Hollow wood board for the L2L

Nice looking board Luc!!

Very nice. Did you epoxy in balsa as a stiffener for the fin areas?

Oh yeah..... Sort your bloody lawn out. That's a mess!!!!

I used mainly 4mm marine plywood except 6mm for the stringer and 18mm corner (cedar) for the connection between the deck and the rails (this corner was a pain to bend).

I made pockets for the fins with plywood and glued the fin box with epoxy and 2x 4oz fiberglass cloth.
The pocket for the strap insert are made of polystyrene and filled with epoxy and microballons.





I rode the board on Saturday for the first time (nearly lost it and my kite after 15 minutes, what a nightmare!).
It???s very pleasant to ride, quite fast, stable and comfortable. It puts a little bit more pressure on the front leg which will unload my back leg crossing the channel.

It did few 5km tacks where I managed to average around 22knots (this makes the L2L in 26 to 27 minutes which would be better than the 29 minutes I did last year).

I???ll do more test after the race to try different fin position and fin length. At the moment I have 19cm fin at the back and 15cm at the front.

And yes I spent more time on my board than my lawn these last weeks.

That is a sweet board . Did you build this by drawings or just free handed it if you have drawings can I get some of you will pay post .

I am not the guy on the picture (and hope I will never be in this situation).

I designed the board using CAD but after few hours in the workshop I realized it looked like more a coffin than a board so i took my jig saw and cut few bits here and there.
So I dont have drawings for the board but i'll make some asap and post them.

Nice Job. +++
Surprised at the light weight.
Looking forward to seeing it Sat.

Hope you do really well. Be great to see a hand built custom up with the leaders.

I decided to building hollow wood as it was cheaper and easier for supply than plain wood.
I bought 1 sheet of marine plywood for $40 from my local dealer and I would have cost hundreds of $ to get balsa, paulownia, or alaia??? from a specialized shop.
I also felt more confident shaping the board using precisely cut stringers rather than sanding a big block of rare wood.

Before laminating, the board weight was 4.6kg (wood only) and was strong enough to go on the water (except the deck that was a bit light under the feets).
I put 2x6oz on the bottom and deck +1x6oz under the feets + top coat. That was maybe a bit too much as the board has no flex at all but helped waterproofing.
6.9kg is not that light but it feels much stronger than my North LTD69 (5.6kg) that will dent if I crash hard on it.

With any board construction (EPS, carbon sandwich, plain wood???) it you have a hole or crack in the resine, water will get in and eat the core or fill the space.
That???s the first board I ever built so I will see how it last with the time.

So how did it run in the L2L .

My start was disastrous, I was one of the last to cross the line but at least I didn???t get tangled and had some clean wind.
I was riding an Ikon Peak 12m which gave me some good power considering the light wind conditions.
The race went like a cruise overtaking riders one after the other.
The board was brilliant, predictable, the high volume helped to keep the speed and the length prevented any nose dive.
I caught few weeds that went off the fin on small jumps.
I crossed the finish line 25th without any pain in my legs and no fall.

Some comments about the board and setup:
My fins were too small for the conditions. I???ll have to try some at least 23cm long to get more lift.
My back fin was too much at the back. I???ll move it 15cm forward to see the difference (US fin box are great for that).
I found half a litre of water inside the board that leaked thru some of the straps insert.
The bottom of the board unglued itself from the stringer over approx. 40cm at the front. My cut wasn???t very precise on this location and I knew it would be a weak point (the water probably didn???t help). It happened after the race when I left my board under the sun to dry the inside (vent fully opened).

So few repairs and test to do but overhaul very happy of my board and race :)