I searched the Archives, found one post and because confused.
I have just gotten into skimboarding and really want to get out onto the waves… Its just that I am not sure what kind of material for core I would be able to use that would be an ok substitute for a beginner. I see alot of surfboards made of pvc foam, some of balsa and wondered if i could use a lighter wood like balsa and shaped it and glassed it would that work… I just want to go from flat ground to OUT CATCHING WAVES… I just want to know what would be a cheaper core alternative that I might beable to find locally in Washington.
I am relitivly good at flat ground with one of my friends skim boards… I just finished mine and havn’t had a chance to test it out… I have pictures of it with no polyurathane coat on top, but I’ll still stick them up any way. I did the paint… I wanted something cool but simple, flames are always a good choice .
Whell I could do that… But i like to build things… It gives me a TON more pleasure in the fact that i made something rather than going out and buying it… I make longboard skateboards too, people told me the same thing… and i didnt and im happy as sin with the boards, and it may not be show room quality but it works for me and thats all that matters… I just want a skimboard to play arround on… I dont think i would ever get serious enough to hurt myself trying that hard… I’ve done that with many different things, I just enjoy flat land skimming and would like to try to get out into the waves… DESPITE IF ITS HARD OR NOT.
I thought someone would have an insite to this question seeing as that on any other skimboard site its the same thing you just told me… where can i go to buy a good skimboard… I want to know where I can buy the supplies and what supplies would work WELL for the skimboard I am going to make…
I figured on spending money… I never said that i didnt… I was just wondeing what would work… I know plywood skimboards are fun… but they dont get you out on the wave unless you made some radical rocker on one… but even then its REALLY heavy… I just made that skimboard above from some plywood and paint and polyurathane we had laying arround in the garage… so ya. Cost me literally NOTHING to make that board… I am willing to spend some money… I was just wondering if there was a cheaper solution for a beginner board maker and a beginner skimboarder… I weigh almos exactly 170 lbs am 6’ 3" so i know i need a dense board… ya… how would i know what would be sutable for a foam board… what exactly do i want strength wise for when i make it…
Well then, seems you have three choices. First is to make a wooden one, but you’ve done that.
Second and third is to make one of these new style foam core boards.
The 3/4" - 1" thick ones are the easiest, you can get sheets of the stuff already to thickness. Cut out your profile and fillet the top edge all the around. The rocker is held in by the glass, so you need to make a mould to hold it while the resin dries. Depending on what material you use for the core you might have to use epoxy resin… again, this is all in the archives. I know top of the line boards use Dyvinylcell (sp?), but it’s expensive, just grab a sheet of that cheap insulation at home depot, that’ll get you started. …all this stuff is in the archives.
Your third choice is to shape one out of good ole PU foam, stringer an all. I used half a longboard I found on the beach. 3" thick at center, left me pleanty of room for my rocker. Not easy though, you’re mowing a ton of foam… it was the hardest design I’ve ever shaped - tought me tons on my planer though. Real difficult to get flat and level. The plus side is that the stringer will hold the rocker in for you, so you can glass like a regular old surfboard… except a lot more glass. All this is in the archives too.
If you ask vague questions around here you can usually expect at least one smartass comment back. It’s just curtious to scour the archives, and learn what you can from there… we’ll still be here if you have a specific question.
I though I did… Though it was REALLY late at night so I might have missed some of the things… Or i though I had read one post and would go to the next and… ya you know the drill… I appologise, its one of my peeves that people say, JUST GO BUY ONE… I would never say that to a person that wants to do something… so ya… About the density of the foam though… and about shaping the top edge… just a good sharp hot knife, fine sand paper… I figure that the epoxy would fill in any tiny inprofections in the foam… so ya… Thanks. I’ll search a LIL bit harder and squint and prod in the archives… and keep trying 'till i find what i want.
I guess I didn’t answer your questions, because I didn’t know what they were.
No biggie.
Airex is most availible in 6-8lbs. densities. It comes in almost any sheet thickness, is waterproof, or can be in the right blend, needs just regular glassing, like about 3 layers of 6oz.
Divinicell is a non waterproof hi density foam of about the same weights. It predated Airex, and is used less and less, because it soaks water. However, it’s easier to laminate with complete saturation, ends up stronger but heavier, and needs all dings to be repaired immediately.
Balsa is usually a nightmare in a working everyday board that gets abuse. It delams, it dings really easily, having a false sense of density. Some guys will argue that, but very few guys would choose to OWN and pay for a balsa board. Heavy, weak, no matter how it’s glassed.
Home Depot foam comes styro or poly. Styro needs epoxy resin, stronger, twice the price. Styro is about 1-2lbs. density in insulation, but can come from 5/8th to anything heavier in custom applications. It needs sandwich technology (remember the airex or the 1/8th ply ideas?) to be really strong, and possibly some more exotic materials. Can be the lightest per strength, you don’t want to go there until you’ve made quite a few with other materials.
Don’t really need rocker tables, just lay the blank on a table and place some wooden dowells under the nose for nose kick.
