I am in the process of completing my third surfboard, and the lightness doesn’t compare to the original board made by an established shop/shaper. How do I make a very light board??? When shaping (lets say a modern 6’0" squash performance board) how much foam are you suppose to take out of the nose and upper half of the board to make it fast and responsive? Also, what about the tail? Do you take the thickness out of the bottom (adding more rocker) or the top (making the deck flatter). When laminating, are you suppose to pull ALL excess resin (polyester)out of the cloth and rails? On my deck lamination I left a small amount of pooled resin on one side and both rails have excess resin in the weave of the glass, almost looking like it has been hotcoated. Does that add a significant amout of weight? When putting on fins, is it worth putting on glass on fins? Will removable fin systems such as FCS save weight- especially when it comes time to sand the hot coat? Are you suppose to sand the hotcoat until very little resin is left without going into the weave? Also, how do you make a very white board like pro shops do? Do you have to handle the blank with very clean hands/ gloves? Is it necessary to sand the laps with white sandpaper? When I tried to sand the laps (with light green paper) the laps sort of showed up and the paper became gummy with resin fast. Please let me know some answers to my giant list of questions. I appreciate the help from all you fellow builders. Thanks -Brett
better lam jobs,with excess resin squeegeed out. With 4 oz glass, double on top, single on bottom. and a thinner hot coat. if ur doing a gloss it may e heavier.
Practice, practice, practice… don’t give up. My fourth was far lighter the the previous 3 and certainly in an acceptable range. Numbers 6 and 7 were almost as light as my pro boards - well OK, used pro boards. It’s all in the lam. Don’t worry too much about pooled resin, you’re going to put a bunch of hotcoat in anyway. It’s more of a matter of kicking that resin as fast as possible, but leaving enough time to tuck your laps - and maybe some spare time for a mistake or two. At least that’s what people here claim… I couldn’t tell you eactly what did it for me, but they just keep getting better, the main thing that has changed is I kick my resin hotter, and I’m quicker at getting it spread across the board and the excess back in my bucket. If your worried about weight, definately use 4 oz, and don’t gloss. Laying a smooth lam (AND LAPS) helps a lot, you want to be able to sand that hotcoat right up till you’re about to hit weave. ALWAYS HANDLE A FINISHED BLANK WITH GLOVES… and don’t let your friends/roommates/family put their grubby hands anywhere near it. “That rhino chaser don’t need some big ole haole hand print messin up its whole trip”
vacum bag it
haha funny about the handprint thing…as all of my friends, and everyone comes out and wants to feel the finished blank…i always flip and explain why not, and they think i a m nuts and say " i dont see anything" …but truly u can really see soemtiems, when its been handled with dirty hands.
- ultralite blank 2. double 4oz deck single 4oz bottom 3. squeegee ALL excess resin off the glass 4. good sanding taking off excess without hitting the weave (practice)
Use UV resin, it will let you get your lamination perfect, then you can hit it with sunshine to kick off the resin. Just get the additive from Foam EZ or Mitch’s for about 5$ per gallon (about the same as liquid catlyst) No more racing the devil to lamination gel time. Better lam’s= better lighter boards. -Jay
You guys are right about the lam. I know this guy, Rod Sorenson, who makes Agua Surfboards in Encinitas. I have NEVER seen such light boards. And I’ll tell you an added bonus of a light board besides manueverability: floatation. Once, Rod made a 6,6 for me and I (weighing 195) was very disappointed when I picked it up from him (but acted stoked). Yes, it was light (feather light), but I thought it was way too small. Then I paddled out. I couldn’t believe how well it floated me and how easily I caught waves. And it ripped. I still look at it and wonder how it does it. It’s so small and light. You want bouyancy, go light. And why not? All these dudes complaining about surfboards falling apart? Come on! That’s what they do. We want them LIGHT! As light as a board can go while, of course, sticking with polyurethane foam and cloth. And, again, to all those guys whining about boards falling apart: Get off welfare, get a job, and buy more than one. What are ya, broke? Spend some money. I know nothing about epoxy and am dedicated to keeping a closed mind about it. [wink]
Less glass, stingy resin usage, light blank, sanded finish(almost to the weave)…practice…practice…practice… http://www.savesymrnainlet.org
What I have found with the theories of light boards is that it is a state of mind and what you get used to, I went through the must have light boards era and found myself riding one layer 4oz decks just to be able to make it lighter but what happens is that you end up hitting the wall and you cant get them any lighter so then it comes back to being able to make the shape go better. I thought that the only way for me to be able to give myself room to move again was to force myself to ride something heavier again and then with each board make it a little bit lighter. Yeah at first I thought what am I doing but after a couple of weeks I was used to the weight (6ozbot x 2x6oz deck,full polish) and with the drive that I was receiving, plus being able to go for manouveres in heavier situations without thinking of snaps was an added bonus. I jump back on my light ones and wiggle my arse off try to get drive and forward momentum and think that I’m ripping because I can flick the nose around with ease just like 90% of the crew that I see surfing these lightwieght so called performance boards. Sure am glad that I awoke from hitting my head against the brick wall of light boards and got back to fully concentrating on making the shape work better with weight and strength. KR
I made a board filled with helium. I left it around here somewhere…
Has anyone tried to make a “mummy” board. The idea is to wrap the foam with sheets or strips of heat shrink mylar. This mylar film is the same kind used to make the skins on balsawood model aeroplanes. The thickness of the skin can be built up as desired, and there is no heavy resin needing to be squeezed-out or cured. The mylar film is very forgiving to apply and is very light and strong. Alternatively, how about making a filament wound surfboard, by using an automated winding machine with the blank as a mandrel. That would be hard to beat if you really want lightness and strength. So long.
knock yourself out making it and maybe it’ll last about a week That said, the suggestions above are valid, but 4 ounce glass and polyester resin result in throwaway boards not worth the time and effort to make 'em. flame suit on.