Shaped my first 10'-9'' SUP

[gjbstandup]

  I just finished shaping (with a friend of mine) and I glassing my first SUP. 
First off the board cost about $ 875.00 to make ,  ie..  foam, glass,epoxy resin, hardware and shaping supplies shipping costs and other small stuff. .. Plus many hours of sweat equity, about 15-18 hours of time over a period of 3 months.  No real deal to make your own board.
       The board's foam core was a EPS  'Austin Foam Core'  # AFCI 11 OBI  with a 1/4 bass stringer. The block was almost 5 inches thick 31 wide  squared off blank with the built- in rocker. The templete was and old RA Wingnut  ES II  shape that was streached out for the  SUP Needs.
  The measurements are as follows;   10'-9'' in length, 29'' wide, 4 & 1/16'' thick. The nose is 20 &3/4'', tail is 16 & 1/2'' Set up as a  2 plus 1 .
 Hard edge rails in tail about 2 foot up fom tail  then a gradual tuck under the edge rails thru the mid section, 70-30,  keeping an edge to more rolled rails near nose.  Close to the SOS Big Red and Blue models. The bottom is flat in mid section thru tail w/ slight   concave each side between center fin.  The nose  has a light entry concave on bottom.
     The epoxy resin used was the System Three Epoxy Resin, w/ a lam coat and two thin hot coats w/ a sanded finish. I used 5.6 oz  S-2 Plain wave cloth. It has a stronger tinsile and flexural strength and exibits improved impact resistance and toughness than E glass and surfboard cloth. Its two layers top and bottom w/ and extra strip on the rails for paddle impact ( 16.8 oz of cloth.)
Yes it was tough to do lam coat on rails.
 The boards weight is 21 lbs, a lot lighter than the SOS and JL boards I have. I added my  APS logo and some C4 stickers on rails.(center of board for foot placement). JT logo is my buddies initials.
   Floated the board today. Its very stable, paddled easy and was able to paddle turn quickly. Had 3 & 1/2  inch  FCS side bites and a 8'' Rusty TK flex center fin. Now all i need is waves and my deck pad applied.   
    Here are some pics of the board.  Happy New Year....

[Rand]

Beauty bro!

How stoked are you?  Let us know how she reeeeps.

[gjbstandup]

Hi Rand,

 Yes I'm stoked........My late Christmas gift to me....I have always had an understanding and appreciation for ''The surfboard shapers''. I know, I glass part time......  The  materials needed to make a board are more tha half ,sometimes 2/3 the cost of the board retail. No $'s for the labor involved. My SUP at $875.00 in costs for materials is more than half the cost of retail. Its hard work. Labor of Love.... As I said no real deal.  $1200.00 retail for a SUP board is well worth its price. Shaping  sanding screening, GLASSING and walking up and down the board shaping and especially the attention needed on the rails is twice as hard than a longboard/ shortboard due to the greater foam area.   
    Props to all the custom SUP Shapers that continue to keep our sport on the cutting edge by using materials, inovation, technology and experimentation with design. With out you ,I couldn't have made my SUP.
    Mahalo       Glen 

[footemaui]

Looks like a sweet board. I am stoked you expressed how much LOVE and money goes into making a custom board...RIDE ON ......Bill Foote

[andygere]

Great looking board, nice work.  Which flavor of System 3 epoxy did you use, and what were your impressions with it?

[gjbstandup]

andygere
 I used the system three multi purpose epoxy resin with the # 2 hardner. It was mixed with a 2/1 ratio and had about 25-30 min of work time on the application when mixed. It was a light amber color mix but dried super clear. I needed some time to coat and saturate the cloth especially on the rails and being a large board. The set up time  was 5-8 hours ( temp was a slight factor on some applications) but let it set overnight each side and on each glassing. Time was of no issue here. The epoxy resin flowed well on the board and was able to have plenty of time to work the resin in the cloth. Worked and flowed like polyester resin but had a longer set time.  No fumes and easy cleaning of the squeegee and brushes. Impressed with how light  (weight ) the finished board was 21-22 lbs.     Will use it again.  Eager to find out how strong and impact from paddle resistant  the board will be..  Will keep you all in the loop.   Glen

[heave]

I've found Resin Research epoxy to be Cadillac and light boards make life real easy.       

[Allan Cheateaux]

I've found Resin Research epoxy to be Cadillac and light boards make life real easy.       

I agree. As far as a laminating working resin, its superiority lies in its ability to "wet out" fabric much better, but there are some tips to make life easier.

  I just finished shaping (with a friend of mine) and I glassing my first SUP. 
First off the board cost about $ 875.00 to make ,  ie..  foam, glass,epoxy resin, hardware and shaping supplies shipping costs and other small stuff. .. Plus many hours of sweat equity, about 15-18 hours of time over a period of 3 months.  No real deal to make your own board.
       .......

Thats about right as far as material costs, not even factoring in labor. It does get easier, but not very much cheaper.

I know some of us that started making boards, started because we wanted something to surf different than what was available. When I started, it was all big slow boards. I wanted something that would rip and flow, not got straight and slow. I know Blaine was in the same boat.

Its not something you get rich doing, but when someone calls you up to tell you how stoked they are on theyre board.... good times...

[gjbstandup]

Allan C

 Your right, the materials are pretty expensive and the realistic  labor fee added would make my SUP over 2 grand. When I glass (for my friend's small surfboard factory) and a client or should I say a ''stoked surfer'' returns to say they had the best session on that new board or this board rips, we're sooooo stoked. I do know the feeling. ....Its priceless  ...
    I have not taken the new SUP board out yet. I had a death in the family and was involved in work too,  (real job, Chef). I also has some art work done to the bottom of the board. My friends son is a art school student and saw an opportunity  to leave his mark on the bottom of the board.
    Will post the pics of the artwork when finished.  Will also let you all know how the board feels and if my shaped SUP works.    Thanks for all looking