Mas Despacio, por favor...

Jim Phillips' work. You can bet this took a minute or two. Photo via Web Foundling

"clean up the deck and get rid of anything that is wrong, skin the bottom to thickness, thin and rocker nose and tail, add vee's and or concaves. If the shape is NOT a full template stocker, draw out nose and tail and middle dimensions and template, cut out with power saw or hand saw, true up the planshape. Now true up the bottom, making sure the 2 sides are even and symetrical, give the bottom a light sand to get rid of any planer chatter, go back and look the deck over. Flip blank, cut bottom bands, fair in bottom bands with additional planer fine cuts, check for accuracy if you have NOT stabbed yourself in the eye with a pencil first. Flip blank over, band deck rails, fine bands to finish up, check for accuracy again, Sand flats out to rails top and bottom, sand over edges to end of final planer cuts top and bottom, tune up rails for the rough screening. Fine sand top and bottom flats, finish sand rails, give it a final drag of fine screen.

It damn near took me 40 minutes to type it all in proper sequence.

It takes as long as it takes to do it right, not a minute sooner.
A job worth doing is worth doing right No one has time to do it right, but has time to do it over The faster I go the behinder I get Would you buy a board from me if I took a little over a half hour ? Fast is not the same as good More is not better"

-Jim "The Genius" Phillips


Last night I sat on the beach with my son. My wife was out surfing. GG is jumping over holes, a little spiderman. "Daddy, how did spiderman get his powers?" Amermaid comes in, I grab the board to go out for a splash. "Daddy, I want to surf with you." Stop. Warm feeling toes to nose. "Okay, come on." Three years old, 34 pounds, on the deck of a 9'o. I walk him out, past the shorebreak and motorboat him over the oncoming microsurf. He does little push ups to get over the waves- a longboarder in the making? For minutes we are just floating on the outside. Then, moments later we are sliding towards the beach together. A first to equal to any monumental kid first; first step, word, haircut, bath. Anything.

Today, on the boogie, we try for a few from aways out. GG slides towards the shore and has that wonderful wipeout on the sand. He is shaken. We get on the horse again and take another, just to show fear that we are not mastered. Then, fun without expectation. "No more boogie waves right now, okay?" Sure GG. Take it slow. Enjoy your ride. No hurry towards some fictional finish line. "Maybe tomorrow we can surf again, Daddy?" Sure GG, as long as you're enjoying yourself.