Perth waves are crap. Normal surfboards ride nice yet self destruct.Epoxy boards last but chatter. Perth's normal gutless onshore/sideonshore slop. I rode flexible tail surfboards from hawaii a few times and liked how they had drive yet turned without bouncing out.
This piece of marine ply 155 X 46 weights in at 3.5 kgs, 50/55mm fins included.Concaves and channels can be seen with the laminate plywood. About 10-12 hours and a few beers with my best friend.
At woodies beach 1 tomorrow for a prototype test run from 12pm. anyone keen for a ride??? Will be on best kites, old bugger at 43 with a bald head. 
Easy to bend ply a bit. Wet it and bend it with bricks and expect 70% rebound, then wet it and do it again.
Fins, gone quad, 50mmin the middle, 52-55 on outside. Your local kiteshop will have everywhere. I wont snap these off on the shorebreak.
Used to make plywood boards all the time. We did the lamination thing to make rocker. Eventually we stopped doing that. The natural flex in the wood gives a nice rocker as soon as you load it up.
How thick is your board? Do you carve in the concaves with a sander or electric plane?
The easiest construction was to cut out a shape in 12mm marine ply then whack a coat of paint on it. I am a bit tech so I used Aquacote two part polyurethane. My mate used old house paint.
Board is 12mm marine ply. took a lot of wood off.
Just used a $40 ozito planner, a $40 sander. Stained the wood with wood stain. Used 6-7 ounce glass with 2 layers on the bottom under the feet and a leftover strip on the deck to stiffen it up. Epoxy with white and purple Pearl powder.
Nice board.
Do you every ride it both directions like a TT?
Have you tapered the thickness much at the ends?
How can you tell if the ply is marine, and why would that matter if you're sealing it?
Looks great, and something I could do... unlike building a real surfboard!
more importantly - how did it go in the test runs at woodies?!
happy with it? or already thinking about some mods?
Select to expand quoteKamikuza said..
How can you tell if the ply is marine, and why would that matter if you're sealing it?
Looks great, and something I could do... unlike building a real surfboard!
I could be wrong but the marine classification has nothing to do with the type of glue used to laminate the wood or any sort of waterproofing to the wood itself. Instead, I am aware that the marine classification is derived from the grade of wood itself and the way in which it is laminated. Typically, marine grade ply should be made from sheets that are cut such that there should be minimal voids within the laminate such that the panel can resist the repetitive loading that it is subject to when the hull of a boat cuts through chop.
^^^ Pretty much spot on. Exterior and marine grade do use a waterproof glue. I epoxied it to give it strength and flexibility.
Select to expand quotemazdon said..
more importantly - how did it go in the test runs at woodies?!
happy with it? or already thinking about some mods?
Wind was really light. 11-14 knots. Took out the 15m. Hucks off the wave beautifully, board stays on the feet in the air and landings were so smooth to the board flex when landing. The board is super fast and tracks upwind. My back foot on small 1/2 foot mush went back a lot further than I thought due to the very wide fish tail. The board also goes down wind very easily without overtaking the kite, probably due to less flotation and more flex than a regular fish surfboard. Hard to bottom turn without cavitating the rear of the board.
The mods. Moved the front fins back a lot (see last photo). Rails were too straight/board too wide at the back so attacked it with the angle grinder. hacked 2.5cm off the tail, curved for water displacement off the fins.
Using an angle grinder Ive chopped the rear edges of my side fins off. and made them more asymetrical like surfing fins. Might epoxy more height onto them.
Tomorrow is a few mods in the morning then back to woodies in the arvo. ( Hot mix).
Select to expand quotedave...... said..
^^^ Pretty much spot on. Exterior and marine grade do use a waterproof glue. I epoxied it to give it strength and flexibility.
When you say epoxied, do you mean you coated it in epoxy, or did you use epoxy resin in fibreglass?
Select to expand quoteCJ2478 said..dave...... said..
^^^ Pretty much spot on. Exterior and marine grade do use a waterproof glue. I epoxied it to give it strength and flexibility.
When you say epoxied, do you mean you coated it in epoxy, or did you use epoxy resin in fibreglass?
I had marty @ delta make me a mutant years a go
twin type type construction, thruster set up and small front fins
great board, but certainly not as cheap
Top points for the old Hot Tuna sticker.
Haven't heard of that surf brand for 15 years.
Looks similar to tommo board by FireWire, all it needs are some nice channels at back of board
Select to expand quoteUnderoath said..
Top points for the old Hot Tuna sticker.
Haven't heard of that surf brand for 15 years.
Couldnt get a sticker! Googled the image, printed it out on normal A4 paper and cut it out. put some resin on the deck and put the paper over the top, Layer of glass with epoxy resin with purple pearl powder. I love that fish, stretched it out to look meaner.
Bermand. tommo boards are a way of many future surfboard designs.. and the way they are so fast, yet so manovureable, He has only touched what is possible. Remember the skateboard change of the 80's/200's??
This design allows you to ride backwards, hit airs without having to move your feet forward a lot. Yep its a barstardisation made out of 12mm marine ply
