Hess Peanut Shark Paipo

Anyone out there familiar with the Danny Hess Peanut Shark Paipo?  

 

I recently made myself a paipo out of some scrap ply I had lying around, but now that I’ve tried it  I like it enough to want to “step it up” quality-wise.  The Peanut Shark looks pretty amazing for a paipo, much more refined than most…

 

I was wondering about a few things…

 

Is he using a marine grade ply for these or paulownia or…?

 

Also, the deck looks like it has some cork on it… is this for padding while riding or float or both?  Also, how does one attach it to the deck, some kind of epoxy glue?

 

Lastly, how would one seal up that style of board without adding too much weight… poly res? linseed oil?  Anyone out there making paipos who wants to lend a couple tips?

 

-Shea

why would it matter what kind of plywood is used, other than that it be able to accept a waterproofing finish?

No, I don't accept that flex is an answer.

Cork deck "justifies" the $175 charged for a (ten bucks plus finish) bit of ply that one could jigsaw from scrap in a few minutes.  Sand the edges, slap some varnish on, have at it.

The cork deck also adds a little flotation, but if you'd hot wire a sheet of EPS, use an excercise mat or hotwire a sheet from an old boogy board, then stick it on with contact cement, you'd have float and cushion.  Still may not take off as well as a floaty boogy board, but close enough if you're using the right fins on your feet.

Suggest one not overthink these simple craft. Flat = fast.  A little float helps, moreso if it pads the deck a little.  Don't get snagged on a splinter.  'sall you need to know!

And sheesh, once the names and marketing come along, yer better off taking a long critical look and turning one out yourself.  175 clams?  I should be making these things. Next thing will be slapping sponsor decals all over it.

hahah, ya definitely can’t justify the price tag onit, but defintely worth the effort on doing one of my own…

the big debate i think is whether to stick with ply (which is like the one i’ve already made) or to try and work with an alternative wood that might give a little more float…

Paulownia as a first choice or more local Red Cedar as a second choice will give you somewhat better floatation then plywood.

 I use General Finish's "Salad Bowl Finish" but many just use multiple coats of linseed oil.   

Cork gives float and provides a fairly good non slip deck and can be applied with contact cement. 

wow! absolutely beautiful!

 

did you glue up your own blank?  if so, what kind of joining?

 

 

Paipo -jpg  

Just for fun, I made this from some extra Paulwonia left over from the last boards…

The rough Paulwonia planks were 6” wide x 1” thick…Between them are 3/8” Cedar strips…Glued together with Titebond 2…

The curve cutout at the tail is a 10” radius cut with a router on a trammel jig…The idea for the curve is that it will help you stay centered on the board…

The bottom is convex up front and has a slight concave from the middle to the back…The deck is flat, tapering to rails that are pencil thin…

Shaped with a low angle block plane, then dry sanded to 220 grit…Oiled with Watco Teak Oil, then wet sanded with oil to 400 grit…Finished with Minwax Paste Wax heated to liquid, then brushed on followed with a lot of hard rubbing with a cloth, then finalized with soft touch polishing using 0000 steel wool…Smoooth…

 

wow!  another beaut!

 

thanks for the detailed description, super helpful to hear other’s  construction methods…

 

just one clarification:  did you join the pieces before you glued them or are they just simply glued flat edge to flat edge?

amazing work!

 

 

 I made the blank from three pieces of paulownia.

If you mean, did they get run across the jointer? Yes.

If you mean, is there some joint besides the glue?  No.

 No fancy joinery or biscuits or dowels are required, just flat edge to edge. 

 Modern adhesives are generally stronger then the wood they join..

I use T2 Epoxy.    

ok rad, was worried about having to learn some kind of joinery to make a blank, but if the adhesives are that strong, then this opens up some more options for me…

thanks for the input!