Okay …
so, here’s the "Delta Design " board , that started this thread of mine .
The lady in the hemp shop VERY kindly let " Sandgroper " and I take LOTS of photos of it [Thanks lady , and thanks for taking the photos too , “Sandy” !]
…enjoy , everyone !
cheers,
ben
Cool! but that board needs to go for a surf…
haha
YEP !!
that’s EXACTLY what sandgroper and I said …
( In fact , in the profile shot , Ian commented that it looked like it was wanting to be duckdived !! )
ben
Interesting board Ben,
I was just at a new hemp shop in Santa Cruz, where they are trying to promote the material without any of the ‘smoke the rope’ connotations. (it’s at the end of pacific, across water street, by the clock tower for anyone local who wants to check it out.) They have a couple pu/pe boards on display that have hemp deck inlays. When I talked to them about it, they said they were trying to get some boards made with only hemp as the laminate, without fiberglass. Apparently, they had some special weave hemp produced so that it is similar to a 4-6 oz glass. When they get some in the store I’m going to try to pick a bit up.
With the board in your photos, is it just the hemp leaves that are the inlay? Is the whole board ‘glassed’ with hemp under a layer of fiberglass? Hemp alone without glass? Any chance they’ll let you demo it and report back here?
Pat
…Im stoned…err stoked…
“Is the whole board ‘glassed’ with hemp under a layer of fiberglass?”
yes
ah reverb reverb reverb … you may have been joking [hopefully?]
…an anti drug campaigner like me would not be seen within a hundred feet of anything to do with marijuana .
ho hum .
The lady in the shop said it was that kind of ignorance that REALLY annoyed her , when little stoner street kids come in to her hemp clothing shop , wanting to buy bongs . idiots.
nothing personal reverb , but
HEMP IS NOT MARIJUANA …
for the 20 millionth time [while the ignorance persists , NO-ONE is going to be making hemp boards without getting hassled , unfortunately . “smoke the rope” mentality , indeeed . sigh.]
The girls in the shop liked the fin panels I showed them , so when they are cut out and foiled , I will leave at least one fin in the shop , for the girl’s boyfriend to test ride .
I wish I COULD trial that board in the shop .,…I think I need to talk to the glasser / shaper , somehow …find out who he is . [There was , unfortunately , NOTHING written on the board at ALL]
cheers
ben
Thanks for that info Ben,
The guys down town were really clear that they need to position themselves away from the marajuana association in order for the business to succeed. They mentioned possibly getting the hemp cloth in patterns eventually. Nothing tie-died 
On a side note, I just impulse bought a 10’1 Y 2lb eps blank from Fiberglass hawaii. Once my fish is done (hopefully within the month with pics) the hemp longboard will be a go. Now I just need to learn how to ‘glass.’
Pat
good on you Pat !
I hope I didn’t come across too harsh , there , reverb …
I really like your boards and your work and the help you have given me on this forum too. [Sorry I get a bit fired up about drug issues …a guy at surfer mag [from norway, apparently] got “educated” after his weird comment , too…well, HOPEFULLY he learnt that hemp is NOT mull , anyway ?!]
Pat , I hope I can contact the shaper / glasser of this board , and find out how he lapped the rails , and what oz cloth [and what resin] he used …
Because this board is [I’m guessing?] a few years old , I couldn’t really smell if it was glassed using epoxy or polyester .
The rails seemed strong , but you ‘could’ dent the bottom , I think [I didn’t , of course …I was just squeezing the board] . It would have been nice to have been able to have weighed the board , too …I am pretty bad at guessing weights…
cheers , Pat, for your interest …
now …WHERE’S Yoshio !!! you "out there " , buddy ? [you’re “the man” , around this forum , who has done the hemp glassed boards thing …any feedback here , pleeease ?]
cheers,
ben
Pat , I hope I can contact the shaper / glasser of this board , and find out how he lapped the rails , and what oz cloth [and what resin] he used …
If you could find out how the rails were lapped that would be great! I was watching the video Lavz and yourself made on glassing. I like the way you did the release cuts, but think that with hemp it would look pretty bad with the overlap. I’m planning on getting the shaping 101 and glassing vids now that I have a real blank to work with. Hmm.
