Now that the blank is ready, we can mark the template. For this board, I made a half template and mirrored it across the stringer. Some folks have different nose and tail templates for mixing and matching.
With the template marked, I cut it out with a hand saw. As you get near the end, the weight of the cut foam can snap off the last bit if you’re not careful. This is especially dangerous around the nose. You can leave a little extra to give yourself some buffer against this and shape it down with a surform.
Careful with the nose Cleam up with the surform
The last step before moving on is to square up the rail with the bottom using a rail runner. This is a specialized tool that comes in really handy. I got mine from Green Light Surf Supply.