Hi. I am 16 and I just shaped my first board about a month ago. I was so stoked I shaped a 6’0 x 20 it rode really well and have taken it out in some nice sized surf and it went really well. I used a Quad axiel carbon fibre fibreglass as well as another 6 oz layer on top and 6 oz bottom.
I’m now shaping a 5 8 and looking for raw performance for surf about 3 - 5ft. I want it to be strong so I am confident it won’t snap as well as lightness.
Thinking about 6 oz and 4 oz top and 4 oz bottom??
Reason I ask is that I design my boards in Shape3d and have them cut. Through proper blank selection I make sure to barelly skin the deck of the blank which leaves all of the outer, harder foam in place. I use the second to lightes foam density with either US or Arctic blanks and 2 layers of 4oz on top and a single 4ox bottom (all e glass).
One board has essentially zero pressure dings, the other has only very very slight ones and I surf heavy on my front foot. Both glassed in San Clemente by professional glassers, both boards under 2.25 thick.
So the point is, if you leave the hard outer foam in place on the deck try 2 layers of 4oz. If you dig deep into the blank maybe you need a 4 and a 6. I believe a lot of people on here are undersetimating the importance of leaving the hard outer foam in place (and I dont mean the ‘‘skin’’).
TL:DR - Proper short boards do not need more than 2 layers of 4oz cloth on the deck.
You must not be using Arctic or Millennium or you wouldn’t have to worry about how deep you cut into the deck. The density in these two foams is evenly distributed throughout the blank. And; they are harder than the third option. So they dent less. The week point on a 6/4 deck & 4 oz bottom isn’t the deck. It’s the 4 oz bottom. More likely to puncture if paddled over shallow rocks or reef. More likely to snap or buckle across the bottom. Strength versus weight. It’s a trade off. Lowel
Actually, the 4 oz bottom can pressure dent from simply carrying it. The dents will form just past the lap line. Go with a 6E bottom. On a 5.8 x 19, maybe it adds 4 oz of cloth and another 4 oz of resin. That 1/2 pound of weight will more than make up for itself in durability (and resale value). A 6E/4S patch on the deck is a good combo to save weight.
So basically I am having this board cut so it is just going to have a light sand on the board. I might just go with a heavier coat seeing as I am still only beginning don’t want to break my board so quickly.
Fairly certain all PU foam is softer in the middle and gets progressively harder as you move towards the outside of the blank. Thats why people who cut boards, and even the blank companies themesleves reccomend cutting as close to the deck as possible.
PU foam is most definately softer the deeper you go, its an unavoidable results of the chemical process and manufacturing of the blank insde the mould.
If your blank very closely matches the deck of your design, say within an 1/8th inch everywhere, (so you dont cut deep into the deck) than you do not need more than 2 layers of 4oz. I use the second to lightest PU, US blanks foam, cut super close the deck and I use 2, 4oz layers on top and I have esentially no pressure dings. 4oz on bottom is sufficient unless you just bang your board on everything. It all about getting the proper blank to match the digital design and alot of people on here dont undersand how critical blank seletion is.
10 total oz on the deck is absurd and only neccesary for those that are doing it wrong. Again - I use 2, 4oz layers of E cloth, super close tolerance blank…no pressure dents.
That’s interesting. So basically this board is being machine cut. I know that it should be PU foam but I didn’t really ask for any specific type of phone from the guy who is shaping it. Anyway I bought it from South coast foam.
southcoast is pretty good foam but anyway most cnc cutters in australia who do surfboards will cut a PU blank fine to miss the softer foam, so dont worry too much
If realy dépend of your way to surf. I make boards for guys that destroy a 6/4 pu deck in two weeks whereas others keep their 2x4 in great condition for 1 year. So do it how you feel and see what happen.
Whats funny? I use US blanks red density foam and cut as little as possible into the deck, which is the absolute key and something most on this site dont understand. Preferably less than 1/8th. I work with my cutter and make sure he alligns my design with the blank perfectly. With 2 layers of 4oz e cloth I have almost no pressure dents after a 5 months on my last 3 boards. Simply writting LOL is in line with the rest of the ‘‘tribe’’ on this site but is not helpfull. I can do small airs, speed floaters, decent carves etc. I stand by my claim that using 10z total cloth weight on the deck is too heavy for a performance board. I’ve seen CI boards with 4x4 deck glassing abolutely fall apart because they mowed to deep into the blank. Its all about proper blank selection and extremely minimal deck foam removal (less than an 1/8th). You need the digital foam blank files to make the proper blank selection and possibly custom rockers if none of the natural rockers fit the bill.
Thanks for your valuable input. Forming my opinion, based on my results, as well as the fact that the majority of the perforamnce shortboard market is using 4x4 deck glass, is not arrogant at all. Whats arrogant is laughing at someone as opposed to discussing succesfull methods/results and my results speak for themselves. I have provided my methods, my poor spelling, and my results, initially in a helpfull manner. I am allowed to say that anyone using 10oz on the deck of a performance shortboard is doing it wrong and thats my opinion, which was not pointed at anyone. This community could benefit from dicussion and perhaps arrogant opinions, but little single sentence jabs do nothing and are immature and lowball.
Denser foam is stiffer so less déformation under pressure. Need less glass for dent résistance and keep good buckling résistance. So keep higher density foam near skin is a good thing for sure.
This is true lemat and it’s been discussed on here many times.
I haven’t used the foams McDing mentions with uniform density, but the standard approach for shaping the harder-outside blanks is to take a minimum of foam off the deck, do the bulk of the shaping / foiling off the bottom of the blank.
Thats old news, but I don’t think anyone here would disagree. It’s a little different hand shaping vs having a blank cut, but the concept is the same.
