Keels

Saturday i went to pick up some paintings that had been in an art expo for the last two months, and among them were two alaia style bellyboards that i made from some old plywood i found in my shed.

They had some rocker to begin with but the drying out had done some more warping: now the boards had some great banana style rocker (no flat bits) from nose to tail. So much that i feared the rocker would push water.

I was pretty bummed first, but since i had some spare time on my hands i dug into the wood bits i had lying around and made the boards some keels. They work like external stringers, and controle the rocker somewhat.
I'm sure the'll effect the way the boards will ride a great deal (no flex anymore, and less side slipping). Less turning i suspect, and more zipping down the line, but at least they're still ridable.

The keels stille need to be sanded and varnished and all that. In one picture there's a new fish style board i'm working on, it's in the 6 foot range.

Here's some pictures: