cork the natural deck pad alternative

[shapeshifter]

after having tested some low profile strips of cork on my new board i am confident that cork underlayment would work great as an alternative to the ethyl vinyl acetate foam versions, which are popular today. with one source offering a roll of 4' x 50' x 1/8" (200 sq. ft.) (3mm) at $99.99 per, not only is it quite economical, but in my mind wood really gives our boards a lot of soul. so if you can't afford the usual or just want another option to try... think about putting a cork in it.

[boots]

Does the cork come apart easy or does it feel pretty sturdy? Cork looks like it would kind of disintegrate ...

[shapeshifter]

it's definitely not as durable as the synthetics but it seems to hold up well to the occasional paddle slice. if mounted with some sort of doublesided 3m adhesive membrane it would be real easy to repair the scars. what i have now works just like that at any rate. once repaired in that manner it is very difficult to notice given the nature of the material. very ecological to so it's probably not everybody's cup of tea...

[Ucycle]

Im going to bring the post back to life. With how much good pad cost(+$100), i been toying the idea of using cork. 
After reading a post from swaylocks, cheap alternative pad might be possible:
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/exposed-cork-gods-grip-or-natures-traction
http://www.corecomposites.com/composites/core/cork

Im going to get myself some of the Corecork stuff for both surfboard construction and traction pad, from what i read it is better than normal cork sheet you get from carpet store. Plus it is cheap, i was told in the 2 dollar per feet for 48" wide by 2mm thick(wish it was 5mm).  I might try glueing (contact cement) 2-3 sheet together to build up the thickeness.  Plus it is all natural and green and cheap, i dont think i will lose much if it doesn't work. I might do a cork mosaic for extra traction. will report back once i get the corecork stuff from the distributor.

[PonoBill]

I sure like the idea of that. It will take up a little water, but should stay light. I don't mind a pad being thin, if you need more cushion a pair of low booties is probably better than covering your whole board.

[Dwight (DW)]

http://neilsonsurfboards.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/cork-deck-sup-stand-up-paddleboard/

I had my hands on this board in the Neilson shop in Cocoa Beach. It's slippery feeling when dry. I'm sure you'd need to get it good and wet before trying to stand.

[NoogaSup]

Not sure how relevant this is, but...

I'm an architect.  We recently did a fairly large (and expensive) cork floor in a project.  The floor is next to a two-story glass curtain wall.  We're having a seriously bad experience with the color of the cork changing as it is exposed to sunlight (and it is Low-E glass, and doesn't have a tremendous amount of exposure to direct light).

Just food for thought.  I can dig up more info about the specific product that was used if anyone would like to see it (I'll PM it or something, rather than post it up).

[Ucycle]

just order 20ft so we see if it works.

[Ucycle]

Saw this 10'6 PSH on Swaylocks with full cork wrap and cork pad plus the resin tint look amazing with a little bit of cork coming through.  Im getting really excited see board building with cork sandwich and now you can cover it up with resin tint.  when i get my cork, im going to do couple resin tint test panels.
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/what-sways-has-becomecorkthrill-related