So, I picked this board up a little while back for free and it had some major issues. It had a hole in the deck the size of a fist. It had 3 glassed on fins that I have since taken off, they are flush with the bottom now but I’m planning on glassing over them for strength. My plan is to install a fin box to use it as a single fin, I have measured the thickness and I have enough to comfortably fit a 10.5" fin box. I want this board to be tough, it doesn’t need to be pretty. I have a few questions,
#1 Do I need to lay cloth under the box? (I’ve seen it go either way after searching the forums)
#2 Should I add Q-Cell to the mixture to help with strength?
#3 I have the back of the fin box planned to be 5 Inches from the tip of the tail, is that enough space? (I have seen anywhere from 4-6" here)
Thanks for your help Swaylocks community!
Cloth under the finbox is a good idea just becasue it gives strength to the resin that you use to install the finbox with. Im not sure if Q-cell adds strength to resin but I have seen videos where legit board builders add q cell to the mix. Chopped fibers add strength but are not necessary if you are lining the whole hole with fiberglass. If you really want strength, you should laminate two 4oz pathches of cloth over the entire finbox and onto the sanded hotcoat after the box is installed and ground down so it if flush with the bottom of the board. Also make sure you sand the sides and bottom of the finbox really well and wipe it with acetone pre installation. Setting the finbox 5-6 inches from tail is pretty standard. Disclaimer: I am not a super experienced board builder. This is all info that I have gleaned off the interwebs and it has worked for me in my personal experience. Hopefully some of the pros chime in and I hope your project goes well!!!
Position looks fine for the tail width & style of the board. Just rout the channel clear for the box, tape around it with a decent masking tape and some wax paper so excess resin doesn’t overflow onto the bottom of the board and drop the box in either with one layer of 4 oz cloth underneath the box using clear resin or you can mix some Q Cell in or not. Actually cabosil or milled fibers would provide more strength than Q Cell. If you use 4 oz. you on’t need either and make the rectangle of cloth oversized so once you drop the box in and it kicks off to the consistency of hard cheese, just use a single edge razor and trim the extra cloth sticking up from the box instead of letting it go rock hard and having to grind it down. If you have a ‘dummy’ fin, put it ini the box, tape around any opening in the fin channel, and sight by eye so the fin channel is in level to the bottom. Don’t trust those ‘self alignment tab’.
