Hi Bob, I hope things are going well for you in the northern state.
We moved out of the city to give our kids room to move, didn’t expect to get flooded out twice! We kept the house in Manly so we’re moving back in a few months. Probably to leave again if war breaks out if it hasn’t already.
Mats are a great area for innovation because their design is stuck in the 70’s, so many variations to try.
I’ll slice up those mats in a few days and do a few accurate drawings so people can make their own.
Gday Brett,
We just got back from two weeks to the north west, so not much surfing of late, though this barrel was hard to hard to pass up.
Wise move to hang onto the Manly place. Next year is possibly going to be wet as well if the long range forecasts are correct.
I recall a story you told me of a fairly new to the market at the time mat builder not being keen on the prospect of you tinkering with his mat.
Bob
Bob, you could pull into that barrel for hours !
I do the same with palm fronds.
We moved for a quieter life but floods are a disaster so we’re going back to the city to face inflated food prices. I guess that’s the same all over the globe ?
Funny that some mat makers pretend they’re magicians but it’s less taxing than any surfboard building process.
It was pretty amazing rock formation. The last few years have been tough for many.
An exception is Paul Gross, I’ve found him really helpful. Mat matting seems to require mastery of a different skill set. There now seem a lot more making their own.
Hope things work out for you.
the Eternal Closeout.
AKA Wave Rock.
Old time member here at Swaylocks though I haven’t posted in years.
I just finished a solo canoe build and was investigating how I could make some custom float bags to go in the front and back. I remembered reading somewhere about making DIY inflatable packrafts and thought that the materials would probably work for me to. So down down the interweb rabbit hole I went and once again I ended up here at swaylocks. This thread was so intriguing that I tore through the whole thing.
Making float bags for my canoe will be easy but I realize that I will of course have to make a surfmat as well. Looks like MEK can be aquired here in scandinavia. The glue will be more difficult but I know a place nearby that do oil spill prevention equipment. They might have it in stock.
I also found this site that lists the name for the PVC cement in different parts of the world. I thought this might be helpful for people out there since the HH-66 only seems to be available in the states: https://www.storerboatplans.com/boat/sailing-boat/cruising-dinghy/diy-pvc-buoyancy-bags-and-dry-bags-for-dinghies-and-canoes/
well yesterdays surf saw the death of my well and truly old and battered body board! Time to reread this thread and finally get mat surfing!
@Surffoils Gday mate, just buying all the goodies to attempt building my first mat… Thankyou so much for taking the time to write up and share all this information. was just looking at the glue and primer you use, and was wondering what your thoughts are on this primer from Bunnings, I couldn’t find the OZ seal one you popped up and this one is accessible so thought id ask your opinion before potentially buying it… they are “protek clear priming fluid” for pvc pipes.
@Surffoils sorry I just found that you already did a demo using the “protek” primer and glues my bad. both available at Bunnings, so good ill grab some of them and await the rest of my materials to arrive. once again cheers for all the above info
No worries Damien, before you actually start the build do plenty of test glue ups with scraps. Learn how much fluid to clean and glue to use. I did a few 6 years ago and they’re still stuck together.
Will do mate cheers!!! Getting super excited for it all. Are you still in the northern rivers area? I’m in Tallebudgera. Was going to see if you had a good local supplier or material. I’ve ordered some from overseas I’m waiting on
If you’re in Tally, check Google for Inflatable boat sales or repairs as the SLSC need to get the IRBs repaired locally. Drop in and hopefully they’ll show you what they use and how or keep them talking and scan the place for glue drums with the name of the manufacturer. I’ve had to change suppliers as businesses move around. The SLSC usually has a long relationship with repairers so whoever they use would be the OGs to see.
@Surffoils did the glues make a difference being “P” for pressurised or “N” for non pressurised pipes? Both ended up being capable of being used? I noticed them in Bunnings today and thought I’d double check
I got the P pressurised fluid, to me it made sense that it would be a stronger glue.
Follow the instructions by using the cleaning prep, apply a thin layer to both sides , join together and apply enough pressure to ensure the join doesn’t roll up/ curl around the edges.
The curling of the edges was a surprise. I put a 2x4 immediately over new joins and left it overnight to dry completely.
Good to know! I’ll get some wood as weights cheers
I think I used piles of books for the first few mats.
@damien1 i too have just started on this journey. May I ask where you got your material from? I’m on east coast of Oz as well
Hi mate I’m still waiting on my materials to come…. But I’ve ordered my fabrics from china and valves from another place in china. Couldn’t find Boston valves with the bases here. The glue and primer I picked up from Bunnings though
Hi mate how’d you go sourcing material? I’m still struggling locally and have been using alibaba. I’ve had some samples sent out to me from local companies but they don’t have any stock yet
