{"id":1691,"date":"2026-01-29T16:35:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/?page_id=1691"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:55:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:55:54","slug":"wooden-paddle-board-build","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/?page_id=1691","title":{"rendered":"Wooden Paddleboard Build"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of my retirement goals is to build a wooden paddle board. With the help of my friend, Josh of Ramsey Hardwood Floors in Bozeman, I’m building a board. Here’s the progression of the build which started in late January 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The paddle board build began by gluing the template together. Shout out to Josh for lending a hand and providing shop space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Milling the strips. We took rough hemlock flooring from the Old Faithful recreation hall
and stripped it to 1\/4″ x 3\/4″ slats for the paddle board. I used to play basketball on the
rec hall floor when I drove bus in Yellowstone in ’76 & ’77. Thanks, Josh, for reclaiming
the wood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Planing the pieces to the final dimensions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n






















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Center strips in place.

A bit of a delay.<\/strong> On February 20, I tore my rotator cuff while skiing at Bridger Bowl with my Eagle Mount partner. On March 11, I had surgery to repair a tore rotator cuff, a torn labrum, a torn bisep tendon and a completely torn supraspinatus. After 7+ weeks in a sling, I started physical therapy to regain range of motion. I am now just over 12 weeks post-surgery and am nearing full range of motion. The build continues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bottom strips nearly done<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bottom strips on and trimmed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ready for internal blocking and top strips before adding the top strips.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Top strips going on. The internal blocking for leach plugs and other
attachments are in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Both sides stripped and finally looking like a paddle board
after I trimmed the excess wood flush to the sides.
I wet the wood to get an idea of what the final wood colors
will be.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Let the sanding begin. I started with 80 grit paper, then 100 and finally 120.
After numerous passes on both sides, the sanding is complete.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sanded and ready for the side and end pieces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Grandkids checking out the sanded board<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sanded<\/a>
Sanded and ready for seal coat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Paddle board build delayed due to knee replacement surgery in mid August.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fiberglass cloth ready to be saturated with resin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The bottom of the paddle board after the fiberglass coat cured.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A logo I created that was incorporated onto the top of the board.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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One of my retirement goals is to build a wooden paddle board. With the help of my friend, Josh of Ramsey Hardwood Floors in Bozeman, I’m building a board. Here’s the progression of the build which started in late January … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1691","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1691"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1873,"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1691\/revisions\/1873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jgravesedu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}