Last years board, too heavy

General Discussion
1

Before I ever posted on Sways, but had been reading for a few months, I made a PuPe board. One of the last Clark foam blanks sold before they closed.

I used the super dense foam. 3 layers of 6oz top, 2 layers of 6oz bottom (my uncle said he thought it should be bullet proof as a first board and it is) 10’1"Y blank.

It turned out at 40 pounds…

So, I had planned to make a compsand and bring it out here to Hawaii (I’m here in Hawaii for another 2 1/2 weeks) but I didn’t start it early enough and I underestimated how long it would take. BTW, it is super light last time I picked it up.

Since that fell through I instead brought the 40 pound #001.

There were problems like we did fabric noses but forgot to put it under the glass. Our laps were pretty messy etc. However I fixed most of that with a thick sand and gloss coat and lots of sanding.

So I really want to get a lot of surfing time in this time and I don’t want to start another board here. I was thinking of just sanding the bejezus out of this 40 pounder, fabric nose, logos be damned. Just to get a functioning board that I can have fun on for the next 2 weeks.

Do you think I can remove a layer of glass off the top and a layer off the bottom, maybe forget the sanding and gloss coat this time. After sanding off all that resin and through the glass I should have a pretty good smooth surface. Then I could try and lighten it up buy using a spray acrylic and an air gun to just get the minimal fill to cover the weave exposed by the sanding.

Will I save significant weight? Can it be done without seriously weakening the board? I don’t care if it’s ugly at this point. It actually looks quite nice imo atm but I’d rather surf it.

Can I skip a sanding coat and just use the acrylic?

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance guys.

P.S. Chip, I think I’m going to finish the Y+B fin.

2

ummm

did I read this right or …

you are in hawaii now

you have a 40lb board

you want to strip it / sand a layer or two of glass off it ???

"So I really want to get a lot of surfing time in this time and I don’t want to start another board here. I was thinking of just sanding the bejezus out of this 40 pounder, fabric nose, logos be damned. Just to get a functioning board that I can have fun on for the next 2 weeks.

Do you think I can remove a layer of glass off the top and a layer off the bottom, maybe forget the sanding and gloss coat this time. After sanding off all that resin and through the glass I should have a pretty good smooth surface. Then I could try and lighten it up buy using a spray acrylic and an air gun to just get the minimal fill to cover the weave exposed by the sanding."

a question … you are drug - free , or ???

not to be rude or anything ,

BUT …

do you mind if I vote for you in the swaylocks “space cadet of 2006” award ? [you and bob tinkler are equal first …]

"P.S. Chip, I think I’m going to finish the Y+B fin. "

ah yes , SURE you are [what YEAR will that be , again , mate ? hahahahhh]

…and I just spotted a pig flying over my roof , too…

anyways , enjoy hawaii , mate …

and next time ,

make a board in a week , allow a few weeks for it to cure , before taking it [a lighter , more practical one ] to hawaii.

 cheers mate !



    ben
3

Kai, where on hawaii are you staying , and can you hire a board, instead ?

4

If you really wanted to you could, but as you would be exposing weave you would still need to re-hot coat to seal the fibres otherwise it will wick water, and suck.

It will be an arm aching and itch job that you will wish you never started. In the time it takes to sand the glass down you could have shaped and glass another board.

Weight really shouldn’t be a problem with a 10 footer. Older boards were glassed in multiple layers of 10oz volan, just surf it till you’ve made another board, you will learn a lot from riding a heavier.

Have you considered that 10ft may just be too long and not too heavy, coz thats a lot of board to turn if your on the light side.

5

Yes you can, but it is not for the faint of heart. If you have access to a good power sander, medium power pad, 50 grit, a open field with a long extension cord and some skill…it should take about 20-30 minutes if you press real hard.

Or better yet, go rent or steal a board from someone. Put that board for sale in the nearest surf shop. The way i see it, that board is costing you resources everytime you look at it. It’s costing you lost sleep, It’s costing you material to resand, it’s costing you surf time, and you still got to pay to ship it home…Kill the beast and start over.

