Hi Bud
What do you know about surflight.com
I know you were doing some soft board work with them, on there web site they have a hybrid fish that looks interesting any thought would be good.
Regards
Stu.
Surflight
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Bud
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- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2003 8:13 pm
- Location: Sunset Beach Hawaii
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I'm building 3 now.
Two, 5' fish hybrids (like the ones they show but with normal noses) for little kids kneeboards and one 7' stand up "fun shape" mini log.
The basic principle to them really works.
The first one I did is really a fun board.
I'd have shaped it a bit different had I been more familiar with the foam.
There are some serious concerns regarding kneeboards that they haven't clued into though. I've talked over the basics with them but they don't get it...........yet.
As long as you aren't going to ride a kneeboard of their design in hollow surf or try to really fly on them, they go fine.
The way they have the flex setup makes them "bog" at the worst times.
IE.......after a hard re-entry, aerial or floater landing and late drops.
They will break in extreme cases.
They have a lively "springy" zippy feel to them.
If you just want to bounce and scoot along in play waves they are great.
But at $575 for a tri-fin and $600 for a 4 fin, it's an expensive "pool toy".
After I do these three boards , I'll work with the crew to build some, really tuned for kneeboard surfing.
Biggest draw back is that THEY ARE A NIGHTMARE TO SHAPE.
The blank is a sandwich of a closed cel foam (does not take in water) that resmbles bodyboard material, over and around an inner core built of a more rigid high density foam laminated with epoxy and carbon fiber and fiberglass cloths (see http://www.surflight.com/tech.html for more info)
We have to use a planer fitted with an abrasive drum to rough shape it.
One has to take it as fine a shape as one can get with the planer.
You have to work really slow, so you don't tear holes in the foam.
You also have to stop every 3 passes to clear out the melted foam residue. Some of that gets deep into the machine and eventually ruins it.
Then we have to go straight to a sanding block with 80 and 120 grit paper.
The stuff doesn't sand easily. It just becomes fuzzy and VERY SLOWLY wears away.
2 full days (of serious bust ass sweat work) is the time it takes me to shape one board.
The blank itself takes them 2 weeks to produce. !
I truly dread the thought of shaping the stuff.
I only get to it, in spare time slots, between regular shaping and board building.
Don't expect me to build many in the future or any more very soon.
The best direction with them is to have them compression moulded in limited designs and sizes.
Don't know if the kneeboard market is "deep" enough to make that kind of investment.
1 mould would cost something like $30,000 USD !
Two, 5' fish hybrids (like the ones they show but with normal noses) for little kids kneeboards and one 7' stand up "fun shape" mini log.
The basic principle to them really works.
The first one I did is really a fun board.
I'd have shaped it a bit different had I been more familiar with the foam.
There are some serious concerns regarding kneeboards that they haven't clued into though. I've talked over the basics with them but they don't get it...........yet.
As long as you aren't going to ride a kneeboard of their design in hollow surf or try to really fly on them, they go fine.
The way they have the flex setup makes them "bog" at the worst times.
IE.......after a hard re-entry, aerial or floater landing and late drops.
They will break in extreme cases.
They have a lively "springy" zippy feel to them.
If you just want to bounce and scoot along in play waves they are great.
But at $575 for a tri-fin and $600 for a 4 fin, it's an expensive "pool toy".
After I do these three boards , I'll work with the crew to build some, really tuned for kneeboard surfing.
Biggest draw back is that THEY ARE A NIGHTMARE TO SHAPE.
The blank is a sandwich of a closed cel foam (does not take in water) that resmbles bodyboard material, over and around an inner core built of a more rigid high density foam laminated with epoxy and carbon fiber and fiberglass cloths (see http://www.surflight.com/tech.html for more info)
We have to use a planer fitted with an abrasive drum to rough shape it.
One has to take it as fine a shape as one can get with the planer.
You have to work really slow, so you don't tear holes in the foam.
You also have to stop every 3 passes to clear out the melted foam residue. Some of that gets deep into the machine and eventually ruins it.
Then we have to go straight to a sanding block with 80 and 120 grit paper.
The stuff doesn't sand easily. It just becomes fuzzy and VERY SLOWLY wears away.
2 full days (of serious bust ass sweat work) is the time it takes me to shape one board.
The blank itself takes them 2 weeks to produce. !
I truly dread the thought of shaping the stuff.
I only get to it, in spare time slots, between regular shaping and board building.
Don't expect me to build many in the future or any more very soon.
The best direction with them is to have them compression moulded in limited designs and sizes.
Don't know if the kneeboard market is "deep" enough to make that kind of investment.
1 mould would cost something like $30,000 USD !