New Board

[KonaKing]

Road my new board last week in Mohave, LOVE IT spun my first 3 ever on it. It surprised me so much I just kept on going

[samw]

Road my new board last week in Mohave, LOVE IT spun my first 3 ever on it. It surprised me so much I just kept on going

Kona
What board is that? It looks sweet. Congrats on the 360, I worked all weekend still can't get it. I can get all the way around just can't get back in to the wake to keep me moving.

[KonaKing]

This is my own design I have made 2 boards now. I desinged this one to get the 3 down and it worked. It is a 4'11" and 22 wide with 3" future fins.

[KonaKing]

My first and second

[Surfdad]

Sweet looking sticks! AND Congrats on landing the 3. Now, where are the build pics?! Come on Kona, share the stoke with the construction steps!

[KonaKing]

[KonaKing]

Sweet looking sticks! AND Congrats on landing the 3. Now, where are the build pics?! Come on Kona, share the stoke with the construction steps!

I knew you would be looking for those SD. Not to many for this one but the one on the racks will be step by step.

[sagmanaur]

Sweet sticks Kona.

[sagmanaur]

Just out of curiosity for the board builders:

About how much $ do you think you spend in material for a build, and how much up front cost on tooling. I may want to try this myself this winter, and trying to get an idea what it would take. Is this something a novice can get into fairly easily or do you guys have a background in it from earlier days?

Thanks,

Steve

[Surfdad]

Hey Steve,

I have a background it in but the reason that so many folks do it, is that it's cheap, easy and anyone with even the most rudimentary skills can do it.

I have built boards that are extremely complex - exotic foams, carbon and kevlar fabrics, vinylester resins and I've never had the direct costs of the materials exceed $300. A basic board can be shaped for under $200 and if you don't mind doing a LOT of scrounging and using less than high performance material you can build a board for around $100.

The basic tools are:

Sandpaper
Scissors to cut 'glass
A Stanley Surform
Block Plane
Router for fin boxes and
Electric plane for mowing foam.

Consumable supplies include

Disposable rubber gloves
Mixing cups
Mixing sticks
Plastic spreaders to distrubute resin

To laminate you'll need

Resin - epoxy if using EPS or Polyester (cheaper) for Polyu blanks
Fiberglass - typically 6 oz e-glass enough to do 1 layer on tyhe bottom and two layers on the top.

The basic core is the blank. If you shop, you can find a suitable one for $60, if you want to "roll your own" a big block of EPS can be purchased for $25 and a Basswood plank for about $6.

You probably have most of basic tools, but the electric hand tools are the most expensive to add. That aside, the incremental cost isn't all that much, less than half what you'd pay at retail for a board.

PLUS - it's great fun, nothing beats that first ride of your own stick.

[Moki]

Dude, that is awesome!!! I can get around on the 360 as well, but like samw, I just watch the boat keep on going as I slowly sink. That is awesome that you built your own board. You will need to bring them when we do our lunch surf session! A man of many talents...

[Moki]

P.S. Can you pull it everytime or was the first one a fluke?

[sagmanaur]

Jeff,

Thanks for the info... I may have to try it this winter as a project to get thru the winter rain. I may have to call you to get more info when it gets closer.

Steve

[KonaKing]

P.S. Can you pull it everytime or was the first one a fluke?

We will see

[KonaKing]

Jeff,

Thanks for the info... I may have to try it this winter as a project to get thru the winter rain. I may have to call you to get more info when it gets closer.

Steve

Hey Steve it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I started with a blank sheet of 2lb foam built the hotwire to cut it and then dove in. Check out www.swaylocks.com for a wealth of info. I was also surprised how well they road.