Foil board build advice

Hi,

I need a winter project and am planning to build a foil board in the 125l range.
normally for sups I go innegra carbon sandwich with core cork over eps.

it turns out really tough but I'm wondering if carbon is overkill for a board that is only 6.5 ft long?

I was thinking maybe going basalt and innegra instead, with corecork sandwich on deck only.
do you reckon basalt is worth a go?

only probs with basalt or any other interesting looking cloth (eg flax) is I am scratching to find anything in 1000mm roll width. I usually prioritise a little bit of strength over weight because I am a bit hard on gear.

does anyone have any recommendations for materials and aus suppliers?
cheers Chris

Hi clamsmasha,

fantastic! thanks for the tips I will get checking out now. I'm not opposed to going full carbon just thought I would try something different for a bit of fun. This whole wing foiling thing has really taken me by surprise and got me amped!

Hey highvolume, where do you get your cork? Does that go between blank and layup?

I started a board that has a central box section. The idea is all the strength is there. Then I could cut it down to a narrower board once I had learnt.



The idea is to put a layer of 200 gram carbon over the central part making a big carbon U down the middle of the board.
No idea if this is a good idea and havnt made much progress as I have been busy with other stuff.

Wow great info! Here is a basalt innegra 5,6 x 27 x 5 I have just finised. I did a double carbon stringer and glassed over boxes. Supplies from Sanded at Long Jetty and the basalt innegra was just wide enough- 30 inch wide I think.

Wow board looks nice!
if any one has wing foil boards they have built post em up so we can see you're work.

That board looks great.

Great thread indeed. Thanks for the heads up with the cork boys, I'll PM you when I get some time next few days Livit...cheers.

couple of prone builds from a while back. 4'6" and 3'11". The first is all carbon hotcoated with Qcell slurry, which saves a bit of weight and is pretty good for the dreaded pinholes. Second is carbon/depron sandwich with eglass forward on the bottom.
I cap the boxes with biax carbon these days...just to be sure.

pacey how did you jam so much volume in a 5 11? Was it thickness that got it there? Board looks tops!

I have been chucking some roughs together and it's coming in at around 6'6" x 29" x 130mm thick according to software about 130L.
DO you reckon hotwire bevels to a template or just mow em down with a planer? Its a bit hard getting a nice looking front rocker on such a chunky thickness I will have to work on that.

Its interesting the concaves and stuff some of these production boards have but i think i will avoid the complexity of doing that by hand. I wish i still had my old starboard hypersonic to have a good look at again, i loved how that board handled chop.

Is there a standard distance from tail to centre of foil track atm? I am just going of my last board distances which worked ok.

Going to get a styrofoam blank this weekend...cant wait.

Use a hotwire for the bevels, just mask out the bottom and side curves with masking tape, and make sure your hotwire is hot enough to cut the foam but not hot enough to burn the tape. Use a couple of layers of tape if you are really cautious.
My small hotwire was pretty basic, a wooden bracket and a spring from Bunnings with grooves cut in each end with a hacksaw. Wire doesn't need to be tight, you want a bit of slack in it as you don't want to put too much pressure on the edges of the tape




And you should be able to get 130 L in a 6' board. Have a look at a Fanatic 6' board, 30" wide and 130L, and that is with a rear end that thins out from the thickness in the middle.

Yes, I was surprised when I heard that it was possible to just use tape. Definitely a good idea to mask up some test cuts with scrap foam, it takes a bit of practise to get the technique and get your hand motion smooth and steady, but once you get past the shaky hand stage it works great.

I use an old halogen downlight transformer, the old style heavy transformer type not the modern switch mode type, hook a normal lighting dimmer up to the 240v side and you can easily control the current going to the wire

I hotwire too. I have a cheap $12 5A variable voltage power supply from eBay. I use the tape as well, the 1/4 striping tape works really well and I double it.