I’m having a 9’0" single stringer (cedar-classic foam)/single fin speed board shaped and want to know if I’m overkilling it on the glass job.
I’m having the board glassed with two layers of 8 oz. Volan on the bottom and two 8 oz. layers of Volan on top, with a 4 oz. deck patch. I like my boards to have weight and strength, and plan on using this board for bigger surf (head high plus). Too much weight? I’ve never owned a board with Volan, but had my last board shaped with two 8oz. layers of S-cloth on the top and one 8oz. on the bottom, and like the weight (9’6"). Any ideas? Should I just do just a single 8oz. Volan top and bottom??? I definitely want Volan, but don’t want it to be over the top.
Yeah, it sounds like you’re thinking it’ll be heavy with the double on both sides. I think I agree. Like I mentioned in the past, I’m still into this whole late 60’s/retro revival scene, I guess. Missed that free love/experimental decade entirely, although my first board (at 18) was a ten foot Velzy popout, in 1988.
Man, I’ve always been weary of those kids who hide in the bushes with the ballpeen hammers. They were giving me the old stinkeye the other day, gazing at my 6 oz. board with a look of mischief and wanderlust…
whats volan? …anyway i made a 9. recently used 6 oz on the bottom and 6+ 8oz on the top its kinda heavy but hell its a big board so you know…what im trying to say is one 6 on bottom and 6+ 8 on top is a little heavy but probally pretty strong so…dont make a hundred pound board… make a two hundred pound board!
My first board, a 10’ Oneill Intruder, was glassed double 8oz with triple 1/16th redwood stringers. It weighed 22lbs.
It got more dings due to it’s heavy weight than anything else, as it was always swung into doorways, slid down muddy cliffs (Hook), and generally clumsy to carry.
I wasted a whole year surfing that log 2-3 days a week, then got a 7’7’ x 23 Aussie V bottom diamond tail, and my surfing just began to take off.
Zed— A “standard” volan from most shops is not double 8 top and bottom. That much cloth and that much weight would be special order. The advantage to weight is "glide’. Once you get that baby goin’ you’ve got momentum that makes sections. The disadvantage is that the board is not going to swing around like some mid-size egg or short board. On a volan I usually go 8oz bottom, 8 top with a second layer of E,S,or warp 6 oz over that. If you want a deck patch and you like retro use volan for an additional deck patch. The cut lines will look totally retro. The 4oz is a waiste of glass. You won’t get the strength out of 4 oz. that would be needed to reduce or prevent knee dents from paddling What throws me about your question is that your board is only 9’0 and a speed-shape. Most guys that have 9’0 speed-shapes made are not looking for weight and would prefer the manuverabilty of a board glassed a little lighter. I regularly ride heavy retro boards. If you can learn to “old school” your approach you can ride them in almost anything. McDing
You said that you have a 9 footer glassed with dubble 8 oz. top and bottom. The Volan is really only 7.5 oz. so it is going to be just a little lighter than the S glass at 8 oz. If you are using Classic foam as you said you will have a very strong board for knee paddeling I would only use a 2 oz deck patch since it is going to look the part but will not be as heavy. Here is what I did on my last board, I just had one layer of 10 oz Volan top and bottom. You could then add your 2 oz deck patch and it will look the part and be lighter as well. Just my thoughts. Let us know what you end up with and how it works for you.
two layers of 8oz on bottom is total overkil, even more so with the classic weight foaml. You don’t surf on the bottom so you don’t need an extra layer. Unless if all you want is weight. In that case, go one layer of 10oz volan on botom and go two layers of 10 oz on top. Throw in a deck patch to if you want even more wieght.
I like the idea of the single 8 oz. or 10 oz. Volan top and bottom, then adding an extra layer (2 oz.) for a deck patch. I guess my thinking is to have a stronger board to resist dings/breaking. Not that I’ve ever broken a board (yet), but the plan is to have this board in the quiver for bigger days, perhaps more of a reef/point break tool. The inspiration came from reading the article in Longboard Magazine a few years back about Mike Hynson’s “Red Fin Army”, in particular the Cojo model. Although the Cojo’s were usually close to 11 ft. in length, I wanted to experiment with a board a couple of feet shorter, kind’ve like a gun, but a bit fuller in overall volume. 9’0", 21 1/2" wide, pintail, turned up, pulled in nose for late entry, downrails. And I wanted to make it a bit “old school”, with more weight to propel me down the face, especially in a hard offshore (I fluctuate between 146-150 lbs…ever ounce helps). Anyway, the blank is ordered, and I’ll post pictures with the outcome for you guys soon. Hopefully we’ll have the juice soon to justify taking it out, too. I’m thinking a big day at Sunset Cliffs would be the ideal launch pad.
Zed___ There was no Cojo model when Michael Hynson was turning out the original Models. There were Hynson Models and Hynson Guns, HY1S , HY2S ETC. They were heavy boards because more than anything else the three stringer blank contained wood in thickness dimensions that you don’t get in stanard Clark 3 stringer blanks nowadays, unless you special order. I know , because I have owned a couple of Hynsons in recent years and surfed them. I don’t mean retro shapes like the Cojo Model, but original 60’s Hynsons. I’ve never seen one under 9’6 and you had to be a real man to turn 'em. I believe those boards were 10 oz. volan doubled,but am not absolutly sure on #s of layers. I could see no trace of a deck patch on mine. I gotta say again that 2 or 4 oz glass does lttle more than aid in waterproofing. It doesn’t have much strength value and unless you use volan, you will not see the cut line. My standard glass job is 6oz. bottom, 6 and 4oz. top, E or RWG. That’s a basic glass job. 4oz. works very well layered up with 6. Freelapped this gives you a very cleatr, clean, industry strong glass job. Just the basics. Two and four ounce disappear on saturation, no cut line and nowhere near the strength of a heavier weight in Volan. Again 2 or 4 is a waiste of resin. McDing