This actually worked great. Scrap plywood + shoelace. No rocker, no finesse. Zero dollars. Had a blast out there today, to my surprise.
The only thing I'm wondering about is whether the fancier versions of these things made by Hess et al are easier to use when one is paddling. This thing is half inch plywood, so it's a little clunky in that respect. But I was amazed by how much it helped just holding a line in the tube.
well, one of the things I was wondering about, in making this, was whether worksmanship makes any difference whatsoever when it comes to hand planes. I don't have anything to compare this to, other than a McDonald's tray, so I can't really say how it compares to a handplane that costs $160. But I'm basically very skeptical about a lot of surfcraft design, and this is an expression of that skepticism.
Most forms of planes will give you a glide across the wave, whether it be a board, a fast food tray, a mat filled with air, or a piece of wood held/strapped to your hand. Though I'm sure innovation has been involved through the years and attributes to some of the high costs of the hand planes you refer to, the main reason they cost so much ARE because they were made with "beautiful workmanship" and each one is actually a work of art. Think of it this way... you can go buy a SoftTop off the rack at CostCo and catch a wave, and if you surf it enough I'm sure you can end up ripping it up with the thing, but, once you ride a shaped board there is no comparison. Same thing with the price. Don't get me wrong though, if a hacked up piece of 1/2" ply gives you some STOKE, GO FOR IT... it does for me, I made the thing below a few weeks back
Mr. Madpie, Having been a somewhat obsessive perfectionist carpenter for the last 30+ years I have a definite appreciation for finely crafted items, however, I also appreciate fine examples of bucking that tyranny of obsessive perfection and the freedom and beauty that can come with a more, shall we say "primitive" approach. Please take it as a compliment when I say; that hand plane is a beautiful piece of shit.
