MyPaipoBoards Forums

Cutting the veneer.
Getting the longest piece with the best grain direction.

So with the mold taking shape, I'm looking at cutting out the veneer to get the best grain direction for strength. The original paper plan Ive set with resin so it tougher. I can also see the veneer thru the resined paper so I can cut it to shape. image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg Wh...

Here's some more pics, sorry about the foam dust on it but its from 2009, dead flat rocker, 10mm XPS over 20mm EPS, epoxy, vacced, veneer hull and deck with 2 oz underneath. 10 mm thick carbon wings. image.jpg image.jpg It's typically as fast as any flat paipo, stable because of the width but I wish...

With the mold slowly taking shape , the next consideration is the veneer and how to orientate it to make the most of the inherent strength of the grain. Here's a pic of the planshape and one of the veneer pieces. image.jpg I plan to vacbag layers of glass and veneer until I think its strong enough t...

Thanks Airboy, if it works out I could easily add foils to the side wings and it would be a hydrofoil paipo !
Ive made hydrofoil bodyboards before...
I wonder how much it would be to post one of these to Hawaii ?

Spackled and ready to sand.
Then a coat or two of resin before I start planning the veneer pattern.

Nose rocker done, one side done. image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg And a selection of woods to use for the veneer, there's some supple woods like pine and Victorian Ash and some brittle one like Jarrah and a Spotted Gum. The Jarrah seems stronger but it's not a smooth wood that will create a s...

Changed the outline and working out how to carve the eps to get the correct shape.
I'll start shaping the mold tomorrow.

Glued the EPS blocks together for the mold.

The problem with the curve is that as you curve a hull down into a concave it loses its planing area but the concave is essential to get the depth for the fins. Odd curves underwater can be unpredictable too so I might need to reduce the area where it's curved. Here's the area where the curve is nei...

Here's the basic planshape, it looks too wide in the tail but remember the sides are rolled down so it won't be as wide as it looks. Here's the right half of the shape. I'm keeping the middle 14 " of the deck flat (red dots) and then rolling the sides down. Ive scalloped the back corner to shor...

A windsurfer would be a great plug to work on, I wish I'd thought of that at the start ! The wing tips will be down turned and I'll do a small amount of lift in the nose. Hopefully it will be a stylish piece of wood and glass with planing area for low speed lift and enough down turned wingtip area f...

Wow! That board there ^^^ is great and that's the kind of thing I'm thinking of but with downturned wingtips. Possibly build an EPS foam mold and vacbag layers of glass and veneer over it. image.jpg image.jpg And here's another paipo-ish craft under construction with a foam nose cone and an inflatab...

Ive tried the thick and the thin and the curves are better. But back to the paipos.... I'm thinking the veneer adds more strength than the glass layers but the resin and glass will hold the layers of veneer apart to build up thickness and multiply the rigidity of the wood. I can't think of anything ...

No I'm not talking about your wife, but how thin could you build a paipo and still maintain structural strength ?
I'm thinking of layering glass and veneer several times but what else would work ?

Yes, very sad news. I was inspired by Terry's work with hydrofoils to have taken up the torch and build many myself and even though we only spoke via email he set me on a path that's been a whole lot of scientific pleasure and surfing fun. Thank you and farewell Terry...

Had a talk with a local plastics supplier in Sydney who does thermoplastics.. Sheets 610 X 1220 ( 24in X 48 in) are $8 each and come in a variety of colours and materials. They come in paper thin thickness and then in increments on up so theres room to do R & D and find the right material and th...

Thanks mrmike, I think thats maybe a better way to do it, the first way involves shaping a core each time whereas the 2nd way you just mold the skins and pour in the foam. The only prob with that is that the pour foam needs to be sealed against water so thered be a second skin over the foam and the ...

Ive had a few dealings with Vac forming and I think it would be possible to do it for paipos. its a fairly simple process, I googled it and went to a local company and they showed me around their operation. The advantages is that theres no chemicals, or very few, the formed shell wont fracture like ...

If huies got you covered then youre set! How thin is the thin one? And is it a direct copy off Goddards drawings ?
I like some of his dims and Im keen to make a super thin EPS epoxy foil for summer, what info can you share....