I am looking to build a hollow carbon stand-up paddle board. (around) 15x36x5. I need someone with experience and the time/willingness to take on this project. Any suggestions on people or design would be helpful. I am aware that EPS/Epoxy is the industry standard. Also all of the hollow carbon boards are made off molds and making one of this proportion would be very costly. If anyone has an alternative (i.e. carbon lay-up over EPS with a drain plug for Acetone wash out) or anything else I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your time in reading this post.
Dick Brewer just made a 13’ standup for Laird, and that thing is a monster.
Hollow carbon??!!?? How much are you willing to spend? Does it really have to be a hollow carbon shell? The mold for that alone will cost over $15k. Plus you’d have to shape the plug beforehand.
How about a hollow wood board - like one of Paul Jensen’s - with a carbon outer skin? If you do a carbon layup over EPS, then melt the EPS out, you’ll end up with no internal support structure… unless you do some very tricky stuff beforehand. You’re going to have a very hard time (impossible?) finding someone who can pull this off on the first try.
My suggestion is talk to CarveNalu and have him make you an EPS board first. If you get something you love, then you can make a mold, or a carbon copy, or whatever. Tackling a 15’ board AND making it in hollow carbon are two big-time tasks. It would probably be best to focus on one issue at a time.
The Board is not for me, I am ordering it for a man 6’2" 310 with only a small amount of Surf experience (almost none).
The best idea i’ve heard was from a boat builder, shaping the EPS then a skin including a divinicel (spelling?) core, possibly 2 or 3 stringer. Then trying the wash-out idea. I know this all sounds like a huge and idealistic order, but the guy has specific wants and I am doing my best to accomplish it. Again thanks for the input.
I think this is something that could easily be done using a hollow balsa construction technique. I’m assuming the reason for the carbon is to keep it light, correct?
I have been contemplating doing hollow balsa standup paddle board as I think it is a great medium for making something like this, but I was not thinking of something in this size range, this is very large. All of the standup paddle boards I’m doing are going in the opposite direction in terms of size, shorter and wider!
My experience doing hollow balsa guns has shown me that the large ones can turn out pretty light for their size.
If he has no surf experience, his specific wants should be to have an experienced shaper determine his needs. A 15’ board will be a handful (sorry Roy) for a beginner. He may be better off with more width and thickness on a shorter board. 310 lbs is big, but it doesn’t make him the biggest surfer on earth.
Also, going full-tilt boogy on the most exotic construction method is overkill for your first board… even if you have more money than god. Once he gets some experience, he may want something a bit different. Tell this guy he can get a quiver of boards, take some great surf trips, and probably even hire Laird to teach him how to ride a SUP for about what a hollow carbon board will end up costing. As a bonus, he’d come out a better surfer.
If he just wants to spend a wad on a board with lots of “bling”, get a fancy resin tint or paint job.
15’x36"x5" seems too big even for an inexperienced 300lb-er.
The SUP industry seems to be going universally smaller, not bigger.
Even 10’6"x28"…
I’m guessing 12x30x5 would be ample…
What are the customers real requirements and then what are his desires…
i.e. is hollow carbon one of his requirements…
is it because he wants a black carbon extier?
where is the hollow part coming in?
From what you have said so far, I’d suggest the Jenson HWS (Hollow Wood Surfboard) method and put carbon on the extier if the client wants the look of black carbon with the drum sound of a hollow.
Yes Carbon was a requirement. The hollow part came in when I was told a Carbon exterior would heat up an EPS blank to the point of delamination. The wood idea sounds great, though I am not sure anyone around here does it nor has anyone offered on this site yet. And definately if he can get away with less board I will pass a smaller option to him, but it would be nice to know I can even get one going in the first place.
He will mostly be paddling on flat water with no surf, more like a fitness exercise. So a high preformance shape isn’t necessary, and a easier stable paddle is the goal. Thanks for your time and input.
15 feet can be easy to handle, and the more length means that the board doesn’t have to be as thick, which improves handling.
Most people don’t understand boards 12 feet and over, and build them with ice cream stick ‘Malibu’ planshapes, which is not a good idea, as it wrecks the handling.
Make it long, draw out the ends, give it some planshape curve, like a Blake board, it’s not a shortboard contest is it ?
IMO trying to make SUP boards for shortboard surfing is really crass, go longer, catch more waves, have a higher paddle speed, draw some long lines !
The 15 footer pictured here is really easy to ride, ideal for a beginner, and is a planshape used by a lot of old school Australian SUP and prone paddle boards.
PS Paul’s method is probably ideal for a big high volume SUP, just use that planshape if you want to turn the thing !
Paul’s method with my planshape is pretty much historically correct for an old school SUP too ( just tweaked a bit )
. A 15’ board will be a handful (sorry Roy) for a beginner.
I disagree, 15 feet is a good length for a beginner, especially a large beginner.
My son Patrick was riding the 15 foot board pictured above when he was only 14 years old Although you have ridden a lot of boards Kendall, I doubt that you have ridden any well designed big boards, nearly all the big boards I see coming out of California are badly designed, just scaled up noseriders. . . the problem with those is that not only are they a poor concept in the first place, they get worse as they get bigger because they rely on tail pivots and kicking the nose high to turn. . . . this gets increasingly difficult as the board gets longer. . . . best to do what Blake did and use a longer more curvaceous rail line to turn with. If you had ridden one of my big boards I doubt that you would say what you did. .
The Board is not for me, I am ordering it for a man 6'2" 310 with only a small amount of Surf experience (almost none).
Quote:
Northern California
I would want no part whatsoever in putting that person in the water with a 15’ board and a paddle. Every surfer you’ve ever known will despise him (and his friends). I know that’s not a very enlightened point of view, and the project, academically, is entertaining.
But just look at the chaos & injuries created by a couple of beginner surfers who decided to take on stand-up paddling in the Bolinas channel last summer on a couple of 12’ Munoz boards…yard sales, every wave. Collisions with kids, kneeboarders, and dozens of regular longboarders. More bad vibes at a mellow spot than a decade of Saturdays put together. You sure you want that weight on your shoulders?
Get the guy a 10’2 Boardworks Aipa and a book on the South Beach Diet. If he wants to be a surfer, he’ll figure it out.
You can also check out the following link to see the custom board they made for David Kalama for paddling the channel between Molokai and Oahu, this one has an experimental steering system.
Although you have ridden a lot of boards Kendall, I doubt that you have ridden any well designed big boards
That’s true Roy… the biggest board I’ve ever owned was a 10’ Greg Noll that stayed 10’ for about ten minutes. It was my first board. My dad bought it when I was about six, and immediately cut it down to 6’0" and reglassed it. The longest board in my quiver now is 9’6".
The last time I rode a 10’6" (at Hookepa) I felt like I was standing in my living room watching a video of surfing. The waves looked great, but I couldn’t feel anything. The board was too stable. I like them all wiggly and loose. That’s just me.
