XPS/Epoxy Riversurfer Board and Fin Build Process

 

Thanks for the input. But as I will never surf this board in the ocean, only in the river I prefer less rocker. Some people even surf old kiteboards with 1’’ in nose and tail. I’ve tried them too and it gets much easier to stay in the wave without pushing all the time . I just try to figure out the best rocker dimension at the moment, cause I don’t like the feeling of my old board shaped in Bali (6’0 with 5’’ Nose and 2’’ tail rocker). Perhaps it’s only the length but I think it’s also the rocker that gives me that strange feeling.

 

When I’m finished with this board I’ll take my 3 boards, my camera with stand and do a bit of filming.

Hey Parick,

keep on posting, very interesting build so far. I have the same problem with the temperatures in my cellar, but I do the following:

If I laminate or paint, I do this in the cellar, wait till its tack-free and take the board upstairs in the flat where it’s warm. One question: have you tried some kevlar on the rails to make it more durable against dings? I recently had the idea, but I’ve nobody seen so far using it. cheers florian

I didn’t try kevlar so far, only carbon rails like on my black and white board in my first post. (Don’t know where to get kevlar cheap, I only get carbon for 50% of the regular price) But carbon rails also give you a big strength advantage against fibreglass. Only flex can be a problem, but I think I wouldn’t feel this. Got no dings, only a few scratches in my carbon board.

But after I made my carbon rails I had a discussion with another shaper who told me that he would use kevlar instead of carbon for rails. Carbon is the way to go if you have big surfaces like under your foot and for small pressures it’s kevlar. If you have the same board glassed standard and a second glassed with kevlar it’s for sure that the kevlar is more durable. Working with it for the first time won’t be easy.

Just read on wikipedia and there was one sentence that could be the reason no one uses them: “Bad UV-Resistance. They loose their color and also loose 75% of strength” … So that would be really bad for someone living in the warmer regions.

I also put the board in my flat after the last lamination. Still one on top and bottom to do.

Ha that was cool,too bad you can’t find a rock that throws a nice head high pit,still looks fun except for the cold!

oooh, what about making a “rock” from rebar and concrete and anchoring it in the river during the summer?

your very own Schlitterbahn (sp?) !!!

Didn’t shape a lot last week, but went surfing and made a small video that you can see where my boards are used. I’m ill cause of surfing now, so next week is shaping time again.

 

Updates:

 

#1: 5’0 River board. this one only causes trouble…

Resin tint is dead for me with epoxy. I had no chance of mixing the pigment and getting a nice result. Thats why I just tried all auf my colours I have. Mess up one colour or 4 is no difference for me.

But the really annoying thing happened when I tried to insert the plugs… You see the result on the pictures… I used the same resin as for my 2 boards before, 8 months old but it was in my flat, so allways a nice temperature. The small amount of leftover resin even melted my mixing pot! And after 15 minutes it looked like this… never seen this before. By the way it’s 28 minutes epoxy so it hardened much too fast and I’m sure I mixed it right.

Will be a hard job to sand it down to the bottom level…

 

#2 5’8 River board:

This one still is a nice job for me :slight_smile: 2x6 top and bottom. Going to spray it soon. Not sure if I can spray it now without a hot coat? Will only be a simple design with a few big stripes or does it look like sh*t with the all the small “wholes” cause of the weave?

And started #3 and #4: 6’4 and 5’4 Mini Simmons







Hey Parick, I had the same issue lately with paint over the glassing. The surface should be perfect before you paint it.I was of course too impatient and painted it with all the little holes. But you’ll see them after painting and then you have to sand. Better another filler coat of epoxy (or white filler paint if you want to paint the whole board). Then some sanding, then the paint, then the gloss coat. I hate the finishing because i think it takes too much time…

Updates:

Board #2: 5’8 Riverboard

Installed a Leashloop(Carbon and fibreglass mixed)

And we painted it. She wants a pink/black zebra over the hole board and the zebrahead on the bottom. Well to much work for me so she has to paint it herself :smiley:

 

Board #3:

5’4 Mini Simmons

Hotwired the rockerline, cut the outline and made my first concave ever :slight_smile: Turned out to be 1/8" deep and I’m happy with the work.

 

 

Board #4:

Bottom glassed with 6 oz, top glassed with 5 oz carbon and 6 oz. I just love the carbon look, but I also need it cause this XPS gets pressure dings ways easier than my first XPS from another brand…



https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Leashloop.JPG