I am a new hollow wooden board builder for the first time. I got the build pretty much complete and almost ready for glass. My concern is installing the vent/leashcup. I installed a block in the rear of the board for the fin box and was wondering should this vent be drilled out into that block also or would it be drilled out so you would go right into the board so the board can breathe? I know this may sound silly but I was thinking if i 1. Installed it into the fin box block on the deck side then it would be going into a solid block, or otherwise I would be drilling into the hollow section of the board thinking this would be best for the board to breathe but then the vent would have nothing to be mounted into for say. I hope this makes some what of sense and thanks for any help.
Lou, a vent is only a vent if it connects to the hollow part of the board (and there is full connectivity/airflow through the whole board). I use 1/8" skins and use custom machined inserts for my vent installs (I have a machine shop):
Just rough them up well (epoxy doesn’t really like to stick to metal, it really needs some tooth), epoxy it in, glass over the top. So long as you don’t whack a partially unscrewed vent screw into a wall or something, it is plenty robust. The only time I’ve had a failure is when I did just that–whacked the partially opened vent into a wall. Easy enough to repair though (particularly when you can fabricate your own vent plug in whatever size is necessary). -mike
here’s an example, installed (the lower one is the vent, the top one is a through finbox leash)
I’m an untrained hack, and I do pretty much everything wrong. That said, I also worry about the strength of the bond between one of those goretex vent/leash plugs in my hollow wood boards. Here is the solution I have used, and I have never had one fail. First, I use a hole saw to cut a hole about 1/2-5/8" larger than the leash plug. Then I cut a round piece of wood large enough to fit snugly into the large hole I just cut. Next, I drill a hole in the round peice according to the leash plug installation instructions. Then I make a couple of cuts in the bottom of this round piece so that air will be able to flow to the leash plug once I glue the round piece into the board. After I glue the round piece in, and install the plug into the cylinder much as I would if it were going into foam. I’ve only made 3 wooden boards but on the first two, I also added a piece of wood to cover up the plastic leash cup, just becasue I didn’t think it would look good to have a piece of plastic peeking out of an otherwise all wooden board. On my last board, I didn’t bother. I hope this helps.
That’s a good question. The guys at greenlight probably have way more experience than I at this and their method makes sense, but for some reason, I don’t recall having a problem with that. Their solution could be stronger, and would eventually be covered up by the deck skin too. I guess I was able to use the epoxy putty that came with the plug mine to hold it in place in there at the depth I wanted. Also my boards are fairly thin in the tail so maybe the plugs were partially resting on the inside of the bottom of the board. If your boards are thicker, a small peice of foam under the plug would probably work well. Its funny that I don’t remember this problem, I just finished one of these boards a month or two ago.
When you say skin the board… does that mean put the deck on. I already have the deck and botoom on. The board is complete and ready for glass. Should I put the plug in before the glass? Thanks for any help. This is a vent from greenlight also! Cant wait to get it installed correctly. Thanks again!
