Shaping a Fish- Foiling the deck

Once the bottom has been planed to thickness and the rocker is set up right, you can get on with flattening the deck of the board. Flip the board over so you’ve got it the right way up and begin on the deck.

You’ll want to mark the board, 12 inches from the nose, 24 inches from the nose, 12 from the tail and 24 from the tail. You’ll also need to mark the overall thickness of the board which is at the center, or the centralised balance point of the board.

Shaping the top foil - the deck of the surfboard

With the bottom of the board done. You should have left roughly 1/4 of an inch to take some foam off the top to end up at your final thickness in all marked locations.

Tools needed

Electric planer

Shapers Square

Calipers

Surform

Sanding blocks

Estimated time needed

1 hour for begginers

Step 1

Measure and mark the deck at 12 inches and 24 inches from the nose, 12 and 24 from the tail and mark the center.

Use your measuring calipers to confirm the current thickness.

Step 2

Using the electric planer, take the board down slowly to its desired thickness. The nose of the board can be difficult to plane due to the upwards gradient. You may want to use a surform in those locations, but be careful if using EPS foam as it can chip away in large chunks if you’re not careful.

Step 3

Go over the board with 60 grit sandpaper to get a smooth finish. You’ll be going over it again later with 80 grit as well.

Step 4

Measure the thickness again in the same locations to ensure correct thickness. We’re not going to cut out the tail of the Fish just yet.