Redwood Stand-up Paddle Board

General Discussion
1

Hello-

New to Swaylocks, but I thought this would be a good place to share my newest project.

I built a hollow redwood strip paddle surf board. It’s 12’ long 29" wide, and weighs 29 lbs. I designed

the board shape on a program called Solidworks, from the 3D model I built stations every 16".

Using the strong back and stations method I striped out the bottom half then the deck. I fiberglassed both interior surfaces,

and added threaded inserts, fin boxes and vent hole.

This is where things became interesting.

I epoxied 150 carbon tubes vertically into one half and made 150 telescoping ferrules. Next

I glued each ferrule into each tube, I then place the two halves together compressing each tube

set to the proper length, and let it cure. After it dried I took the top off and placed a glob of epoxy filler on each peg and

put the two halves back together. The hard part done, I then planed and sanded the outer shape, added

nose and tail caps, and glassed the exterior.

The tubes act as a honeycomb type grid. All together the tubes and epoxy to glue them weigh less than two pounds vs

10+ pounds for a foam core, so there is potential weight savings there.

The paddle I pieced together from a carbon canoe paddle and a thin wall carbon tube I had around.

It weighs only 15 ounces.

I just went out for my first wave session today, and I am so stoked! This board is really fun!

I can only attach three photos but if anyone want more I can post them.

2

Here are a couple more photos…

3

Awesome stuff mate, got any more pics of the building process…

I like your thinking, and the board came out looking great too…

4

That looks amazing!!!

We definitely need more details, and pictures.

5

Amazing!!! Where are you located? Looks rugged…

6

Ohmigod…

That telescoping ferrule idea is BRILLIANT! Is that used in some other industry or did you think that up yourself? Well done!

7

Come on, tell us more!!!

8

WOW! Thats the finest looking paddle board ive ever seen! What an incredible place to go for a paddle. Stoked for you man.

“He not busy being born, is busy diein”

9

the cabin cruisers of my youth

set a standard a van guard

for sooth

these wooden monuments to craft

when taken fully to thier zenith

will progress us ,yes I mean it.

the glass plastic argumentitivities

compodeluge confusing terms and issues

disolve before craft and inovations

such as these.

and when the din settled

we could hear the shrill curlews moan.

and when the fog lifts we can see

the board with no wake

overtake

and smoke

the field of competitors

not entered

disqualified because

of not entering the

contest…

…ambrose…

and still champion

10

Hello-

Thanks for all the great replies everyone.

Here is a more detailed account of my building process.

After I had a design I liked on Solidworks, I went to purchase my redwood lumber. I picked out two 2x6’s

as free of knots as possible. I found that it is critical to pick out pieces with the right end grain angle. 45 degrees

is about right when your looking straight at the end, like this [//////]. This keeps the bandsaw blade from following

the grain, and allows for more precise strips.

Once I had two good boards I milled them down to 5/32" in thickness by 5/8 wide. For the rails I used half that width,

so I could achieve the compound curves, (these strips have no bead/cove). I used a bandsaw with three featherboards

and a fence to cut my strips.

I decided to bead and cove my strips in order to avoid gaps. I modified a straight fluted router bit to have both the

bead and cove on both flutes. Then using the feather board jig I pulled each strip through, once for the bead,

and once for the cove. It’s critical to have uniform thickness with your strips so that your bead and cove are well centered.

With the strips done, I moved on to the strongback. I used a 12’ I_I shaped beam that is used for hanging sliding doors in. You can buy them

at most any hardware store. They are very straight, although they do need to be supported at three or four points, with special

attention to clamp it without any twist in it. I used MDF for the stations, and made ten for the deck and ten for bottom half.

Blocks of plastic slid into the channels that each station screwed into, securing them in place.

Here is the stripping process in a nutshell. With the stations set up for either the top half or bottom the first step was to lay two boarder strips. Using the half width rail strips I place them in end to end, curving along the transition from where the board is flatter to where the rail starts it’s curve. After these strips are in place I started placing my full size strips from the center line, working my way out using staples at each station to hold things in place. Each strip has custom cut angles that terminate at the rail boarder strip. Once this flat section is done you can start doing the rails. This is done by stacking strip after strip on top of the border strip.

Stripping done, I set one layer of 4oz glass on the inside surface. After it cured I drew a curve connecting the top edge of each station, then trimmed the exceess. With two halves that fit together like a clam shell the next step was creating my carbon tube grid.

Part 2 coming soon…

11

A couple more photos from todays paddle in Mendocino California…

12

sweet board

can you share some more specs… rocker profile, did you copy a rocker or eye ball it, rail technique/thickness, skin thickness…

thanks

13

erinh:

Great looking board. I think we have a bit of convergence. I am in the process of building a redwood and cedar hollow wood surfboard using a similar process. Unfortunately, mine is still under construction. I hope mine will end up looking as nice as yours does.

