hi having a friend make me a new board 611 x 30. We have some hi density foam to set the boxes in but only about 40 mm thick. Is this enough or should it go right though to the deck to tie it all together. We will use carbon around the boxes too. Thanks

Some differences of opinion on this. Here's two good resources:



www.mackiteboarding.com/ride-engine-foil-track-box/

They both suggest going all the way through, which joins to upper deck to effectively make an I-beam. Makes sense to me, so that's what I've done. A friend has not dug all the way through, seems to be working fine too.

100% connect to the deck.

Thanks for those replies that's what I was thinking too

I recently finished my first one off, but haven't ridden it yet so can't comment on the longevity etc :-(

Couldn't convince myself that not connecting to the deck would be adequate. I have heard some suggestions that a large area panel would spread the load across the board enough so you don't need to go all the way through, but I think I would wait for others to prove that before risking it.

Some other handy advice courtesy of John at Sanded Aust (thanks John) that I followed:
- use gorilla glue to glue in the HD block (excessive epoxy in this region can melt the EPS)
- I definitely couldn't get it snug in all places after I was happy with the alignment etc. There was several places where the gaps were probably at least 5mm.


I used a layer of basalt cloth and 2 x 4oz top and bottom. The basalt turned out pretty dark and got hot in the sun so I used an opaque tint in the filler - if I had my time again I would use the tint in the lam resin too. I also used 100mm layer of uni directional carbon between the feet, with a double layer over the front of the HD foam insert where the bending moment would be greatest - might be over kill but it was my first one so I wanted to be safe.


Hopefully it goes well, definitely enough time in it to justify paying retail ! But I had fun making it.

Cheers,

Pete.

nice! was it your first build? After doing it myself once I said never again... but sure enough 2 years later I did and it took about a third of the hours second time around.

I have built a few surfboards, maybe one a year on average in the last 5 years. Not frequent enough to remember the mistakes I make the last time I built one. This is only my second attempt with epoxy - and I am definitely finding it harder to get the filler coat right 1st time round which is extending the build time more than the PU/PE boards I have built in the past. I think I probably need to (a) let it cook in the pot longer and (b) use more resin (and worry less about wastage) - hopefully I will remember than next time!

The divinicell block and associated work was probably the most time consuming on this one.

cheater coat: small amount of resin squeegee'd on to fill the weave.... then leave it for an hour.... then hot coat normally. worked wonders for me.

I almost dont want to say it to tempt fate but I've had no probs with the pre-fab box inserts with a layer of glass underneath. I didnt go all the way to the deck. But if you want piece of mind youve got to put in the time I suppose.

cheater coat: small amount of resin squeegee'd on to fill the weave.... then leave it for an hour.... then hot coat normally. worked wonders for me.

I almost dont want to say it to tempt fate but I've had no probs with the pre-fab box inserts with a layer of glass underneath. I didnt go all the way to the deck. But if you want piece of mind youve got to put in the time I suppose.

This video should be helpful, it shows the installation process of our Foil Strongbox that connects deck and bottom of board. It's not just about making it strong, a stiffer installation also feels more responsive when foiling and pumping.