As you can see this is about my first compsand, balsa with eps core as per normal. The bottom skin is 1.5mm x 100mm in lengths of 1220 and 915mm, the top is 2.5mm. The board measurements are 6’5 x 20.5 x 2.5.
The bottom skin was done on a big flat bench, i taped
all the balsa tight together,i lay out the glass on a nice
flat piece of bagging film and wet it out, placed on the balsa
and release film and breather and then put on the other half
of the bag. Sealed it up and sucked it down to 10hg
Not a lot of rocker, but i plan to put a lilttle more in when
she gets bagged.
The bottom contour is single thru nose/middle to double thru tail, (ended up being a little deeper in the tail than i wanted, oh well) i dont have a rocker bed or contour mat so it was the old fashioned way for me…working on them though.
I was gonna post the rails today, cos i bagged them last night, but they didnt come out very good. I used 3 layers of 2.5 scarf jointed together, but lest i forgot to tape a joint on each of the rails and they separated and created a void Never mind, i will be able to use most of it for end blocks when doing tails/noses on lots of boards to come.
I found a problem with the rocker straightening out when pulling the board out of the bag. The skin wants to straighten it out. My next compsand will have more rocker than I want before bagging. Also, be aware that the concaves will resist your attempts to add rocker
Onya Moonfish, keep the posts and the details coming. What oz glass are you using? Im doing skin, 2oz and core in one hit, then do the same on the deck, are you glassing the skin and then vaccing it onto the core?
on this board im using 4oz, only cos thats what i had, the next one i will use 2oz. As for the layup… im gonna attach the rails hopefully tomorrow, separately from the bottom and top skins. This is beacause i want to tweak the rocker a bit as its bagging them on. After that i will finish shaping the top and blend the rails. Then bag top and bottom skins in one go. In short bag the skins when they get assembled, and then when i attach to the core and im thinkin i will possibly bag the last layer of glass too. I think im getting vacuum happy huh!! But has anyone out there just done a strip along the rail where it joins to the skins.
This is the plan but really that could all turn to S@#$, HAHA
Ok, today i thought i would put in some some fin box inserts. I should also mention that im installing future fin systems, and i know a few people have there reservations about them due to things like tail flex and fin boxes tearing out.
The former i will just have to see what it rides like when its done but the latter i thought i can do something about.
Ala fin box inserts.
I used 20mm airex and for those that care it is a c70 (if i remember right) The whole idea is to spread the load over a wider area, so they get cut a little bigger than the fin box, i chose the number 10 (mm that is) to use as a measurement from each end of the fin box.
After cutting the inserts out i then routed out the box positions. They obviously need to be set in the board so out came the epoxy and west micro-balloons to make the filler. You could leave the epoxy fill out, but it obviously helps with strength and as a bonus seals the core from water if you happened to somehow rip the fin box out.
Yeah it is going ok so far, just trying to take it easy, to avoid any major probs (as much as i want to finish it now!).
Well i was gonna get the xtr but it was way to expensive, so i bought 2 #2 eps blanks. Have not used the #2 before but as you would expect it is a bit firmer and easier to shape.
So far i have vacuumed on the rails and tidied them up a bit, i have more photo’s but i want the board to look a bit prettier than it does at the mo b4 i do the next post.
Had a few beers, so i thought i would lay into my board again.
Heres where im up too, i basically put the final shape and contours on the board, making sure i got the bottom contour as perfect as i could and just generally tiding everything up b4 putting the skins on. I ended up taking more foam out than i thought i wanted, but have since grown real fond of this shape and i cant wait to see how it surfs!
I dont know, but the final shape lays somewhere between a fish and a bonzer cos of the deep concaves i ended up putting through the tail. Remember im a wannabe shaper so shit is only as perfect as my experience dictates, having said that im happy with the way it all came out so far for my first compsand.
Tomorrow all goin well the bottom and maybe the top skin will be vac’ed on…
Just been refining the board and rail shape, but also put my bottom skin on last night.
Im finding it difficult to get the shape perfect, but its only my 2nd board so i’ll just have to take my time and continue to build my skills, tell me guys, it does get easier aye?
So anyway when i had it in the bag last night i put some weight thru the nose to get a lil more curve, which seems to have worked well, tonight i want to put the top skin on all going well…
Put the top on the other night, then faired the top into the rails as per the bottom. The rails have come out at about 70/30 and quite thin altogether. Very low entry rocker too. what this all means in the surf only time will tell…
Gonna fit the future fins and leggie plug tomorrow so wish me luck aye boys, first time doing futures so will be fun.
As it sits at the mo the rails and board are sanded and preped for the last layer of glass but cant do that till fins and leg plug done…
Thanks for the reply, I wasnt sure bout the futures but i do have a surftech that has them and they do seem to go alright on that one, so i thought what the hey.
I was gonna do probox for the next one but maybe i will wait till you tell us what you think of the one ur trialling.
The rails on this one i didnt get as even as i wanted but i will put it all to experience and just keep trying.
On another note, i been wanting to ask you if you have made any boards that have the “concave” deck hull? And if so how did it go? I have heard that being closer to the water makes for an interesting ride, was thinking bout doing that to this one but thought beta of it and kept it simple. But maybe the next one…
Never mind, i will be able to use most of it for end blocks when doing tails/noses on lots of boards to come.
But maybe the next one…