Alaia Wooden Surfboard project: Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | Post 4 | Post 5 | Post 6 | Post 6b | Post 7 | Post 8
I’ve finished oiling the Alaia and all that’s left to do now is ride the thing. I had a lot of fun building the Alaia and meeting others out there doing the same all over the world. In the end I’m very pleased with how it turned out and I’m really anxious to go and ride it.
I applied linseed oil a total of 4 times, with a full day between applications. I was pretty generous with the linseed oil, letting it soak in for 10 minutes before wiping away the excess with clean shop rags (I used these same rags to apply the next coat). I did light sanding between coats, after the second coat I noticed it was gummy in parts where I didn’t get rid of all the excess. Sanding those gummy areas didn’t help, so I went with a Scotchbrite pad I normally use tuning snowboards and it cleaned it right up.
This is the end of this series and I open it up to any questions or comments. I’ll post an update/pictures when I get it in the water (hopefully in about 4-6 weeks). There are a few of us eager to give it a go and it should make for an entertaining session!
Posted by: Lawrence
(made by Walnut Hollow) purchased for about $25. I used the tapered point and lightly followed the penciled-on drawing. As the wood became scored, I could press harder to get the burn and depth I wanted. After about 10 minutes the tip was so heated-up it actually bent a little (causing a minor blemish).
Between sick kids, work, travel, snowboarding, sick me, sick wife, dog sitting, freelance, guitar lessons, shoveling snow and just about any excuse I can conjure… well, I took my sweet time. No challenge really since I don’t have a winter suit and looking at a finished board for months will be torture. But by working slowly I was methodical, careful and well researched. I think I made a pretty sick Alaia, I’ll know when I ride it in late April (most likely).
There’s still no oil on it yet (waiting to wood-burn a turtle on it), but I sanded to 400 grit and it already feels smooth as silk. I will definitely build another one of these and I think if I could do anything differently, it would be to do the entire project outdoors. The time to clean up the dust was almost as long as the time spent building the board! Between a tack clothe, shop vac, compressed air and elbow grease, I finally have a proper, dirty basement workshop again.
Once I burn the turtle graphic and apply the oil I’ll wrap-up the series of building posts by posting some final pictures. At some point in the spring when I can venture out in my 4/3, I’ll post an update on how it was to ride. For now it’s a conversation piece that beckons me. Hamish in Australia, who has been following this project, has his Alaia finished and has already and had a session with his mates. Hamish says “the trick is to paddle really hard, not let the tail swing around from underneath you” and he also reports it is very fast.