Pat
Welcome to Marin County
Population: 281,500 Altitude: High
okay Pat ,
I just rang Martin , the guy at delta surfboards .
he thought the board was “more like around 13 years old”
it apparently was just made to put in the window of the Margaret River Hemp Store . Has never been surfed [which would explain why no pressure dents !] …What a waste of a god board .
he was surprised it hadn’t yellowed , after all those years .
He thought he “had just put one layer of “maybe 6oz” over the hemp on the deck” , and “didn’t think there was any hemp cloth used on the bottom at all , from memory”
So , all in all …not a lot of revelation there , unfortunately …
( Well, Pat , it looks like maybe we , along with Yoshio , will have to be the “crash test dummies” for now , eh ? …I have a 6’8 thruster blank , you have a longboard blank …it could make for a good comparison , hopefully , eh ?!)
Greg Loehr ?
Bill Barnfield ?
Bill Thrailkill ?
T.F.A.D ?
…others ?
who here has made a few hemp boards , both over the years , and also recently ?
I would welcome hearing YOUR findings of how they performed , please ?
…I think I might have to try getting Jim Banks’ contact number , maybe ?! …
ben
For those wondering why hemp has become an evil weed in the last 70 years, rather than the thousands of years of benefitial use look at this website or google out others. http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0199/et0199s11.html
It seems to suggest that sepo greed and politics may be involved (I know a very unusual combination!)
Jake: Book us for tomorrow night.
Maury Sline: Hold it, hold it. Tomorrow night? What are you talking about? A gig like that, you gotta prepare the proper exploitation.
Elwood: I know all about that stuff. I have been exploited all my life.
Elwood Blues (The Blues Brothers)
Sounds god Ben,
Only problem on my end from comparison is that I’ve never used fiberglass, and am a complete novice. But I’ll do my due diligence in the archives before the attempt.
Benny: Funny, I almost took a job in Marin a year and a half ago, but ended up in Santa Cruz. Speaking of high altitude, still getting over the after effects of my Mt. Whitney attempt 4 days ago. Maybe if I had acclimatized properly in Bolinas?
Pat
thanks for the follow up on that Ben! it made an interesting read.
The guy making the boards on display in the Santa Cruz hemp shop is Neff, the owner/operator of Homegrown Surfboards. He’s got a killer thing going. His hemp/glass boards are bomber!!! Total hemp lams would make the boards very heavy (I felt a “chippy” 6’0" M10 the other day that was a full hemp cloth lam and it felt about 10 lbs.) so Neff has a secret inlay formula that keeps the boards light but increases their strength tons. My 190 lb. buddy Pete has been surfing a Homegrown HTD (Hemp Tech Deck) 6’3" all summer long- Santa Cruz has had a relatively good summer- and the thing has minimal deck compression dings. I’m really impressed with Neff’s shapes as well, very balanced and power surfing oriented, which fits the surf style that favors the increased momentum produced by a heavier board. I have a board on order for the winter, a 6’6" or 6’9" and I plan on putting it to the test. From the looks of my buddy’s board it seems like you can get at least twice the life out of a board just because the deck maintains its shape for so long. Less compression dings= less “flattening” of the deck—>
damage to the deck foam—>delams—> rail cracks—>buckles—>breaks, etc.
If I were Neff’s VP of Marketing, I would advertize: “Homegrown Surfboards…It worth the weight!” I’ve been “weighting” for a board for a while, but Neff’s currently out of a surfboard factory at the moment. If anyone who could provide a professional work space would like to collaborate with Neff in the S.C. area, I’d be stoked because then I could get my hands on a killer winter board… swells ahhhrrr coming…
-Tranny
thanks for that , tran !
of course I would LOVE to see photos of the board in question .
And I guess there is no chance of the " ’ secret inlay formula’ to keep the boards light and strong " being divulged here , eh ?? pity . [you’re teasing us] …
ben
…Chipfish61, like you should know, Im only joking
I d been laughing and had this comment in the tip of my mouth…
cheers