Hess Surfboards

Northern_Shores

Miki Dora status
Mar 30, 2009
4,487
4,403
113
Film with Danny giving a detailed breakdown of his board building process for the all wood boards:
That guy is really edging the tip :monkey: between being a Hipstus Vulgaris and a legitimate craftsman.

As a fellow woodsman I share his passion for overweight cumbersome surfboards. This thing had me damn near clobbered to death!

 
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One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,126
10,248
113
33.8N - 118.4W
Film with Danny giving a detailed breakdown of his board building process for the all wood boards:
A few observations.

He says, "Foam is just a dead piece of material. It doesn't have a spring or life to it." We know this isn't true. I doubt that's what he tells his customers that buy his wood skinned EPS cored boards.

I wonder how he calculates for "spring back" when he takes the boards out of the rocker bed? All wood will bend in a press, but it will also spring back to some degree, especially if it is two pieces of 1/2" glued together (as opposed to 5 pieces of 1/8"). Really hard to predict. Every piece of wood is different due to density and grain. I'm presently making a stringerless EPS board and even 1/40" veneer will have spring back which tends to pull rocker out of the stringerless blank. 1/16" to 1/8" spring back is significant when talking about rocker.

I like how he tests the sharpness of his blades by shaving the hair off his arm. The furniture maker I worked for would shave his fingernail. He would show me how the nail shaving curled off his finger like a wood shaving. "Now it's sharp."

15+ years ago Danny was on Swaylocks asking questions like all of us (btw the guy who runs Swaylocks is thinking of shutting the site down due to cost). Now he has really dialed in his craft. And the "green" cred is legit. No one is going to throw one of his boards away after a year or two... or twenty. This boards are heirloom works of art.

If I could ask him one question I would ask him if he kept the hard edges. GG would want to know.

Screen Shot 2022-09-25 at 4.28.24 PM.png
 
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SixtyGrit

Gerry Lopez status
Oct 3, 2015
1,010
1,219
113
SD
A few observations.

He says, "Foam is just a dead piece of material. It doesn't have a spring or life to it." We know this isn't true. I doubt that's what he tells his customers that buy his wood skinned boards EPS cored boards.

I wonder how he calculates for "spring back" when he takes the boards out of the rocker bed? All wood will bend in a press, but it will also spring back to some degree, especially if it is two pieces of 1/2" glued together (as opposed to 5 pieces of 1/8"). Really hard to predict. Every piece of wood is different due to density and grain. I'm presently making a stringerless EPS board and even 1/40" veneer will have spring back which tends to pull rocker out of the stringerless blank. 1/16" to 1/8" spring back is significant when talking about rocker.

I like how he tests the sharpness of his blades by shaving the hair off his arm. The furniture maker I worked for would shave his fingernail. He would show me how the nail shaving curled off his finger like a wood shaving. "Now it's sharp."

15+ years ago Danny was on Swaylocks asking questions like all of us (btw the guy who runs Swaylocks is thinking of shutting the site down due to cost). Now he has really dialed in his craft. And the "green" cred is legit. No one is going to throw one of his boards away after a year or two... or twenty. This boards are heirloom works of art.

If I could ask him one question I would ask him if he kept the hard edges. GG would want to know.

View attachment 138543
Waiwaiwait how much does swaylocks cost to run? I need that site to stick around.

I'm not saying I'm rich, but if it's in the mid- to low-three figures, I'm down to help out.
 
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One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,126
10,248
113
33.8N - 118.4W
Waiwaiwait how much does swaylocks cost to run? I need that site to stick around.

I'm not saying I'm rich, but if it's in the mid- to low-three figures, I'm down to help out.

"And to those who have been burned by shitty governance around here in the past, please accept my apologies.

I know this forum has suffered from my neglect. My only excuse is that life got in the way for months, perhaps even years at a time. I simply don't have the time or resources to fix or improve things given the amount of revenue Swaylock's currently throws off. It doesn't even cover server expenses.

