How To Build A Spoon

[surfhorn]

Just found out a friend has a Wilderness pin tail (probably around 7'6") with a Fins Unlimited box. The fin looks like a GG model....if he made fins for FU boxes.

It has the characteristic wider base. I'll try and grab a template off the fin.

[DrStrange]

I now have pics of WaveSet GG stage IV (from Halcyon) TrueAmes GG IVa, pretty much same except the True Ames flares at the bottom adding a good couple inches to base, also the above Velo fin Flexman posted, and the TrueAmes L-flex (Greg Liddle pill board fin which is a lot similar to the stage IV but a bit more base and a bit less rake). Can't figure out how to reduce the pixel size yet keep the pic big enuf to post.

[surfhorn]

Speaking of Liddle, back in February 1987 or so I flew down to SoCal for a Surfrider board meeting. Tom Pratte told me not to worry about a board and to just bring a wetsuit. He knew I was a KBer and I thought he would find a fish or something for me to ride. Tom rode a 9'2" Lance Carson with 10 oz cloth on both sides........I should have known better.

Well, he pulls up with a 8'10" Liddle single fin but with a real nice 12" flex fin. Tom takes me to Trestles (since we were using the meeting room at SURFER for our board mtg). Trestles was going off at 4-5 foot....sunny skies, no wind....perfect. I pushed the fin all the way up in the box and it really made the board come alive. Surfed Uppers for over 3 hours then paddled down to Lower.

I would have killed to have a KB. Lowers was 5 foot and peeling - and all the shortboard standups were inside at the peak. I was able to takeoff 50 yards outside, make the big section and just blow on through. I was so bummed not to be on a KB.

We surfed for 5 hours and then went to the mtg. I sat by the window with late afternoon sun pounding on my back. Needless to say, I snored through most of the meeting....and drained my sinuses onto my paperwork.

But what a nice flex fin! [see, I can tie up this story and make it relavent to spoons].

[DrStrange]

Well, jsut had a chat w/ someone lives near Santa Cruz who has built many spoons back awhile ago. Mostly sails and fishes these days but he had a few interesting ideas about construction. Here's my summary. Anybody has comments/criticisms love to hear it:

1)His experience w/ pour foam is that over time, it post-cures and continues to expand. Obviously, if true, a structural nightmare. His solution was to do what MTBarrels posted earlier in this thread as his method

2)He recommended MTB's solution to possible warping of making a 2X4 frame and hot gluing the hull to it before starting work on deck side

3)His glassing schedule was 3 layers 6 oz S-glass on entire bottom plus one more just on rails. Same on deck. That's it. No grinding your done. He likes very stiff longitudinal flex in boards for bigger waves so in those added torsion bar of glass. With so few layers, S-glass is very cost effective and you get a lighter board. He thought that was enough strength. If too flexy add to deck. Much easier to add glass than take it off!

4)Foam all the way to corners of tail and flex is partially controlled by proper shapeing of the foam. Said he like the feel of how they handled better than glass edge last few inches.

5)He found (maybe due to lighter glassing sched?) that glassing on the fin had potential for lots of shape changing warpage. To eliminate, cover tail w/ mylar tape and glass fin on over it then knock it off, remove tape and epoxy the whole fin/base configuration back on and fare it in w/ grinder.

6)He likes UV resin. Said you can eliminate laminar sheering problems between layers by not letting harden all the way between laminations. Soon as it gels, get the next one on top. This way you get more time to work with it esp when glassing those pesky convex curves on the deck rails.

7)For width he likes 21" as ball park, wider for small weak waves and down to minimum 20 1/2" for bigger jiuce.

That's all I got as he suddenly found that his house was flooding and had urgent desire to get off the phone.

[Man O' War]

I got some small ripples in the nose after the shaping and glassing. It made no sense. This is the first I've ever heard of hand-pour foam post-curing. That would explain it, if it's true.

I'm making a female mold to use for the next two boards. The hull will be laminated in the mold and will stay there during the pouring/shaping phase. That might solve the problem, at least on the hull side.

I don't know about going the route your friend took.

How did his boards work, anyway?

[DrStrange]

Well I think. Not really my friend. Got his number from Dale Solomonson, a friend of his and GG's and other flex afficianados.

Personally, I'd be a bit nervous about the popping off the entire fin attachment and gluing it back on. He seemed pretty confident about doing it though. Looked a bit today and couldn't find any mylar tape. Did find PVA release for about $6 a pint. Only bummer about that methodology is you need a new shaped blank each time you make one. Of course if its a good one, it will last you awhile.

[DrStrange]

His experience w/ pour foam is that over time, it post-cures and continues to expand.

Dale S. told me he's never seen a prob w/ pour foam. Only if not well enough mixed before app. He gets his from Hastings Plastics in Santa Monica, CA.

[Man O' War]

I think Dale got the answer: it's not the hand-pour, it's the pourer. I remember something it said on the can now --"Use power mixer." I even checked with Dale on that one. He'd never had to use a power mixer. He just mixed it real well with stir sticks and had no problems.

I'm not sure I took the time to mix it real well, at least not on the first couple of pours. Knowing that I had about 20 secs. to mix and 60-90 secs. to make the pour, and it being my first time, I felt a little under the gun. I did six or eight pours, and on the first couple, not knowing what to expect, I may have cut some corners. I remember seeing some streaks here and there and not worrying about it. That would have been Parts A and B not quite blended. I got some different consistencies on the pours too: from harder and more granular to smoother and easier to shape.

Maybe that's all it was. If it says, "use power mixer," draw the conclusion.

[Man O' War]

All you potential spoonists (or spectators) and especially you shapers Bruce, Buddy etc, check out the photos and detailed narrative of the making of DM's new carbon-glass quad.

http://flexspoon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14