BB

14

BillyBob-

I took a quick look at your half-way done HWS. It looks great. It made me think that maybe

I should have used 1/4" strips. I made mine almost half that thick, which really helped for

making those compound curves, but doesn’t create a very stiff panel. I like the idea of just

using a center stringer and leaving the rest hollow.

I also had the thought of building a completely hollow board, no internal structure.

What if you used really thin strips, like 1/16" cedar or redwood. You make two

female strongbacks like I did. You strip it out, but instead of glassing the inside,

you epoxy 1/2" honey comb with either carbon or glass , carbon being stiffer-better-but more $$.

After doing this to the deck and bottom half you join them and you should have a really

strong, very light board. What do you think?

___________________ Carbon

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Honey Comb

--------------------- Outer Redwood Strips

Oh yeah, are goretex vent plugs available yet?

I have a 1/4-20 vent hole.

-Erin

15

I am enamoed with the telescoping stantions

details please.

diameter? availiability?

crossover applications? like also used for…fishin poles?

the weight reduction and structural superiority

has got my head spinning…

reverse molding from casting off fave board

opens the door to quick modification

the outside supports building off the casting

a dyslexic dream come true…

to cast from a positive plug.

tubes in 5’’ lengths ?

4’‘3’‘2’‘6’‘7’‘8’’

20cents each?

2.00 each?

$50.00 a hundred

here in time to tune

the 35# prototype

into a 17lb hollow!

… ambrose …

16

Erin:

Thanks.

Your completely hollow board might work. What you need is a very stiff material in the longitudinal (stringer) direction to keep the rocker profile intact. The carbon will probably work but I’m not sure the honeycomb will help much. As I understand it, the honeycombs are very stiff in compression in-line with the combs but not tension in the plane of the comb. Instead, maybe you can epoxy carbon tubes to the deck and bottom shells to stiffen the skins.

-------- - redwood/cedar skin

O O O - carbon tubes

====== - carbon fabric

My board started out as a completely hollow board but I chickened out at the last minute and decided to add a center stringer for stiffness. The strongback frame is composed of three 1/4" rocker templates, one of which will be used as the stringer for the final board. I ran structural calcs that indicated the 1/4" redwood, glassed inside and out, will support a 150 pound surfer. But, the calc was for a simple composite beam and does not take into account other factors (the deck is a plate structure, the impact forces of a wipeout, etc.). I thought I better err on the safe side and add the stringer.

Anyway, your carbon telescopic tubes and female mold are real breakthroughs.

CowABunGA

Quote:

BillyBob-

I took a quick look at your half-way done HWS. It looks great. It made me think that maybe

I should have used 1/4" strips. I made mine almost half that thick, which really helped for

making those compound curves, but doesn’t create a very stiff panel. I like the idea of just

using a center stringer and leaving the rest hollow.

I also had the thought of building a completely hollow board, no internal structure.

What if you used really thin strips, like 1/16" cedar or redwood. You make two

female strongbacks like I did. You strip it out, but instead of glassing the inside,

you epoxy 1/2" honey comb with either carbon or glass , carbon being stiffer-better-but more $$.

After doing this to the deck and bottom half you join them and you should have a really

strong, very light board. What do you think?

___________________ Carbon

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Honey Comb

--------------------- Outer Redwood Strips

Oh yeah, are goretex vent plugs available yet?

I have a 1/4-20 vent hole.

-Erin

17

Hi Ambrose,

Goodwinds kites has usable tube/ferrule combos. I think the pultruded

tubes would work just fine and cost quite a bit less. The two combos I

saw on this page are .5 od x .398 id used with .3940 od x .286 id,

part #s 20034 & 20037 . light sandind of the ferrule may be needed. Or

for lighter weight but flimsier ( maybe used where you wont be

standing?): .3940 od x .286 id used with .2810 od x .186 id. part #s

20037 & 20099. Cost varies from $3.50 per foot to $ 2.00 per foot

depending on size. Take about 15% off for quantity orders.

(This information was kindly supplied by my Dad, thanks!)

Erin

http://www.goodwindskites.com/merch/list.shtml?cat=framework.pultrudedcarbon

18

oily kroips

a new format to grok

staring at the od’s and id’s

and there them ferruliclations

thanx for opening the transom

to the girls locker room

of carbon parts!

I will try to study and grok…

…ambrose…

19

Ambrose, Why not use drinking straws from Jamba or Subway, there free from the garbage cans across the street. !!! Aloha Wood_Ogre

20

I wouldnt sully my sensitive spirit with either

chamba,zubstandard or plastic straws.

show me A GOOD DUMPSTER

AND I"M ALL OVER THAT.

pulltruded carbon tubing

is a worthy study

and the measurement format

is daunting.at two $ a foot

these are far cheaper than

and less baggage than

land fill last straws…

…ambrose…

nice to hear from you mark.