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FLEXTAIL

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Created by Kami > 9 months ago, 30 Apr 2013
Kami
1566 posts
30 Apr 2013 5:24AM
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Hi Rob, as you ask me in a message there is some more pictures of this board, this board works very good .
one of my first waves with this 6'9"
before moving the fin


I added one plugs FCS to move back the fin but I made a bad mix of epoxy, was melting and finally pop out

the board in Guadeloupe (french Carribean islands) where I surfed it in perfect reef waves , note the FCS plug torn off .
So I gave the board to a young Super, his father will take away the flex tail to find a SUP 6'4" swalow tail .

By now I'm doing one new sample FLEXTAIL SUP 6'9"/28",03 and a FLEXTAILsurfboard 5'2"/21"0.66 for my son.
Anybody did try something similar or any infos to make me think about?


JonWest
QLD, 105 posts
30 Apr 2013 10:51AM
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Thanks for pics! Board looks sweet, do you have any vid?

some great info here on fitting fcs plugs to epoxy boards > www.swaylocks.com/forums/just-had-to-dig-out-overheating-fcs-boxes

remyy
WA, 16 posts
30 Apr 2013 1:31PM
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g'day mate, i'm planning in going to central america, couldn't help noticing that you surfed in guadeloupe, is trhe surf actually good there? do you live there?
thanks for sharing the pics

Kami
1566 posts
1 May 2013 2:17AM
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JonWest said...
Thanks for pics! Board looks sweet, do you have any vid?

some great info here on fitting fcs plugs to epoxy boards > www.swaylocks.com/forums/just-had-to-dig-out-overheating-fcs-boxes


No vid, sorry I spent some much time to succed standing on this that I bored my wife holding the camera but I swear I had ones best ride of my life on this board. The Flextail hollows carving turn amazing for its dimensions and a very soft feeling in the offshore chops, something like snowboard in the powder




remyy said...
g'day mate, i'm planning in going to central america, couldn't help noticing that you surfed in guadeloupe, is trhe surf actually good there? do you live there?
thanks for sharing the pics

I was there for holidays in end of january to begining of feb, I stand on the offshore side wich is looking the West and sometimes 3months of the year mostly some ground swells comes down the North of Atlantic. It happens when NY gets very frozen so it's depressing throught the Gulf Stream. Rest of the year it's trade coming East from Africa, oneshore and winswell on the East side. Remy go to Pacific side of central America , much reliable for surfing

Deano72
NSW, 540 posts
1 May 2013 2:43PM
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Some inspiration for you Kami....carbon flextail shortboard from the flextail master!!
I love this thing and have often thought how a flextail SUP would go




Kami
1566 posts
2 May 2013 5:42AM
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Deano72 said...
Some inspiration for you Kami....carbon flextail shortboard from the flextail master!!
I love this thing and have often thought how a flextail SUP would go


TX Deano, this FLEXTAIL sample on a pintail surfboard is a lot inspiration to me.
I wonder the foam's flextail is made of polyéthylène like the one used in bodyboard? Do you know anymore?

My reason to set a flextail on a SHORTSUP ( can be done too on a 8' SUP fish tail as well), this reason was to avoid cavitation providing from the wide tail of these SUP, to sink easily fins and rail => more drive with smaller fins easier to dig tail to crank bottom turn...so this is the way a flextail SUP is going !

TX again Deano

Deano72
NSW, 540 posts
2 May 2013 3:05PM
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Bit of info on the Outer Island website.
http://www.outerislandsurfboards.com/boards/flextails.html
Mitchell Rae is an absolute master shaper.
They are amazing things to surf in powerful waves.....the tail loads up in a turn then slingshots you out of it with crazy speed!!

The last 1' or so of the tail is uni directional carbon around 2mm thick with EVA foam over to maintain rail shape & volume.
If you grab the tail in your hands you can flex it....so it's not super stiff.
Good luck with your next one!!

