Stringer for SUP board

General Discussion
1

Hey Guys

I am having trouble finding stringer material long enough for a 11’6" SUP board.

The only thing I can find is pine.

They told me they can dress it down from 19 mm to what ever thickness I want (thinking around 12 mm) and will only cost $11- a meter

The supplier did mention another timber ( I cant remember) but it was going to cost me around $30- a meter.

My question is: will pine hold up to the job intended??

eg: strength, bonding issues, shapeabilitty etc.

I hear a lot of guys using bass, balsa, maple etc but this type of timber is hard to find here in OZ and very expensive, so pine seems to be the best option in regards to cost.

Just need to it to do the job.

Any thoughts

2

Go Stringerless! It’s a SUP.

3

might be a dumb question but,

what about eucalyptus?

4

You have always the boat aglomerate wood…

5

You don’t need a single piece of wood. SUP’s usually have rocker numbers that are small. A 10’long x 6-8" wide and 1" thick will get the job done. The wood choice would be cedar or redwood type. I would plane the thickness to 1/2". Lay the 10’ plank on the blank half to optimize the tail to nose use of the plank.

Trace that outline on the plank. The off cut of the plank should be enough to finish the remainder of the stringer left to make. where you join the two stringer pieces of wood together, Use your imagination to make a strong joint. I use long angle cuts where they join and during the glue up use stainless steel staples to make the glue joint tight. I have used this method on super long blanks for 22 years out of necessity. Of course now there are mills that can make long stringers for you. But of the hundreds and possibly thousands of blanks made like this, we get zero( i literally mean none) complaints. Long angled, tight joints make a seamless appearance in the deck and bottom. Keep the stainless steel staples more to the center so the electric planer doesn’t run into a surprise.

Also, double stringer high density foam, pieced together but on one side going tail to nose and the other nose to tail where the pieces join.

I also like the idea of no stringer needed, depending on the foam density and glassing schedule. But having a true center or double stringer reference point makes hand shaping so much easier.

6

hey MDS,

I would go stringerless on that SUP to save you cutting and gluing such a big lump of EPS (From memory it’s EPS right?).

Did you get the rocker cut in or did you buy a slab?

You could try a dove tail join (or look up joining plywood) in any old ply if you need it to bend the rocker into the blank.

If the rocker is already in the blank dont bother with a stringer and paint one on if you like the look.

Daren

7

Hey Darren

Yer it is EPS. Bought it as a block and have hot wired the rocker.

Turned out pretty good after a bit of a clean-up.

Bonus is i have enough foam left over for a 9’.0" longboard.

I have decided to go with a stringer.

After some research I am going to scarf join some 9mm plywood.

Seems to be a good strong joint that is used in the boat building industry.

Shouldn’t be too hard with some basic tools.

I mean we build surfboards, how hard can it be??

Cheers

8

Hey mick, where did yo uguy the block from, and what density??.

Cheers mate.