I’m a garage guy and don’t know many people in the industry I so I just want to ask about what combinations of resins/ blanks are working well for standard thruster surfboards. I just made a board from a ‘just foam’ blank and I’m not happy with the feel of the thing. Definately considering switching to epoxy, so information on foam density, amount of cloth and resins would be great.
How big are you? What kind of waves do you surf? What did you make before? What don’t you like about it?
6’2", 185lbs. Surf Huntington and Trestles. I’m riding a thick 6’4" thruster. This last board that I made from that Just Foam blank felt like a dog. Don’t know what else to say, it just didn’t have a good feel to it. I definately want to go with something different, just want to find out about what is working for others.
Before, we get to worried about resins and foam , have a friend ride it. It may go good for them.
compare it to another board about the same dimensions there may be a problem there , ever one in their shaping career has shaped a dog, don’t worry.
In my experience the foam itself won,t change a lot in pu anyway from my experience. Friends of mine use different foam to me just as good as the other. maybe resin is too thick on the board. Fin placements are another thing.
How about some more info on this stick and we maybe able to work it out.
We assume you have shaped over 200 tri fins in your life and regularly surf your own shapes.
Doleman Lee, He’s doing more now than you have for the last 20 years. At least he does not ride a bic and mooch from his girlfriends.
No I haven’t. I’ve made only about 40 boards.
I really didn’t want to discuss why my specific board didn’t feel so hot and I don’t want to put down Just Foam blanks. I was really wanting to get the question of what are experienced shapers building modern thrusters from now? It seems as we get further away from the whole clark foam deal that these things should be getting ironed out. Is there any consensus on what materials are working well? What should guy like me that does this as a hobby try out and hopefully stick with?
burford foam, surflife resin . 3m sand paper and tape.
ill get heaps of shit for saying this
but
eps and epoxy work great
you can shape an eps board at home .(non toxic and dust particales are not as fine)
and glass in your garage or deck with epoxy (no VOCs and very little odour)
epoxy resin is used in aerospace industries racing yachts and cars etc for a reason
it has superior properties to polyester resin in everyway.(although i have heard some brands can yellow over time)
its more waterproof, less micro cracking and fatigue.and more impact resistant
(theres plenty of data out there in cyberspace to back up this statement)
eps epoxy boards can be more durable at similar weight
if you want high performance (superlight weights under 2KG and durability)
you cant go past sandwhich construction
no specialist tools are required to shape eps
or stands etc
because of the slow cure times
very little resin can be used to glass a board
so epoxy can be cheaper if used correctly
check my glassing in epoxy thread
thats what i reckon is working for shortboards
btw i reckon pros ride whatever there sponsors tell them to ride
and wear whatever there sponsors tell them to wear
etc. so its no indication on whats better or more practical
only what the companies want to sell to suckers
(preferably something that falls apart in 3 months)
go the epoxy eps route dude
you wont regret it
btw
perimeter stringers are awesome
ill never go back to a trad stringerd board
Agreed, I have one PU blank left to glass. Then I’m going to use eps epoxy. Much more user friendly.