Homemade split boards

[loco4viento]

Here are a couple of my experimental boards, inspired by the airline industry and my amigo Mountainkiter who did a great job splitting a spleene board last year. They are recycled old boards split with a jigsaw, midline edges sealed with solarez, cheap pine struts (would prefer hardwood or an old plastic cutting board but these are just my first quick versions of this concept), 1/4 inch stainless steel screws through a 1/4 inch hole in the struts and flat no-prong T nuts (also called weld nuts) through the bottom of the board in a 5/16 hole. Grabbed a few straps, an old set of pads for one board and some skateboard grip tape for the other. A little tape over the junction to keep water from squirting up. I probably spent 20 bucks on the stainless steel hardware in addition to what I had around. Quick to make. Kind of fun actually. They work great and I'm looking forward to trying out a few more ideas. Just wanted to share a fun experiment with anyone who cares, particularly those who are reluctant to shell out big for a commercial split board but still like to travel with as little expense and hassle as possible. Would love to see your cheap homemade boards as well.

John

[Hawaiis]

Looks really good.

[Flyfish]

Hey Loco,
That's awesome! I did the EXACT same thing several years back with an old wake board. BUT, I made a mistake. I mounted my stiffeners before I cut the board! Ahhhh, fatal flaw! I had a 1/4 inch saw blade gap between the two pieces! It still rode, but water shot up the gap bad.

I won hesitate to do this again, it's just I need a kitesurfing vacation to go on first!

[loco4viento]

Water can shoot up that gap really well. A piece of tear-aid tape along the undersurface covering the split would be a nice thing if you're using the board for an entire vacation, disassembling it only for travel. Otherwise a bit of duct tape or even an integrated strip of plastic on the top surface would be helpful. This is a simple cheap do it yourself mod that isn't nearly as sweet as the expensive commercial boards, but it's nice to know that you can inexpensively use an old beat up board and save huge money and hassles while traveling. I was concerned that the cheap pine struts would break but they seem to get the job done so far in the early stages of testing.

I bet that old wake board of yours might do well with a bit of filler. I would cover one side of the board with plastic wrap, then assemble the board, tape the bottom surface and then fill the gap with your favorite substance (aqua-seal, marine-tek, 3M 5200, shoe goo, etc) and see how it turns out. I wouldn't be surprised if it works out well.

[Bille]

Water can shoot up that gap really well.
...

I wonder if the board would go faster, if air was rammed down
the gap instead ?

Bille

[darippah]

Is the board really stable? Feel like it would have lots of flex at the split

[braveman]

Water can shoot up that gap really well.
...

I wonder if the board would go faster, if air was rammed down
the gap instead ?

Bille

You can always use an air pump to pump up your board while kiting

[longwhitecloud]

I reckon the best way to made budget travel twintip is to make a plank the width of your stance. then 2 x 1/2 boards with a rocker below bolted together. Maybe 9mm ply everything. salt water paint. I gonna just buy the cheapest piece of crap surfboard from second hand trader in future i reckon - airline have gone CRRRAzy with thier fees for kite stuff/sports gear.

[loco4viento]

Is the board really stable? Feel like it would have lots of flex at the split

Both boards feel really stable, the connection seems super solid.

[loco4viento]

.... airline have gone CRRRAzy with thier fees for kite stuff/sports gear.

Completely agree. Awful. I just don't feel like dealing with those oversize bag policies anymore.