Hello everyone, I’m look for some suggestions on a compsand project I’m working on. It is a 5’5"x19 1/4" x2 1/8" compsand. 1lb eps, deck will be 2mm paulownia, bottom will be 2mm cork with full wrap rails. The board is going to a kitesurfer who rides strapless, but a little heavy footed. I was thinking about this layup, any suggestions would be helpful.
Deck- 2x 4oz under, 2mm paulownia, 1x 6oz over
Bottom 1x 4oz under, 2mm cork, 1x 6oz over.
I want 6oz on the outside to give a little extra ding protection on the rails.
Also thinking about putting some Uni carbon tow along the rail, under the cork to give the board a little more spring , or do you think it will make it too stiff?
Not sure what your weight of board goal is, but that will be a 7-8 lb board. The deck layup looks fine even if it is a heavy footed surfer. The traction pads will help a bit with that.
I believe the carbon tape along the rail will only stiffen and not make it more flexy. I assume you have no stringer also?
I don’t know anything about strapless kite surfing except the boards I see in the Naish shop. They are very light and narrow. 5’5" x 19 1/4 seems too wide for the length, but like I said, I don’t know what works.
The pic below is my almost done tow board 5’7" x 17" x 1 1/2". This is an inch wider than most. What does your outline look like?? Can’t imagine this board at 19" wide.
Im using the Firewire Hellfire for kitesurfing 5’6" x 19 x 2 3/16" as a guide.
I made the guy that ordered this board another strapless kiteboard that was 2lb EPS 5’4"x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4". Glassed it with 3 x 6oz top and 2 x 6oz bottom. Board is not too heavy from his input, but looking to get him something a little lighter and less prone to deck denting.
I was only thinking about adding the carbon to the rail because with no stringer, wood deck, and cork bottom/wraped rail, the board might not be responsive enough. The other guys I’ve seen doing on Sways doing all cork wrapped boards are doing carbon rails, I’m assuming to stiffen them up a bit and make more responsive. If I don’t add carbon to the rails I’m just not sure if the Paulownia wood deck will give the board enough spring to it.
The hardcore composite gurus(non surfboard applications) are using corecork for carbonfiber replacement. I think your wrapped rails with cork will do just fine. The caveat being if it is corecork and not cork from a office warehouse that is. When I think spring or flexibility, carbon fiber tape is the last thing I would use. My corecork boards are quite flexy. I am about 35 boards into it and no problems so far.
You may want to do the cork on the top and the wood on the bottom. Cork will handle a lot more impacts than wood. Take a look at some of Stretch’s cork boards with the rail channels if you want to stiffen up the board. Post some pictures!
Your layup sounds pretty good. I do a lot of kitesurfing (always strapless) and have been making my boards with 3 x 4 oz deck and 2 x 4 oz bottom. Sometimes I’ll add wood or other materials depending on what the board is intended for.
You should ask the fellow what style of riding he wants the board for. For example, the boards that I make for doing strapless airs need to be light. The lighter they are the better it will stick to my feet. For riding waves on rail, weight isn’t such an issue and I’d go with a heavier glass job. The air guy will appreciate a lighter board and be willing to sacrifice durability. The carvy, down the line guy will want a durable board with good response.
my current kiteboard is a comsand surfboard I made a year ago DIM 5'10 X 18.45 X 2 the layup is 3mm corcel both sides, 11kg core, 1 layer of 4oz both sides. The only problem I have is in the heel area. But to get around this I have put a 2mm piece of ply to spread the load in the heal area.
My kite skills are crap so once on the wave i park the kite and surf. It is a great board for kite surfing with emphisis on the surfing. The rest of the board is structurly sound and I still do the odd jump and I use it 3 time a week in Sumer here in South Africa.
For strapless you can get away with the above maybe even less the 2mm ply
Thanks for your comments. I’ll be kiting with the guy that wants this board this weekend. I see what he thinks about weight vs durability. He’s been into strapless airs lately, so as Ballard suggested, I’ll probably want to keep in on the lighter side. I think if I can get it in the 6 lb range it will be good.
Sounds like I should probably leave the carbon out and maybe do 4oz over on the bottom to save some weight. I’ll post some pics and ride report when I’m finished.
I like Lavarat’s option as well… A flat wood bottom, being flatter , flexes better than the wood deck with its multi curved surface… If you like twang and springback a wooden bottom acts like a springy flat diving board… If you want a softer feel all round go with full cork skins…
The cork seems to have better dampening characteristics and impact recoil so it would be better for heel dents and such so is more suitable on the deck…
I've used sub 1lb..(.08 /.09) eps in the past, but it shapes poorly and requires you to apply more deck glass or increase skin density and / or thickness........
I now use 1.5lb. eps which shapes nicer and reduces the need for heavy under the skin deck glass as well as heavier/ thicker skin densities...