I am about to glass a 30" wide SUP with carbon rails. I have 6oz x 38" wide glass style 7533 from fiberglass supply and was wondering if I can freelap this stuff or will it show. If I have to cut lap I am assuming it would look the best if I did so at the carbon/veneer interface. So if I have to cutlap, any recommendations as to how far up the deck/bottom I should bring the carbon as to allow for enough "lap"? I would like to minimize this to say 1.25" in from the rail but am not sure if this will create a weak lap.
Why carbon on rails? Carbon is very sensitive to dings and rails are about the best place to get some (paddle dings, other boards dings…) Kevlar, I would understand. But carbon?
For me timberflex is not fiberflex. Timberflex is venner vacuum bag top and bottom or sometimes like me just top.
Fiber flex is carbon UD tape on rails for stiffening boards. I do it too and repair some fiber flex.
In general carbon is too far from flex neutral fiber of board so it stiffen too much boards.
Carbon keep dynamic feeling of board it’s good for that.
But broken boards are dead even with a good repair.
Carbon between fiberglass have a not so bad impact resistance and it give a strong rail. Kevlar is certainly better for this but hard to work with. PE fiber like xynol or vectran, PP fiber like innegra or olefin fiber, are a good alternative. Sglass too.
Breid19 look at inspired surfboards on facebook if you want to see how put carbon on rail on the good way.
Yep ! Carbon rails are not hard to repair but when repair board feel “bizarre” lol
For sure fiber flex is not rocket science, vacuum bag lam surfboards are for me way more complicate to make and way better too.
Finaly i thinck now that keep it simple and cheap is the way. In France good quality EPS bloc are cheap, imported PU blank expensive, good quality epoxy not so expensive so with a decent lam an EPS stringerless epoxy do the job: easy to make and cheap.