Friday, April 27, 2007

sanding start

Photo by the esteemed Wilbur Kookmeyer.

{{{Toots and the Maytals, Funky Kingston.}}} (cheers Steve Thornley!)

I'm doing much of what's in the above picture so I haven't made many posts.

After I got the nose and tail blocks good and dry I cut a rough outline of the rail with my jigsaw. My tail block extends back about 3/4" further than what I think is supposed to be the original length. With this in mind, I'm going to make it a rounded squash giving it a little more meat on the end. Why? Just for experimentings sake really. I mean, it's only a half to threequarters an inch and isn't going to drastically change the outline. I'm thinking that if I'm making a little sharper of a rail at the tail for those kind of skating maneuverings that will eliminate some longboarding style surfing, and if I give that style of tail (squash) I can add a little rounded volume to it, and I can recover a small element of the longboarding style that I have giving up with the sharper rails. I think that with this small modification and with a hatchet fin, I can recover noseridability lost with it's larger rocker, sharper rails and squash tail. Personally, I think this shape a great candidate for side bites too. It has a distinctly thruster tail. What is good about that for me is that the thruster tail is the one that I am most familiar with and is a loth easier for me to tackle than a swallow or rounded pin.

There are a few soft spots on the deck. Totally minor one on the nose seam about two inches long. And a soft spot at the tail. I am considering two layers of 6 pound glass on the deck with even maybe a deck patch at the tail and one 6 pound layer for the hull. I guess I better go shop for resin and glass!

Back to more sanding! Thanks for dropping by!