Building a Plywood Kiteboard - Blog

[npeac]

i use one layer of 4 mm ply which is pretty light and allows flex rather than being a stiffening component. you can shape the rocker in 3d by weighting and laying strips of carbon or glass tohold the shape in. i find this the easiest way of putting in a concave / three stage rocker then separately doing tip flips.

 

using peel ply on every layer can get expensive even if you reuse it.

put a glass layer on first and in the same movement lay the carbon on top as you need to wet it out on both sides this takes care of the excess resin in the glass. because carbon holds it form really well you can use it like peel ply and roll really hard to shift the resin do the top and leave to dry. if you use a roller you wont need much sanding then if you are looking for aethetics drop a flow coat on top (with somoe wax in it)

my last board was lighter than a 158 litewave which admittedly had footplates on

[coulsonrobert]

i use one layer of 4 mm ply which is pretty light and allows flex rather than being a stiffening component. you can shape the rocker in 3d by weighting and laying strips of carbon or glass tohold the shape in. i find this the easiest way of putting in a concave / three stage rocker then separately doing tip flips.

 

using peel ply on every layer can get expensive even if you reuse it.

put a glass layer on first and in the same movement lay the carbon on top as you need to wet it out on both sides this takes care of the excess resin in the glass. because carbon holds it form really well you can use it like peel ply and roll really hard to shift the resin do the top and leave to dry. if you use a roller you wont need much sanding then if you are looking for aethetics drop a flow coat on top (with somoe wax in it)

my last board was lighter than a 158 litewave which admittedly had footplates on

Are you using epoxy or polyester resin? Putting wax in styrene in polyester resin gives that nice matt 'surfboard' finish, not sure if it can be done in epoxy though. I was going to build up the layers glass and carbon in one shot then peel ply the whole lot-done it before on a surfboard and was great. Cheers for the input,

 

Rob

[shrimpo]

Won't double sided tape come off in the water?

I used Carpet tape, been on for 4 wettings, other options, Hot Glue gun, evo stick, or just lay then on wet resin.

[gezmond]

Just about to drill some holes in by yet-to-be-glassed foam blank, for fin reinforcement - just realised that I don't have a fin to hand and don't know what the standard spacing of the bolts are - anyone got a ruler and fin handy?

 

thanks!

[gezmond]

I went for 40mm between the holes in the end. going to make some fins in any case (after trying finless ) so shouldn't matter, but still curious to know what the standard spacing is..

[coulsonrobert]

It works! Took it out for a spin last week in a breaking, strong onshore with my G13 just about maxed out. Held down the power really well, and although at most i'd make a few metres into wind per beat along the beach i think it'll be a great upwinder once I've gained the necessary skills/don't have broken swells undoing my hard work! The varnish on the underside heelside took a bit of punishment when i ran the board up the beach (oops), the result being rather funky carbon-black scores along the rail-not a problem but i think i'll spray the underside of the board with car-body laquer to give a really hard finish.....

 

Rob

[cave_raver]

Congrats to all you guys that have tried your boards. I NOW know what you mean. Previously after building my board (the basis of this thread) I had never ridden it. Fallen off many times though! I had to ask others to ride it and give their opinion.

 

I gave kitesurfing a break for a few months until this weekend. After a bit of phaffing and getting back into it I was up. It works so well for me and just goes to show that a homemade board will work. The sheer excitement of riding something that you have built is mad. I'm not even sure that I want to buy a proper board now A bit more practise until I know what I want from the mark 3 and I'll be building again. Quite excited to say the least.

 

A big thanks to the guys that helped me out with tips and advice plus of course relaunching me on the frequent occassions that wiped I out

 

CR

 

Keep On Building!

[Jangla]

A bit late to the thread but I was thinking of doing a board like this:

big block of foam, cut to approx shape and then sanded to perfection. No need for bending - you shape the foam to the curve you need.

Coat in glass fibre.

Coat in resin.

Job done.

 

Would this provide the strength you need?

