Hollow wood board - Sucking water and valves

General Discussion
1

Hi all, Im super interested in getting into hollow wood surfboard making and naturally have a shed load of questions to ask! 

First up is the glassing of them, is it really necessary with a fish bone type board (that looks like it has a lot of structural strength already) and does it not take away from the natural flex of wood? Would a healthy coat of marine/yacht varnish or a thin epoxy coat suffice? That was 3 questions in 1 haha sure you can see where this is going!

Ive gathered that valves are generally considered a necessity for hollow boards, am i right? The worry i have is that i mostly surf in 5-15 degree water around the UK. With the contraction caused when entering the icy water and the problem of the water then being sucked inside (if theres and pinholes or dings), how would a valve be used to benefit this because surely youd need to equalise the pressure while in the water, meaning water would just get in through the valve?!

Finally (for now anyway!) has anyone made completely hollow surfboards just with a rail/nose/tail frame and a skin top and bottom, maybe with a small strut inside around the area of front foot for a little added strength? 

Thanks in advance guys! Love forum by the way, a fountain of knowledge spurting in every direction it is!

Barney

2

Well knowing valves from having many Pelican Cases over the years, I can tell you that the good valves are “one-way” and have a high-pressure spring holding the valve in place - so water being sucked in through the actual valve should be an impossibility as it takes a decent ammount of pressure being reached to cause the valve to expel air in the firstplace. As for sucking in water through pinholes, you’re absolutely correct that if the inside of the board somehow reached negative-pressure any cracks or pinholes would beging to draw - but that’s just going to be dependant on how well you seal the baord and how careful you are about dings.  

 

As for the construction and glassing I’m not sure, but if a good seal is what you’re after glassing never hurt

3

Cheers for that buddy, youve cleared me up on the valve front :wink: