Bernoulli concaves, cheek tail, beak nose… very happy with how the shaping went today, especially the concaves which are often tricky to get just right.

BONZER wins Smithy Invitational

It was double overhead plus at Welcombe. Ig Wilkinson had come through the first super heavy heat on a very retro 6 ft twin fin and was wondering what to ride for the finals.

Whilst the other 3 finalists chose old faithfuls Ig, with a little encouragement from literary master and photo journalist Lee Robertson (thanks for the pic Lee), thought “I know  I’ll try a bonzer, and why not that weird looking asymmetric Tim is always banging on about.”

He won with smooth powerful carves, big turns on even bigger faces. To me he looked immediately comfortable and was able to lay down turns comfortably across the powerful walls. He won the contest with ride of the day, a massive right that broke from way out back all the way to the inside, surfer and board always ahead, always in control.

Ig really impressed me with his surfing, but also with his open mindedness. Thanks, respect, and congrats.

Atlantic POD #1– Ireland again

Test pilot Richard Woodcock putting the very first Atlantic POD through its paces in some more Irish Juice.

“Hi Tim - the Atlantic POD is a truly amazing craft. Was riding it as 6 fin (just 2 FCS honeycomb glass ones that came with a Firewire that snapped!!)and the grip is incredible. Paddling for fast jacking, barrelling, sand bottomed waves, turning as I popped up and dropping at 45 degrees !!! Wow - its a machine. Its bonzers all the way for me now - Ill never go back to thrusters. Thanks.”

    

Blood Sweat & Tears

5’11 x 20 3/4 x 2 7/16 Kevlar/carbon, wood, eps FreakFish.

This was a prototype – lots learnt through blood sweat and tears. Pretty pleased with the end result. Learning points are all visible and will make the next one lighter with a more perfect finish.

It will be super robust with the tulipwood rails (beautifully thicknessed to 3.2mm strips by Beech Bros of Exeter), birch ply deck, Kevlar carbon bottom. Weight is more than a PU or EPS conventional but it is still a spritely 8lbs and the added weight should give it loads more flow and quicker take offs.

         

This one will be ridden a few times and then for sale. It is a prototype so it’s imperfections will be reflected in the price at £450 ex fins.

Custom orders will be £700 inc fins.

Charlie Rs Atlantic POD

 

Atlantic POD #1

     

Richard Woodcock. Putting the very first Atlantic POD through it’s paces in Ireland.

ink

Jiggy jiggy

One of the thing about bonzers is that all the jigs made to fit standard fins and boards just don’t want to work with bonzer concaves unless they are really shallow… just another reason why they have never been popular mass production boards, factories can’t churn as many out.

Fortunately Daz, Adam and I usually always find ways around the problems they present.

This is Daz fitting the mini-boxes for the LokBox system with new bottom contours I designed to make the production a little easier and the end result stronger. Pleased to say it really made a difference and LokBox bonzers are now back on the menu, which means more direct transfer of energy through the board and the potential with an extra set of fins to ride the same board as a thruster or even a fish. Charlie Rs board here will be the first to be able to enjoy the benefits and we look forward to hearing how it goes.

 

Fried

RESIN CONSPIRACY

Epoxy gel-time conspiracy. The new quick cure epoxy just wasn’t quick enough for the two fish due to show at the European Fish Fry in Crackington Haven this weekend. I needed just 24 more hours to finish both… 

Frying time

This is the board I am working on for the Fry BUT epoxy cure times are now totally stuffing me and with 2 days left and 3 days curing time required it’s not ,looking promising… so it is touch and go if it will be showing, if so probably without fins!