An early morning trek down to Blue Bay with o'l mate Nikon enabled me to take sunrise photos and play around with lens filters and stuff. As the sun had risen I changed lens's and was able to snap a few guys out for an early one .
My Brother saw the finished "Ye Olde Log" and asked if I could build him a unique looking wooden longboard. I searched Google Images for inspiration and found these pictures of Greg Noll boards that I think look sensational.
What a blast to ride. This hollow wooden ply longboard weighs in at 27kg's on dry land. In the water where gravity is reduced the board floats on top of the water & is effortless to paddle. The only tip I have is that you paddle early and the weight will carry you. I have had this longboard for nearly 18months now and I haven't ridden a foam & glass board since. Wood feels good under your feet.......
The board is glassed, stainless steel bung fitted and is ready to hit the soup
At this stage all frame work & deck skins have been glued. The fin blank has been glassed separate to the board. The board is ready for the cork strips to be laid as rail build up.
During the glue-up stage
Frame work & fin blank
After many many hours I had finished drawing the internal frame work, top & bottom deck skins, &, fin blank. The dxf files were sent to the laser cutters where all components were cut from 4mm hardwood ply. Fingers & toes crossed.........
Not having made a hollow wooden ply longboard before, I decided to use my fathers old stringer-less Shane as the basis of my design. Patterns were drawn onto mdf sheets outlining the profile & rocker. I spent hours transferring the pencil patterns onto CAD to develop the frame work. Holes & cutouts have been added to re-leave weight and allow the entire inside of the board to be one air mass with no air pockets. I have read that it isn't uncommon for hollow wooden surfboards to split or de-laminate as the internal air expands when heated up in the sun light.
