My son's first board

MakiSupaStar · #1 01-09-2012, 11:29 AM

So as you may or may not know, my son is 8 now and he's become an avid surfer. I've been taking him out surfing since he was 2, and he first stood up and rode a wave when he was 4. Now, he's able to paddle into waves himself, manage his board (which is a 7'6" Yater funboard (kind of like a mini-longboard but to him it's a longboard) in surf (he's been in waves up to about 3 feet) well enough to paddle back out into the line up. He's gotten pretty good. His likes the way his longboard paddles because he's a strong swimmer and it allows him to get into the waves nice and early for standing up and making the drop to set up his line. But ultimately, the board is too big for him. He doesn't really have enough weight to really turn the board effectively, even when he's right no the tail. So we started talking about boards. We decided that he wants a board that's easy to paddle, so he can get into the wave early, but short enough to maneuver so he can start carving and driving the board down the line. A lot of little dads set up their little guys on mini pro boards that are thin little potato chips that look like what the pros ride, even when they aren't ready for them. This creates a discouraged kid that looks cool, but ultimately on a board that is difficult for them to paddle and catch waves with, and then hard for them to stand up on. Last summer we ran into another Dad and son about Kaito's age, and he was riding this little fish type of board and this kid was having a blast and dominating on it. The kid let Kaito try it and Kaito loved it. So now we had a basic idea of what we wanted. Well, long story short, we got in touch with the shaper, and he was stoked to meet my son and shape him a board. So while the board was being created we wanted to create an original design on the board. We bounced around a lot of ideas, but ultimately, we came up with the idea of a Bonzai Bullet Bill because it will work well with the actual shape of his board, and being a typical 8 year old, he is obsessed with Mario Bros.

for comparison, here's an older more '8 bit' version.

I used to airbrush some of my boards, but I was never interested in copying a set design, and I was never that accurate of an artist (in other words I was a hack

), so I needed to do a test run and reacquaint myself with an airbrush. So here is my really rough, no taping, test run. I was focusing on the eyes and mouth. Not really that concerned with body shape because the board's shape itself will contain that.

Here's the rough.

So when we got the board shaped, Kaito was so excited he almost didn't want to do a design just so he could ride it sooner. Here's the board when we first saw it.

Once we got the board shaped we had to prep the board with tape and cut outs. So after I taped it and put the cutouts on it, Kaito was so excited he insisted I film it.

So it took a few days, not to mention I was working with a small airbrush (I borrowed one from my buddy so beggars can't be choosers), so it was kind of slow going. Additionally, surfboard foam is very absorbent so it tends to suck color. Which is not too bad because a black board doesn't do well in the sun and can cause the glass to delaminate from the board if exposed to the sun too much. But after all was said and done, this is what we wound up with.

So here's the job almost finished with the tape still on it.

Then after we removed the tape this is what it looked like. As you can see I didn't do a very good tape job around the edges so I had to touch up the rails with white paint.

The notch near the tail isn't very detailed because the notch is exactly where the first two fins of his quad fin configuration will go. So all that will be between the fins. I kind of botched it with my cylindrical lines, but it's not that terrible. The white lighting creates a fairly good dimensional appearance. Kaito digs it so that's all that matters, and the mouth and eye turned out pretty cool, IMO.

I'll post the pics when it gets glassed and everything is done, and throw up some pics and video when he finally gets to surf on it.

bassteban · #2 01-09-2012, 11:32 AM

OK, I only skimmed/looked at the pics/read the title(not neccesarily in that order), but DAMN- coolest dad in the known universe.

MJ5150 · #3 01-09-2012, 12:27 PM

It's not 3D? You're a loser.

-Mike

Bob Lee (QSC) · #4 01-09-2012, 12:59 PM

Oh man, I saw the thread title and thought you meant mixing board. And I thought, "Yeah, way to go Maki!!"

MakiSupaStar · #5 01-09-2012, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

Oh man, I saw the thread title and thought you meant mixing board. And I thought, "Yeah, way to go Maki!!"

yeah, we're not there yet, but he is starting to know his way around Ableton.

shadowtippy · #6 01-09-2012, 01:34 PM

I misread the title as "broad" and wondered if she was Asian. After reading the post, I have to say that I think you are probably a great dad. Keep up the good work.

