I've started my winter project. Here's some photos of the, yet to be, wooden kite surfboard made from paulomia.
Timber came in 7' x 6" x 2" lengths.
After making a template I cut each (10) out to the rocker outline
I then glued them together. Used a black tint in the epoxy to get a nice stringer line.
Almost finished the planing process
I'll post some more photos as I near completion.
looking forward to seeing more pictures..
question, is it possible or practical to bore out some of the middle sections so they are hollow before you glue together to reduce weight?
I wonder if you could kite with one of the Alaia boards? Found a video showing one with straps - also check out the use of the paddle board to get on the waves... pretty amazing actually!
Yes of course you could... You can kite anything. Not to mention, did you even watch the first vid, or read anything on the first page?
Hey Guys,
Nice board Kit33R, you making me jealous!
What the wood like to work with? I like the black pigment, did not know that you could get pigment for Epoxy. Why did you use Epoxy, why not something like Polyurethane glue, I've used it to fix my last board, inserting stringers and stuff and it is pretty impressive stuff - it foams and fills all the gaps.
I got a quote over here in Perth, did not make sense to go for the Kirri wood option.
The price for 100mm x 30mm is $16.13/ lineal metre = $29.03 for a 1.8m length.
16 pieces at 1.8m = $464-54 plus GST.
Total payable = $511-00 including GST. 
Whats it with Perth and pulling the ass out of everything?
This wood is suppose to be a fast growing, eco friendly alternative???
Trying to find other options, going as far as using extruding EPS foam, cutting the rocker profile and laminating the strips together same way Kit33r did it.
The other option is to use a Cedar wood but may seem more expensive than the Kirri.
Cheers
Rich
Hi Rich
I've just about finished the shaping. No wind today so I've been full tilt at it. Paulonia is nice to work with. You can plane cross grain with little trouble and it responds to the surform with ease. Almost as light a balsa. Biggest obstacle has been working with the inside curve of the deck up to the nose. Even with a short plane it's been tricky. I've had to plane across the board which is not ideal. It's much easier with foam since the surform at an angle moves a lot of foam quickly. It's still heavier than a poly urathane board but I'm not worried since it's been a great experience.
I used epoxy glue since it was recommended for making wooden boats. Marine supply retailers sell it and also have pigment.
More photos to come.
Hey Kit33r,
It sounds great, deffinately agree with the satisfaction and experience making it. It is often easier and cheaper to buy but you still not get that satisfactin from making it.
What I have seen and done is use a small angle grinder for the nose curve, works well with an emery disk (fan fold disk), then finish it off with a small stringer planer you can buy from online surfboard suppliers.
Can't wait for the pics, curous how you did the sunken deck alla Underground style.
Cheers
Rich
this guy makes beautiful surfboards in morocco! worth a look at his FB site just to get some ideas and admire!!
www.facebook.com/ZlaqSurfboards?ref=profile
zlaqsurfboards.com/
I just want to make a plank board........no ribs, plugs or hard work.........simple one piece, maybe 2 or three glued but that is the limit.........just want to buy some wood and do some shaping..........keeping it as simple and stupid as possible............and cheap cheap cheap.
Want to spend no more than 10 hours making this first one.
Thanks for all the positve vibes and advise guys.
I'll take some photos this weekend when the light is good since I've now finished shaping.
I'm pretty happy with the outcome. It feels symmetrical and balanced but I'll only really know when I start getting some gloss on it. Still have to router out the bottom for FCS plugs for fins and do the deck inserts. Stayed tuned.
Waterbased acrylic will work fine, make sure the wood is sealed before you drop a decal on it or it will bleed into the grain.. On the rice paper front, if its sto thin to print by itself, just tape it to some a4 paper and send it through, normally works fine, but cut close to the decals edge as the rice paper isnt 100% transparent.. hope this helps
for the fins, why dont you make them out of a fairly durable wood and leave the bottom inch or so unshaped, then router in the fins to the board? I think that would look pretty slick, kinda like a natural fin box
Check these guys:
sunovasurfboards.com/
An Aussie company,
Kite specific boards coming soon.
Nearly finished. I put a coat of marine varnish on the bottom this morning. So here is how it looks now. Once I get a few coats on to protect it I'll put in the deck boxes for straps, deck grip and the FCS fin boxes.
Yeah looks great, after snapping two boards in the last few months I might just have a go at making one myself so am interested in seeing how it turns out.
There's nothing like the satisfaction of making something yourself...... but I'm lazy, how much do you want for it 
Awesome. Wood is the future for quality wave boards
Top effort, KIT33r. Are those rails as hard as they look in the third photo? What dimensions did you end up with? and how did you go with the weight?
Hey Kit33r,
Nice job, I can see the attention to detail (symmetrical). Would have been difficult to do a sunken in deck, maybe could have used router with a template to follow the profile.
What are the dimensions, looks similar to a biscuit/pod board. Good for light winds.
Very curious how it goes, keep us up to speed.
Got a revised quote for Paulonia/Kirri wood here in Perth, prices look a whole lot cheaper than the original quote I got (around $550). Around $250 for a 6 foot board with A grade wood or $150 for B grade.
Looking into making a hollow wood framed SUP, just tossing up which one to do first.
Really nice job, well done.
Cheers
Rich
. Kids are always complaining!
The board looks great well done
I am interested in how strong they are are they harder to snap than your standard PU surf board?
only negative I can see (or feel) is getting hit by one would be fairly unpleasant as it would have next to no give on impact?
As promised. I've finally finished my winter project.
Paulownia wooden surfboard. Lot's of work with an electric plane. Six coats of marine varnish each sides.
What would I have done different?
I would have used expanding urathane glue when I glued up the sections. I found that, even after clamping the wood together there were still some spaces in the joins that had to be filled in with epoxy.
I was going to stain alternate sections but there was some bleed across sections so I sanded off the stain.
Setting fin boxes is tricky but necessary.
It's heavier than a foam fibreglass board but still not too heavy. I guess that's why they use foam
Hoping for wind this weekend so I can try it out.
