Dirty Crows Surfboards

Balsa Cedar Pine board

2012-01-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

I got this board from my friend Ron Ferrer. He's a good guy and good HWS builder. THe board is an evo with the regular longboard spar. It's super light and feels strong. I can't wait to take it out and see how it goes.

Beach break.. here

2011-12-18T04:54:00.001-08:00

The waves yesterday were walled up and fast. The off shore wind made it all possible. It's so much fun to fly thru the sections and transition to the reform and slide on that too. ANyways,, I've surfed my wood boards and I've surfed my foam quad. The foamy is a lot more fun. It's high performance and it gets up and goes just a little faster which makes a huge difference for me.

THere are times and places where wood would be a better choice but, it's not the better choice for here. The wood can be a lot of fun when it's high tide and mushy. All I can say about that is, I'm waiting for that day. I've got a couple balsa/pine/cedar evo boards from Ron Ferrer and I'm looking forward to testing them. They are about the same weight as my foamy so, it should be interesting. BTW- there are lots of places (sunset beach, nc) where the wood is the better choice.

Little Wednesday

2011-11-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

We had some fun surf the day before Thanksgiving. It was fun and the kids were tearing it up.

getting out

2011-11-16T15:45:00.001-08:00

It's been fun getting sessions in when conditions are right. The wind and waves have been unpredictable. Sometimes when you least expect it, the wind turns around and the surf cleans up. The surf was fun yesterday.

things change

2011-11-10T18:05:00.000-08:00

Another warm water season has pasted. I get out and look at the surf a lot. It's different than the west coast. There seems to be a lot more messy days. Sometimes there are waves, but it's disorganized. More off shore wind days so that helps. There were some short boards out yesterday and most of the guys are wearing full suit already. Sometimes it's working and most of the time it's not.

What's working

2011-10-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

I've been away from home on an extended vacation for awhile. It's so good to back in Ormond Beach and surfing again. My go to board is a foamy quad. It's suited to the conditions here. For me it's great to be back in the water and doing what I love.

Better ideas

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-07:00

I got to ride Ron's 9' board. It's very light (14 lbs) and worked good. I really like his construction methods and use of balsa wood. His board makes catching waves a little bit easier but, the ride is different. The board felt lively and similar to foam.

meeting the Blind Dog Surf crew

2011-09-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune to meet Tom and Dan during my trip up the coast. We shared a session and they showed me and my girlfriend Julie a great time at Sunset Beach.

Waiting for something.

2011-08-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

It's the waiting game... for the next tropical storm. One of the best things about living here is getting in the water. Lots of time to relax and ride boogie boards when the surf is too small. I've been busy tiling the place and fixing things as I go. My shop....well it's a train wreck. There are to many house related projects. I'm not going to let that bother me. I'd rather surf and enjoy the beach.

nose rider fin gloss

2011-06-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to gloss coat the fin. This one should be ready for the water by the 4th of July.

D.

Nose rider bottom gloss

2011-06-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

The bottom is done and I'll be getting to the fin next. I'm going to do a sand finish and hard buff. It's going to be sweet to take this one out.

Gloss coat nose rider

2011-06-13T14:25:00.001-07:00

I gloss coated the top today. This time I used epoxy that was thinned down with xylene. It worked out alright and it's a lot easier than shooting clearcoat.

D.

Finishing the noserider

2011-06-13T06:10:00.001-07:00

I wet sanded yesterday. It's ready for a gloss coat. I'm going to try a thinned out coat of epoxy instead of clear coat on this one.

Shaped rails BLUNT NOSE

2011-04-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had lots of fun with the spokeshave today. Great tool for shaping and blending.

Bottom check

2011-04-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

I leveled the bottom and checked the belly. It looks good.

D.

Rough shaped

2011-03-30T12:03:00.001-07:00

Shop dog in training...

D.

Top Panels done

2011-03-19T10:53:00.001-07:00

I cut up a couple 2x4's to get these last two strips. I'm happy with this so far. It'll set in the jig for few days under weight to let everything settle in.

D.

Top Panel gettin done.

2011-03-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's going along well and I'm loving it. It's still setting nice and flat with minimum weight. I'll belt sand down the nose and tail a little before stripping those out.

The cedar blocking in the tail is for the leash plug and the off center cedar is for the vent. I like to keep the nose and tail as thin as possible.

D.

Not your usual stuff.