EricF · #7 01-09-2012, 01:42 PM

Sweet! Good job, Daren.

Strohsx · #8 01-09-2012, 03:34 PM

Though I think you need to add a small

You're son almost makes me want to breed.

ADbassman · #9 01-09-2012, 07:59 PM

Even when/if he outgrows the board (I don't know jack about surfing), you can bet he's gonna hold onto that thing forever.

Popbumper · #10 01-09-2012, 08:25 PM

Supporting and encouraging your child's interests is truly a gift of life. In true opposition to the "I-might-be-a (fill in the blank) because-I-don't-ever-want-to-have-kids-no-way" threads, you should be a proud Dad.

My wife and I married knowing we could never have children and accepted it.

However, unexpectedly, ten years later we were blessed by one son who is now 12, a budding musician (drums and sax), and a basketball player. Wouldn't trade him for NOTHING.

Way to go Maki!

Chris

DigMe · #11 01-09-2012, 09:22 PM

Berry coo.

bc

Joe Gress · #12 01-09-2012, 10:19 PM

Dude waaaaaaay to ****ing sweet.

bassteban · #13 01-10-2012, 12:14 AM

My first thought was *pedal* board. Again- supercool.

MakiSupaStar · #14 01-10-2012, 12:34 AM

Yeah he'll be able ride this board for awhile. He's currently 4'6", the board is a 5'0" but it's a fish which you usually ride shorter than your height. So I figure he'll be able to ride this board at least until he's 5'4 or so. Hopefully it'll survive long enough to hang on the wall when he's done.

i_got_a_mohawk · #15 01-10-2012, 03:30 AM

Very cool!

iamlowsound · #16 01-10-2012, 06:20 AM

That is awesome!

lowsound

sneha1965 · #17 01-10-2012, 08:16 AM

Rad Dad.

Is that the bottom with the design? Will the top remain white?

MakiSupaStar · #18 01-10-2012, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneha1965

Rad Dad.

Is that the bottom with the design? Will the top remain white?

Yes. That's the bottom. On the top he wrote his name on the nose in Kanji (kind of f'd it up and then we tried to correct it with some white paint, and rewrite it, but it kind of turned out meh...

) but the deck will be white with the shapers logo and his name. This is a small time shaper, kind of old school local boutique, so he's super stoked to get a grom on board, and he loves to post pics of people riding his boards on facebook. Kaito wants to enter contests, but I'm kind of shying away from it, because he does so much already (swimming, karate, piano, golf, surfing) that I don't want him to ever think of surfing as anything but a fun escape. We'll see if he continues to push in that direction. If he does want to go into contests, then this shaper will definitely kick down some deals for the exposure. We'll see. Just keeping it all really fun, avoiding waves that will scare the crap out of him, and going for sessions where he has lots of opportunity to dominate.

EricF · #19 01-10-2012, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Kaito wants to enter contests, but I'm kind of shying away from it, because he does so much already (swimming, karate, piano, golf, surfing) that I don't want him to ever think of surfing as anything but a fun escape. We'll see if he continues to push in that direction. If he does want to go into contests, then this shaper will definitely kick down some deals for the exposure. We'll see. Just keeping it all really fun, avoiding waves that will scare the crap out of him, and going for sessions where he has lots of opportunity to dominate.

It's good to see that you're keeping a balance in mind rather than pushing him in all directions. Knowing what your child can handle physically, mentally, and emotionally is the important thing. I've seen too many kids whose lives are so filled with planned activities that they never have time to just be a kid and have fun. There has to be a balance. That said, all those activities would be too much for either of my girls, but every kid is different.

MakiSupaStar · #20 01-10-2012, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricF

It's good to see that you're keeping a balance in mind rather than pushing him in all directions. Knowing what your child can handle physically, mentally, and emotionally is the important thing. I've seen too many kids whose lives are so filled with planned activities that they never have time to just be a kid and have fun. There has to be a balance. That said, all those activities would be too much for either of my girls, but every kid is different.

Yeah, I agree. We're looking to streamline. So far he doesn't want to give any of it up.