I took a class at 3rd Ward last summer to shape a surfboard – taught by the phenomenal Mr. David Murphy. He’s a master of surf shaping and I can’t praise his knowledge, teaching skill, and craft enough. If you haven’t seen his work, go to that first tumblr link or here.
As a total newbie / aspiring surfer I didn’t really know what I wanted or needed, so we came up with this – which Dave christened the Raoulinator. It’s a 7’3″ beefy, high volume board for a big, slow guy (me). It has the swallow tail because that’s just an aesthetic I like. I wanted to be as old-school as possible in the colours and I’m extremely happy with the way it turned out. Of course, it hasn’t been in the water yet – I’ve been learning with Elliot at Surf2Live since before Memorial Day, and I still suck. The popup eludes me and then even when I do get up on a super long, super wide board my balance is terrible.
But I never leave without a huge smile and aching muscles and the desire to go back and do better next time.
Finished Raoulinator with tri-fin setup – although I expect to use either single fin or duals (probably the former):
Details of tail
Alternate view (which makes it look shorter and wider than it should due to weird perspective)
