Foamie Paddleboard ....

[GPW]

True , that would be a Good way !!! But may be involved for this couple as THEY will make everything , I’m just trying to keep this as much of a “consulting” job as possible ... A lesson learned from our Master Contractor , Eagle !!!

And as mentioned before , this will NOT be done at my house as this will make a lot more foam dust than just trailer building ... Not my Problem ....

[GPW]

Paddle boarders are on the way over (late again ) so there goes the Saturday afternoon Nap (grrrrr!!!!) ... Round two , making the templates , selecting and gluing up the foam blanks ... We’ll see how this goes .... Flat foamies ....

[GPW]

The PBs came over , we made a heavy paper pattern , selected the proper size 5” sheets and cut the end blocks to make them 12’ long .... drew out the pattern on the assembled (dry fit) sheets , then sent them to their house to do the rough cutting and glue up, taking my saw horses and Sharp vintage hand saw ... Only down side was I had to use my pickup truck to bring the foam over there , it wouldn’t fit in their SUV .... not far away , and I got back in time for a brief siesta ...

[Wobbly Wheels]

So what's the plan ? Are they going to rough it out, then you'll finish it up with a HW ?
I'm curious to see how these will come together - your PB project has gotten me thinking about the floats for my sailing canoe again...

[GPW]

I think the next step is the sanding / shaping ... the boards are too wide to use my HW any more ... so everything will be shaped with the belt sander and a long sanding board .... I’ll probably have to help them with that , but since it’s not here (the mess) I’ll be glad to assist ... I could just make a new bigger HW bow from scraps , but for now will see if this works .... I saw a special planer the surfboard guys use on foam , but it’s a little pricy for this occasional (one time ) use ... just another way to make a mess more quickly ...

Just thinking about production , a set of templates and matching spine glued in the center would certainly expedite the shaping with a HW... eliminating a good bit of sanding ... and allowing the cutting out of the rocker more easily ... from a bigger block of foam ... and the top view profile could also be wired out lessening the dust/beads even more ...

[capy235]

If you made three pieces, two templates and a center stringer, it would go very smoothly I would think and be very strong. Do the center one in balsa or redwood.

[GPW]

Problem is , the 12’ long templates can be rather unwieldy ... But still very workable as you describe ...

[GPW]

The paddleboarders showed up at band practice last night with pictures ... They’ve got the boards all glued up and cut out to shape .... Scheduled this weekend to go over and help them sand it and do the final shaping ... Just cut out the 12’ long boards look pretty impressive , and they are Very encouraged by their progress ...

Best of all , there’s NO mess at my house ...
The plan is still to apply some fiberglass drywall tape on the bottom surface ( under tension) to further strengthen the high stress area where you stand up on ... That and the fabric skin should make it pretty tough , and still light .... the goal is to build them < 30 lb. complete ...
We will also be applying the FG tape on the board perimeter edges , as the girl says she "tends to bump into things" ... ( she’s a Blonde .... )

[GPW]

Speaking of a Mess .... spent all day yesterday at my friends house , belt sander in hand ... shaping the PBs from the foam blocks ... Very easy , but extremely Messy .... For a while the air was like snow (had to wear a mask) ... foam bits EVERYWHERE ... I looked like a snowman ... Good thing I told them it their place and Not mine ...

But the transformation from foam block to paddle board was an amazing thing .... The beadboard sanded beautifully and it was easy to get a smooth flowing shape ... being noobs to foam , they were doubtful at first , but after the shaping and sanding , they were grinning like fools , and babbling on about how much Fun this was ... I made them take pictures , and they promised to send me some , which I will post when received... next weekend ... the covering ...

All this confirms that beadboard works just Fine ... no problems , and it appears to be more readily available , and at a cheaper price than the extruded foam ... and sometimes you can even find it FREE ...

[GPW]

Wendy just sent me a pic of the second board they got shaped after I left yesterday evening ... looks like some surface sanding to clean it up a bit and it’s ready for covering ...


Between you and me , this is really pretty EASY !!!!

[atahoekid]

Wow that's pretty cool. I bought plans to build a wooden paddle board a while ago which would be a nice project but foam would definitely work nicely. Time to start thinking about this summers project! Maybe convert the wood plans to foam. HMMM!

[GPW]

Mel , we saw a lot of folks make wooden ones ... and I don’t want to be pessimistic , but believe that would be just like a wooden TD , subject to the same “concerns “ later on ... besides , the Foam was EASY !!!! Real EASY !!! (Thrifty too )

[GPW]

Just for those concerned ... the plan this weekend is to get together with the PBers ... again ... and do some final sanding and filling and cover the darn things ... But first , after final sanding , will be a good vacuuming to remove the dust , and layering on some full span runs of Fiberglass drywall tape , maybe even a couple layers down the center ... Figure that should provide the Tension strength when “the girl” steps on it .... Wendy’s a Big girl 6’1” and dare not guess her weight ... (~150# + ) ... the covering will go over that , all stuck down by the “Gripper" ... Bottom will be covered first , overlapped around the sides ... then the top skin , overlapped around again forming a “reinforcing strip “ around the edges ... Since “the girl” says she tends to bump into things The edges of hers will receive a layer of the FG tape around that too , Plus the addition of a bumper , plastic trim moulding from the auto parts store ...
At least the weather is supposed to be pleasant , in the 70’s , so it will be nice to be outside ... Hopefully less messy than last weekend , when I came home looking like a snowman ... I’ll try to get some good pics this time ... With a real camera , not a phone ...

[eaglesdare]

wow, that thing is huge! but way cool!

[atahoekid]

Mel , we saw a lot of folks make wooden ones ... and I don’t want to be pessimistic , but believe that would be just like a wooden TD , subject to the same “concerns “ later on ... besides , the Foam was EASY !!!! Real EASY !!! (Thrifty too )

Good point, but like in a kayak, the wood would be entirely sheathed in fiberglass and epoxy. There is something to be said for easy. I'd hate to work on it all summer and have to wait till the following year to go use it...