It’s also possible to avoid the glass and resin by combining plywood with the polyethylene foam from a beat up bodyboard. Here’s a stepdeck model I call a skimaroo, because it can be ridden in the shorebreak like a skimboard, or you can paddle it out to bigger surf and ride it like a lamaroo. Use a good gel contact cement with good ventilation in your work area. Of course for stand up riding you wouldn’t need to have the foam so thick or stepped in from the rail. I was more concerned with how the board would ride in deeper water.
For your first foam board, don’t worry about what kind of foam to use. Like rKelly said above, use whatever you have around. It’s a little easier to use sheet foam like you would find at Home Depot, but it can be polyurethane or EPS or XPS, because it is very important to have a very flat bottom all the way up to about 1 or 1.5 feet from the nose.
To do it right, you will want to use a rocker table. But it’s not that hard to make. Just get 1/4" plywood a little bigger than your board and screw it down to a work bench up until the nose rocker starts. Then put a block of wood under the top part of the board to form the nose rocker. It shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes. The easiest way to form the nose rocker into the foam is to start with two sheets of foam and glue them as a sandwich, like LeeDD mentioned above, on top of the rocker table, with some weight on top of the foam.
You don’t need much nose rocker — 1" is enough, but some like 2". Board thickness should be between .75" and 1.5". Based on your height and weight, length should be around 57" and width 21" to 22". Copy the round pin shape from a Victoria Skimboards shape. Glass with 3 layers of 6 oz. on each side.
If your waves don’t break right on shore you need a fast board to get you up to 30’ or more out into the water. That’s why it’s important to have a very flat board with no concave or vee on the bottom. When standing on your board, the nose rocker should start right where you front foot is, or slighty in front of it.
Im also working on a skimboard and have a few questions. I used the foam from home depot called R-mat or something like that and shaped the board and now im ready to glass it. I ordered enough cloth for 3 layers of 6oz E-glass and a quart of resin. Will this be enough resin? and how should I lap the rails? Also i made it 51" by 21" is that going to be big enough cause im not a very big guy
You can lap the rails if you are a skilled glasser wrapping a rounded, soft rail shape.
If not, it’s easier to glass top and bottom about 1/2" past the rails, then after it sets, trim to 1/4", and fill the gap with chopped glass and resin.
That’s how most kiteboards and wakeboards are made, and do fine.
As for bottom shape, the more expensive and hi tech, the more they use single concaves on the bottom, from back foot to nose, with a flat bottom behind the back foot.
Rocker table seems excessive foo foo for a skim board. Just use a flat table, and some wooden dowels, app. 3/4" placed accross the nose. Gravity will give you the sagging rocker, and after the glass cures, it will hold the shape.
You mean 3 layers of 6 oz total? That seems light to me. I put 6x6 and a 4 oz stop pad on the deck, and 6x4 on the bottom. I’ve been slacking on putting the hotcoat on, so I couldn’t tell you how this worked out in final weight and, more importantly, durability. But I’d think a skimboard should have more support than a surfboard, and 6x6 is pretty standard on a LB.
A quart of resin won’t be enough, I’d grab a full gallon, play it safe, and have some left over for your next project. Depending on the board size, glassing schedule, and glassing skill, you could use that much on each side for just the layup… then another quart (3/4?) to hotcoat both sides.
Hey BigAlaska:
This would be technique #2 when nobody is responding to your posts. Get some guy like me to post his ideas, then watch the posts come rolling in from people who disagree.
Thanks for all the help guys… Especially the size of board that i would probably need. This really makes me want to get my hands messy and make something.
A few more questions… I understand the glassing stuff I have read that you should put 2 or 3 coats of 6 oz on the bottom and 3 or 4 on top.
About sandwiching the foam with plywood… So it would go Foam then ply then foam, or ply then foam then ply. when i am doing this i would probably want to warp the wood first and then set the foam onto it… What would i use to laminate the foam together, with the plywood or just sheets of foam… I could make a really good rocker table really quick and this seems like the easiest way to do things so ya. I will probably do that, especially with all the ramps that i have built. One thing that i have wondered is what you guys use to keep the foam weighted down without leaving any horendus dings? just put some weight over a board so that the pressure is evenly distributed or what? Any helpful hints on this would be appreciated…
Carl, I use the term lamaroo more loosely than some folks. To me it’s just about any sort of bellyboard or mat that is paddled or kicked into a wave and ridden prone. It does have a historic and regional definition as an old Australian wood bellyboard. The folks at Surf Research AU have some cool photos at:
So just cut it out witha jigsaw after it bends… or try to factor it all inbefore making the board… Any pictures… And what should it be bonded together with… Icould probably cut out the final shape with a scroll saw… so I dont think i would rip apart the foam to bad… any pictures of what a skim looks like when it is made that way… And i could use the Eps from home depot then? right…
Really a quarter of an inch…so wait… I need to get some shreaded fiberglass to mixup and fill in there. and then sand down untill smooth… Ok cool that makes alot of sense :-D. Then glass over it all. sounds good.
.
