I don’t want to induce too much “first board posting fatigue” amongst you but I did want to thank all of those with so much experience here who are so willing to share and help us “newbies” (even middle aged ones like me). This first board would never have been attempted if not for the enthusiasm for such a project that Swaylocks (and all of you who contribute) incited in me. I’m sure that without all the knowledge I have garnered from this site this board would most likely have been one of those unmitigated disaster type scenarios which gets started but never finished (and then possibly thrown out). Instead I have something that I know I am going to have heaps of fun with.
Behold the blue insulfoam pig/stubbie in all its porky glory. Very short (for me anyway), very thick (McCoy style thickness in tail), fairly wide and purely symmetrical in planshape. 6’4” x 20 ½” x 3” 16”Nose & 16”Tail. Softish rails and belly throughout.
I left it untinted and unpainted so people could see what it is made from – fingers crossed on the xps delamination problems. Surfco E-Z plug yet to be fitted but that is all that is left to do before her maiden voyage. I still need to make some fins for experimental sake also but that can wait for a while.
Howzit RDM, Nice board and I love the fact that it’s a nice blue and you didn’t have to paint or tint it. You make us proud that Swaylocks was so helpful. Aloha,Kokua
The foam was just from a roof insulation supplier here in Melbourne (Yellow Pages). The two sheets I needed for the board (50mm thick) cost me a total of $50 - pretty good value I thought. As far as it being easier or harder to shape than a Burford (polyurethane foam?) I don’t know - this was my first board ever. I do know that it was impossible to work with a surform but was very easy with sandpaper - I did it mostly all by hand (shaping, sanding & polishing). If it works well enough I’m sure it will get an outing at Winki someday - it will depend on how it handles in size, as I don’t really surf Winki until it around 6’ or (too crowded otherwise for me). Thanks for your suggestions about adding in extra boxes for side fin experiments. I have, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, willingly complied.
Aloha , Great Board . How did you do it ? Hot wire the XPS ? Then sand the rest of the shape in ? Was the XPS like grooved when you bought it . The stuff I got was . It was so the roof insulation installer could cut it easier . Would have rather had a solid piece . All those stringers . Are they just glue or is there some other material in there? I tried an XPS board and 1/2 way thru the shaping it was so screwed up I trashed it . Had made a Hot Wire cutter and all. I like the Idea of XPS it seems denser= less pressure dings and is really light . Also does not suck up any water . The only thing is the Delam issue and the fact that glass doesnt even want to stick to the “slippery” stuff from the start . Sure would like to hear about how you shaped it and glassed it . Did you rough up the foam somehow to make the epoxy stick better? And really how did you shape it ?? With a sander? GOOD JOB . Wish I had your talent… Mahalo, Don J.
Thanks so much for the kind words (I’m glad you like my “pig”). The xps sheets I bought were 50mm x 2400mm x 1200mm and ungrooved. I simply cut the side profile of the board out (I got 5 “slices” per sheet) with a hand saw - hot wire with a template would be much more accurate if you have one. These were then all stuck together with a polyurethane glue (a bit tricky getting them all reasonably lined up and glued together in one go with just weights - I don’t own any clamps). No other stringer material in there - just glue. I then “trued” up the top and bottom so everything was smooth and square (across deck and across bottom were parallel to each other and perpendicular to the side walls). This was done with a straight piece of timber about 800mm long with 60 grit sandpaper stuck to it. Then I simply cut the planeshape, domed the deck and bottom, and then did the rails - all done with 60 grit sandpaper and various sized blocks of wood. The glue lines on the rails were the only tricky bit to get right - they always end up a little proud of the rest of the rail when done with a piece of sandpaper in your hand. But some attention to those areas with same sandpaper on a small block and the right technique sorted them out. For glassing I left the board pretty rough (I don’t think I even finished it with anything less than 60 grit - I will check). Whether or not the glass sticks remains to be seen I guess - time will tell. I took some photos of the process along the way - if I can get off my arse at home I will scan and post them if what I’ve tried to explain above doesn’t make sense. Just let me know.
…it sounds pretty labour intensive and I , too, wish I had your talent [and patience , by the sounds of it !]
Do you have a few side fins for the boxes ?
Are they the 8" boxes you used ?
I ask , because if / when I get a few of mine [with moulded bases] happening , maybe you could try out a few small side fins … “2+1” type setups , if you’re interested ? [I have quite a few fcs tabbed side fins , which I hope to convert to finbox fins one day …]
ben
p.s. - I hope the board holds up for you for a long time , so you can get to try LOTS of different fin setups over time !
Hey Rohan , thanks for the explanation . Seems to me that you are good at “Thinking out of the box” as we put it here . Good job, good Idea . If you ever do get any pics of the construction I’d sure like to see them . And the glassing went well? seemed to adhere to the XPS OK ? I’ve heard some nightmares about that .And that some people put grooves lengthwise in the blank to help the Epoxy hold. What kind of glue did you use exactly? I tried to glue 2 sheets together 1 time to get the thickness wanted . Waited weeks for it to dry good and it still separated while I was shaping it . Forget what kind of glue it was but think it was a construction adhesive specially made for that material.Thanks again for sharing it with us i may still try to make one of those again… Mahalo, Don J…
Thanks for the compliments - if only you knew how impatient and untalented I am it would make you laugh. I am always looking for the quickest and easiest way to do things (without sacrificing quality though). Some would call me lazy, but I prefer the word efficient. The way I built this board was the way I thought it would be easiest to get even, accurate and consistently flowing curves throughout (marking, bevel cutting and blending of rails is dead easy when you have a square rail to start with). Give me a standard surfboard blank and I would be completely lost I’m sure - which is why I went with a method I knew I could easily control with very basic procedures.
