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My son graduated from law school so I made hiim a surfboard as a present. He was a long time beach life guard and surfer in Bethany Beach DE. Some information on the board:

o the frame of the board is made from 6mm Okoume plywood rescued from a boat yard dumpster in Annapolis
MD
o The skin of the board is 1/8 inch redwood rescued as 2×4's from a fence in Bowie MD
o The Rails are made from 6mm Okoume plywood and sheets of cork
o The green design is a celtic weave that includes the heads of the mascots of the two schools he graduated from - University of Maryland (BA) & Catholic University in DC (JD)
o The finished board is 6' 8 tall and weighs approximately 19 pounds, which is substantially heavier than a foam board but they say it provides more bouyancy than a foam board and will last a life time.
o There is an air valve inserted in the top front of the board to allow the board to "breath" when it is out of the water. If the board is left in the hot sun without letting the air escape, the hot expanded air would eventually "burst" the board.
o I actually made three boards and used one as a "sacrificial" board - to learn each process as I progressed through each stage.

I found the most difficult part of the build was applying the fiberglass and epoxy finish. I had never used the finish before and it was difficult to get the deep mirror finish that boards are known for. I worried about sanding through the fiberglass.

Gallery

Comments

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1,517 Posts
That is a nice board
Design build finish are all great
It has a professorial look
Jamie
 

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169 Posts
That´s one radically cool looking board, awesome dude!
 

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Very nice project. I have a weakness for water toys.
 

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418 Posts
Next, the bar!
 

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Great project! I'm impressed with your work.
 

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This project is on my bucket list. I want to use it to learn glassing the plywood foe a future boat. Great job!
 

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259 Posts
Awesome surfboard! Love the design and the finish turned out great.

-www.sawblade.com
 

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Very nice project and wonderful build. Did you design it from the ground up or use purchased plans?
 

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Merie - the board has a glassed on fin - it just so happens not to be in any of the posted photos. If I did it again I wouldn't glass on the fin but use removable fins. It is so much easier to transport a board (shipping) or storing a board that does not have a fin on it and you can quickly change the performance of the board.Going into this, I really didn't know anything about surfboards.

Staryder - I got the basic "How to's" off of the internet and then tried to build a board that was the exact shape of one of my son's foam boards.
 

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187 Posts
You did a great job…as always job prep is everything…and you did it twice! Wow! Also, its very touching to see a father make such a great gift for his son.

al
 

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Wonderfull. What a nice work!!!
 

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Very cool. Thanks for sharing (and inspiring)
 

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I am not a surfer, but men, that sure is pretty….it is almost a shame it is going to get used… :)
 

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I've surfed for for 40 years and I can tell you you've done a great job. I've shaped a few foam boards and a Tom Blake "kookbox" design board like this. The key to keeping it nice is to keep it out of sun when not in water and a good board bag. Well done.
 
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