Kami
1566 posts
26 Jul 2013 3:12PM
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hi, Deano : this is my next one, made with a bodyboard PE, I like to torn off bodyboard.
I stuck together EPS's board and the PE parts's bodyboard with a chewy epoxy resin and laminate one 4 oz glass on bottom, can be a bit too stiff by now , I will sand down a bit to make it more flexible later after trying more waves Next time I will stick a slick material instead of laminate a cloth...
6'9" /28" and thickness 12 cm , boxyrails blended into the 50/50 body bodyboard rails, with an old style rocker and rails from sinle fin board, The whole thing floats my 76kg with 87 liters buyoncy and goes very well on small wawes

She is well balanced a lot more stable than my first one, the white upthere .



Deano72
NSW, 540 posts
29 Jul 2013 8:46PM
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Select to expand quote
Kami said..





Wow....that's pushin' the envelope!!
Good on ya for having the guts to try something so radical

Kami
1566 posts
30 Jul 2013 5:27AM
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I have no guts but just got a sure back Tx Deano for the info about Flex tail









I made a board for my son 5'1"22.5", this system is diferent one , made with bodyboard too but like a hinge along the rail with extension on FCSplugs to let the fin attached to the board and the tail free to bend and release. I will do it on a ShortSUP soon!




Kami
1566 posts
22 Aug 2013 5:59AM
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JonWest said..

Thanks for pics! Board looks sweet, do you have any vid?

some great info here on fitting fcs plugs to epoxy boards > www.swaylocks.com/forums/just-had-to-dig-out-overheating-fcs-boxes


I got one video taken by surprise on my own town beach surfreport it's starting at 1mn34s

#t=95

Kami
1566 posts
29 Aug 2013 5:43AM
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Finding the fish tail too loose with some stress onupper body part of the bodyboard as i point below:
So I laminate some carbon fiber to make the tail stiffer and mors snappy like a real fish

willy69
5 posts
3 Sep 2013 12:58PM
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I had a nice bushrat flex tail, surfed it for two years but the thing snapped off last week.............. got on resin to fix

Kami
1566 posts
6 Sep 2013 6:17AM
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I did not know about www.bushrat.com/flextails.html

So tx for this info , this is so instructive

I wish you will fix your Flextail soon

Kami
1566 posts
8 Sep 2013 3:16PM
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The board in action, I love that board settled with MRX fins

Kami
1566 posts
26 Sep 2013 6:54AM
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It's works at its best with this 5 fins

Tang
VIC, 580 posts
29 Sep 2013 8:07PM
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Kami,
I second Deano's response. 10/10 for innovation, and backyard skills. You've left me dreaming of getting back on a sub-7ft board!
cheers
Tang

Kami
1566 posts
30 Sep 2013 5:39AM
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Select to expand quote
Tang said..

Kami,
I second Deano's response. 10/10 for innovation, and backyard skills. You've left me dreaming of getting back on a sub-7ft board!
cheers
Tang


Yes Tang, let you step on "sub-7ft board" with just a bit more flotation than your weight and a paddle around your nose's height, needs a bit of training... It is really worth it.
The innovation to use the flexibility of bodyboard PE with carbon reinforcement make this wide board really carving and very loose despite of its tail width . She got everything to have fun riding forcefully a wave unless good surfing conditions, glassy or slighty choppy, no onshore, backwash , etc...

I'm allready working on a new Flextail same dimensions but with more looking like a modern shortboard, rocker, outline a bit like the first white one.

Cheers

Kami
1566 posts
1 Oct 2013 5:31AM
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You,are right, control flexpatern is a goal to this technology. As well as Witchcraft, Mistral made one flextail it too :







While thinking about the Mistral board 's technology , as shown up here I did the board for my son , this 5"1'/22" is made of the two oblic hinges with spring effect sliding along the pipes holding the FCS plugs, the flex of bodyboard wings working as shokers. The complement fact than fins are attached to the board in straight contact below the back foot pressure.







I agree that this system is complex but my son(5'10" 73kg) is happy of the dad's board, the extrawidth make take off easy, loose and the flex allow carving with this very shortboard.


