how not to build a board

General Discussion
1

somehow with Keith being here and all I’ve gotten the bug and decided to slap togethor a couple goofball experiments to try out some new cloth and resin layups.

This is what we do,

I guess you could call it the “Oneula/Shark Country Technique”

I don’t prescribe this method unless you’re really cheap and don’t have proper facilities.

First of all what you’ll need:

  1. Vacuum Pump

  2. Vacuum Bag

  3. Resin/PU Glue (I prefer Sumo over Gorilla)

Phase One:

Go down to the hardware store and buy a sheet of 1inch EPS, a sheet 2inch EPS, a sheet of woven bamboo veneer

Cut them in half lengthwise in the parking lot and stick the four 2’ wide panels in your car and go home

Draw out your templates and cut them out remember to make them a little narrower for the rail you’ll put on later

use the offcuts from the bamboo veneer to make your springer

route or sand in the 1 inch layer to inlay the springer

make sure the springer is positioned so that when you route in your fin box holes they will penetrate into the springer for support.

insert and required high density foam inserts into the 1inch layer for additional box support

find a board to use as a portable rocker table you will bag the foam onto the board in the bag to capture the rocker

Pictures

The inspiration and rocker table

6’2" and a 6’6" with a pulled in nose these are 1/8" thick skins on the left is 100% wiliwili and on the right will a wiliwili strip down the middel surrounded by Paulownia and the balsa strips

grain pattern of wiliwili

sideview

Springer

\

Remember if you epoxy this in it’ll act like a piece of metal or carbon fiber in there…

The thicker piece is the deck side

in the end once the rocker is set you will end up with a 3" thick rockered piece of foam that will need to be hot wired or shaped into the desired profile thickness. Starting at 3" give you alot of options regarding domed or concaved decks.

Its important to route into the bottom 1 inch board to get closer to the boxes

You can attach the outer skin and the two layers of flat foam with epoxy and glass(2oz) or PU Glue your call. Use slow hardner.

BTW

I’m doing flat bottoms

I would use a contour map to press in a single to double bottom or had shape the bottom onto the flat sheet before glueing it up. It’s easy to shape a flat sheet just draw out your contours and go at it with an 36grit block.

Phase Two to follow: Hotwiring the profile and shaping the deck after the rocker and bottom have been set.

2

and I thought my tape budget was breaking the bank…

your’s must be much worse…was that cloth tape I saw in there?

3

Totally awesome.

Oneula, you’re my hero :slight_smile:

~Brian

www.greenlightsurfsupply.com

4

I’ll be watching with extreme interest.

The woven bamboo at the Depot must be a Hawaii thing. I’ve never seen it here.

Just a quick question about the 5 fin. I’ve been told and have read how it is a back foot design and how important is it to get your back foot over the fins. In my limited experience with my 6-0 I’ve found this to be true. So I’m wondering how the larger “rocket” 5 fins work (looks like you 6-6 is verging on a "rocket shape). Will it work if you’re standing in the middle or front third of the board? Or do you have to shuffle back and forth, or do you just stand way back and schwing the thing around?

5

nope its cheapo tape from the $0.99 store my brother buys

normally I would use 3m blue or green but I ran out and am saving what I have for putting on the rails. Compsand guys will know what I’m talking about.

I’ve unbagged both blanks last night and am suffering the dredded tape pull now trying to pull off all that cheap crap.

The heavy tape use was to plug all the worm holes and gaps in the wiliwili so the epoxy will fill from underneath I’ll be doing a thin epoxy+wiliwili dust paste fill before sanding/planing down the 1/8" layer to 1/16".

These will be covered with one layer of Brian’s bamboo jersey and Matt’s LM35 epoxy resin.

other than the foam I bought I’m pretty much just trying to use leftover stuff around the house.

6

if you think of the 5-fin as nitrous system it makes more sense

like a NOS package you engage it as needed

on a shortboard your backfoot is on the NOS switch

On a longer board you backfoot can still be on the switch if you watch to rdie it from back there but there’s more room to move around as needed.

An Alexander Gemini works the same way

it’s my current belief that going with the smallest possible piece of equipment is the new paradigm of high performance. Curren started it with his Tommy Peterson fish and Slater has always made use of it with his hyper narrow chips for super control. Greg’s design seems to be a blend that provides the floatation that a “normal” surfer needs to get by but with the acceleration and control that a super high performance chip provides. That’s why it’s gaining such a following because it gives the normal guy the kind of speed and control the semi pros and pros have been getting all along with their skills and equipment. If you think about it high performance surfing is all about generating speed as needed and being in control of it.

7

Holy cow. That is crazy cool. I can’t see all the pics on my phone device, but as soon as I get home I will study them.

Love your originality.