I am new to this forum and am in the planning stages of building my first board. First off I want to thank Rich for the forum. It is a great asset to those of us inspired to build these beautiful boards. I hope to start the actual build this fall once I finish a couple of other projects ahead of it.

I am planning on building a Channel Islands inspired 6'9" single fin similar to the one Rich built. I have wanted one ever since I saw the first one in a surf shop several years back. And of course an HWS would be even better than a foam model. Anyway I am using Aku Shaper to work out the templates and may end up modeling it in a 3D CAD program to get the actual templates. I am fortunate to have access to a large CNC router, which I may use to machine the frame parts.

I have the board outline and profile done to my liking. Now I am working on the slices, which is truly the hard part. I have some pictures of a CI board I took, but they don't show the rail and bottom contours very well and they were taken several years ago so I don't remember the details. Rich was nice enough to dig up a line drawing that was used for his templates, which has helped a great deal. Rich, I read on your Tree to Sea blog that the rear of the board has a double concave. Is there a slight single concave through the front half of the board that leads into the double? Any other advice on the rail transition would be greatly appreciated.

I will try to post details and pictures of my progress along the way.

Hey C,

Nice, welcome to the forum, Glad to see you're pursuing the 6'9 shingle fin. In wood she's just as sweet fluid fast ride as the CI foam version only better looking. With that design I pretty much went straight to a (first generation) CI Single fin for dims. The only tough part was that pretty extreme double concave in the stern. I got it close though. Don't sweat it if you can't get it all. You can alwayd build up a little in the glass job (especially right at the tail chine - that's a hard place to put lots-o-cave.

And yes, I put a little single concave up under the bow too. I figured because she had such little rocker, the nose lift provided by the forward concave would even her out. mr. Merrik obviously knows his stuff cuz that board is swift. Not sure how far along you are but you may want to consider goin a bit shorter. She's thick and floaty maybe more so in wood.

i gotta get some pics posted of that board in action, It's been my primary ride for the past four months. you'll be stoked

Rich,

Some pics of your board in action would be great. Good advice on going shorter. My primary ride right now is a 6'2" KG quad fin fish. It has plenty of float to it as well.

I have only worked out the profile and outline right now with a little of work on the slices. I need to find someone around here that has one I can look at. When I lived in CA there were surf shops everywhere. Since I moved to WA I don't get to hit my local shop and admire the latest shapes.

Thanks for the advice on the concave and length. Once I get the templates done I will post them for others to see and critique.

Chad

So I am closing in on a design for the single fin. I have taken Rich's advice and shortened up to a 6'6". I guess the title of this project is now somewhat obsolete. Here are a few pics of the CAD models.





I started with APS3000 to get the outline and rocker the way I wanted it and then transferred it into a CAD program. I need to refine the rail contours and foil and then I should be able to design the templates pretty quickly. Right now I am planing on a slight single concave through the middle leading to a double concave in the tail. Feedback on the design is welcomed.

http://www.flickr.com

Hey chad,

that design is looking pretty sweet. nice work on the cad modelling.

I'm very interested to hear how you go with your designs. Im planning on trying a similar style single fin for my next board so might have to pick your brain a bit when i get started!!

Nice work.

Cheers
Slacker

Chad,

Interesting idea, and one I've been thinking about since reading the Bonzer threads (I'm a huge fan of the early Campbell bros Bonzers). How do you plan to put those concaves into wood? Carve them into thick planks (ie extra weight), or shape the concave into your frames and bend thinner planks to conform (ie challenges with "torturing" the wood)? If you can nail a good method, let us know...I'm thinking about a 7'2" Bonzer next but the channeled tail has me a bit put off.
-Harry

So I have finished modeling the frame of the single fin. I tweaked the shape of the board a little since the previous post. Here is a picture of the board with the frame highlighted inside:



Here are some views of the frame itself:




Here is a view of the surface of the bottom of the board with the concaves.



To answer your question Harry, I plan to attempt to bend wood to my will. I may try using a lamination of thin planks on the bottom. Meaning I would put down an 1/8" thick layer and then laminate another layer on top. This will have a weight impact due to the amount of glue required. I need to give it a little more thought. As of right now the frames have the concave in them.

The next step is to make sure I am happy with the shape and the plan for the concaves and rails. Once I convince myself of this I will make a drawing of the frames and see if I can get them cut on a CNC router.

Chad,
that is freakin nice design work!!
man if i could get my cad drafting up as good as that i'd be able to hit my boss up for more $$$'s!!

keep us posted as to your progress and keep up the good work!

Dude this is awesome. Nice Work!

The amazing thing is, or maybe it's obvious, but the board looks exactly like the Single Fin. Meaning when I stand back and look at it, I get the exact same intuitive feel for the lines - does this make sense?

Anyway, a couple of thoughts. I found the weight-saving holes in the frames to be excessive. In other words, the .0003 ounces you save for each hole number 1) are'nt worth the extra CNC time (not to mention bits). Nor are they worth the potential loss of strength. Same goes for the keel. Basicall just enough to let air flow through (holes) should be enough.

Also, with respect to planking. A huge added bonus of such a low rocker shape makes bending on planks much easier. I bet you'd be fine bending on full 1/4" planks as opposed to laminating two 1/8' layers.

Again man, nice work on the CAD. You could make a living doing that!

Thanks guys. I am an engineer by trade, but I don't do much CAD work for my job.

Rich, thanks for the advice on the frame sections. I think I will lose some of the cutouts.

Soon the real work and fun will begin! Now I need to start sourcing some lumber. I will try to post progress as I go, but it may be a bit before I get into the actual build.