[Andycass1599968600]

I made a skim board from a sheet of ply, It had been left out in the rain against a wall so had a curve in it. I spent 30 minutes with a pencil and jigsaw to get the shape right(ish) and 5 minute putting surf wax on the top deck. It works a treat especially in lighter winds. The board is an egg shaped oval about 110cm long and 50cm at the widest point. took about hour to make and didnt cost anything.

[dave1904]

this is a very good thread and has inspired me to have a go at building a ply board.

 

Was hoping that i might be able to get some design tips as have not been on the water yet so not sure what i need from a board

 

i'm 10.5 stone and would like to know what you guys reccomend for:

length of board - think someone mentioned shoulder height??

width?

rocker - presumably flat in the middle section and raised at each end?

rail shape?

taper??

and also anyone made any fins from ply or shaped glass as dont think i can be bothered to mould em

 

 

cheers in advance... dave

[sgillow]

I made my fins from some aluminium I had lying round, it used to be an old camping frying pan of all things! Have a hunt round and see what you can find.

 

Theres a link to a pic of my board elsewhere in this thread.

 

Simon

[AIRCOOLED 72]

just got to the fin part myself

 

i saw some nasty photos of someone who

got his leg slashed open with fins like that.

as im a newbee figure im gonna be coming off a lot

im thinking of shaping some polycarb (bluntly to start:D )

[sgillow]

Good point, hadnt thought of that.... I am new to it to and I have only tried it once, I think I will round the corners as much as possible and make sure I always wear a wetsuit as protection! I do have a set of wakeboard fins that I was given which I will use on my next board.

 

Simon

[AIRCOOLED 72]

I cant make my mind up weather to cut and grind out of sheet or

 

make a silicon mould, off a wooden one and cast in resin.

 

can anyone give me some decent dims for a starter

ie height ,length ,width

[cave_raver]

Dave

 

Shoulder length is about average to start with. You can make the next one shorter once you have the hang of it. A long board is good for upwind and good for learning kitesurfing.

 

To build in rocker I placed my board on blocks at either end so raising it about 3cm high. I then placed weights on the middle so that it touched the floor. This then gave me a gradual rocker throughout the board. I would however change this for the next board. There would be the same slight rocker overall but the ends would be more upturned, perhaps another 3cm.

 

There is a very good website contained somewhere in this thread that works out all the dimensions for you (rocker etc.).

 

I went for a sharp rail in the bottom edge tapering about 2cm to the top edge. In other words the top face is about 2cm smaller all round than the bottom face. This gives me a good sharp rail that doesn't look blocky.

 

For the general shape I went into a kiteboard shop and had a good look at all their boards. I made some notes, looked at mags that have kiteboard adverts in and improvised. Most kite shop guys are pretty helpful if not a little amused. If you don't mind having the mick taken slightly its a bloody useful exercise.

 

I made my fins from perspex shaped from internet adverts for fins. A bit of sanding works well but isn't really necessary. With a long board you could get away with no fins. Some are also cheap to buy but the aim is to keep costs down. I have heard of cutting out the shape from cheap thin kitchen chopping boards using a template. They also sand easily and quickly.

 

Hope this helps and keep us informed on your progress.

 

Later

 

CR

[dave1904]

CR

 

Cheers for help

 

am hoping to have all set up to go for when i can steal dads workshop, resin, glass etc in mid dec

 

was thinking of attaching fins with a fillet of epoxy filler rather then bolting through - just a bit of a pain if i snap one off i guess

 

Dave

[cave_raver]

My fins are two thirds exposed and one third embedded in the board with resin. I just gouged out the hole in the board and made sure it was a tight fit. The more fin there is in the board in comparison to the exposed edge, the stronger and less likely they will come off.

 

Just remember that a longer board is easier for learning and will be useful in lighter winds later on. As well as considering shoulder height think of board lengths in shops. 150-160 is pretty good I reckon. The width of mine is a quarter of the length which gives a nice dimension to it.

 

CR

[cave_raver]

Make your ply board here!

 

 

CR

[cave_raver]

No wind, why not make a board

 

CR

[gillstah]

hi CR and the whole flexi board builder crew

 

i've decided to go down this route when i get back from holiday. following boater's success, i am going to keep it simple and go for ply only to start with.