The side finboxes are 7" Dion Chemicals boxes. I haven’t built any fins at all for it yet and would love to try it with some of your small side fins - I will need to build an appropriate centre fin to match. Thanks heaps mate for the generous offer (Swaylockians are the best!).
…if you can get hold of a “multifins” 8" box for a comparison , please ? [as I think those dion ones are possibly shallower…
But you can always sand the bottom of my fins’ moulded base[s] to fit , plus drill your own thread hole for the horizontal pin …the main thing is moulding the base for the fin , and putting the straw in for the vertical screw hole for the tab . The rest is relatively easy to fine tune .
I will try to get the photos scanned and posted (assuming I can find them that is). The glassing went suprisingly well. I was fully prepared for a major disaster but it never happened (thanks to a lot of Swaylocks hints and the forgiving nature of the epoxy resin gelling process). It seemed to stick pretty well - I cut (with a cheap dremel copy) and peeled the laminate off in the areas of the finboxes and although it peeled off pretty cleanly it’s adhesion wasn’t too bad. The glue I used was a construction adhesive (Selleys Liquid Nails it is called here in Oz). I didn’t have any problems at all with it, but next time I will smear it properly across the area to be glued rather than just run a few beads and try to squash it down.
I haven’t even surfed this one yet but am already planning the next one - expanded polystyrene next time I think as there are a few things I would like to try with that. Damn Swaylocks for getting me hooked.
Has anyone made a Cheyne Horan “Buddha” style board yet - short, thick, wide tail, narrow nose, hull front end with soft rails running into a concave rear end with hard rails - single fin of course ?
Hey There RDM … I’m Confused … which is normal for me… Ha! … Did you say that you cut out the side profile or in other words "Rocker " in 50 mm pieces from the sheet of XPS foam and then glued them together ??? I don’t undersdand this so much as the "pieces " or “slices” would seem to have to change from the center ones compared to the ones at the rail?? The center being thicker and the rail being thinner . Or it would seem that if you do it in the other way I am thinking that you would just end up with the same square sheet of foam maybe just a little thinner . 50 mm is about 2 inches the way I figure it . how thick is your board ? Seems I remember you said you glued it up then cut your outline . And shaped your rails domed the deck flattened the bottom etc. So what benifit was it to do it this way rather than just cutting your outline and doing the rest of the shaping just off the sheet you began with? The only thing I can figure is that it made it easier to get a rocker curve doing it that way rather than trying to sand or plane it in… I think your some kind of genus <sp? and I would like to try another XPS board but am just trying to get a grasp on how you did it … I needed to glue 2 sheets together when I tried it because I wanted a board around 3 inches thick in the thick part and the sheets I had were 2 inches thick. I used some Construction adhesive that was rated for that kind of foam and weighted it down for a week . Seemed glued good till I startedcutting the outline and Trying to sand in the shape . I did not want too much rocker but it still started coming apart at the edges of the foam where I was sanding in the rails and rocker . This is a long message I know … Sorry … But if you could enlighten me it would be great . I just wanted to try an 8 foot 3 inch thick Funboard shape . And it got away from me . One thing is next time … If there is a next time i will spread the adhesive better rather than using “Beads” of it … I don’t know but you’ve got me thinking about this XPS board project again … I had a XPS board made by Epoxy Pro and never had any separation problems with it . Never let it get too hot either thou. I sold it to some guy who moved to Costa Rica . Wonder how it’s doin there? If you could tell me how you did that shape again it would be great . I think I understand but am not sure… Thanks Aloha , Don J.
Sorry I’m confusing you over the construction - but you are on the right track. Imagine cutting the desired stringer profile you want for a board - but do it out of your 50mm sheet (12 times) instead. I didn’t vary the profile from rail “slice” to centre “slice” at all so that when everything is glued together you have sort of a “sled” type looking blank. I then cut the planeshape which gave me a blank with square rails to begin work with. This way I knew I could get exactly the rocker and foil (flow of thickness through the board) that I wanted. Doing it this way allowed me to build a board 3" thick with the rocker I wanted out of just two sheets of foam - it was the most efficient use of material for the design I wanted. “The only thing I can figure is that it made it easier to get a rocker curve doing it that way rather than trying to sand or plane it in.” - you are correct. With my nonexistent shaping skills I knew this would be the easiest way for me to do it. Hope this explanation has helped. I will try to post the photos for you.
Thanks I got it now, gonna try it .I had some surgery to remove a disc from my neck a few months ago and the doc doesn’t want me in the water yet , So this will give me something to do with my spare Ha! time . I ned to try an find the XPS foam without the grooves ct in it . Dow puts them in there to make it easier for the installers to cut it . Did you use a template to mark the foam ? Seems like a good idea . I threw out the hot wire cutter I made with the board I messed up . I was so disgusted with it . So I am thinking of using a jijsaw to cut it or a coping saw if i want to be real careful/anal… Ha! Also wonder if epoxy might be better to glue it up with ? Only thing is It might be harder to shape (cut thru) I read thru your posts again and your right . This building stuff is addictive . I am gonna try to put a pic of my 2nd board in here … Came out wayyy better than the first . If i try this one it will be # 3 . Thanks for the insight . I will let you kno how it goes . Hope it comes out even close to as good as yours … thanks Again Don J…
