Hi everybody - I just laminated the deck of my first go at 2#, and it is good. I pre-foiled and “rockered” as much as I could/felt like out of a flat 4" thick piece x 2’ x 7’6". I “pressed” more rocker in on a table w/2 layers of 6" wide 6 oz carbon on the deck as “stringer”… One thing I noticed, that stuff, 2#eps, is stiff… I had 300+ pounds of sand on the top board, and had to use double back trucker knots from eye bolts in the floor to cinch it all the way down… and it still popped back @ 1/4" in the middle, but good thing I left extra foam to get it right.
2# shapes pretty nice… harder/denser than I would have thought… Lots of sureform exersise for a couple sessions! Ha! But it cleans up real nice w/screen, and I have some 3M pads which really work well at smoothing little transitions. Spackle… ok, not quite as soft as I would have liked, shoulda put a little glass bead in on my own… all in all it went real well, and next thing I knew I was ready to glass. I put only four “threads” of the carbon fiber tow, as it was big fat 12oz stuff, in the perimeter deck channels for extra, extra strength - although, at 3.5" it should be stronger than my 1.75" board w/deck channles. Ha! It looks so freakin’ cool with the black down the middle and curving on the rails, but I’m gonna paint over it 'cuz black, sun etc. (Thanks Keith!)
I’ll try to get some pics in the fall for those of you who may be interested. It’s a combination shape, 7’4" x 23 3/4" x 12" nose, 14" tail, 3 1/2" thick. But, and here’s the big but, as one of my favorite late 20th century philosophers said, “Everybody has a big but Cimon, let’s talk about your big but right now.” (Pee Wee Herman, from his big adventure.) It is a tri-plane hull, and the center “running area” is 17 1/2" wide - (see strakes and chines) single to double @ 1/4" deep w/what I call “bonzer” in the last 20" - meaning the center is higher that the rails. It’s gonna be a tri fin, w/ redX box for adjustability, and MVG for the magic flow…
I’m gonna take it for a test flight to Kauai in a few weeks - I’ll let you all know how it went in the “fall,” or September when school gets back in session. Or, if I get to motivated, I may log on from the library in Koloa town…
Until then - So much “mahalo” for all the help and support, this “place” rules…
Taylor O