Building a surfboard for OC Merrill’s son

[whiteworks]

I had @OCMerrill and son help me out on a house rehab project a while back, when everything was finished up I told Evan I would build him a surfboard as a tip for his amazing effort he put in. Also I told him it wouldn’t be soon, and to be patient LOL

I have a back log of boards to build, but if I don’t put this one on the front burner it will keep getting pushed back. Enough is enough it’s time to get this kid out in the water on his own WWSurfboard. Building a board that I know is gonna get used in the water by the owner is why I do this, if you paddle out in the big blue you know the deal. If not, you should start.

I’ll try to keep this thread updated over the next few weeks and with a little luck Evan will be paddling out sometime in July.

 

[RVR SWPR]

OC Merrill,many of us remember a good friend to RDP. Rebuild of his father boat,same boat OC grew up on.His own blue water boat.Good stuff.
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[LargeOrangeFont]

OC Merrill,many of us remember a good friend to RDP. Rebuild of his father boat,same boat OC grew up on.His own blue water boat.Good stuff.
.

I see him quite often, he lives on my street. I remember walking by his truck wondering what an RD was and why it sucked so bad.

This is a cool project!

 

[whiteworks]

Layout is super critical, if the foundation is good everything will come together nice, if not there will be little battles all the way to the home stretch. My fixture is perfectly flat, the table is shimmed to perfection so the board will not have a twist. I use a laser a few times during the build, the first time is when I set the rocker jig to the table. It has to be perfectly straight, I use the laser again on the first lamination on both sides of the board, if the stringer is perfect everything will go smooth.

Evan’s board is getting a mahogany and walnut stringer and the rest of the board will be paulownia. It’s gonna be a little heavier than foam and glass when finished, it will have 1 layer of 4oz glass on the bottom and 2 layers of 4oz on the deck. This board will last him several decades of use.

not sure if this video will make sense, but it’s shows the laser in action.

 

[Heylam]

I see all the ribs are elliptical with a 50/50 profile at the rail. I’m interested to see as this build progresses how you get the finished rail profile desired from nose to tail. Definitely following this thread, as I’m familiar with conventional surfboard construction, but HWS is something I’ve seen, but never paid much attention to.

 

[steamin rice]

Very cool - I'm not a surfer (grew up in AZ), but I really like watching these build threads

 

[MeCasa16]

These surfboard threads fascinate me. The craftsmanship is amazing. I can’t wait to watch this come together.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Ziggy]

Every build I've seen you post is nothing short of spectacular.

 

[rivermobster]

Nobody more deserving.

Great kid.

 

[whiteworks]

Every build I've seen you post is nothing short of spectacular.

I’ve got some ideas for new stuff that will blow minds. Ramping up to put out a bunch of work over the next decade.

Nobody more deserving.

Great kid.

Evan is a true Waterman, putting one of these boards under him will be a great pleasure. That kid is the most humble badass dude I’ve run across in a long time. His dads alright too

 

[Havazoo]

Two thumbs up from San Clemente !!

 

[retaocleg]

wow, very cool...….love seeing people that are good at something do their work, by hand

 

[whiteworks]

wow, very cool...….love seeing people that are good at something do their work, by hand

It’s a pretty cool experience working these days, my skill set is at a point where I can build anything I can imagine. I get lost in the work, time slows down, I’ll look up an it will be 3:00 AM.

There are way better wood workers out there than me, and all have better equipment, however most are stuck in there shops building boxes (cabinets) for monetary compensation to keep the whole mess moving forward. I have zero desire to build kitchens or houses for other people. Pushing that work away leaves most people I know scratching there head, but I don’t have time to get all fucked up on someone else’s trip.

I’m letting this process proceed by its own design, when it shows me something I lean on it.

 

[ElAzul]

Want to build some badass subwoofer enclosures? I keep turning them down but always have the need

 

[whiteworks]

Want to build some badass subwoofer enclosures? I keep turning them down but always have the need

I’m not really into that stuff, hard to get excited about things I’m not into and are just money jobs if that makes sense?

the cool auto/boat stuff I’ve seen is usually more fiber glass cloth stretched over wood frames and gel coated. There are dudes out there doing that and doing it very well. I’ve looked into hi fi speaker cabinets but there are acoustic principles going on with that stuff to get accepted as more than art and desired by audiophile world.

 

[coolchange]

So you CNC your own spar and ribs? I'm thinking about building something in the six to seven foot range.

 

[whiteworks]

So you CNC your own spar and ribs? I'm thinking about building something in the six to seven foot range.

