Ben was a friend of mine.
He was a good, kind and generous soul.
Rest in Piece my friend.
Previous to meeting Ben in 2001, I had gained some experience shaping glassing and sanding PU/PE boards, but little wordworking skills, much less how to build a hollow wood board. I showed him what I knew, he recripocated sharing his experience, knowledge, tools, materials, and workspace.
Your board is post 2002, no earlier than early 2003, Some time after that though. I cannot say exactly when, as I had left NJ 12/2002, and we did not stay in super close touch thereafter. I will guess it is in the 2006/ 2007 time Range, but could be anywhere from mid 2003 up until his passing.
The full western red cedar construction was not implemented until mid 2002.
I am not sure if he changed his process for that board. I helped him build a 9’6" longboard, then I built my first HWS board in his workshop in late fall 2002, using his method, but with my own OCD twist on it.
I glassed his 9’6 and my 6’8" and another friend’s 6’9" at the same time in his dad’s Garage in Loveladies in December with dropcloth walls, and space heaters, using System 3 Clear Coat epoxy. My first time laminating with epoxy. 3.7 oz e cloth, one layer each side.
The method then, was 5 parallel stringers, 3.5 inches apart. Tuckerton lumber had quite the selection of beautiful lightweight western red cedar to choose from. I did not realize how good the selection was, until trying to find clear or better elsewhere.
I later tried 3 stringers further apart with the interior panels glassed and shared this with him, but I don’t know if he also tried the same for your board.
On the deck you will see 5 parallel glue lines, 3.5 inches apart. These glue lines are epoxy thickened with wood flour, they are not wood glue. The edge of each deck plank rested atop 1/2 of the 3/16" wide stringer, bridging two stringers. If he used my 3 stringer/ interior glassing method the glue lines on the deck will be much thinner and only the center glue line will be atop the center stringer.
The rails are cut from a 1x10 then hand planed, tapered then stacked square. The rail stack is anywhere from 1/2 to 1.5 inch wide.
The cross pieces also 3/16" thick, joining the stringers at mostly right angles, The cross pieces are more numerous and closer together in the foot stop areas, about 3 to 4 inches apart, and wider apart elsewhere. A stud finder works to find stringers and cross piece locations. Interior symmetry of cross pieces was not paramount. Fairly Close, but not mirror imaged.
Where the fin plugs were to go, solid blocks of cedar were placed, that reached to the tops of the stringers. The deck panel would rest right on these solid blocks of cedar. The blocks of cedar would sandwich the center stringer, for the center fin, of the stringer and also touching the rail stack on the rail fins.
The cedar blocks for receiving the fins, were often way larger than needed.
If, after glassing when drilling for the fcs plugs, if air space was hit, then it would be difficult to set the the plug properly, and it would be weak. Often the fin placement was not precisely decided upon after it was all shaped, so larger than needed, stronger than needed, heavier than needed, interior finblock structure was employed, as it was simpler and faster too.
I do not think there is enough wood on the interior to drill two new plugs for properly located twin fins though, farther back and farther from the rail. If you really want to do that, a stud finder should show you where the cedar fin blocks inside end, but I’d not get closer than 1/4 inch to the edge of the interior cedar block
The original FCS 1 plugs, recessed into cedar, will have zero issues handling the stress of a twin fin. I’ve used giant twins in my plugs and I weigh 220Lbs, and push hard, often. The only issue I have had with fcs plugs in Cedar is not the plugs themselves, but where the rear of the fin would puncture the glass if I did not remove it skillfully. The cedar turns grey then black when it gets wet. You can shine a light into the clear epoxy adjacent to the plugs and see inside the blocks of cedar, but there might be tons of microbubbles if the plugs were not sealed after drilling/before filling.
I do not recall if he decided to do the glassing and plugging himself after I left, or if he hired it out, I’d guess the latter, and I do not think his glasser would try to use black/ brown pigment in the epoxy.
If you decide to ride this HWS often, the weak spots will be where the deck panel meets the rail on the deck, anywhere from in front of the fins to where one grabs the rails duckdiving are the main problem areas.
I’d recommend stripping the wax often and looking for splits along the grain of the cedar. The fiberglass will look a bit white and one can press their fingers and see soft spots developing.
If caught in time, one can get away with pulling another layer or 2 of cloth tightly across the soft spot, bridge rail to stringer and cross pieces, before and aft of the soft spot. But bigger punctures require the wood be cut out, the structure inside dried reinforced and curshed/split cedar replaced.
A well placed heel or Knee can also split the cedar inbetween interior supports. My main issues are my knee smashing the deck on my pop up or awkwardly kicking out. My feet rarely have caused issues on the deck.
Do be vigilant to prevent water entry or catch it soon after it occurs, and Always loosen the plug immediately on exiting the water, especialy in warmer weather.
While the interior cedar is not devoid of protection from moisture ingress, Ben did not like to add any additional weight, use more epoxy and time, by insuring that the wood was well sealed on the interior, before adding the deck planks. A quick wipe with an epoxy soaked sponge was all they got whan adding the hull planks, and many spots were not completely saturated as one is racing the clock in this stage of the build, and some parts of cross pieces or stringer or deck or hull plank could easily remain dry and are then hidden, and forgotten.
We often disagreed on the necessity of sealing the interior. I wanted a board to live forever, Ounce of prevention bla bla bla, He was more concerned with reducing the already considerable time required to build a single board, and said if it got too wet/heavy/soft he’d just build another.
My first 6’8" HWS, that I built in his workshop, actually the second bedroom in the apartment he was renting from another friend, has seen TONS of use in the subsequent 18 years, but also has a lot of rather involved repairs.
The latest HWS that I finished a few years back, has all sorts of improvements in the accuracy, precision and strength departments. The original 5 stringer method/process highly modified from the Ben’s original method, but I never got the weight down where the average joe would not complain. But I build them for myself, and can’t be bothered by Joe’s opinions anyway.
Ben taught a lot of others, besides myself, his method. Skilled craftsmen who all added an improvement to the process.
Many beautiful and well perfoming boards built with Ben’s method, spent a lot of time in the barrel on LBI, and elsewhere, and likely still do.
They feel heavier underarm, than underfoot. That highly rockered 6’9" round pintail needs no less than a chest high juicy Jersey wave, so while you can play with the fins, and take it out in lesser conditions, it will not come alive until it is headhigh+ and hollow. They work great in the hard offshores.
Ben would be stoked if you rode it, often, onthose juicy good days, as opposed to saving it for wallhanger duty.
It was designed, and built, to be ridden, the beauty is secondary.
But,
It can do both.