More surf photos

Grain Update - Cheater Coat Applied

As I get ready to pour resin all over a board that has taken me 2 years to finally get shaped I take a deep breath and hope for the best.

It's wet and it's time to move. 

Kipp was great. He would call out what was happening and direct me on what to do. As we start out we are calm and take our time.

 After a bit the resin started to kick off so we had to hurry.

It was huge to have Kipp there. He's done a dozen or so home glass jobs so he at least had an idea of what he was doing.

The wood grain is soooo amazing. It darkened to a deep amber.

On the board I wrote a message to Alia. It said... 

{Alia, I hope your children's children ride this board. Love Dad.} 

With all the time I put into this project I can't help but think how amazing it is that having it made out of wood means that it will last for decades. I spent a lot of time and my friends spent a lot of time on this board. As it all comes together it feels so good knowing it was all worth it. 

When we flipped the board to do the bottom the experience I had with the top made it much easier. 

I still can't get over how amazing the wood grain looks.

Tomorrow we glass the deck.

Local Surf Artist Steve Burrows' Art Show Is On Now

Leucadia local, Steve Burrows, is having an art show at the Pannikin in Del Mar/ Flower Hill Mall. It goes from Oct. 5th to November 5th. You might remember him from his Fin Art Submission. Steve has some great work so stop in and check his stuff out. You can checkout his work online at  www.burritoart.com. 

Cheryl Sorg In the Tribune

Our very own Cheryl Sorg got interviewed by the Union Tribune's Robert Pincus last week. The article came out in yesterday's Sunday paper. You can read the article here. Congratulations Cheryl!!!!

Not sure who took the pics but thanks!

Encinitas Environmental Day Flowers On Display

Rodney spear headed a community art project at this years Encinitas Environmental Day that got kids and parents alike to reuse bottle tops to make some really cool flowers.  They have been installed on the north side of the Encinitas Library and will be on view through March, 2010. Stop by and check them out. 

Thanks to everyone who helped make that happen. Special thanks to Kirk for manning the booth and putting in a lot of his own artistic efforts to make them turn out so good. Good job everyone. Less bottle caps on our beaches!

Not sure who took the photos, but thanks!

Friday night post

Grain Update - Fin Boxes are Glued In

Kipp has a really cool setup in his garage. A nice little shaping/glassing bay and work bench. Here's a shot of his bench with a home made D Fin project he has been working on.

The Grain all ready for work.

Since this was the first fin boxes I've ever routed I made a mistake and went a bit too deep on one side. We fixed that by adding some glass to left the box.

Kipp was key to this whole process. I did what he said and followed his lead. Here he is putting in some glass.

Since the holes were hand cut there was some work to do getting the edges shaved so that they weren't too tight. Here I am razor blading the hole just a bit more to open it up.

First fin is in and setting. We used a set of shorter based fins to set the box and check the kant.

A little plug for LokBox. These box systems are pretty cool. Once we got the hang of it we were able to do the other side much quicker.

Kipp pulling the tape on the final box.

So far so good. We checked everything with an angle and it was all good.

Kipps respirator. We had great ventilation and little resin so it wasn't at all needed. I liked it though  because of all the resin tent on it. 

I love the way glass folds when it is laid down.

Kipp is quite the innovator. He had some drop down lights that he installed for us.

 

After we got the boxes glued in we sanded everything and got her ready for the glass.

Today was quite the lesson for me in do it yourself fin box installation. Since Kipp and I both had our daughters with us it made for a fun day of daddy daycare. The girls were great. They would come in when the resin work was done, ask questions and the run off and go about their play time. In fact that was what made it that much more special. It's one thing to have a project and another to have your daughters watch, ask questions and be a part of the process.  Who knows, maybe someday they will build their own boards? 

Latest Bit of Fun - Bamboo Single Fin Tee

I was playing around again with my fin tees and came up with this one. I little bamboo ghost job.  It is definitely one of my favorites. Enjoy.

Welcome to the World Sunny Waters

Our friend Mick Waters emailed us last week to let us know that his wife Sue gave birth to their son Sunny two weeks early, after only 20 minutes of labor and in their BATHTUB at 4:28 am. The birth was a surprise and completely unassisted. Mick, Sue and Sunny shared their moment while his two young daughters listen from the bedroom. As a dad I am so happy for Mick that he has his son. As a dad who had a whole hospital behind him when his daughter was born, I am blown away at what the two of them went through in that bathroom.

As Mick put it "I don't know if it is  something I would particularly want to do again. Like swimming with Great Whites. You survive, but if you had to do it again by choice, most probably not. It is amazing though what we can do us humans if needed."

As for Sue, she is a champ. Amazing woman she is. Congratulations the five of you. You guys are amazing and lucky to have each other.

Grain Update. LokBox Fin Boxes Are In!

Ok, I feel like I just passed a huge test.  I have been staring at this beautiful board knowing I have to carve her up to put some fin boxes in and I was scared to death I was going to mess it up. After way too long I finally got the guts up to do them. 

You know the saying about raising a child right? "It takes a village." That is how I feel about this board.  I got my boxes at Mitch's and the guy there hooked me up with some natural colored ones. Very cool. I didn't even know they existed. Kipp came over and helped me measure everything out and transfer Binki's fin settings over to the Grain, loan me his Dremel Tool and talk me into it.

Finally it was time for me to do my work with hand routing the fin box holes and getting every thing to line up just right. After thinking it through and testing out a plan of attack I was able to pull it off. Both fin boxes are in and everything looks great. I can't tell you how stoked I am. I feel like I got some confidence and am ready to get the glass on. Next week Kipp and I will be tackling that.  I'll keep you posted.

Swamis photos

Chris Bartolomei Backside Tube

A Collection of Pictures That Move by Matt Brown

www.Korduroy.tv

I found this short on the Korduroy.tv site. Very cool. You get hypnotized watching it. I've never seen anything quite like it. Each frame is like a perfect photo. It moves at a pace that feels like the perfect time needed for your brain to take in the beauty of the shot and feel comfortable to move on. Amazing shots as well. Enjoy.

Rob Machado Surf Experience & Cardiff Green Expo Sat and Sun Sept. 26th & 27th

This weekend is the Rob Machado Surf Experience & Cardiff Green Expo down at seaside reef. Jamie and her husband Tak from Studio Aiuto did the poster and tee shirt.  It's going to be a fun kid-friendly weekend at Seaside with lots of green vendors, entertainment, kids surf contest, King & Queen of the Reef Triathlon... and more. Enjoy.

Good work on the poster guys!

Time for some more surf photos.

Dirty Wax Art - Trilogy

I realized I haven't put up any wax art lately. This is one I did a while back I call Trilogy. Believe it or not I have this one and everyone I've made plus the ones people have given me up on my wall. It makes me smile during the day when I look over and see these dirty little wax creations looking back at me. 

Last year I would have stripped my board and dumped it in the trash. Now my old wax has a new life and I have fun and get inspired. A win win for sure. 

For those of you still willing to do a little dirty wax art I still have Wax Buddies to hand out. They just sent me a new shipment a few weeks back so I have plenty to go around. Send them in and stick the little dirty creation on your bookshelf. You'll feel good about it I promise.