I’m building a 13’9’’ ‘Life Guard’ paddle board from plans found within the Gary Lynch written Tom Blake book. The wood is local (Minnesota) red cedar sawed last year off a buddies property, unfortuently much of the cedar has knots so I might not use it for the rails. Is there a suggested wood, I know a lot of boards used redwood rails? I will be paddling the board and it looks like some folks fiberglass these, even if the seams have been well fit and sealed? Is this just to be practical, will the boards fall apart and take on a lot of water with a simple varnish? I suppose if it’s going to be used even remotely frequently this is a good idea, I would assume poly, what do you think about epoxy? For clarification this board will be used in fresh water. Lastly, looking at as many photos and plans as I can find it appears that the edges of the 1/4" plywood is slightly rounded on the top and bottom, the reasons for this are obvious but I hate the look of the end grain of plywood, typically its the sign of a poor craftsman. Is this just generally/always how it is/was done on these boards or is there a better way to not show off all the laminations of the plywood? I don’t have too much experience or acess to too many of these relics to see. I have a few ideas on including other stock or painting this rounded bit like a pinline but I also want to stay as authentic as I can at the same time. I’m planning on drilling the majority of the ribs for weight, other then the holes the dimension and board stock will be true to the plans. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions! Cheers
Included is a photo of the ribs I’ve cut (some have been drilled) layed out much like they will be in the board.
I’d highly recommend a layer of thin glass (2 or 4 oz should be fine) and EPOXY (using the roller technique)…it is more or less maintenance free (unlike varnish) and if you do ding it, at least you’ll know before the wood gets too destroyed.
Your tom blake board made from 1/4 inch ply is going to be killer heavey~ 1/8 inch is best. 2oz inside and outside,4 oz deck patch inside. Epoxy resin only. Better you spend more time reserching so you come out with a real good product. I have built a herd of woodies now and have way over 3 thousand miles on my clc kaholos.Doesn’t get much beter than that! Originly I too was going to build a tom blake. I am sure glade I didn’t
We built one around 1960 from plans from 1939 Popular Science Magazine.
The plans called for 13’9 but my Dad cut 2 feet out of the middle and made it 11’9". His reasoning: I was only about 13 and weight about 120 lbs. So I needed a shorter board.
We used pine for the rails and the ribs. He also cut larger holes in the ribs to lighten it up. I could lift it but wound up dragging it to the beach.
Even with the deck and bottom screwed down and glued with Resourcinal (sp) glue it always leaked a little water. That’s what the drain plug is for.
We painted it in our body shop at the family business. Bright red.
I happen to be from Tom’s home town and have planned on building one of these for some time, I certainly understand what it is I’m going to have when complete. I am building the board to be close to authentic paddling at a festival in his name this July, now I just need to figure out if I’m doing the 7 or 14 mile… Thanks for the support and comments, from what I’m hearing: glass the board, use epoxy and go thin with the plywood because it’s gonna be heavy. Any suggestions on drain plugs?
We bought a 2 piece brass plug. Don’t remember where. It was over 50 years ago. Try a boat supply store.
If you use 1/8" plywood you can use one piece for the bottom but you’ll have to be really careful to get the two way curve. I think the plans call for a two piece bottom.
I would not glass it. Just build it, Paint it or varnish it and launch it.
We built one around 1960 from plans from 1939 Popular Science Magazine.