First and foremost I must say thanks to every one that donated blanks for the latest Swayloholics Anonymous gathering in Big Sur. More importantly a larger thanks to the guys that handed down foam to us misfit kids, we all really appreciate it. You guys kick ass. Having that said, I have shaped myself a displacement hull (from a blank from the raffle) after being completely stoked on the hull Lee shaped that I had the pleasure of riding in Big Sur. My problem is I am trying to formulate the best way for me to cap the box for the fin. My general plan is as follows:
Laminate top & bottom (8 or 10oz volan).
Route, fill, and sink fin box.
Grind box flush.
Mask box opening.
Laminate bottom again (6 or 4oz?)
Hot/Gloss coat
Cut out masking tape from box through the hot coat with a really sharp blade?
Does this look right to anyone else? I'm not really sure when to sink the box and cut the tape...
Will 4oz glass be enough to cap a fin box?
Can I leave masking tape down on the box until after I sand the hot coat? or should I cut the tape when the first lam gels, then re-tape during hot coat?
Does anyone sink & grind boxes straight into the foam (before a lam)?
I have a million more questions but I guess this will do for now.
Bizgravy describes how most factory installs are done.
For a more secure installation, consider mini-stringers on either side of the box and/or a patch of glass over the box. Grind down the box after installation and scuff around the box a few inches in all directions. The box slot should be masked off and the opening cut after the resin cures. The outer edges of the patch can be feathered out to a smooth surface before glossing.
I will take some pictures of the actual board this weekend and post them. For now, I’m at work and all I have is my sketches of the outline and sections. Top section is around the 1’ back from the nose middle, bottom section is taken @ the wide point. When I finished shaping the rails, they came out even more pinched then I originally planned, I think I put and extreme amount of belly in the board but I will keep you posted and let you know how it works.
I found a post from Campbell that kind of shows what I’m talking about. I’m trying to basically do this:
to “cap” the finbox, but I would prefer not to have a small patch of glass to cap it, but at this point I’m thinking that it is looking like my best bet. From the above picture it appears that Campbell cut the tape before hot coating? I can’t really tell. Let me know what you guys think.
This is how I do it…hot coat the board, install the box, sand the board and box, lam the patch, hot coat the patch, sand it down smooth, feather the edges. Then gloss the whole board. I’ve tried skipping the “hot coat the patch” but don’t get as nice a result. But then, I’m a hack…
Gents, my technique for Fins Unlimited 10" boxes has been (until lately) to laminate, tape the area where the box is going, then carve out the slot with my router. Put a large fin in the box, then tape off the rest of the exposed slot and a little way up the fin. Catalyze some lam resin and pour into the routed slot; use the stick to smush it around. Jam the box and fin into the hole and tape it square (not really necessary if your router does a real nice close job).
When the resin has cured, out comes the fin. Tape off the box slot and hotcoat. Sand. Finish coat.
I hadn’t thought of routing through the hot coat… might well be simpler than having to tape off the lam, since the shoe on my router is black and tends to leave marks on the lam.
Lately though, been using Futures or O’Fishls. For these I just use the dremel with a 1/4 inch bit. Made a nifty little jig for the Dremel. It’s real slow on center fins, though, since the Dremel trades torque for high speed. Have to make multiple passes. Been looking at Rotomite and similar light but strong routers… just have to mentally justify having three routers if I go that way. Heck I have three sanders… and five planers…
The first few were just like Campbell’s photo. I changed my ways. Now I take the 4 oz cloth all the way to the tail and all the way to the rail. In front of the box I go up about 4 inches or so and do a V shape back towards the tail. Looks cool. All the classic boards have a tail patch. I just copied what I saw. I also have this thing against running a break in the cloth at 90 degrees to the stringer.
I’ve been doing alot of EPS foam lately. I put cloth in the hole before installing the box to seal the foam. I put cloth in there ,apply resin with my finger and then install the box. Same batch of resin ,not an extra step.
Did you see the colored resin that Riffraff and Thefishexp used to install their boxes?
Howzit BrianO, One thing about capping a box is you have to understand that the glass doesn’t adhere to the box that well and can delam to easily. If done right a good box install with out a cap is strong enough. The better way is to add the stringers to each side of the box for strength. Ambrose has done this for years and swears by it. 1 little trick I use is to punch some holes in the front and rear of the hole before installing and it seems to prevent any cracking from stress. Aloha,Kokua
I also cap it after the hotcoat like both LeeV and Stingray. I set the box differently though. First, level the tail of the board so that the resin stays even. Put a fin or piece of 5/16" plywood in the box. Mask around the routed slot. Wipe the top, sides, and bottom of the box throughly with acetone. Put 6 oz cloth in the routed slot to cover the bottom and 3/4 the way up the sides, with enough lam resin to just saturate the weave, not pool up. Mix a batch of milled fibers or cut-up cloth with lam resin, pour into the hole to fill 1/2 the way up the hole with the box in it (put some in the bottom before putting in the box). Check the fin/wood piece for straightness with the stringer and perpendicularity with the bottom. Tape the fin/wood to the rails until the resin sets. Fill the remainder with pigmented sand resin, sand down the box with 60 grit and cap. The side “stringers” are a good idea if you’re prone to hitting rocks or the bottom.
Howzit lowgear, All you have to do is use a pencil and punch a hole on each side of the stringer about half way down the hole at the front and the rear of the box hole. Take your time filling the gap around the box so the resin mix ( I use white pigment and milled fibers) can fill the punched holes.Aloha,Kokua
Appreciate the offer Lee, I think that I’m going to finish the glassing in the parking lot of my office… in Irvine. I will take pictures if this goes down. Other than this board, I’m glassing with epoxy.
Bottom: 