6

Something to consider. You are in Hawaii in November. Not a bad time to have a board with some weight to it. What are the dimensions of the subject board, and where are/is the fin/fins placed? You may want to later strip the board, and reshape it into something else. Surf the board. Seek out some waves with some juice, you’ll hardly notice the weight.

7

Kai,

Think about it and do the math. 3x6 deck and 2x6 bottom. How much do you think you can remove? On most 9 plus boards you’re probably gonna want a 2x6 deck and a 6 bottom. So, basically you’re going to try and remove a single 6 from each side. Forgetting how tough it would be to remove just one layer uniformly, that doesn’t sound like a lot of weight to me.

Roughly speaking, using really loose estimates, if the average with of the cloth to were 2 ft wide and 10 ft. long, that’s 20 sq.ft. or just a little over 2 sq.yds. If you remove that from each side you’ll loose 24 ounces of glass and the resin to fill and coat it. What’s the resin? Say, a couple pounds? Maybe 3? The point is, even if you could remove exactly what one layer from each side, you’re probably going to wind up with a board in the low to mid 30’s. Not exatly a lightweight and you would have worked your butt off and possibly screwed the board by cutting into the critical lower layers.

Now, if you could remove the “super dense foam” and replace it with some lighter stuff… :slight_smile: Super dense foam is not a good place to start if you want to wind-up with a light board.

I say embrace the weight. Think of it as your bullet-proof super cruiser that’ll glide through any bump or chop and trim down the line like a freight train. It’ll also help improve your old-school footwork.

Don’t get crazy. Find a lightweight loaner or rental.

8

I’m staying in Manoa with relatives. I guess I could rent a board but I was assuming it would be pretty expensive to rent one for 3 weeks.

I’m going to leave the board here this time since I’ll have the compsand back home.

I think the board ended up at 10’1"-2" x 24 x I don’t remember.

I was thinking that removing 1 layer wasn’t really going to reduce much weight. I think the problem is that we didn’t do the layers very dry so there is probably a lot of extra resin for each layer.

I’ve only used it once but in that time it was not all that bouyant and tended to tip.

By your guys advice I guess I’ll try and surf it and see what happens.

This is the board btw http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=256445;search_string=first%20board;#256445

9

hi again allan kai !

…so, where is “manoa” ? [on what island?]

how big does the surf get ? how good a surfer are you ? [be honest] , how comfortable are you in big waves on a 10’ x 25 x [? 3 1/2" ?] , 40lb board ? [how big are you ?]

etc etc

just a few things to consider before you risk becoming ‘ex-kai’ .

[not to be a downer or anything …just a realist , perhaps … but , think … a 10’ , 40lb board , in the wrong hands , in the wrong conditions , in [?] hawaii’s winter surf [?] could be …well… [for a comparison]

…not unlike a 22’ long x 5’ wide skateboard , 3’ off the ground , weighing 400kgs, [piloted by a half blind stoner ] , and not having a large enough area to turn / pull up in , shall we say ? …carnage / multiple sueings waiting to happen , is my call. I still maintain , unles you are HUUUUGE , and actually “need” that big and heavy of a board , that

"Kill the beast and start over "['resinheads advice ], is a good idea , actually .

…or ,

as ‘Psycho’ previously said , cut your losses , and hire one [maybe smaller , more wieldy [?word?] ]…maybe you could sell your board to the hire place as a “small standup paddle[less] board” ? just a thought …

cheers

ben

10

Maybe a swaylockian on whatever Island Kai is going to lend jim a more suitable board for the better part of 3 weeks? That would show some aloha and swaylockian spirit.

Kai, the board looks nice. I’ve surfed a fairly heavy longboard in overhead and nearly empty surf (certainly not hawaii power) but still I almost killed a guy. To me a 40# 10’ longboard in hawaiian winter surf just sounds dangerous(hawaiian winter surf sounds dangerous even with a more suitable board).

regards,

Håvard

11

Try it out at Chun’s. If it works there and you feel comfortable on it …try Lani’s or other heavier N. S. waves. I understand there is supposed to be a small so. swell starting tomorrow. It would be a ball on the So. Shore

Aloha,

Roger

I got a really nice 9-3 semi-gun that you could use…PM if interested.