Resin dried rock hard, first time that has ever happened.
I have had the resin side crystalize but never go completely rock hard, crazy!
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Was in a local â membershipâ store up here yesterday. They had a $17 crock pot. Looked perfect for Epoxy.
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Put a couple of Futures or Fusion boxes in that board. Should go good.
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I believe Huckâs intended objective is finless.
(That has become my new direction as I continue to age.)
Finless design is still a wide open frontierâŚ
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I do plan on adding some fins, havenât decided to go with fin boxes so they are removable or glass ons, but I do like the directional positivity of fins, especially since as Doc pointed out I wonât have the option of bending the board like an inflatable surf mat.
From my experience and watching mat surfing videos the flexibility of an air mat comes into play mostly during turns. So with a surf mat shape that rides up on the surface I hope to add some control to the turns with fins in conjunction with the ability to wrestle the mat into turns with some body english using the grab rail in front.
Its all just theoretical at this point since my mat surfing experience is limited, and not many shaped and glassed boards are made with the shape of a surf mat. So there is nothing out there that I am aware of to reference in regard to fins on a foam and fiberglass board with an inflatable surf mat shape. I did see some inflatable mats with fins in the âhow to make a surf matâ thread, so I am guessing that some surf mat riders (I think it was surfoils) wanted the option for a bit more control through turns. Like I say, I donât think fins are so much an issue in straight trim in the pocket.
But my goal is a board that rides high in the water (up on the surface) like a mat, thus is very fast in trim, with the ability to control turns via the fins, even tho its mostly intended as a point and go, down the line trim vehicle, kinda like the mat surfing featured in the video I posted a few posts back.
So I went back and read through the How to Make a Surf Mat thread. Yes it was Bret (surfoils) that added fins. I like the idea of twin fins, since they have worked well for me on short boards with wide tails. A single fin needs rails to work against so to speak, IMO, so twin rail fins make more sense on this design.
I also made a few tweaks based on the design comments I read. I pulled in the tail about an inch on top, but about 5â on the bottom. This gave me a little ledge to grab onto, as I had been trying to think of some way to make some grab handles in the back of the board, but couldnât come up with any idea that made sense. But then I hit on this idea, and decided to go with it.
Another more subtle tweak was that I added just a bit more ârockerâ up front, I had a little foam to work with so I took about a half inch more foam off the bottom at the nose, creating just a bit of nose rocker. Again, this is probably more critical for me since my board has no flex, but even the flexible inflatable mat guys talked about adding a bit of rocker.
Here are some twin fin pics from the surf mat thread, and some updated pics of my prone board.
You should consider Paipo and BB rider perspectives too. Much shorter board length than even the shortest SBs.
Your legs/feet and arm positions, body mass location and lean contribute significantly to performance.
IMO stiff and finless translate to speed.
Since this a Prototype, it might be more valuable to have removable fins so you can compare performance differences/effects with and without fins. More information gleaned for the same shape and fewer prototypes.
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All good points, thanks! I agree on all counts, I think I am relying on body english to be a factor in performance. I donât actually know the difference between a paipo and a bellyboard, are they not just different names for the same thing? Anyway, I know for sure I am influenced by surfboard design in subtle ways.
But Iâm sure kneeboard design, stubbies, simmons, paipo or bellyboards, surf mat, all of it can factor in.
I have some vague ideas for a flexy design also, but nothing clear in my mind.
Agreed that removable fins are better, but a glass on will be easier for me. It kinda hinges on whether or not I decide to pursue this avenue of wave riding, or I shift more to SUP surfing. The jury is out on that, as I have yet to catch even one wave on an SUP (my two SUPs I now own are flatwater boards, which I am enjoying immensely).
So if I really go down this rabbit hole, then all the possibilities and iterations will be a significant factor. If I can end up with one or two decent paddle-in boards for surfing, then this will probably just be an occasional diversion for me.
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IMO Paipo vs. Bellyboard is mostly personal perspective. The current concept and word âPaipoâ are evolutions of earlier interpretations/concepts.
For me, the acronym BB includes bellyboards and bodyboards. The primary difference there would be hard vs. soft construction materials IMO.
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BTW no one commented on this curious nugget posted on the surf mat thread by John Mellor, this really fires my imagination, despite looking questionable in terms of function.
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I remember that creation.
That is one of Brettâs.
Donât remember for sure, but seems like it was a design to include his hydrofoil concept into the BB shape.
But I canât say with any certainty.
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