Why do you think 9mm is too thin? my alaia has 5-7mm rails and works a treat. The board is 3/4" thick.
I believe for control on finless boards you want a thin rail that is easy to bury in the wave face!
I rekn you’ll have a blast riding that thing.
P.S Surffoils, I can connect with your outta the box style thinking on all of your projects! cheers mate
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Sparrow, I think the 9mm prone board will be fine. (glassing it today)
But the next surfboard I make will start with the 20mm sheet, just because I think any thinner would be too difficult for me to handle.
Thanks for the compliment.
Props.
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...this is the bottom of a finless board? Can you tell us more about it, and about the rails? Looks interesting.
Im vaccing the prone board tonight.
I got some free Innegra and found out that its polypropylene, I also remember that at most Aussie hospitals they use Kimguard which is a sterile wrapper for surgical instruments, it gets tossed out after use. Anyway Kimguard is polypropylene too, so Im glassing the board with Kimguard.
It comes is 4 different colours and weights so its like coloured glass but when it wets out it has a mottled look which is kinda cool. And its free and unlimited supply.
Kimguard is like CSM (chopped strand mat) but its only 1mm thick, I did a test layup and its probably a different type of polypro but it works, enough for a test board anyway.
So its epoxy and Kimguard and 2oz top and bottom over EPS.
I'll let you know if it flies or fails !
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/CainsFinishedfishKritter011.jpg[/IMG] flat deck, same kinda theory with keeping volume but still a lowish perf foiled rail....
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/timberfinsandSingle510023.jpg[/IMG] this one faded gradually towards nose.... functional but some people dont wanna be functional if it dont look pretty ( or diff to the norm ), their loss.....
surfoils, loving the kimguard idea mate, please keep me informed and I am keen to give one a go, maybe I can test one out one day .....I am all for being resourceful and that is good use of available materials.....following with interest.....did you do the innegra underneath or on top ?, lay up ? resin ? any more info ???
[img_assist|nid=1055427|title=g-rail-2|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1055428|title=g-rail-3|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1055429|title=g-rail-4|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=538]
Hey Josh, how do those contours affect flex? I get having foam in the middle and tapering down to this rails. I guess my instinct would be to knock off the bumps (the ones 6 inches in from the rail) and make a smooth gradual dome. But I guess doing that lose some volume. But back to my roginal question- which deck shape is stiffer?
You may be interested in my step rail blog. see Quad fish step down rail.Photos & description of reasons for design are there.I have been surfing it for the last 4 months & the thing is a wave magnet from 1ft to 6 ft the thing flies & turns on a dime .I am Stoked in it & plan to make several for my mates who all love it.Cheers Troy
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.....did you do the innegra underneath or on top ?, lay up ? resin ? any more info ???
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On the bottom, innegra with 2oz over the top, both done in one vac cycle because Im lazy. Now Ive run out of pump oil and Im too lazy to do a hand layup !!!
The Kimguard is more like a thin mat so its better for flat areas, it doesnt distort like glass over complex curves.
It wrapped around the rails but needed cuts and then there were breaks and overlaps that showed because of the colour. I'll post pics later. I'll keep using the Kimguard for bottoms and fins, tailblocks, gadgets and other areas but its not perfect for wrapping tight corners.
Troy, what blog where?
Please.
Hi Alangibbons, Those look awesome, is the additional bit on the tail just foam (not glassed).
I really like the decks, how do you find them, they must add some control to your turns?..
Ridden the square railed green board and Im not sure why most boards have round rails because the square ones work fine. Theyre low drag, easy to shape. Square ones are used on water skis and wakeboards too.
T'poo with a GoPro--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_3oboVTXy0
Looking at the bottom left of this video it looks like a thin surface layer of water is sheering off the inside rail as it travels up the face.
The rail is interrupting the upward flow, slows the thin surface layer which cascades back down the vertical wall.
At slower speeds it would look like the water is closely wrapping on the rail, but at T'poo the speed has widened the effect as its pulled away from the rail.
Has anyone made a square railed surfboard?
Apart from the old Tom Blake style boxes of 60 years ago...
I have a almost square railed board atm, very hard and square but with chine of about 3/4 - 1" at approx 45 degrees, working so well, lots of lift, hold and fast as buggery.....
I think in this day and age of trying different things Square rails are a valid concept. Rails have gone from 3 inches thick down to 1 inch and yet they still get halllowed ground status as a design element.
If you can take away 60% of the rail bulk and it still works, and square rails are working on similar surf and watercraft, then why not give them a try on a shortboard? Completely, all the way around. Doesnt have to be perfectly 90 degrees square, could be variably angled...
Geez that'd make shaping, glassing and sanding a whole lot easier !
Compsand a veneer skin on each side of a blank and then glue a .6mm veneer strip around the perimeter.
Givvuzasquizz Pridmore, whats your board look like...
as long as ease of construction isnt the reason and it is still all about function.....roled rails will have hold in the water, square ones will release alot, but there's a happy medium in there somewhere....but again, you'll have alot of surfers against it even if it does work....but times are getting better, many more open minds out there recently, depends where you live too I think....
Even with a square rail, if they rail bouyancy is low enough you'll still be able to sink a rail and get grip that way. As you say, there a happy medium in there, somewhere, just a matter of working out what the height of the square is along a board and you can probably keep the deck roll the same.
Someone like GSI will come out with a trendily named model with sq. rails..
Introducing ...the digital Tron...
Kinda hard to tell from the pic, but thats the exact rail configuration on this wood board (on the horses) seen at Sacred Craft Ventura this year.
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/square-rails
Double post!
I’ve always wanted to try a chined rail like a bodyboard (kinda like an alaia rail but thicker) on a shortboard. I’ll have to try it one of these days.
Huck, thanks for the pic and the Square Rails thread link, and to Swied for the info on that thread.
THAT board above is beautiful, I can think up creative stuff but I dont have those kind of skills to make something that beautiful. I dont think theres any use in making the rails totally 90 deg square, just round the corners off.
Good to see square rails getting a bit of an airing here and there, like the Wegener epoxy alaia thing with angled rails, square rails will pop up in a commercial product and be hailed as the New Coke. Its not about history, its all about the hype.
How about a no glass, no resin, minimal foam, veneer, compsand, hollow, Simmons with square rails ? Dont laugh too hard !
We should have a comp to see who can conjure up something from the future...