I’ve been lurking around here for a while now after about a year and a half of surfing. I’ve had fun in the summertime on my 9’ longboard and fun in the wintertime on my 5’10", but i’ve been looking for something to suppliment my summertime surfing with something a little more fun.
Thus the “retro” home-depot insulation fish
This is my first attempt as shaping or making any kind of board and see the problems with it: lack of rocker(it’s a work in progress and photos make it look thinner than it is), strange bumps and contours on my rails(those might end up staying). But i’m still happy with the result and am looking at this as more of a fun project rather than getting into building boards.
I am thinking about doing a twin glass on setup and for my schedule i’m thinking 4/4 oz on top and on bottom and maybe a fin area patch.
So i’ve come here to ask you if first of all if my glass schedule will be strong enough considering the lack of stringer and also (more embarrassingly) do you put glass on fins over hot coat and everything or do you do that around/over the fins?
Thanks for coming and looking at my rockerless piece of foam regardless
‘Insulfoam’ brand should say what the density code is. If 1.25 PCF or less, I don’t think 2 layers of 4 oz is going to be enough. I would also make a longblock for smoothing out some of your shaping lines. Don’t give up. I just don’t quite see the board it’s trying to be yet. I glass fins on top of the lamination and since it will be epoxy resin, that should take place ASAP after the lamination. Hit the fill coat ASAP as well. You don’t want too long of a delay between coats… I’ve heard it said that if you can sand it, you’re past the chemical bond phase - not sure if everyone would agree to that though.
InsulFoam I – nom.1 pcf density, roof insulation
InsulFoam VIII – nom. 1.25 pcf density, roof insulation
InsulFoam II – nom. 1.5 pcf density, roof insulation
InsulFoam IX – nom. 2.0 psf density, roof insulation
I suppose it may provide a less than preferrable bond but i have seen people repair glass ons by glassing over their hot coat
I might just bite the bullet and do a 4/6 and 6 or 6/6 and 6 as I doubt this poly is even two lb density and longevity would be nice even for a project which might not even surf
Also i’ve been looking online but is there any consensus on the amount of toe in that a twin fin fish should have?
I agree with John, you need to do more shaping before glassing this one. The outline and rails are not finished yet. Your investment of fiberglass and resin will be a waste of money if you don’t try to clean up the shape.
I’ve made several dozen boards using Home Depot foam. Where I live it is at best 1lb density, but it could be slightly less, never more. I have foam from the same manufacturer labled with the density and the 1lb I have seems a little denser.
I’ve glassed 1lb with 3 layers of 6oz glass and have quite a few pressure dents on the deck. The area along the stringer where I sit has a pronounced depression. Stringerless will dent evenly instead of having the ridge. I do at least double 6 on the bottom and triple on the deck for 1lb foam. I used to do double 8oz and triple 8 oz, but I used up that glass. With stringerless I wrap the rail band further around to the opposite side to get a lot of strength.
If I was in your shoes the advice I’d hope someone would give me is to continue to shape that foam and do your best to smooth it out and get concistant lines. Then throw it in the trash, buy a blank with rocker and a stringer and have at it again.
The money “saved” on a blank going the route you’ve gone will cost you double in glass and resin.
A tightly fused blank will shape better and at a minimum you’ll end up with a decent useable rocker.
No rocker - wonky outline - tons of glass and resin = no bueno
2 cents from someone who has traveled the road you are on: I completely agree with wideawake on this. Practice shaping on crap foam, then buy a real blank. The future you will wish he could kiss the present you for doing so.
Take the panel over to where they cut lumber and have them cut it lengthwise into (4) 12" x 8ft strips. Each strip wll have nice clean and straight edges that you can match up to the centerline on your blank.
Use whatever you’ve been using for your curves to lay out a new template that’s a little narrower than the shape you already have in your blank. Cut it out and weight it down to concrete blocks or clamp it to a workbench or a patio table to support it. Then take your file or sureform or sanding block to it until you get a clean curve. You want to be able to look down the length from either end and see nothing but curve - no flat spots. If you see a flat spot then keep working the high spots.
Long strokes from end to end. Walk that sucker. It doesn’t matter what the shape is, either what you start with or what you end up with. This is strictly a learning exercise. You’re trying to learn how to get the curve you want.
Lay your now-refined template on your blank and use a sanding block to bring the foam to the template. Long strokes from end to end, just like foreplay. Don’t be in a rush. You’re trying to get the perfect curve.
Once you get one side together then do the same on the next side. You’re aiming for 2 halves that
a) look just like each other, and
b) have a clean template curve with no flats or corners or low spots.
Once you have completed this first clean shape take that template that you started with and lay in a new narrower curve than the one you just made, and then repeat the steps above. Keep narrowing your existing blank until you run out of blank. Then throw the blank and the template away because you still have 3 more strips of template material to work with. Go back to Home Depot and buy another piece of foam, and repeat the entire process for 1 shape, only this time the shape does count. If you have gone through using the steps I outlines above with the first blank, the 2nd one will look golden by comparison. And if it doesn’t then just keep practicing until you get a shape that looks good enough to glass.
Everyone is saying to do more work on it because it is true and they are trying to be helpful. Gdad just gave you a solid one. Listen to them. If you go forward, this board will not work and it will discourage you from trying to get a good ride. Use side lights if you don’t have any. Spend a LOT of time really looking at it and the flow, the lines. Imagine you are the water wanting to flow along your shape. Will it be a turbulent ride or smooth and fast? Slipping along from end to end with no bumps or warps or like rapids in the stream. They both can be fast but which one would you choose? Smooth or bumpy? Besides, when you do get your dreamboat that is full of “avocado-y, butter-y smoothness” and speed you will STILL be thinking of how it can be tweaked. It never ends.
