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Finished home made board

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:54 am
by navigator
Hey ppl, here is my contribution to the forum.
This is my first home made board and I´ll explain rapidly it´s construction tecniques:

-2 glass fiber 200 gr layers (about 7 oz glass fiber each)
-Between layers one extra on the deck, for deck reinforcement

-PVC lightweight foam

-2 glass fiber 200 gr layers (about 7 oz glass fiber each)

It´s outlined from a North Jaime Pro M (128 x 38,5) but I gave it another shape with extra thin tips. Inserts for footstraps are in brass, they should handle it, they were fitted with epoxy resin mixed with micro spheres...a white powder to make the resin lighter and stronger.

Also, the glass fiber was done with epoxy resin, and the rails were finished with the mixture of the resin with micro spheres.

For the fins, when putting the inserts into the foam, boxes of mixed resin with powder were filled so that there´s a rock solid base to drill and compress with the screw.

In the end, the board was painted with spray paint and it is just for testing phase...in case it handles good on the water, there may be space for varnish or a new paint job.

Without fins, as seen in the pictures, I have weighted the board and it goes near 2,4 kgs (about 5,3 Lbs). I think it´s pretty light.

Rocker looks more than enough but concave is a bit shallow.

Almost forgot to mention, this construction leads to a light but weak board since it doesn´t have much glass and a strong core. Don´t recomend big air landings on this one :roll:

Any doubts or suggestions, don´t hesitate.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:43 pm
by Galeorn
Goog job...
Your scoop is more important on the tips ? Why ?

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:50 pm
by navigator
I´m sorry but I didn´t understand your question...tips are done with less thickness so they can flex but concave is not very deep and it´s situated only beneath deck area. I hope this answers your question.
Cheers.

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:26 am
by greenkite
swap your foot plates round fella ,they are back the front. :thumb:

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:28 am
by greenkite
swap your foot plates round fella ,they are back the front. :thumb:

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:02 pm
by munteruk
he's right. Your heels are supposed to go on the side of the pad with the pointiest corner. Don't worry - I've made the same mistake with North pads.

The board looks good! How does it ride?

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:44 pm
by navigator
Thanks alot for the tip.
I´ve already mounted them in the right way, as I realized that the foot wouldn´t fit and I also saw a picture on the net.
Now they have a good feel.

Unfortunately I haven't got fins to install on this board, I only rode it finless but so far the weak construction feels solid on the water and it goes upwind too. I'm starting to get used to short boards...

Cheers.

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:39 am
by BWD
Nice for 1st one!
My first one is "not for display," so ugly.

I have used those brass inserts before, have had no problems.
The concave is probably enough -2 to 4mm has a good effect.

If you want to repaint, maybe sand the old paint off the bottom and add 1 more resin layer over the whole bottom (only 10-20grams:)) to fill the texture of the cloth, which shows in the pictures. Or use a "high-build" primer and sanding under the final paint layer. the resin is probably easier/cheaper if you have some left. Either way would give a totally smooth bottom and make your board look even better.

FYI microballoons or "microspheres" actually makes resin weaker, but not enough to usually matter. They are nice though because they are light easy to sand and usually strong enough.

You could use silica to make thick resin that is stronger, especially for fin and strap mounting. Mounting fins and inserts is the only area I would avoid balloons.

How is the flex with those thin tips?

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:26 am
by klimber
Might be a North American thing but...

This the dardevle logo would look awsome on this board.

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:12 pm
by navigator
Klimber,

that´s a nice logo and could be on a vinyl glued to the board.

BWD, maybe in my next board I´ll buy silica then.
I forgot to mention, I added polyester filler to sand and smooth the surface before the paint.


I got the chance to ride the board again today with 16-20 knots wind and felt solid...maybe the tips are flexing a bit, I really feel confortable riding it :P