Latest alaia styled paipo

First finished this board back in January (Alaia style paipo mk 1) but I realised I went a bit too aggressive with the concave and split the board. Didn't fancy scrapping the board because it looked so much fun so I decided to fibreglass it so now it's back and super strength. Went for a yacht varnish finish this time to give it a shiny finish without too much sanding.

Little board for big waves

Since I've started using the handplanes more I've realised size of my paipos isn't as important as I first thought in terms of wave catching and performance so this little ride is significantly shorter than my previous paipos at just 82cm.

The last paipos took steep drops confidently but the large big rocker has meant it required a bit of grunt to keep the speed up. This board on the other hand has a perfectly flat rocker up to the nose where I've then added a healthy curve. The theory is that it should take steep drops well while also carrying speed well for when the wave slows down. But I suppose there's only one way to find out if it works.

The Rabbits Foot looks interesting

I'm sure everybody is familiar with Ryan Lovelace's Rabbits Foot, or at least it's worth looking up on t'Interweb because it looks pretty wild and as such it was inevitable that I'd have to make my own version at some point. So this is the current state of it so far. You may have noticed that I've swapped the crescent tail for a half crescent / half round tail asymmetric effort that I'd sketched out for the next version of my Bottom Feeder attempt.

Currently it is awaiting some warmer weather and longer days before attempting to fibreglass her, I learnt that lesson the hard way, but I am liking the curves on her. Can't promise I'll be able to get any waves but she will turn some heads!

Some photos of my latest paulownia wood paipo

She's a deceptive one this paipo, the top of the board is a full 2 1/2 inches wider than the bottom. I like the optical illusion effect that the triple stringers (made with Homebase's mysteriously named 'dark hardwood'). Unfortunately I went a little too aggressive when carving out the bottom concave, while stress testing the board I noticed a little crack by the central stringer which I'm pretty sure would snap the board under use. 

I do like the look of this board though and with this in mind I'll be adding it to my fibreglassing list for the spring. A light epoxy lamination should fill the cracks and give it more strength. I'll miss the wood finish but I think the glass finish will be a good look too and should allow for a good many years of battering.