Ascent Surfboards (Calvin Chau) Creates a Finless Bat Tail Gem!

1. Your Name: Calvin Chau

2. Your Brand name: Ascent Surfboards

3. How did you hear about us? From the strong onshore winds after work… and Sacred Craft!

4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Very helpful without being intimidating to a weary first time shaper. Brad and Grant set me up with the right tools and more importantly, the right knowledge.

5. Why did you want to build your own board? This is my first finless shape. I wanted to understand the subtleties in board performance by applying different design elements.

6. Shape of finished board? A finless bat!

7. Size of finished board: Length 5’9” Width 20” Thickness 2 1/4”

8. What blank did you use? Marko Foam 6'1" Pescado Fish Blank

9. How was your board building experience? Channels are a new challenge, but also fun. Grant recommended using the rounded surform blade which worked very well. Placement of the channels was the toughest part but I finally decided on where they should go and just started working away. The shape was Derek Hynd inspired.

10. What videos, books, web, other did you use? JC’s Shaping & Glassing 101, Greg Leohr’s Epoxy 101, Swaylocks Forum, YouTube,

11. Do you recommend these resources? Yep, the dialogue in JC’s Shaping 101 is helpful for learning.

12. What do you wish you knew going into this project? Cutting out a U-shaped spreader to use for the channels while glassing.

13. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Don’t be afraid to try shaping. The initial investment may be steeper than you’d like, but the accomplishment you’ll feel afterward is WAY worth it. Don’t expect a perfect board, it’ll look something like a surfboard and it’ll be surfable. Watch JC’s Shaping 101. And wear a respirator; you don’t want this stuff in your lungs. Use slow curing resin when glassing for the first time.

14. What tools did you find most useful? Electric Planer, Rounded Surform blade, Sanding Block, Calipers made from scrap plywood

15. Where did you run into trouble? Glassing the channels.

16. What kind of fin system did you use and why? NONE! (I’ve been waiting for this question =P)

17. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yep, Grant challenged me with using R&R Kwik Kick and it didn’t prove to be too tough. Hardest part is blue tinting on EPS with 4 deep channels. The bat tail another difficulty to add on top of it all.

18. Where did you shape and glass your board? In my garage via a homemade shaping stand.

19. What type of board do you want to make next? A twin fish? A quad? A longboard? We’ll see.