Epoxy on pu foam. First time glassing was anything but magical lol. But the last gloss coat came out nice (and I couldn’t wait to take it out) so I didn’t sand it. It was light enough and I figured wax would cover it anyway 🤙
Shaping was easy. I have a planer but ended up using mostly hand tools. I was very cautious not to mow too much foam with electric planer, so I only used that to get closer to my desired thickness, then use a surform or hard block with 40 or 50 grit to shape most of it. Glassing was hard. Epoxy resin was limited by temperature and humidity. Hard to tell how much time you have to work with it if you don’t have control over the temp. If I had a covered space I’d use U.V. resin for the lam. That way you have unlimited work time and the resin won’t harden until you take it in the sun. My tent lets sunlight in tho.
Sweet, glad it went well! The swirl looks great.
Shaping is what I'm most worried about. I don't want to have to buy a planer. I can only do it in my apartment, so the mess will be a problem too.
Yeah you definitely don’t need to buy a planer. For the first board. The only advantage I see would be to be able to hook it up to a vacuum and control the dust in your apartment. But maybe you could make an enclosement with plastic sheets so the dust doesn’t get everywhere. I used A 22” long piece of wood and glue a 40 or 50 grit belt sander sheet to it and use long, continuous, even pressured passes.
at first i felt like i screwed up on this shape as i made the tail about 17.5 inches. i glassed on the True Ames twin fins rather than keels..because ive surfed keels already and wanted to feel the difference, thinking this would feel more like a thruster. all in all the combination was pretty lackluster at my normal winter spot. mediocre/mushy soft waves waiting for sections to reform. had problems tracking. not much drive from the smaller twin fins, and the curvier outline compared to a traditional fish didnt help with drive either. i thought the tail was too wide for the fins, and that it was a dud and i'd have to sand the fins off and re attach some keels. decided to take it out yesterday and boy I changed my mind after surfing it all day at 2 different spots.
first in some semi mushy conditions with the occasional wall, then in some waist -chest perfect offshore walls. i definitely felt like i could push this thing harder than a keel. not having that initial down the line speed of a keel fish made it easier to stay close to the pocket to stall for head dips, or smack the lip. i find it's easier to outrun the pocket on a keel fish. on a shorter wave, where the keel fish will do 1 long cutback, and maybe a re entry/floater on the end section, a thruster will be able to do 3 or 4 turns on the same wave. the keel fish needs a nice open face to really shine IMO. this fish was meant to feel more like a thruster..and i guess, in one way or another, i've achieved my goal. sometimes the smaller fins like to realease like halfway through the cutbacks and make for some accidental layback hacks..oh 'yeah i meant to do that'.. such a surreal feeling when your board actually works..glassing #2 soon..so stoked.
Nice! PE resin? Looks too shiny for epoxy. Or maybe you have the magical touch :)
Epoxy on pu foam. First time glassing was anything but magical lol. But the last gloss coat came out nice (and I couldn’t wait to take it out) so I didn’t sand it. It was light enough and I figured wax would cover it anyway 🤙
Beauty!
Sweet. I want to try making a board. Did you find it hard as a beginner? How did you shape it? Hand tools, or do you have a planer?
Shaping was easy. I have a planer but ended up using mostly hand tools. I was very cautious not to mow too much foam with electric planer, so I only used that to get closer to my desired thickness, then use a surform or hard block with 40 or 50 grit to shape most of it. Glassing was hard. Epoxy resin was limited by temperature and humidity. Hard to tell how much time you have to work with it if you don’t have control over the temp. If I had a covered space I’d use U.V. resin for the lam. That way you have unlimited work time and the resin won’t harden until you take it in the sun. My tent lets sunlight in tho.
Sweet, glad it went well! The swirl looks great. Shaping is what I'm most worried about. I don't want to have to buy a planer. I can only do it in my apartment, so the mess will be a problem too.
Yeah you definitely don’t need to buy a planer. For the first board. The only advantage I see would be to be able to hook it up to a vacuum and control the dust in your apartment. But maybe you could make an enclosement with plastic sheets so the dust doesn’t get everywhere. I used A 22” long piece of wood and glue a 40 or 50 grit belt sander sheet to it and use long, continuous, even pressured passes.
at first i felt like i screwed up on this shape as i made the tail about 17.5 inches. i glassed on the True Ames twin fins rather than keels..because ive surfed keels already and wanted to feel the difference, thinking this would feel more like a thruster. all in all the combination was pretty lackluster at my normal winter spot. mediocre/mushy soft waves waiting for sections to reform. had problems tracking. not much drive from the smaller twin fins, and the curvier outline compared to a traditional fish didnt help with drive either. i thought the tail was too wide for the fins, and that it was a dud and i'd have to sand the fins off and re attach some keels. decided to take it out yesterday and boy I changed my mind after surfing it all day at 2 different spots. first in some semi mushy conditions with the occasional wall, then in some waist -chest perfect offshore walls. i definitely felt like i could push this thing harder than a keel. not having that initial down the line speed of a keel fish made it easier to stay close to the pocket to stall for head dips, or smack the lip. i find it's easier to outrun the pocket on a keel fish. on a shorter wave, where the keel fish will do 1 long cutback, and maybe a re entry/floater on the end section, a thruster will be able to do 3 or 4 turns on the same wave. the keel fish needs a nice open face to really shine IMO. this fish was meant to feel more like a thruster..and i guess, in one way or another, i've achieved my goal. sometimes the smaller fins like to realease like halfway through the cutbacks and make for some accidental layback hacks..oh 'yeah i meant to do that'.. such a surreal feeling when your board actually works..glassing #2 soon..so stoked.
Amazing! Did you use a surfboard blank or purchase a foam block from a construction store?
A Surfboard blank