And that leads me to the here and now and why I really started this thread. From where I sit, I see a fork in the road for Swaylock's. Unplug it and call it day or end of an era...or sink some time and money into it with the goal of 1. improving it (functionality, new features, etc) 2. bringing some life & excitement back to the community and 3. Generating enough revenue to make it all worth while.

This thread is all about helping me decide which road to go down...

Please keep the feedback and ideas coming...it all helps. Once I have enough ideas, feedback, etc. I'll post report of my thoughts and what I'm thinking..."
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,858
7,753
113
San Francisco, CA
See my post on first page, but let me know if you want more details
I really need to read the whole thread before posting.:foreheadslap:

Thanks for the direction to the first page.

You order a 2nd one?

What is the most powerful/hollowest wave you've ridden your Bella in? Got a follow-up/more detailed ride report you care to type out?
 
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bluengreen

Michael Peterson status
Oct 22, 2018
1,763
4,641
113
SF x Encinitas
Hey @doof, talk to Danny! He'll get you sorted. He's really generous with his time and has a bunch of demos in the shop.

I just talked to Danny about a 6'7 step-up. We decided on a Banjo with a Traveler rocker and a touch more nose width than the typical Banjo outline. Twin fin with trailer option that will go with his keels or uprights. Full wood build in redwood from a salvaged water tower. This is a good wave/travel board. Outline like this:

image-asset.jpeg

I was going to get the EPS/Wood deck build that I have on my 3 Travelers, but Danny told me he recently completed R&D on a full-wood construction that is 10x stronger than the EPS/Wood and can be as light as EPS or lightly glassed PU if you want. I felt up a couple of boards that were surprisingly light, including a 7'0 Bella Twin.

Danny is phasing out the EPS/Wood deck construction. Given rising materials prices and his improved wood build, the cost/benefit analysis has tipped way in the favor of full wood.
 

Bob Dobbalina

Miki Dora status
Feb 23, 2016
4,261
4,655
113
Hey @doof, talk to Danny! He'll get you sorted. He's really generous with his time and has a bunch of demos in the shop.

I just talked to Danny about a 6'7 step-up. We decided on a Banjo with a Traveler rocker and a touch more nose width than the typical Banjo outline. Twin fin with trailer option that will go with his keels or uprights. Full wood build in redwood from a salvaged water tower. This is a good wave/travel board. Outline like this:

View attachment 150121

I was going to get the EPS/Wood deck build that I have on my 3 Travelers, but Danny told me he recently completed R&D on a full-wood construction that is 10x stronger than the EPS/Wood and can be as light as EPS or lightly glassed PU if you want. I felt up a couple of boards that were surprisingly light, including a 7'0 Bella Twin.

Danny is phasing out the EPS/Wood deck construction. Given rising materials prices and his improved wood build, the cost/benefit analysis has tipped way in the favor of full wood.

Wow.
I need to put one under my arm and take one for a spin.
 
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bluengreen

Michael Peterson status
Oct 22, 2018
1,763
4,641
113
SF x Encinitas
Few more pics of the 6'7, 20.25, 2.75. Made from the last of Danny's salvaged water tower redwood. This was designed to be a step-up and barrel board.

IMG_5222.jpg
IMG_5221.jpg
IMG_5223.jpgIMG_5216.jpg

Note the flat, almost concave deck, ample rocker and very foiled rails. Some things you can't see in the pics: Danny tucked the edge way under the bottom of the rail, almost like a tri-plane. I've never seen a tuck like this. He said it enables the board to go on rail easily at high speed. There is also a deep double concave through the fins. I've only ridden this board in chest-slightly overhead point surf. It went well on the cleaner, more powerful days. I found it very nimble off the tail and surprisingly fast through hollow sections. Flatter sections and chop were no bueno. I tested it's lower limit on a choppy 3-foot day and the rails were catching like crazy.
 
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