 

i assume that i just need

 

- sheet of 12mm marine ply

- some yacht varnish

- foam material for pads

- glue for the pads

- straps/handle

 

is the following the basic steps?

 

1. cut the ply to size (i'm going for a flydoor/airush exile type light wind board - 135x45 or 145x42, something like that) and shape.

 

2. sand rail so it's rounded a bit.

 

2. drill holes

 

3. varnish x3

 

4. attach straps/handle.

 

one thing i'm not sure about is the Tee Nuts. Do these come with the right bolts to fit into them? I've not had a chance to trawl around B&Q or the chandlers yet.

 

Cheers!

 

Paul.

[Coopes]

Used these guys, think I got the link from one of these threads last year anyway ideal for plywood http://www.bighead.co.uk/

[cave_raver]

Paul

 

Sounds like you have the right idea but I would say that it is worth putting in some rocker at the tips. I know it sounds a phaff but it does make a difference in anything but flat water. Not sure about footstrap bolts. Mine were just screws through webbing stiffened with neoprene and velcro possibly for a landboard. If I need to move them I just unscrew and rejig the position.

 

I used my ply job again the other day after losing a fin on my litewave. The ply job goes upwind wickedly BUT you have to keep it completely flat for water starting otherwise it submarines due to no rocker at the tips. I don't get this much hassle with the litewave. Once it's gong though it brilliant!

 

The best thing was that my mate is getting into kitesurfing but wants all new kit. Me whizzing about on my ply job just went to show him that you don't need expensive kit to start out, just some thought and effort.

 

I'll always keep my ply job handy after this.

 

Good luck and make sure you post some pics up.

 

Later

 

CR

[Q-bert]

Hey Paul

 

I am sure you will love the whole experience of building and riding your own board

In my opinion I would say the sizes 135x45 and 145x42 are far too big.

 

Depending on your skill level, I would suggest something along the lines of a 135x40 unless you are a huge lad.

 

Too give you some idea I am 6ft 5 inches and weigh about 14 stone depending on the amount of exercise I have had recently and get on pretty well on a 140x40 for light wind days.

 

The Big Head bits are great and they will supply some samples but they have a minimum order quantity of £50+vat, if you need to get all the inserts you will need.

 

A minimum insert quantity would be 10.

8 for foot strap location, this give two options of placement and 2 for fixing a handle.

You are going to need a handle as Ply boards do weigh in fairly heavy compared to their composite counterparts,

 

My last composite board, the 132x39.5 was 1.6kg bare.

I am not sure but I bet a ply board is going to be nearer 3kg plus bare.

 

You also forgot to mention fins in your parts list.

I would also agree that some rocker in the board or flip tips would be a good idea especially for use in chop.

 

My last board I built was a 132x39.5 but I have yet to test this.

 

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

 

Xs-Wind

[gillstah]

thanks for all the advice guys.

 

i was going to use 'tee nuts' as described on this PDF from the kiteforum site:

 

http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/download.php?id=400

 

I then did a search for Tee Nuts on Screwfix and found these:

 

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=14222&ts=04443

 

Has anyone else tried using them? Seem a lot cheaper than the BigHead stuff.

 

Final question: How do I create rocker at the tips? I've seen the pics of bits of ply under bricks, but I couldn't find an exact description of where the force should be applied.

 

Cheers!

 

Paul.

 

ps it won't be until later in September before I get around to this, so you'll have to wait for pics!

 

pps I was going to try finless first (as per the pictures in that kiteforum link). If I do this am I going to skating around, or is it possible to control?

 

ppps i'm 13st 5 (85 kgs I think). I got the idea for the sizes from trying my mates Airush Exile (which is 135x47), and then the board on the PDF from the kiteforum site is Flydoor-size (159x42). Light winds for me are around 10-15mph where I use a 20m RRD Type Z. My only board is a 135x39 (or thereabouts) Takoon Vegas.

[Q-bert]

Paul

 

Those "T" nuts don't look like they are stainless or brass, but treated mild steel.

 

They will rust big time.

Also you only need 6mm treads not 8mm, it's not easy to fit 8mm bolts through foot straps.

 

I hope this helps.