Not another board build thread ;-)

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olskool said..
Just droping in here guys. Whats the average cost of materials to build a board? Ive never attempted one, but am keen to give it a razz. SLW kinda thing for 105kg pilot.

My current board I did in 2016 www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Wave-sailing/Started-shaping-my-new-waveboard cost $950 in materials including deck pads and footstraps but not fins, but it was full carbon, I think I used 6.5m of carbon. Its still going strong.

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Dar said.. I also found the deck sandwich a nightmare ..... stressful as hell. You actually need a buddy to help with that bit.

I cheated, I used slow resin, but that meant I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn the pump off.

And yes a buddy that knows what they are doing is a big help, but getting somebody that hasn't a clue, makes it worse.

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Dar said..
Oh yeah.... more board porn!! Nice work Mark!

I also found the deck sandwich a nightmare ..... stressful as hell. You actually need a buddy to help with that bit.

Here's a technique which I found makes the deck sandwich job a little less stressful.
I use 38mm mdf supascrews (because of coarse thread) screwed thru the corecell into the poly blank to locate the c/cell while I work. (these screw out ok after cure).
The c/cell wrap is taped (48mm masking tape) around the perimeter to prevent cracking. Tape straight across the forming darts also.
The c/cell wrap extends over the tuck line and onto the hull c/cell by 25mm. The hull perimeter edge is masked off to prevent the wrap edge bonding to the hull.
The hull has a 3mm packer attached with double sided tape which covers the entire surface except for a 35mm boundary around the perimeter.
For this hull packer I use 3mm mdf sheet, slit at the vee lines.
Next I use 48mm pvc tape and tape the entire cover over the job and over the hull packer.
This tape stretches and allows me to pull the wrap around the rails and the entire job finishes up covered in tape including horizontally around the nose and tail to pull these wraps in.I use 2-3 full rolls of tape usually
I now put the whole lot on the rocker table which has the vee shim already attached.
Tape down the vac bag edge and vac it at 0.45bar
In the past I have done the same but with a rocker stick taped to the hull.
I found the table to be more accurate.
I don't do any heat forming on the centre more parallel section of the board any more.
I do the tail 300mm and nose 300mm as separate sections and heat form these if necessary although if using airex for these sections it's not necessary.
I use mdf screws to locate and hold these sections while I tape.
I use Nuplex R180 standard cure and it takes me about 60-90 minutes to complete the operation, always plenty of time (in 20-25 ambient).
I still get a sweat up tho'.

Wow Te Hau

I like some of those ideas..... and your timeframe, yes it was 60mins for me, so this time of year its great but in summer in WA a bit stressy. In fact, I reckon for 3-4 months of the year I simply would not make a board, its hard enough to glass a surfboard in 45deg.

But,
I reckon rocker tables are too much work, using the MDF spine in the pics I have exact to the millimetre from end to end. Literally zero error. Some of that is a bit of luck hahhaha, maybe =/- 2-3mm is more realistic on most boards.

I also find your overlap a lot, why so much? I did 5-10mm all around except the tail where it is easy to have much less.

I cut relief 4 darts, I have no idea how the legend Hoops manages nil

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Mark _australia said..
Wow Te Hau

I like some of those ideas..... and your timeframe, yes it was 60mins for me, so this time of year its great but in summer in WA a bit stressy. In fact, I reckon for 3-4 months of the year I simply would not make a board, its hard enough to glass a surfboard in 45deg.

But,
I reckon rocker tables are too much work, using the MDF spine in the pics I have exact to the millimetre from end to end. Literally zero error. Some of that is a bit of luck hahhaha, maybe =/- 2-3mm is more realistic on most boards.

I also find your overlap a lot, why so much? I did 5-10mm all around except the tail where it is easy to have much less.

I cut relief 4 darts, I have no idea how the legend Hoops manages nil

I've been thinking to do a how to video on thermo forming the top PVC. It's something I get asked about a lot.
I think I've tried every technique possible but after the last few hundred boards I think I've come up with the most efficient technique.
The more acccurate and close fitting you get the top shell , the less vacuum pressure you need which reduces the chance of any distortion. It also reduces the amount of filling and re shaping after it comes out of the bag.
Its possible to get a complete wrap with any PVC without any cuts. Sometimes it takes a little longer but it saves loads of time after it comes out of the bag.
I showed Rider how to do it a while back but I don't think he's built a board since.

