New Board and Other Photos

     Been a while, but when there's no news, there's good news, as they say. The good news comes in twos, because A) there has been quite a lot of swell lately, and B)I finished this board, 012, a couple weeks ago, the night before it got really good one morning.

     This board, like Henry, is literally stronger than the storm. As my shop flooded during Sandy, the shaped blank for 012 took float and got a few good gouges, dings and dents, and took on a good amount of water . I let it sit for quite a while and almost abandoned it entirely before I looked at it one day and figured I'd better finish it. So I did....

....And I'm loving it. The low rocker, the big twin keels, the flat bottom to V out the back all translate into fast fast fast. It holds a high line on steep speedy barreling waves, but it also maintains a lot of speed in mushy flats to connect to inside sections such as those the south end has been exhibiting at certain tides lately.  And it goes backside pretty nicely too!

 Here's the only picture of it in action so far. See, I love it so much it makes me dance!

 Beautiful lugs on a classic Carlton. Not mine, unfortunately.

 Indiana's geese are NOT to be crosssed!

GET BACK TO WORK!

Everyone is aware of few of the things that are constantly present on construction sites. Beer bottles and cans strewn about? Absolutely. Lewd pictures of scantily clad pin-ups adorning the walls of the port-o-potty? You bet. Obnoxious neanderthals who act so crudely that passing women go around the block to avoid walking by? Of course. But you may not have known this: Oftentimes the waste from the material we use ends up making the cutest creatures, and they are motivational to boot.

 But they aren't quite as cute as this guy here:

Mexican Axolotyl. The most peacefully happy creature on the planet that also has the ability to regenerate limbs, parts of its heart, it's brain, and neurons. WILD.

Some Photos and a Song

Jeannine took some photos of me surfing the other day. These were two of my favorites.

Before this song came on Pandora the other day, I had previously only heard Leadbelly's version. Nirvana, playing a really good song really well. 

I've been in a Swans/Angels of Light/Michael Gira mood lately. Here's my favorite one from their last album, The Seer. Enjoy!

Pinlines

So Far To Go....

It's so satisfying when you start glassing a board. A lot of of the final look of the board manifests all at once, like the color and logos, and it starts to gain weight closer to what the finished product will be. If I really wanted to surf a shape before, I really really start wanting to surf it after the glassing process has begun.

Especially after the hotcoat, which might be my favorite part of the glassing process, because it takes 10 minutes at most and it leaves the board glossy and looking somewhat like it will after the board is finished, although there is really so much more to do. SFs 012 and 013, post-hotcoat, waiting for sanding, then pinlines, some more sanding, then leash plugs and fin boxes, then some more sanding, then gloss coat, then some more sanding, then polishing....

 This wonderful autumnal air has got me in the mood for some pumpkin ales. Not pictured: Harpoon UFO Pumpkin, which was pretty good as well. I probably wouldn't get the Terrapin again, but I might. It wasn't terrible, but there are so many available I like better. The Fegley's Brewworks Devious Imperial Pumpkin was tasty, but of course, the Southern Tier Pumking lives up to its nomenclature once again, and reigns king of all pumpkin ales for the nth year running.

I saw this glowing radioactive spider in my yard, and decided to let it bite me. FACT: When I was young, I wanted to be Spiderman when I grew up. Can't say I've lived up to that childhood dream, but I did set the bar high, I guess.

 

 Sanding some keels on 013

I've been in Smashing Pumpkins mood lately. Two from Saimese Dream.

Early to Bed, Early to Rise...

 I've been able to get in bed by 10 PM the past few nights, which makes me happy, especially when I can get over to the beach in time to witness marvels of the natural world such as the sunrise above. So, with one minute to go, I'll just post a bunch of pictures, and some music. Goodnight.

Harry Nilsson - "Jump Into The Fire," heard on Princeton 103.3 yesterday, on The Freeform Pathogen program. I highly recommend both the program and the song.

Guaranteed to Have the Time of your Life!

     This board survived the Great Storm, literally. When my shop flooded I ran out to find it floating around on the in a foot of water. It was a board I shaped a while ago, didn't like how the rails came out, left it half forgotten and abandoned leaning against the wall of the shop, then, after sitting on the blank rack covered in dust and cobwebs, and on its way to mouldering like John Brown's Body, after I finished what will be SF012 (I think), I decided to allow more than this board's soul to go marching on, and fix the rails and finish it. I'm excited to surf it, as it will be quite a bit lighter than the garbology experiment that was SF007, which measures 5'2 or something and weighs as much as some longboards.

Stack o' keels waiting to be foiled...

 ...and a pair that has been glassed and ready for a trim. I've realized I need to be in the right mood to go out and foil fins. I tried a couple when I just wasn't feeling it, and they came out awful (not saying the fins above are perfect, but you should've seen the previous attempts).

 This one's for all my librarian friends!

      Scalloped Early White Summer Squash from the garden. Last yeah, this variety of summer squash all developed blossom end rot and I didn't get one strange fruit at all, while the other squashes and zucchinis did well. This year, while the others are still doing well, the Scalloped White bush grew like gangbusters, and has really been producing. I think this is the fifth one that we'll get so far, and it shows no sign of stopping. The only foreseeable thing that could happen is the dreaded Squash Vine Borer, which has already taken a toll on one of the other plants