Glassing is underway. This is my first time using epoxy and I was looking forward to it. All my experience to date is with polyester resin.

I bought some PVC pipe and used it to setup a clean glassing area in my relatively dusty workshop.



I read Rich's thread on glassing in the beginner section and also Greg Lohr's tips on using Resin Research epoxy. Both were extremely helpful. I would recommend that first time glassers review them both. You definitely don't have to work hard to get the epoxy to wet out the glass. You just have to spread it over the glass and give it a little time to soak in.

Here is the board right after the lamination coat. Hot coat will be later tonight followed by the bottom lamination tomorrow.

The board is finished...almost. It is watertight and ready to be ridden just in time for a trip down to California. It needs a little sanding/polishing work along the rails where the top and bottom gloss coats meet up. I will do this when I get back and will also add some coats of marine varnish. Here are the pics of the current state:




Overall it turned out OK. I made a lot of mistakes along the way that I have learned from that will make the next board even better. At some point I will try to post some of the lessons I learned for the benefit of other new builders. Eventually I would also like to make a wood fin. I did not have time to get it done before this trip.

I will post some actions shots of the board in Malibu and possibly also Santa Cruz in the next week.

Congratulations on completing the project. That is a great looking board. What was the final weight? I'm curious because I'm a several steps behind you on a similarly shaped board.

That board has come up an absolute treat, love it. looking forward to hearing how well it rides.

Rgds

John

The final weight came in at 12 pounds. My glass job is probably a little on the heavy side, but not too bad. Overall the board is a little heavier than I had expected, but I think it is going to be a pretty bouyant board due to its relatively high volume. Only a couple of days until I find out. Hopefully there will be a little swell to make for a good test.

It looks like it's going to be a rewarding ride, a very nice shape.

Nice one Chad! You've worked long and hard enough on this one. Glad to see it come together at last.

I'm hanging out to hear how she handles.

Really nice board! That red cedar looks great. I am getting ready to glass my board and I'm curious what weight of glass you used? For my first board I used 6 oz, but for this board I was planning on using 4 oz. or maybe even lighter. I also noticed that you used 3/16" planks and I'm curious if your planks stiffened up much after glassing. I used 7/32" red cedar planks and notice that there is some give if I push pretty hard. I know that the glass will help out, but I can't decide what weigh of glass to use. I was thinking of using 2 oz. on the bottom and 4 oz. for the deck. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Great job on the board. Can't wait to hear how she rides.

The board looks awesome. Is that your leash attach point or the vent plug on the deck? Great job!

Thanks for all of the kind words guys. This is a great place to learn and pass on knowledge. I definitely learned a great deal from everyone else.

The plug near the tail is the leash plug. I put my vent plug in up near the nose. You can barely see it in the picture of the deck.

As for the 3/16" planks, they do give a little near the rails where I thinned them out due to shaping. I used 5.6 oz glass because the planks came in a little thin. I would think 4 oz would be fine, but I decided to go for a little more durability in exchange for the added weight. After glassing there is definitely less flex in the thin areas, but still a little. Others may be able to give a better perspective due to more experience