Wood Retro Fish Project (Help)

Hi all, I want to take on a new project and build my own wooden retro fish board. I would like to make a twin fin, even keel type board. I am 5’ 11" and weigh 160 pounds. I have seen multiple kits online but none fit my wants, I really want to make my board my own and unique but do not know how to go about this. I would like to know if anyone has any insight as to go about building this board with templates for the baord and fins. Any help or suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!

There’s a website that gives/sells board templates including a fish. I can’t remember what the name is but someone will probably post it. I’'m happy to send you board and keel templates via snail mail. Fishes can be ridden short. Your height or a bit shorter. They can be ridden a bit longer too.  Depends on your ability and all that. I don’t know anything about building wooden boards but there’s lots on that in the archives. I also don’t know how wood effects the overall equation regarding length, width, etc. Bitchen photo on your avatar. Mike

Hey Mike thanks for the comment, much appreciated. That would be awesome if you could send those templates my way that would be awesome! Thanks again for the help. Casey

There is a ton of info here and on grain. If you were more specific as to what type of board construction you were wanting to do i would be more help. Hollow? Balsa chambered? Redwood? Swaylocks has a bunch of great info if you want to go the balsa chambered avenue.

I’m not to sure. Like I said, I am not totally sure how to go about this project. I would like to use whatever the bes method is. I would most likely do a hollow or balsa chambered board.

Having only built boards the balsa chambered method my opinion swings towards that direction.  The hollow wood boards are a great way to get started and most of the “kits” come with instructions.  Since you aren’t sure which way you want to build your board then this might be your method of choice.  The hollow method waste less wood then the balsa chambered method.  You can choose whatever kind of wood you want. 

Balsa method method is one of the older methods of building a board.  Balsa goes for $7 a board foot in SD.  So a 6’ x 22’’ x 3’’ thick would be at least $250 for just the wood. Then you would need to build the blank, rough shape the board, break it apart, chamber, glue back together, final shape and glass.  

Both types of boards require more tools than foam shaping and take several hours longer to complete.  In my opinion…it is the journey not just the destination.

Have you ever built any kind of board, before?

If you just want the ‘look’ of wood, I’d go with EPS or XPS core and vac some veneer on it. Lots cheaper and less labor intensive.

pm an address and I’ll put it on paper and send it off. mike

Try Paul Jensen style—Hollow surfboards.com 

This PDF has Lis Fish Plans…