You're probably all thinking this project is going to cost a lot of money, and not even be worth it in the long run. Well thanks to me having nothing to do at work I've been able to prove that theory wrong. The intial board will be almost the price of a brand new board but every board after that will be roughly half the cost of a showroom board.
Spreadsheet
The link above is to a spreadsheet I made of the total cost for the initial board. It also shows the costs that won't need to be repeated for each board (color code at the bottom of the spreadsheet). While all the material listing is designed for an 8'0" Clark Blank, the first board we make is not going to be that large. Right now my goal is to first complete a 6'9" Fish, much like the CIS CIFish board which can be found here:
Channel Island Surfboards (click on retro models and it should pop as the first board, it's blue)
I'm doing this mainly due to the easy shape of the board (most likely won't be adding the tails like in the CIFish). It's also a twin-fin board which will limit our cost and also provide for a fun board that can be used down in Long Sands or on the River Mouth in small swells. Plus this Fish is a thicker board and will allow for a more "floaty" ride with nice round turns. I'm looking forward to riding this Fish.
While we first thought it might be a good idea to make a 6'3" or 6'1" shortboard first, but after some intense reading I've realized that might not be the best bet. If anyone would like to submit artwork for the initial design I am open to suggestions at the moment (although I am currently thinking about a Bob Marley Rasta Tribute board, since it is his birthday in a few days). You can find the template for the first board here:
6'9" Fish
Just print out, or save the image, put your own design on it and e-mail it back to me at moodysurf@pentatonicrecords.com.