This is already the second board I've built with the kind help of Mr. Love. See his original board in this thread: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=60867

Today I finished my clone and could already test it the same day. It was fantastic. From the first moment I put my feet on the board I felt this will be my favourite board for this season. It was my first session after a long winter over here, imperfect conditions as usual and I was happy to get a 35.6 max which is PB for me.

Martin, many thanks again! Your boards rock!

The Love-clone is made of 13Kg/m3 EPS, fully carbon stringered, 5/5mm Corecell-Airex Sandwich, Double Sandwich under Pads, 80g/sqmtr. UD Carbon non-crimp fabric, carbon mast-/finbox, 5,2 kg.

The Love-clone is made of 13Kg/m3 EPS, fully carbon stringered, 5/5mm Corecell-Airex Sandwich, Double Sandwich under Pads, 80g/sqmtr. UD Carbon non-crimp fabric, carbon mast-/finbox, 5,2 kg.

Very nice looking board. Congrats.
How do you do your carbon stringer ? Full length ?

Think I may be a convert to a carbon stringer. The last 2 boards I've built, the rocker changed in the vacuuming process. I've only built wave boards before, and a mil or so doesn't matter, but it's a pain in the bum in a speed board.

I'll also have a go at keef's footstrap ideas, you build a nice light board, then add almost a kilogram of footstraps.

I'm half way thru making a lightweight fin as well, I'm sure I can save almost a kilogram, (on a 35cm fin ), by using a timber/carbon/glass sandwich.

Cool Fred, looking good. Sounds like it came out a touch lighter than mine.

I will be very interested in what fins you like in it. So far I have used a McDougall/Lockwood 28 Slalom and it felt nice but too lifty for speed runs, and a KA 23 Assy speed which didn't feel lifty enough.

I am trying to talk Andrew into doing a Speed 25 Sym which would be perfect for light wind speed boads like this.

Enjoy and if you have any suggestions on improvements to the design let me know.

Seeya Martin

Hi Decrep,
I use a carbon t stringer just to hold the rockerline while building.
I cut a strip 100mm wide. Cut a slot down the blank centre line with the jig saw with a shortened blade.
Push the wetout cf strip into the slot with a steel squeegie.
Works great, holds the rocker line while building but also the rocker stays put with use, unlike many production boards.
I only go to 1400 long with the strip.

Maintaining the shape in the vacuum process is the most challengeing thing in modern boardbuilding. Using a full length carbon stringer I have no problems with keeping the rockerline.

@fins Oh, it seems Europeans use longer fins than Aussies. I started with Select Caspar 31 and it felt perfect but I still have nothing to compare with. The speedfins designed by Dutch Caspar Verhaagen are widely used over here. I'm still waiting on my custom fin (32cm SL-S with little lift) from www.sonntag-fins.com/

@improvements on the design Never ever. Personally I prefer the more simple designs.

@suggestions Martin, please don't stop designing great boards. I'm now dreaming of a 75 cm slalomboard that can match with latest isonic and manta, but I'm still not sure about rockerline/bottom.

cheers
Fred

So Fred how do you make the sringer, and fit it to the blank?

I like the sound of Te hau's method. I think only the last half of the board is important.

And what weight is your UD carbon?

I cut two halfs of the profile and glue it together with wet carbon. I use additional layers in the box and planing area. In my case it's not a T-Stringer but of course you can easily make one by using larger pieces of fabric laying down the excess cloth on the blank.

Here's a link to the carbon fabric I use http://shop.r-g.de/en/Reinforcement-fabrics/Carbon-inlay/Carbon-non-crimp-fabric-80-g/m-unidirectional.html

I buy mostly online from german companies except foam blanks and corecell which I get locally.

I use a single layer fishbone layup overlapping at the centerline with reinforcements in the standing/tail area (max 4 layers) and along the rails.

Thanks Fred, I'm onholiday at the moment, I'll check to see what's available locally when I get home.
I paid $75 a metre for 200gm m2 1m wide carbon cloth, a month or so ago.
The only problem I'm worried about with only a single layer of UD is the tendency to split on impact. I think I'd do at least 2 layers at about 10/20deg to each other.

