The mako is a pretty complex hull shape,
seeing it replicated in wood is totally amazing dude!
I bet its one smooth ride for sure!

Rodeoclown -
Yeah fairly complex curves...but not dependent on CNC machining, just good ole craftmanship with a keen eye for trueness. (of course jigs help too).

Bigdog -
Wait till you see one in person, there is no way they will take the time to put a real stringer in, partitions, a closed cell foam, select woods, blend grains, match milling and placement. Lay a production side by side and you'll see, even better ride then you'll know. She weighs just under 7lbs finished w/o pads & straps.

EvanOR -
This is going to be great, getting feedback from you OR guys!

Baysurfer -
My boards don't break either and I jump the #%*! out of them.

Kamikuza -
Why wood, if built correctly they are strong and light and hold up extremely well.
For sure the ride is different, better I believe.

thanks all,
John

That thing is beautiful (Bella is fitting)

I'd hang that thing in my rec room it's that nice looking....

Good work John!

Got her on the water today

6m Rise & Wooden Mako, such a sweeeeetriiiiiiiddddee.................Nice and lofty in the air and super smooth on the water. Who could ask for more?

anyway some pic's. me & my bud Pete.

John

absolutely gorgeous board!

any tips for someone wanting to get starting building their own?

wow, that's phenomenal. very impressive feat.

John,

That is one beautiful board, and thanks for the on-the-water pictures. If I were you, I'd stick the new Bliss pads & straps on it - 50 times better than the old ones you are running.

John,

I've been studying this thread, the thread over on OR's site, and the other wooden board thread on NWKite: http://nwkite.com/forums/t-12112-0-asc-17.html

I remember you saying something about not revealing all the trade secrets, but am hoping you could help a somewhat landlocked and frustrated kiter at least feel connected to the sport through the building this kind of board. Thinking this would be an awesome winter project to help take the bite out of the fact that, due to location and family obligations, my kiting will be almost non-existent over the next many months.

Wondering if you can speak to the questions below:

How do you pull in the concavity on a board like the Mako Woodie? And still manage to clamp the strips together tightly? In the image below, I can see how you are clamping the strips together with your uber-cool wire set-up. Does that work when you have a significant amount of concavity? I would think the clamping would just pull the edge of the "taco" together and the strips would be pulled up and off the ribs. The board in this pic looks pretty flat in the concavity direction, and therefore would not have this problem.



Do the ribs on the mako woodie go full width? Or, do they get tapered out at some distance from the edge in order to allow for the relatively thin edge that is shown in the (pringle) pics? I see how you've done it on the more traditional surfboard shaped board (pic below), but the mako and other TT style boards seem to call for a more knife-like edge/rail (2nd pic below). If they're tapered how far from the edge are they tapered?

Traditional surfboard style rail:


Mako rail:


Where do you source your inserts? Especially the pad and strap inserts?

Thanks again! Sorry for all the questions!

Best,

Kevin

Hey John, that is one sweet board of yours! I'm doing a ghetto version right now, in cheapo 3mm (1/8'') light ply wood +epoxy+glass. It's intended for strapless riding and will get a full deck pad. I put inserts in though, for those buddies who still did not lose their straps. I guess I have to invest heavily in the artwork to get anywhere near as beautiful as your board came out.

cheers, tungsten