Franks progress report...

Frank has been busy building his fish at home in the garage and just sent in these updates to share.
" I cut all the short pieces @ 45 degrees , taped them together and edge glued them, a total of 96 pieces. "

" The four composites so created were then glued to the frame like the other planks."

" And as you can see one can never have too many clamps.Because the two timbers , i.e. the paulownia and the western red cedar do not bend equally under the same pressure I had to insert an extra 3/4 length stringer on each side to provide a fulcrum to bend the 45 degree pieces evenly to make the curve of the deck as it rolls down toward the rails. "

" Near the tail I inserted a foam block on each side to anchor the fin boxes. There is also a foam block to take the gore-tex leash plug/vent near the V of the tail."

" Now I am starting to laminate the rails, starting with the V in the tail. The rails will be alternate layers of paulownia & w.r. cedar. I have also started on the fins, working on them while waiting for the glue used in the lamination to set."

" I don't know if the board will be finished by August the 8th, but I will bring it along regardless."

Frank is a bus driver here on the Gold Coast. Loves his surfing and has been building the board between shifts on the buses. He has set himself a tricky job with all the detail with different timbers and angles , but the result looks great . This is his second board and just shows once you get the bug you are willing to challenge yourself to build something personal and different.

Great job mate and we look forward to catching up in August.