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decrepit said...


The only problem I'm worried about with only a single layer of UD is the tendency to split on impact. I think I'd do at least 2 layers at about 10/20deg to each other.

your on the ball decrep uni only has strength in one direction

fred you know it's great to make a super light board but if you cut corners to save weight the board can become a sponge and once the waters in there you cant get it all out, the last board i made i used 92gram plain carbon weave and 198gram satin weave over that, unidirectional is great to work with, you can glass 90deg angle's and move the fibres as long as you have a wheel, it is super strong as long as the fibres are longitudinal eg the rails are going to have more strength than the deck, one of the downfalls are when you sand the filler coat it's easy to sand the carbon,if your looking to keep the weight down you can use a 84gram satin weave dry over your uni layup.the benifits are

1the satin weave will be wetted out on the carbon to soak up extra resin

2 it will only add roughly 150grams for the layup top and bottom

3 you will need less filler because the satin will smooth out the uni (because of the tight satin weave) like a skin

4 satin weave is very hard to sand unlike carbon( so when you sand the filler coat you wont sand through to the carbon)

5 84gram satin is $10 960x1000g/m3

6 you can use a couple of layers of the satin on the mast track and footstrapp's for reinforcement because of the tight weave and if your lucky wont need any extra resin, you will need a wheel to suck up the resin from the uni underneath

Hi Decrep,
for cf try www.gurit.com
They have a NSW agent.
Have a look at their RC203P.
Its a 12K flat tow, very nice, cheap (about $50 m2 incl tax in NZ) 1000 wide
Works good for boards, used on many boards so well proven.
1 layer top and bottom, so 5mt per board, 4oz glass under the corecell with a cf reinforcment strip down the deck centre line under corecell also.
Beat the daylights out of my slalom boards this summer, layup seems good.

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Te Hau said...

Hi Decrep,
I use a carbon t stringer just to hold the rockerline while building.
I cut a strip 100mm wide. Cut a slot down the blank centre line with the jig saw with a shortened blade.
Push the wetout cf strip into the slot with a steel squeegie.
Works great, holds the rocker line while building but also the rocker stays put with use, unlike many production boards.
I only go to 1400 long with the strip.

great idea Te Hau, can you tell me whether the cf stringer is
longitude or latitude
or up or down[?

Just lay the wet out strip down the centre line over the slot you've cut with the jig saw then push it into the slot with the squeegie.The slot I use is only 25mm deep so you have 50mm (25 each side) sticking up and you just squeegie this down flat onto the blank then lay your 4oz (or whatever you use under the pvc) on top then the pvc, tape it up and throw it in the vac bag.
Cf I use for the stringer is 200 gr woven (ie not uni)
Even with only 25mm stringer depth the rocker line still holds.

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Te Hau said...


Cf I use for the stringer is 200 gr woven (ie not uni)
Even with only 25mm stringer depth the rocker line still holds.

you should be useing the uni and have the fibers laying across the board so when they are are wedged into the cavity the fibers are longitudional
Te Hau do a test sample,you should have some foam lay up 4 samples, 1 with normal weave , 2 with uni with the fibers running along the groove ,3 with the fibers running across the groove, and 4 with the fibers running across the groove and wedge some 5mm divinicell, let it cure and bust the foam away from the cf
the idea of the exersise is uni is high in longitude impact strendth, very little when its flat,
maybe decrep mite want to try a test on his fin, if it's longitude it has strength, if it's across the fin it's not doing much

So Fred, I would be happy to play around with a 75cm Wide Lightwind weapon for you. I have a bit on at the moment but could have a play in a few weeks time and see what I can come up with.

Regards Martin

Grrreat! In this case I won't touch my blank until I've seen your giant love muscle.

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decrepit said...


I like the sound of Te hau's method. I think only the last half of the board is important.

i'm not to sure about that decrepit, the last board i did had 5 stringers,the stringer from the nose to the mast track is an 8mm hollow cf kite batten not sure of the density and weigh's only a few grams needed a toolbox and a couple of house bricks to bend the stringer,the extra strength it gave to the blank was incredible, the mast track and fin box is allso carbon laminated h180x10mm divinicell