7'4"Single fin pin tail

Firstly thanks to this forum and those who have contributed. It's great inspiration to see so many great boards being crafted and why I had to built one myself.

I copied a 6'3" Dillon board I have had since 1978 and marked it up in AKU to 7'4" then printed full size and corn flour/hot water glued to the 6mm Ply then jig sawed the frame from that.


Frame work completed. Working a on plastic base helps when using Epoxy. I used West Systems Epoxy 105 Resin with 207 Hardener throughout for gluing (with filler) and laminations. No issues at all. A single pump from each gives the required 3:1 ratio.


Deck/Bottom and Rails all done with the same 4mm x 50mm Cedar and Balsa strips. Some reinforcing at the tail for fin and leg rope plug.


Once the deck and bottom were on, this simple jig helped glue the rails on.


The ends were overlapped. The inner board was slight recessed and filled with a white gap filler.


Shaped courtesy of my neighbors belt sander, a surform and spoke shaver.

Cedar Fin with 6 layers of 4Oz cloth.


Simple vent at nose.


Completed board. I've only had 4 surfs and it goes well so far. The only issue is a bit of movement in the deck so 6oz may have been a better choice or more ribs in the key areas.


Anyway there it is. Had ball making it and enjoyed reviewing this forum now and then for tips and inspiration. Thanks again.

She's a beauty! Nice work.

-Mark

Cracking work there mate, loving the beach pic - dont see many pics of these boards in the environment they will live in !!!

top work

That's one sweet board. Very impressive work.

Boco

Very nice. I've been thinking along the same lines for the next board. Do you have the .brd file? Care to share?

Cheers!

-T

sweet board

looks amazing! Allways great to sea another ausie builder. Where abouts did you get thhat balsa in decent lengths? Was it expensive?

Thanks for the comments fellas. Sorry it all came in one dump but I wanted to make sure it actually surfed before posting anything.

When I started, it was a case of viewing a stack of other builds to get ideas and knowledge on how to do certain things. So I thought I'd list a few traps for young players that may be useful.

Firstly, for those near where I am which is up on the Tweed Coast. The timber (Cedar & Balsa) was sourced from Woodworld up at Hope Island on the north end of GC - 07 55308000. They fit out the interior of those fancy boats up there. The Balsa was a log that looked like it had just washed up. The Cedar was in huge planks, $80 for 10 strips of each. The guy milled and dressed both for me to 2400x50x4mm lengths for an extra $80. That made it easy with uniform timbers. They also supplied good marine grade Ply for the frame $40. The left over made the rocker table to work off. I think the 4mm though was a bit too thin. I'd make it 6mm. You could use 4mm on the bottom and rails etc but definitely 6mm on the deck. Also add a couple more ribs where your feet will hammer the deck.

The resins came from ATL Composites also up on the GC. 07 5563 1222. The pumps were the best to work with as measuring or guessing on 3:1 ratios is not a concern. A single squirt from each delivers the correct amount of each. You just need to guess how much you need and mix well. I used the same resin for gluing the frame and laminating etc. You can get the filler or micro balloons I think they call it (fine powder) to add to the resin to thicken it up so its easier to work with.



Use thick builders plastic on the work bench as the epoxy wont stick to it and you can just let it ooze over and pull it off when set. Also gives a smooth finish.

Download and learn in detail the AKU Shaper software. Its takes a bit to get your head around how it works but it is worth the effort. Great to copy an original board by making measurements at station points. You then just tell it the size you want and it marks it all up in the same proportion. Maybe try copying an existing board first then modify.

The HollowBoard template software that takes the above AKU borad file and converts to a full scale PDF for printing the frame is an absolute gem. Well done. Donation coming your way. I'd love the java source code for that. I found a print shop up near Bond Uni that could print 900mm wide full scale for $20. Brilliant. Just email them the PDF.



Yes, 3 beers for that job.



The Deck and bottom were just laid out on the plastic on a flat surface and then edge resined (clear). I did not use any clamps but once all lengths were glued, I drill screwed battens with lateral force to clamp and then piled with weights on top. This work fine and was easy to do.



I really don't have any photos of the glassing as that was done on a week end and my wife took the camera away with the kids. Sorry. I found using the rubber squeegee a must for nearly all work there. I could not get a roller to work for me and it ate too much resin so cheap disposable 30mm brushes worked well. Long strokes diagonally in both directions then long fore and aft. After final sanding of the epoxy, I finished with 2 thick coats of a marine grade poly spa varnish (local hardware). You can wet and dry sand this and auto polish. It gives the epoxy UV protection to prevent the epoxy from going too yellow sooner.

I used 4oz cloth but again I would use 6oz next time. I have not weighed the board but it feels like 20-30% heavier than a foam/poly of equal size. I think there are other options on grade of the class cloth too so I'd research that next time. The squeegee method is the only way to go in the layup of the cloth I felt. Particularly around the rails.

The fin cleaned up ok with plenty of filler resin in the end. It was done with 6 layers of the 4oz on either side and leading edge. I scanned the internet for fin pictures and picked one then resized the image to suit for a template to print. Glassed to the board with 2 layers of 4oz, one slightly larger than the other plus 10 strips of glass roving along the joint to the deck. The stirring stick was just used to hold the cloth and resin rigid and even.



The leg rope plug and vent where straight forward to install with some cloth. I mixed saw dust from the belt sander with the resin which worked well although it had both white balsa and darker cedar in the one mix so gave an in between color.

Watch the belt sanding if using different timbers as some are softer than others and you get low points. Dont heel the sander!

I experimented on scraps for a textured deck to do away with the need for wax but could not get it right. Some guys say they just sand very course (8 grit) and be done with it. I tried sugar sprinkled on wet resin, sugar mixed with the resin (best) and painted on and cloth torn off once resin was semi jelled. Even fly screen and shade cloth. The sugars worked well but a bit tough on you rash shirt and wet suit not to mention your gut!. Leave on the lawn for a few hows and the ants clean up the edges. I could not find any advice on this but I think you can use a cloth and leave it on but you may not get a transparent effect. Be good to hear what others have done. Wax is fine though which is what I went for in the end.

Anyway there is my 2 bobs (dimes) worth. I hope it helps someone else. I'd like to hear more on what works for a textured deck though.

Thanks again. Enjoy your build. It sure beats sitting in front of the idiot box!

Impressive build.
Totally agree with more rib support under where you land your feet when standing up.
Regarding the sugar and resin mixture for deck grip, was checking out a surfers mal at the Pass one day and he had the mixture on the front 2 feet of the deck, like you said its too gritty to lay on, but really grippy and better than wax for the nose area.
Hope to see your board at the Currumbin display next year.