Hey Lee, Neira did a nice thread a while back about home shaping a sponge. some of the new boogies out there have a glass/epoxy bottom but with a normal sponge top.
as for your questions
1.flex is essential to a sponge, because they have no board length they rely on the snap from the return flex to project them through turns.
nope
more for comfort when your landing on it from a ten foot air, also helps facilitate flex
check for Neira’s thread, but being a long time bodyboarder I would highly recommend against a stiff eps epoxy board,
now if you used an eps core,only glassed the bottom and used HD foam on the rails and top with a soft polyethelene top over that, you may be on to something.
I know absolutely nothing about boogie boards, but you could argue that a bodyboard is just a flexible, soft version of a paipo board. Some paipo have lots of flex, others very little. Rod’s paipo forum has lots of ideas. Swaylocks has lots of paipo posts as well.
so even if I’ll shape and glass it eps-epoxy and put a layer of sponge on top , it wouldn’t be good huh???
o.k
your suggestion sounds almost good but i seems like tons of trouble.
what do you say about EPP foam? its hell to shape it but does not absorb water and it comes in different denseties not to mention that it’s unbreakable…
It’s not as wierd as you might think. Ron Romanosky, Jon Mel, Joe Blair, Mike Eaton and Austin Sanders are just a few of the recognizable names that have made fiberglass bodyboards (bellyboards.) Don’t put too much kick in the nose.
Good advice here although i have to dissagree slightly with number two.
There is a use for bodyboards with no flex.
I had one designed as a one trick pony board.
It was made for SPEED at certain waves that are nothing but racing barrels and wall on perfect glassy days.
You can not turn that well but you can turn if you have a little rocker or use the board differently to normal bodyboards.
However this board was super fast untill i lost it one day on a bombie.
You either turn -
-drawn out with speed,
-Using your tails rail and legs with you way back.(drag)
-if the rails have rocker (step deck) yet centre is flat rockered turning will be easier.
-takeoff on a huge angle
Not too much tail rocker as tail rocker reduces speed.
Not too much rocker in general either but ussually more than PP or PE boards.
I had a few issues with this board and never got it perfected although i wanted to.
And believe boards like this will only work on certain waves with a not too critical takeoff and lots of wall and barrel where you dont need to cutback.
Glassy too as any chop will be a problem.
So not much of a use but if you find a wave like desert point where you are willing to experiment with a board like this, instead of using a board you already know would work… it has a purpose.
I built a PU/poliester boogieboard some years ago, for my personal use.
I must admit it was the fastest bodyboard I’ve ever ridden.
I must admit it was a true pain for my chest and ribs. The continuous impacts between the bottom of the board and the wave’s surface couldn’t be absorbed by the ribs.
Also, 3x4oz glassing on the deck was not enough to resist the pressure of the elbows when turning the board.
I will not build another foam/glass bodyboard ever.
But if you want to meake a trial, go on, but put some kind of padding where the elbows rest on the deck or the board will be ruined in the first session.
Hi Lee, do you use Nida core EPP? or another brand. I looked at order some of the nida core before but the cost per sheet combined with the minimum order of 8 sheets was a little prohibitive. XPS is probably a good alternative to EPP, although it is probably much stiffer.
i own a few epoxy paipo/bodyboards. They don’t have any flex but they work fine for me. Maybe a hardcore bodyboarder will not like them, but since my style is more trim and glide orientated (no big airs, el rolo’s ect.) they work great for me, i like how fast they are down the line (most waves are short here and close out).
Neira. Do you still have this board? I know one of the paipo I ride was glassed with:1 x 7.5 oz on the top and bottom and 1 x 10 oz top and bottom. It has material like computer mouse pads glued on to the elbow & hip areas. Obviously such a glass job would make for reduced flotation, but it does give you an idea of what others have used. Surffoils has been working on a compsand board - he reckons it will be bullet proof when it is finished.
