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Love this project. How did the 150 grit with egg crate work out? Better than the sanding block? I've never shaped that HD stuff before, so I'm curious how it handle different techniques.
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I never even used the eggcrate cause the sanding block worked so well...
I made this one last year for the same reason ,I used Lowes XPS blue foam that i glued together and tried to stiffen it up with 2 parabolic strigers and door skin deck inlay. It floats and paddles really well ,but it’s too stiff ,I think I could do away with the deck patch and the parbolic rails .The alaia is 6’6",17" x1.5" glassed w RR epoxy.How does your alaia ride?
Wow that came out pretty good! Is that an asymmetric tail on it?
I have just glassed the deck of the board. Due to the flexible soft foam laminating the first side was a bitch. I used RR epoxy as well. I have some cleanup to do before I glass the deck. I'll post some pics when I get the other side lammed.
Yeah ,I did an asymetrical tail Im a goofyfoot so i thought why not ,I only really want to surf this thing going left. Let me know if you want to try this board out I live in Ob San Diego.I think next time I will go with a more traditional alaia outline and maybe a bit wider,but this thing does float and paddle great.
Both sides now laminated and bottom hotcoated. Trying to decide whether I need more support as the Home Depot EPS, at around 1 lb., is really very weak. Flex is solid on the board now but the bottom is quite soft and I dont want it to break paddling out first session. Might add a 4 oz diamond patch with some CF down the middle for added strength in the middle of the board. Almost done!
By the way, the epoxy dust from sanding is really killing me, rashes itchiness and general discomfort after sanding. I dont get that with poly resin...?
Epoxy has that effect on some people. It usually goes in two directions, either it goes away or you become more and more sensitive to it. I have seen guys in boatyards who have to quit because of it and I have seen guys who have a bad reaction (rash and mono like symptoms) but after it cleared they never had the problem again. Then on occasion some guys just always have a problem but they work through it. The key is to remember is Epoxy is very harmful and Polyester is N-A-S-T-Y harmful, wear protection and invest in a good $50 cartridge type respirator, dust masks do nothing when it comes to fumes, plus they do not block all dust particles. The reason I got out of boatbuilding was because most 20+ year builders I would meet were missing fingers and had some sort of cancer battle going on (I think from cancer from harmful chemicals like epoxy, polyester, vinylester, acetone, redlead primer and all the other VOC that came off of the materials). Treat it like you are in a lab and about to start working with a flesh eating virus, suit up and be safe! No surfboard is worth exposing yourself to a early death bed.
http://www.epoxysafety.com/samdevlin.htm
It’ll be interesting to hear how this board rides, like the idea of the thin plywood sandwiched with foam to give it some strength. Just finished making my version of a foam alaia, didn’t fancy the £450 they were charging for the Seaglass Tuna board over here so had a go at making my own using XPS foam with 3/4 inch balsa rails and tail. Worked out a damn sight cheaper in the end! Haven’t had a chance to take it out yet as the waves here have typically refused to play fair since this boards been finished. Doesn’t have a huge amount of flex but it’s only 5’3", hoping the massive concave and the boxy rails will give it some hold. Anyway, looking forward to some fun on her this summer!
So I finally finished this thing and tried it out over the weekend. Quite working on it for about 9 months as I had a second child and had no time. It actually works! Paddles much better than my paulownia alaia and surfs as well. It's not as crisp and smooth as a wood alaia, but this was a sort of proof of concept with crappy 1# EPS from Home Depot. I have a 3# (I think?) flat blank of good EPS that I think I'll try and make an updated version of this out of.
When making a eps alaia why make them as narrow as a paulowinia alaia?
I wanted to make the same shape and dims as a paulownia alaia I have ridden a lot to reduce the variables and just see how the performance varied solely due to construction and materials. No real need to go wider, at least from my first surf on it. It paddles well and surfs well just as is. Maybe with my next foam alaia I will widen an inch or two for even more float.
Did you ever figure out what your total cost was for this board?
EntropyFletch,
What was your maximum width? Final glassing schedule?
Total cost was about $35 but thats because I got a lot of free material, and had a lot of material already. Blank cost $9.50 from Home Depot and I borrowed Epoxy resin from a buddy along with a lot of other materials. Gave him $25 for all of it. Glassing schedule to come shortly...
Width at widest point is around 17 3/4" I think.
Glass shcedule included 2.2 oz Innegra on the deck wrapped with 4 oz e-glass. You can see a strip of CF on the deck for stiffness as this is low quality foam and there is no stringer. Bottom is just 4 oz. Glassed with RR epoxy. So far it feels really soft (again really bad 1# HD EPS foam) but when I paddled it out and surfed it it felt solid.