2011-03-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today, I received a package from the United Kingdom. It contained some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen. A big thanks to Mike Skinner for these pieces of English Elm Burl. It's a very rare wood and I can see why. I plan to use it for the fin stock on my blunt nose. It's going to be amazing.

Here is a picture of how this wood looks when it's finished.

http://www.dunnsohnwoodwork.com/newstuff/elmburl.html

Thanks Mike, you made my day.

D.

Transitioning

2011-03-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

I finished with the rail strips. The next step is to scribe in some 5/8" wide stock. It's a good time to square up the strips. I use the spar as my line of reference. All my rail and top panel strips are soaked in water for 30 minutes before they're set.

Yesterday, I re-sawed my 2x material for my top panel strips. I got lucky, there are some nice fungus stains and a little heart wood. I'm thinking book matched reverse flames. It's gonna be fun.

D.

Not so fast.

2011-03-03T04:38:00.001-08:00

I set the first rail strips on each side. That went well and they have a good sweeping flow that follows the ribs. Next, I set the second rail strip on one side. That seems to go fairly well also until I looked at it again this morning. I noticed that strip dipped down in a couple places (L7-L9 & L2-L3). It would be a big problem if I just kept on railing the board.

The way I fix these trouble spots is to cut them loose and reset them. The gorilla glue is very forgiving in that respect. It's an easy fix and using the right tension clamps is essential. I also used some scrap wood to push out the strip. Yes, rail strips can be a PITA but, it's a much better and easier system than bead and cove.

D.

Prep and rails

2011-03-01T11:29:00.001-08:00

I ran some 1/4" x 1/4" stock so I'd have another surface to glue the first rail strip to. Lots of little relief cuts to make the bends. The tail got widened a bit and some 1/4" stock was added there too. The first rail strips got set.

D.

Nose Profile

2011-02-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

Figuring out how big to make the blunt was easy. It's going to be the same as the tail width. They should finish out at 6-1/2". That's not too big. I'm going to provide some more blocking and belt sand blend it. No funky nose or tail trim pieces on this one.

D.

Bottom Panel glued

2011-02-26T13:46:00.001-08:00

I let the frame dry overnight and popped it out of the jig. The stop blocks and finger blocks were removed and the bottom panel is aligned in the jig. Next, I put the frame on the bottom panel and trace around it leaving it a little proud. Then I cut the excess. I also mark the nose, tail and ribs. Next comes the gorilla glue and then the frame is re-installed. I use a combination of weight and clamps to get a snug fit and maximum contact. This will dry overnight.

D.

Frame is glued

2011-02-25T14:38:00.001-08:00

I traced the outline and hot glued the shims at the end of the ribs and in between them too. Next the ribs get put back in and one more test fit. Finally, the nose piece, tail piece and ribs are glued to the spar. The stringers are friction fit to keep everything where it's suppose to be.

D.

Set-up blunt nose

2011-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

I set the spar, then milled and installed the support blocking. The blocking goes under each rib and between the ribs unless it's on the flats. The nose and tail get support blocking also. I haven't installed the shims yet but, I put a few out so you could see where they'd go. The spar is held in place by finger blocking on the support blocking and stop blocks in the flats. That'll get removed after the ribs and stringers are glued to the spar. I'll update the final set-up tomorrow after the shims are in place.

D.

Blunt nose bottom panel

2011-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

I finished it today. I'll start building the frame jig in the next few days.

D.

Starting bottom panel

2011-02-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I re-sawed my 2x stock for the bottom panel strips and rail strips. So begins the process of laying up the bottom panel. This is for the blunt nose.

D.

Finishing evolution nose rider.

2011-02-02T10:41:00.000-08:00

It needed a light filler coat to make it right. All I need to do is level it and wet sand. I'm planning to clear coated the board after the blunt nose is off the bench top. The warm weather we're having is making this all possible.

D.

Bones are done

2011-01-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

The spar got drilled out. Next step is making the bottom panel. I haven't been to Lowe's for a long time. It should be interesting to see what they got.

D.

Shop Time

2011-01-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

I got busy for a little while. The spar is gettin' worked next. CNC is a state of mind.

D.

Set up

2011-01-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

I notched out the ribs and tuned the spar. Here is how it's looking so far. Still lots of work to do.

D.

Got ribs, nose and tail pieces.

