Olo of the Sun, wet sanding and polishing continued

Day two hand sanding the 19 footer: 120 grit, 150 grit,180 grit, 240 grit and 280 grit, only three more to go.



All sanding is done fore and aft in the direction of the water flow.

Olo of the Sun, wet sanding and polishing

Having cured for about a week the olo of the sun is ready for wet sanding and polishing, the ideal place for this is in the shade of paulownia trees in the plantation which are destined for future surfboards. It's a big job, so far over 5 hours have been spent just to get through 80 grit and 100 grit

Distal taper on the tuberculed spitfire fin for the olo of the sun

The tuberculed spitfire fin for the olo of the sun showing non linear distal taper.

Olo of the Sun million dollar surfboard: the first resin coat

Olo of the Sun is pervasive in its power, blazing with its message of vitality, life force and the unlimited energy that is within us waiting to be used and expressed. Olo of the Sun gives strength and positive radiant energy which brings happiness and joy.



J class legacy 



Inspired by J Class yachts and the wooden olo surfboards of the ancient Hawaiian Kings, Olo of the Sun captures the essence of adventure of the 1930s. Its unique long low profile combined with flowing lines and elegant proportions, gives a sense of spirit and momentum even at rest.



The first resin coat on the Olo of the Sun million dollar surfboard:

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard: rail shaping.

The bottom of the olo has been faired, it has a concave through the nose and mid section which diminishes and runs into a flat area four feet from the tail. Hand sanding the bottom has taken approximately 14 hours.

Now the rail faceting continues: a continuous 50/50 slightly elliptical section.

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard , Spitfire cutaway fin, foiling tubercules

Foiling tubercules on the spitfire cutaway fin,  for the Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard ,

http://olosurfer-woodensurfboardsatpipeline.blogspot.com/2010/12/olo-of-sun-19-foot-surfboard-spitfire_02.html

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard , Spitfire cutaway fin, adding tubercules

Tubercules being added to the Olo of the Sun's spitfire cutaway fin:

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard , Spitfire cutaway fin

Here's the 13 inch spitfire cutaway fin for the Olo of the Sun taking shape,  when set into the board the tab below the cutaway won't be seen.



The faceted cutaway is a development of the radial cutaways used on previous fins, and is of the type used in 1940's spitfire tailplanes.



Leading edge tubercules will be added next...

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard , fin foiling commences

Fin foiling commences on the Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard

Olo of the Sun 19 foot surfboard , more hand sanding. . . . .

Another four and a half hours of hand sanding to fair the bottom of the Olo of the Sun, deck and rail facets, that part of the job is now about half done.

Hand sanding imparts an energy to the wooden surfboard, and is good exercise.



I'm getting used to the 19 foot size, and was surprised when I went up to the shop today and the 12 footers looked like shortboards.

Olo of the Sun, shaping commences

The olo of the sun reveals its shape, the lamination is tight and the board feels flxible but strong

Olo of the Sun, cutting out the planshape

Here's the 19 foot board having the planshape marked and cut out, that's over 38 ft of hand sawing.



The board is extremely flexible with a low frequency to the oscillation compared with previous boards, with the planshape cut the Olo weighs 55 pounds.

Olo of the Sun, the bottom panel lamination

Here's the final lamination phase for the 19 foot 'Olo of the sun'.  The inside of the bottom panel is being sealed with epoxy resin.

The bottom panel is then put to one side

Thickened epoxy resin is applied to the rails and frames

On goes the bottom. . .

And the high tech clamping system ;)

Olo of the Sun, second frame panel & frame ties

Here's the 19 foot Olo of the Sun surfboard with the second frame panel laminated on to the first.. .

Next frame ties are added to some of the frame junctions. These are designed to resist internal pressure which might threaten the frame junction glue joints  if the board is accidentally left unvented on a hot day.

A small bevel to accomodate the glue fillet  at the deck/frame connection

Olo of the Sun, ready for laminating

19 feet of deck panel laid out on the rocker jig, marked for the first frame panel and with under deck cloth ready to go.



The board is only 2 and a quarter inches thick and 19 feet long, so is going to be ultra flexible. Previous boards witha similar length to thickness ratio were the 14'9" Makaha at 1.75 inches thick and a 1.75 inch thick 13'9" Dragon board.. . . .thin with round rails which we've been doing since 1995 and which have now become trendy thanks to Rob Machado.