Dumb heading, but true nonetheless. 008 is finished being shaped, minus a few final touches. This is the first board I've shaped that I have just gotten down to business without thinking too much while doing it. And it went pretty quickly. Started Wednesday, got a bunch done on Thursday, and did a few small things yesterday. It had been a while since I shaped a board, especially one from a real blank, and it felt good to do it again.
It's no secret that I love the first board I made, 001, the 5'5" Lis fish. I've surfed it in all kinds of waves and it has rarely (not never) let me down. But I've always felt it could be improved upon, so that's what I tried to do here. I basically used the template for that board and the one from 006 . I pulled the nose and tail in, and gave the tail those wings (which I love shaping, I love the feel of it) to pull it in that much more and give a water-release point. I put more rocker in the nose and tail, to add to maneuverability and help with steep wave entry, but not too much, because I didn't want to lose the speed or ability to just hop towards the nose and lock in to the wave and trim. I also gave this one a bit more foam, especially from the mid-point forward, for even better paddling and earlier entry on those steep days that present a challenge to my beloved fish. I'm sure the rails are different than my other one, but these feel good, and that's what I go by. Can't wait to get this one glassed and try it, but that probably won't happen super-soon because A) I still have to make fins for it and B) my block of EPS is supposedly coming this week. We'll see...
Tom Waits' "The Fawn," off of Alice. It came on shuffle yesterday while I was shaping, so here it is. Now it's time to go build some raised beds for my vegetables!
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