[Editor's note: I know that I promised to take you beyond the basic finish and look at design techniques that will make your home-made board look as good or better than commercially produced ones, but it's been a busy month. I will get to it in December, I promise. However, we are honored to show you how it's done in the U.K.]
Below is my one and only photo of the converted waterski. My longboard is 43 inches long, 7-inches wide at its greatest width, and has a wheelbase of 27 inches. A "normal" deck is next to it for comparison.
The photo doesn't do it justice. All you can really tell is its shape. I still need to get Krypo's for it. Right now it sports a set of mismatched Santa Cruz "slime balls" from the 80s.
I haven't ridden it yet because when I am free, it's raining. [Reed wrote this about a month ago. Hopefully he's had a chance to break it in by now.]
My friend Warren is almost finished with his. He used a fantastic lavendar stain. His waterskii was made of solid wood. It is narrow, but strong with good a grain pattern. Mine is ply. Pretty ugly. I painted it over. The wood is softer than I had hoped.
The staff at the skate shop nearly choked when I walked in with the rough cut shapes and asked for Krypto red 78a 70-mm wheels and very soft bushings. In London, a longboard deck alone costs around $110. Ugh. The rainy season is on, but I'll be riding down Hampstead High street on clear early mornings.
Great job, Reed. It looks killer.
Copyright © 1997 Farid Gahli