I’ve finally finished and surfed, my number one compsand.
tested in headhigh to double overhead on the west coast of South Oz.
apologies for the dirty board pics but i finished it just before i went west on a week long surf trip and didn’t get any pics of it just finished.
so here it is post surf with wax and crap all over it.
dims are 6’0" x 19" x 2 1/8"
bamboo cloth
3mm paulownia deck
6oz glass
1# eps - endgrain balsa rails
6oz glass
3mm paulownia bottom
bamboo cloth
finished weight with fins in 3.25kg (a tad heavy in compsand terms but bullet proof i think) the fins weighed 250grams alone.
I went a bit overboard on construction but i had a lot of left over glass that i thought i’d use rather then purchasing more thinner stuff.
i hope you like it.
please feel free to criticise it in any way you like, I’m of the opinion that if i can do something better next time round i’ll have a superior board to the last.
surf report - The first wave was on my backhand on a wave a little overhead, the very first bottom turn had that twang that everyone has been talking about, now i know how it feels! That surf was ended quickly when someone spotted a big white pointer shark breaching not far from the break. In the bigger stuff (DOH) it was a bit skatey and i couldn’t get it to bite on turns, it would bounce out a bit so the turns had to be slower and smoother to obtain a nice ride. I put bigger side fins in and had a bit better control. I have some pics of me riding it on a mates camera and i’ll see if i can get a hold of them to add to this thread.
Very nice. If you’re like me you’ll never go back to the “old” way of making boards. If you can have a lighter, stronger, better looking board why would you?
I love the board! … But you did ask for constructive criticism. This might be a non issue with the balsa tail block but the leash loop looks long enough to cause a problem. I have always been careful of this after the first time I tore up a tail granted on a pu board but still the portion of the the leash that attaches to the leash is called the “rail saver”. Like I said great board I would just hate for it to be needlessly damaged. My apologies if this seems petty or the I am pics are just exaggerating the length of the loop.
My third was similar dimensions to yours, 0.75# eps, bottom 1.5mm balsa between 2oz and 4oz, deck 2.5mm balsa between 2 & 4oz, & 4oz deck patch. It came in at 2kg without fins. It’s held up fine in the skin department - no pressure dings after 18 months.
I got my paulownia from a place in Melbourne, Australia (Port Philip Plantation Shutters - the guys there are legends). And resawed it myself on my bandsaw.
The polystyrene i got from a ceiling and insulation place here in Adelaide.
Epoxy you can get everywhere, I used west systems on this one and put a UV polyester finishing coat (i’m not gonna call it a gloss coat cos i didn’t polish it).
As for the vent, i got some 20mm nylon rod and epoxied that into the deck then sanded it flush and then counter sunk it and tapped it with a stainless steel screw. I got some 1mm thick rubber strip ($1.50 for half a metre) and cut some washers just incase. I think i’ll do it differently next time and not counter sink the screw, i think you’d getter a better seal with a flat surface, the tightening of the screw in the counter sunk hole chews up the rubber washers a bit.
When i put it in the water the first time i just looked for bubbles coming out of the vent but it all seemed water tight, so i surfed it!
Just something to think about next time you want to check the seal on your board. If you put your board in the water which is normally cooler than the air your board will suck water because of the temp diff. so no bubbles will show. Next time close your vent and put it in the sun for a few minutes and then put some soapy water all around your vent plug and look for bubbles. If no bubbles then slowly crack the vent and see if any bubbles apear. If you do not see any bubbles after you cracked the vent that usually means you have a pinhole somewhere letting the pressure out.
Yeah all makes sense, thanks for the tip, is that definitely true though? think of checking a car or bike tyre for a puncture, the air bubbles out the hole (but the tube has pressurised air applied i guess).
I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong. I’d like to know for sure.
Do you rekn you can be bothered doing all that every time when the surf is pumping? I’m too slack
When i was away on my trip, with the board unsealed (this sounds gay) i’d put my mouth over the vent and suck and could feel the air move, so when i sealed the board and sucked i could tell if there was any air moving. This seemed to work.
The gore vents seem to be a good way to go i think.
I’d like to try the soapy water thing just to keep my paranoia in check!
