All the boards I made are carved in foam; but I want to made some boards with balsa. but the people always talk about balsa longboards and i wanna made shortboards!! I do not understand why nothing shape balsa shortboards…?
Is wrong the flex of a balsa shortboard in comparative with a foam shortboard? For turns, projections, pumping velocity, etc
Well, you haven’t looked around enough, I see quite a few short balsa’s going through the glass shop, but with less floataton than foam, balsa short boards are for the strong paddlers only, even after a hearty chambering. Flex, hell no, stiff and extremely punchy out of the turns, none of that wallowing feeling from a worn out foam board feel
well, thanks Jim; you know, i don´t live where the action is… I have got a couple of questions more. How many stringers should i use, and wich type of wood will use for these?; Should i put a stringer between every timber?; The boards must be chambered or may i shape and finish from solid balsa?; More or less, what is the final weight of the board; about 6´2´´ x 18 1/2´´ x 2 1/8´´ 4oz glass in each side 3 fins? Thank you very much for the answers
balsa shortboards, knee boards, sailboards, tow-in boards(7’x15x13), kiteboards anythings possible with balsa…and they won’t snap! Balsa boards don’t paddle as well, but once you catch the wave, the board TAKES OFF, because of more momentum. They are smoother riding, and what I love, you can feel the slap of the water through the board. - PK
PK, you convince me!!
I was at Tom Wegener’s shed last week and they are using paulownia??? chinese timber that is great they are going to start making fish soon .intresting
Yes, thats true, Paulownia is a beautiful light blond wood that has been used in the east for hundreds of years. The Japanese use it for cerimonial boxes. I’ve seen boards built from it in Australia by Paul Joski. Its only problem…its heavier than balsa, about like redwood. - PK