I design the boards in cad and CNC the frame sets if it’s a production model, if it’s one off, I just hand cut them.

 

[rivermobster]

Evan is a true Waterman, putting one of these boards under him will be a great pleasure. That kid is the most humble badass dude I’ve run across in a long time. His dads alright too

Yeah, his dad's ok...

 

[Ol Man]

Way back when I surfed (60s) the only board I ever had made for me was by Dale Velzy in Newport Beach. It was really pretty with red and white and red wood stringers and fin. Technology has really moved on. Looking forward to following this thread.

 

[whiteworks]

Making some progress, started laying up some paulownia. The weight to strength ratio of that species is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Such a nice wood to work with, looking forward to weighing this board when all is said and done.

 

[Heylam]

Firewire has used Paulownia on their Timbertek boards for quite a while. Super strong, and fairly light. That said, I’ve seen it split after a good contact, or from someone heavy on their feet. Would be bad in an HWS build If that we’re to happen and the board were to fill with water. Do you ever fill the interior voids on your builds with foam? Also, do you install a vent on your builds?
Fascinating to watch your build and the craftsmanship that goes into them. Incredible!

 

[whiteworks]

Firewire has used Paulownia on their Timbertek boards for quite a while. Super strong, and fairly light. That said, I’ve seen it split after a good contact, or from someone heavy on their feet. Would be bad in an HWS build If that we’re to happen and the board were to fill with water. Do you ever fill the interior voids on your builds with foam? Also, do you install a vent on your builds?
Fascinating to watch your build and the craftsmanship that goes into them. Incredible!

There is a fine line between weight reduction and strength. The reality is that for performance based surfboards foam and glass is the way to go. On that train of thought, it’s possible to get into the foam and glass weight ranges by doing light lay ups with thin paulownia, and lighter glassing schedule a wood board will be stronger than foam. This board is 3/16” skins, I’ve done 1/4” before and it’s like a fucking tank, you would need a sledge hammer to break it. Evans board here is being built to use, it’s also being built for me to play around with some construction concepts and see how they hold up. It’s a prototype if you will and the price is right so if it fails at some point he can hang it on the wall and I’ll build him another board. This is about relationships and just doing cool shit for me.

Cliff Claven useless fact: the average tour pro surfer will go through 100 surfboards a season. Those boards are super light layup potato chip thin. There is like 0000.1% of surfers who actually have the skill set required for equipment that precise, however selling these boards to the general population keeps shapers in business

Danny Hess up in ocean beach (SF) builds a cool wood board with foam core. Super nice guy and all around good dude who’s really building the best wood surfboards on the market IMO. I’m a hobbyist, woodworker, artist, I am not looking to develop technology or try to make money doing this as a business, however I do charge for commissioned work and it’s not cheap

My boards are like a high boy roadster, you’re not taking it to Home Depot to pick up sacks of concrete, you pick your battles and enjoy the experience of using something unique and rare when you paddle out on them.

I do Install a brass vent screw in my boards, the only time it’s installed is when the board is in the water. It’s 100% mechanical and only will fail if you fuck up and don’t put it in or remove it. A dark wood board sitting in the sun with the vent screw in will build up pressure and if the lay up is light could explode LOL.

 

[lebel409]

Nice...White Works presents a 9 foot wooden hand grenade...

 

[Havasu Surfer]

It’s a pretty cool experience working these days, my skill set is at a point where I can build anything I can imagine. I get lost in the work, time slows down, I’ll look up an it will be 3:00 AM.

There are way better wood workers out there than me, and all have better equipment, however most are stuck in there shops building boxes (cabinets) for monetary compensation to keep the whole mess moving forward. I have zero desire to build kitchens or houses for other people. Pushing that work away leaves most people I know scratching there head, but I don’t have time to get all fucked up on someone else’s trip.

I’m letting this process proceed by its own design, when it shows me something I lean on it.

Another thumbs up from San Clemente. If there is ever an opportunity to observe the process in person, shoot me the location. Following

 

[whiteworks]

Making some progress, should have it ready to flip by the end of the weekend.

 

[bocco]

Damn, that's going to be beautiful. Reminds me of a thread where the son of Miller from Miller boats built an all wood boat. Is this board the sort of deal that you refinish every couple of years or is all about maintenance?

 

[whiteworks]

Damn, that's going to be beautiful. Reminds me of a thread where the son of Miller from Miller boats built an all wood boat. Is this board the sort of deal that you refinish every couple of years or is all about maintenance?

It will get a glass and resin layup with a polished gloss finish. No maintenance schedule is required.