Kami
1566 posts
1 Dec 2013 8:02AM
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As this tail works so good on 6'9"28.5" 87liters 5 fins , I' m going to build an other one shorter so It will be 6'4"29" 90liters TWINZER . I draw on my computer with SHAPE3D and order the blank to the EPS provider. Now i'm going to shape by hand and adjust parts of creschent tail red bodyboard



Computer views will be very helpfull to shape what did I draw , I call them " BadBoard" because this is a SUP made from sponge










Kami
1566 posts
17 Mar 2014 6:13AM
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Spring is coming up here, so i follow building my 2014 summer " BadBoard" as shown before shaped by hand following S3D file.

I cut out the both tails of body board and EPS blanck to stick later the bodyboard parts on EPS laminated blanck.


This is what do i like more, sawing bodyboard



I 'm glad to connect properly bevels od both EPS shape and Bodyboard one.


Next step now is to laminate EPS.

Piros
QLD, 6936 posts
17 Mar 2014 3:29PM
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That is bloody amazing , please keep sending the pics.

log man
VIC, 8289 posts
17 Mar 2014 7:54PM
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Loving the enginuity Kami.

lost at sea
WA, 358 posts
17 Mar 2014 6:49PM
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I love it finally a really good use for boogie boards welldone mate[

Kami
1566 posts
25 Mar 2014 7:09AM
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Merci,

I've done some resin work this past WE




Next WE, i will fix the tail, there is some work to do with it.

Kami
1566 posts
4 Apr 2014 5:20AM
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Select to expand quote
Piros said..

That is bloody amazing , please keep sending the pics.


So as i can't post pictures of bad-girl in my bedroom, i do it with my Bad-Board 6'4" 29.25" 82 liters for 1' or 2' foot summer waves, glass conditions , coming soon
Finally i decide to fit H2 large in front and medium in the back, made to go fast and carve on mellow summer waves








Piros
QLD, 6936 posts
4 Apr 2014 9:27AM
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Looks great but not sure about the H2's they have alot of built in cant and narrow base , plus they are a weak fin and probably crack at the base. Let me know how it went.

Kami
1566 posts
4 Apr 2014 1:04PM
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Select to expand quote
Piros said..

Looks great but not sure about the H2's they have alot of built in cant and narrow base , plus they are a weak fin and probably crack at the base. Let me know how it went.


About H2 cant, i love it because this fin keep the board holding while getting on the rail or holding high line in steep face.
About toe in, i went parallel to stringer to make up for H2 toe built in .
I agree this fins set up can be too loose, i expect getting this fins set up stiffer as i fit fins a bit more back ward as usual and there is no tail lift.

Controller from Futuresfins might be better for my fish kind of board but i have a bunch of FCS fins and H2 one was my favorite fins while surfing in Bali with Weber's board (Spoon and Fatburner)
I never have trouble cracking the base of the fin even pushing on them under some section...
Designing this BADBOARD 6'4" shortSUP with flatter rocker as i can , I got inspiration from the SPOON of WEBER, those H2 fins worked unreal on the flat tail with no tail lift. I like the way the H2 fins lift up the nose of board,
Here in small Ulu's inside wave few years ago, watch the hold of these H2 imagine with paddle in hand







(i better like Impossible's waves)

Kami
1566 posts
26 Apr 2014 5:58AM
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My next project:.




kind of Casso's board stuck with bodyboard parts www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Terrible-Waves-Awesome-Board-Heaps-of-Fun/?page=-2#1492914

Kami
1566 posts
24 May 2014 2:49AM
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My Badboard 6'4" 29,25" 82 liters for my 75 kg old meat. What did happens at the end of this wave? can be a back wash effect and the chunky nose of this board doing a sudden slow down





















Kami
1566 posts
1 Aug 2014 3:42PM
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Getting hump by Seabreezer's synergy and confident while surfing my 6'4" 29.25" pointed nose, i want to try 6'4" 28" same flotation of approx 85liters with a square nose , still the bodyboard tail made of.
i sent to CNC, will be come out next week. Stay tuned

















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"FLEXTAIL" started by Kami