This is the story of my first HWS, a 5’11 fish, which i build around 2009. The surfboard was build of 4mm poplar ply, 8mm ply frame, layered cork/poplar rails. The 8mm ply frame turned out to be a bit over-engineered and heavy, after I glued the deck skins and the bottom skins on and laminated the rails, the board wheight almost 4kg. I skipped the sealing on the inside and decided to go for a 2oz glass job and was happy to see it didn’t add more than a few hundred gramms to the board. I sanded through the glass a few times, leaving lots of small holes, but didn’t really care as i was in a hurry to finish the board before my trip. After months of building, i took it to my long desired surf trip to morocco/Africa. I paddeled out on my first day with some mushy 2-3 foot waves and was pleasant surprised the the board actually floated me and was also surfable. After I took a few waves, I became the strange feeling that something is wrong with the board and paddeled back to shore. I was shocked to see that the board was really heavy when I lifted it out of the water. It took on at least a few liters of water. I figured out the water came from the area where the rails and the deck meet, especially where the hands hold the board while duckdiving. The sound of the water flowing inside my board while i carried it back to the place drove me crazy. I drilled a hole in the tail of the board and hoped the board would dry. I rented a board for the rest of the trip. After a few month i discovered that the deck of the board was very soft. It turned out the the whole board rotted away from the inside. I broke the board in two halves and took a picture for you guys. I build a couple of xps boards since then, no more hws for me:)
Thank you for sharing this Florian!
go forth flo and build another hws
to seal the interior is a simple
commandment handed down
from mt olympia by paul jensen
see stone tablets on the beach
at port angeles …
…ambrose…
confession is good for the soul.
this board documented is likely
to influence many who are in
a rush.there are perhaps hundreds
of botched jobs that have gone
unrevealed,and un reported.
You are an exceptional soul.
Poplar is tremendously prone to rot.
Even when sealed? or should that be ok?
Hi Hans, poplar is as prone to rot as balsa, i guess. First it becomes grey, then after a while black dots appear. As long as its protected by epoxy or glassed over it’s ok. But it will never be resistant to water like pauwlonia. Some professional surfboard companies use it, as spirare surfboards or hess surfboards.
The seal job would have to be** absolutely perfect and intact**. The tiniest hole is enough to allow water incursion.
Poplar wood that is no longer in a tree is best used indoors and away from water.
I wouldn’t reccomend flying with a HWS.
I took a HWS to costa rica a few years ago. showed up at the airport in san jose with the deck totally seperated from the ribs, and the deck was cracked. figured some guy threw a huge suitcase right on top of it.
I didn’t say anything. Figured it was my fault traveling with a heavy, semi fragile board. and figured it woiuld give me an excuse to make another one when i got home.
HWS are very durable, but at the same time, they are very complicated, complex, and hard to repair. You need lots of tools and time to repair them. A foamy you can just fill with resin and it’s good to go.
Now I make compsands. They are lighter, flex better, and much more durable than HWS. Haven’t had even a tiny ding in over 5 years.
good luck. the board looks sweet!
Even when sealed…the tiniest bit of moisture will make it swell (letting moisture in) and turn it to mush.
Balsa is **not **as prone to rot as poplar.
Balsa’s failing is it is very hygroscopic(soaks up water).