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hoop said..

Mark _australia said..
Wow Te Hau

I like some of those ideas..... and your timeframe, yes it was 60mins for me, so this time of year its great but in summer in WA a bit stressy. In fact, I reckon for 3-4 months of the year I simply would not make a board, its hard enough to glass a surfboard in 45deg.

But,
I reckon rocker tables are too much work, using the MDF spine in the pics I have exact to the millimetre from end to end. Literally zero error. Some of that is a bit of luck hahhaha, maybe =/- 2-3mm is more realistic on most boards.

I also find your overlap a lot, why so much? I did 5-10mm all around except the tail where it is easy to have much less.

I cut relief 4 darts, I have no idea how the legend Hoops manages nil

I've been thinking to do a how to video on thermo forming the top PVC. It's something I get asked about a lot.
I think I've tried every technique possible but after the last few hundred boards I think I've come up with the most efficient technique.
The more acccurate and close fitting you get the top shell , the less vacuum pressure you need which reduces the chance of any distortion. It also reduces the amount of filling and re shaping after it comes out of the bag.
Its possible to get a complete wrap with any PVC without any cuts. Sometimes it takes a little longer but it saves loads of time after it comes out of the bag.
I showed Rider how to do it a while back but I don't think he's built a board since.

What goes on in the shed, stays in the shed.
No I haven't

Stuck the footstrap inserts in, measure twice cut once has never been so true as when one marks the positions at 11pm with a fair intake of bourbon and beer..... so glad I checked again in the morning before the router was fired up




Waited all day for the postman who never came with my mast track and fin boxes maybe tomorrow.....

That bored me, so stuck in a full thickness divinycell nose block. Nice if you crack it = no water ingress, but I feel its more likely to snap the whole block off with a solid hit. I suspect it can't be a bad thing if some custom guys do it, so why not.


Then, thinking I may need to make my side fins, so been investigating G10 sheet prices and trying to google wave fin design. There seems to be nothing at all apart from articles in windsurfing mags that discuss draft, rake, stiffness etc and have pics of freeride fins. All the stuff we know. I wanna know how rake on the side fins affects things as they do seem to be more upright than the mains.

Have you actually been doing your job Mark??
havent seen any board progress for a while.
looking good so far

It's a black art, when we are initiated into the circle we swear an oath what goes on in the circle stays in the circle! Punishment is severe.

Did bottom laminate. Nice......




but even though it was the arvo and on a falling temp, as it should be to avoid expansion, the bloody sun came out and the workshop warmed up about a degree grrr. Trouble with Colourbond garages....Consequently, I got some bubbles in the glass, nothing drastic just a few about 20cm size.

Get to look like a mad scientist then.....



bit of resin injection,some weights on top and bubbles now flat and glued to the corecell like they should be.

Excited for top lam, cos then it will be 90% a real board :) :)

No vacuum?

Mark, pita when temps bump. Was repairing an older RB with no vent screw. Tried 3 times to get good adhesion on the last repair. It kept expanding n lifting. In the end i did repair at 1am. Steep learning curve for me. 1'C temp rise can stuff hours of work.

^^ Will give it a razz, later today. Similar repair underway. Last time i used plastic n taped it heavily. Still lifted. Thanks Mark.
Think i suffer from too eager midday starts as well !!! I prep it in the morning. Go do something else. Then come back to glassing.
If that doesnt work i think adding a ventscrew to board should solve the problem?

So she is back in the bag

Deck 1x 4oz, carbon in foot area and mast track patch, uni carbon rails & 1 x 0.6mm pine veneer. Gotta bag that stuff to get it to bend its almost worse than the corecell - I guess as it bends more one way than the other, wood being unidirectional and all :)



Good timing anyway as postie brought my carbon / kevlar today for the next bit.

Hope I can find all my inserts under wood n carbon huh......

The FCS fin, is a regular surf fin, its a sophisticated foil inside and very light weight. Use these on a tri fin, nice.
Left and right are G10, the right one I use a lot on quads, and tri fin sidebites. The non FCS are made by Hanalei Fins, G10s are custom.

This shape work well for me.