Hi guys, this is my first post here on Swaylocks… I´ve been playing with composite surfboards for a while a made some full balsa composite with parabolic rails like Bert Burger and some others the same way, but with cork on deck. Both construtions came impressive light and strong, but for shortboards my bet is that they don´t have the magic flex like normal poliuretane boards have.
So I started mind constructing another compsands a here´s my first approach: I shaped an 5’9’’ in a 1# eps with 1/8’’ balsa center stringer (just for hold the rocker), then vacuum bag the nl-20 corecork on deck until the bottom edge with 4 oz fiberglass underneath. After true in the bottom edges, vacumm bagged a wood veneer on bottom. As I thought that it would be too much flexy, I´ve put a carbon fiber tape.
Can´t wait to finish and test it!
Has anyone built something like this to share ideas?
Right on Oneula! I live in Brazil and unfortunately we can´t easily find texalium…
I made one with cork bottom, but it didn´t feel good in action. Would like to put something on bottom to increase the resistance, but maybe too much fiberglass isn´t a good idea, because it´ll make a stiff board, do you agree?
Well, before glassing them I always make a flex test: put the shape on the ground, bottom up, and lightly press with my foot in the center of the shape. This way I can have a basis on how it will be when final glassed =)
I didn´t put cloth under the veneer, just thinking to make it as closer as I can to the PU ride feeling…
Do your boards have center stringer? The first board with cork deck that I made, could not believe on how both strong and flexibe it is…
Another photos of the shape. Started glassing, but as we got some swell coming, I believe that I´ll use my free time to surf hahah… Hope next week it will be ready for a test…
My boards do not have a center stringer. They are 1.5# EPS.
All mine have been made by Drew. I’ve been riding bamboo/cork boards for 4 or 5 years now and I’m totally sold on them.
All mine have had glass under the deck veneer, whether it’s bamboo or cork, and Drew has always put carbon rails on them to control the flex.
Do your own thing though and figure out what works for you. You’re going to learn a lot more and have much more confidence in your build by experimenting and figuring out what does/doesn’t work for you. Looks like you are off to a really good start. Make sure and post more pics as your build progresses!
Here’s a shot of my last cork board, shaped by my friend Tom and glassed by Drew:
Finished and counting the minutes to drop into the sea… Pretty strong construction and the weight it´s 2.270kg (5,01 lbs) not bad… The dims are 5’9’’ x 18 5/8’’ x 2 1/4’’
Hope test her a lot to be able to fine tune the next ones!