2011-01-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

I cut out and sanded these parts today. I'll do my notching tomorrow and set this one up.

D.

New ribs

2011-01-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

I cut out my spar and got it the way I want. The ribs are pretty easy to draw once the spar is done. I'm working from a spar patterns where the rib locations and lengths are known. That makes it easy to get the outline shape I want. Here are some tools of the trade.

D.

Blunt nose spar

2010-12-31T10:48:00.000-08:00

I had fun transferring the spar drawing to the spar. Old school drafting is almost a lost art since the advent of CAD. This board has a nose rider profile. I decided against doing a nose concave.

D.

Starting a new project

2010-12-18T11:30:00.001-08:00

I drew up the spar for my Blunt Nose. The board will be 9'2" long and share the same plain shape as my evolution longboard. It's got a noserider spar with 2" of nose and 4" of tail rocker. I'm looking forward to making the spar, ribs, nose and tail pieces in the next week.

D.

I'm thinkin' blunt nose.

2010-12-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

I've seen a few and really like them. Thanks to Board Design and Austin Surfboards for the inspiration.

D.

Digging out

2010-11-23T04:54:00.000-08:00

It looks like a mess but, you should have been here yesterday. I've been sorting and getting rid of lots of stuff. You might be able to see the evo noserider under those piles on the bench top. I hope to clean things up in the next week. Then I can finish sand and clear coat it.

D.

Man's best friend.

2010-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I came to a conclusion. My house is too lonely. I haven't lived by myself in close to thirty years. With no wife and kids grown up living away, it makes for some long quiet days.

I've had several dogs in the past and thought it'd be a good time for another. Yesterday, I adopted Luke. He's a young Staffordshire Bull Terrier with lots of potential. I think he's as gentle, smart and respectful as any dog I've ever owned.

We are off to a good start and I'm looking forward to many years of companionship.

D.

What do I mean.

2010-09-26T04:12:00.001-07:00

This is more about what drives me to build what I do. I would have to credit lots of people. For the first few years it was Rich, Paul and Roy. They were the big three in HWS for me and anyone that does not realize that ain't with it. Yeah, I'm a name dropper too.

For the last few years my attention has been on Cooper, Austin, Zeph, and Jim Phillips. These guys are the best IMO. The reason is because their designs work for me. It's that simple.

All of the people I've mentioned have more than paid their dues and are excellent in their craft. Why wouldn't you try to copy them. I still have a lot to learn. Just ask my kids, they are all way smarter than me.

Please don't be a hater.

Aloha

D.

Vent port

2010-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Installed my 3/8" drop anchor vent port. I'll start sanding on it this week to prep for clear coat.

D.

It's about the rails.

2010-09-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Rails make me happy. The tapered rails I've been surfing and building are the best. I'm reminded of this every time I get out in the water. It's a lot easier to manage my board when it doesn't have those fat boaty rails. You wouldn't think it'd make much of a difference but, it does.

Tapered rails work for me for two reasons. I think it's easier to catch waves because the board is foil shaped and the only way to get that shape is with tampered rails. What I like best though is having better rail control when dropping in or turning. With the fat rails it's a lot harder to feel that rail. The shape of the bottom also makes a huge difference. I like the belly, nose concave and vee in the tail. Those features work better for me than a board with a flat bottom.

Ok, that's how it works for me. I love my evo and the nose rider is going to be even better. All you guys that have to run to the nose to stay in the wave know what I'm talking about.

D.

Hot Coat

2010-09-07T13:29:00.001-07:00

The top got done.

Laminated pivot fin

2010-09-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is the last layer of glass.

The board got laminated.

2010-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Laminated with 4 oz. S-2 glass and epoxy resin.

Pivot fin under construction

2010-08-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

This is my version of a pivot fin. I rough shaped and it still needs more sanding.

More rough shaping

2010-08-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

I sanded on the top today. It's still needs lots of work but, it's getting there.

Rough Shaped

2010-08-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is my first day of rough shaping. I try to break it up over several days. It's coming along.

Ugly baby

2010-08-03T16:08:00.001-07:00

The woodworking is done. I hope to start shaping when the temperature cools downs a bit. More to come.

New board coming to life.

2010-07-23T03:57:00.001-07:00

My first dirty crow is going from a parts stage to new board. Here is the link to the build.

http://treetosea.org/social/mod/groups/topicposts.php?topic=12588&group_guid=752