New Beginnings

This weekend I picked up my latest batch of Paulownia from David at Port Phillip Plantation Shutters. This my first batch of timber from David and it is very good quality with almost no knots and only the slightest bow in one of the planks - it will be easiest to work with yet. David was exceptionally helpful and his knowledge of paulownia from seeds to surfboards is impressive! The next two boards will be destined for trip to Chile. I am looking to build two alaia hybrids - around 6ft long by 19' by 1'. They will both have twin tiny keel fins and parabolic rails. The idea is to keep the epic speed, glide and the controlled sliding of my regular alaia, but adding the keels and parabolic rails I am hoping that this board will hold in larger hollow surf. The previous alaia hybrid was a blast to ride especially when the waves were overhead, but it is too heavy for a trip overseas and also required a lot of timber to build. So I have drastically reduced the volume of this design, which will make it harder to paddle and catch waves, but hopefully will still retain the hold, speed and glide characteristics. I'll post a series on the build process once they're complete and performance diary from the Chile trip. Enjoy the waves!