Paul , just sent me this pic of his new craft. 10'5" Long x 27.5" Wide x 4.5" Thick , he built it from beach harvested Cedar from Vancouver Island and blue foam and cork rails . It weighs in at 21lbs. I am not sure if it is a stand up paddle board or not although it may have a hand hold in the middle of the deck ?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Paul Jensen going big.
Paul , just sent me this pic of his new craft. 10'5" Long x 27.5" Wide x 4.5" Thick , he built it from beach harvested Cedar from Vancouver Island and blue foam and cork rails . It weighs in at 21lbs. I am not sure if it is a stand up paddle board or not although it may have a hand hold in the middle of the deck ?
I know that a board that size and thickness would have a significant weight gain if I did my usual cork / ply layers...The foam helps with that...The board will still have the resonant ride characteristics that I like, without the added weight...
ReplyDeleteTo attach the rails I used some "destructive strength " Pressure Sensitive Adhesive...Peel and stick...
The first go at it was with the white EPS insulation from Lowes...I used only foam, no cork...The rails went on fast, but the shaping was an absolute nightmare...The EPS foam is so soft and the PSA between the foam is basically super thin plastic tape with adhesive on both sides...The shaping of that sticky plastic layer was , to say the least, "a challenge"...After the rails were shaped, I wasn't happy, so I pulled them off...Goodbye two days...
Willing to try again, I went with a bit firmer foam, the blue insulation foam from Home Depot...To mitigate the PSA film issue, I decided to layer in some firmer cork into the layering process...
The actual build-out goes fast, quiet and pretty clean...First, I lay out an 18" wide strip of cork or foam then peel off one side of the PSA protective paper, then carefully lay it onto the cork or foam...Next I smooth out and press the PSA hard onto the cork or foam...From this 18" wide slab, I cut the strips with a new blade utility knife and a straight edge...The cut strips are then simply laid onto the rails of the board just as you would if you used contact cement...Repeat as needed... Keeping the surfaces dust free is vital...No big deal, just wipe with a clean rag before peeling and sticking...
The rail shaping this time went "better"...Not exactly easy, the sandpapers want to load up with the PSA film...Contact cement is a non-issue compared to the PSA film...Adding the cork did what I hoped it would and in the end, I'm pleased, very pleased how it turned out...The rails might have added a pound to a pound and a half to the board, a board with a lot of rail...
Would heartily endorse this rail application method...???...Not if you get frustrated easily...