Another Paipo on the go, Thought i'd use up the nice jap ceder planks i had left over from the last board. A 5' paulownia skin i made up ages ago for another board, and a piece of cloth - as i've never done a cloth inlay before.

Also thought I'd have a play with bottom channels, just to see how far the vacuum will pull the timber before it either crushes the foam or splits/cracks the timber. Haven't got there yet, amazing what shapes the vacuum will pull the timber into.

Just thought I'd add some pics of Rod's board and a few shots of the new gearbox fin system and Hanalei fins.

All Done.
Rod's board finished just in time to take to the Waipu fish fry. Was a bit touch and go if I'd make it or not.
Great project, learnt a lot. made a mistake or two. but overall very satisfying. New gearbox finbox system from Hanalei fins was great to use, with excellent help and support from Robin Mair in Hawaii and Lance in Aussie.

Haven't posted anything for an age! Been busy on the farm. I have however made a few bits and pieces.... With Piripi and the rest of his Rawiri clan leaving us for Indonesia for a couple of years I received a few boards - in all different states of repair!  have two nice L44 boards that Piripi broke in half while new. One is repaired and being surfed by Lauren Ambler, the other glued and waiting for some sticky stuff. Another couple have torn out leash plugs and various dings repaired and ready for the Hokianga kids to get out on them. - Will add pics
I now have foam !!!! 
Ready for starting work is a paipo - a 5'8" simmons - and a 6'4" for uncle Rod,
 Sick of his longboard, but struggling with the shortboard, he will shortly have a pretty high volume hydro simmons, 6'4", full concave from nose to tail, hydro type hull.  16mm rail build, 3mm planks top and bottom and a 4 ounce layup in epoxy - the eco sap stuff, forgotten what its called. board set up as quad/thruster - five fin.
Pics have come out funny due to the fish eye camera view, the board is actually quite straight.
timber is  Japanese cedar.

 

Glassed, 2 x 6oz sanded, fill coated, sand and sand and sand - pin lines done. Still a bit crooked but getting better!. Now to drill in and fit the leash plug and do the fin box install.

Waiting for a new blank that i'm hoping will be here in a few days...... Uncle Rods new board, a 6'4" hydro simmons - one of Grant's - cheers dude - again!
Anyway, had a chunk of foam from when i made the last paipo and thought i'd make another. Decided to use the Agave stalk I've had leaning against the shed for the last 12 months, cool stuff but lousy to work. very hard on the outside, and softer than flax stalk inside. all okay when you glue it in, but as soon as you start foiling and exposing the center you have huge sdifferences in density, put that next to the foam and its very gently gently with the sandpaper. pics have come out a bit dark - i'll take some more as progress continues.
little patch up in the crack of that buttcrack i forgot about! 

Well the big Paipo is finished, as par normal when doing anything new i learned a hell of a lot. First mistake was believing what i read on the web that poyfilla is the nz version of what the americans call spackle, a white surfboard filler. I dinged the blank, filled with polyfilla - laminating coat - polyfilla goes brown. Looked like an 80yr old with bad sunspots- ugly. I thought i could do the distressed look art work as a cover up and as i only had black pigment - black it would be. More ugly! Black is a difficult color. And my skills low. I like nice clean boards so it was a tad disappointing, never mind it wont affect its surf-ability just aesthetically not what i wanted.My mates haven't seen it but are calling it my flutter board (little foam board that kids in nz use to learn to swim) No one knows about the poem underneath, can't wait for the abuse - Will be a good laugh. I've ordered a pad for it from Casey at Cove Pads, will hopefully arrive in the next week.