The KSMALL project

With some birthday money, I picked up a used 6' Al Merrick tuflite Ksmall.

I bargained the sale down from $225 (without fins) to $180 including fins (Future Fins Vector VFJC1) because the kid had a crappy spray paint job done, and it looked like it had a cheap nose job. The overall condition of the board was good, and I could tell that the original paint job underneath was not harmed. I would have paid more for the board, but I do like to bargain.

With roughly $30 in supplies (lacquer thinner, rags, paint, sandpaper, clear coat, and polish) and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to fix up the board pretty close to how it's suppose to look in its original condition.

Before

The top part of the nose was painted black,

and the bottom had this weird painted design.

From far away it's not the worst looking thing,

but up close it's pretty F'n ugly.

Middle point

Got the paint off with lacquer thinner and fixed the nose

with some epoxy resin, some sanding, and some primer.

The nose

Now

Tried to find the closest Krylon color to match the board.

Gave the nose area 2 coats plus 2 coats of clear coat.

Sanded with 1500 grit wet sand paper (using soapy water)

and finished with polish.

Surfing the fish on April 13th at Oceanpark.

Sharon Yamamoto snapped this shot. Thanks Sharon.

Fresh catch of the year!

I've been looking at surfboards for more than 9 months on Craigslist and this is only the second time I've seen a Merrick classic fish available. Fortunately this was the right size for me and for a great price. Rob Machado Fish 5'10 x 21 x 2 7/16".

The unexpected ding. Is it better to find out before or after surfing?

A few months ago, I was getting ready to surf. My wetsuit was on, pulled out my board, when lo and behold, there was a ding. Fortunately my buddy had Solarez, so we were able to do a quick and temporary repair. 

After that, I make it a habit to always inspect my board after I go surfing. With that and keeping the boards in padded board bags, the surprise dings shouldn't appear before I hit the waves (fingers crossed).

County Line was the location for today and it did not disappoint. Especially when you're getting chest to head high waves.