New plywood paipo

What works and what doesn't. Share design ideas, references and contacts for paipo board builders.
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zensuni
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Re: New plywood paipo

#11

Unread post by zensuni »

krusher74 wrote:How are you finding the very straight rail? Does it just lock to the wave face and track down the line or is it turn-able.

I have found if using the same rail curve from my fave bodyboard, onto my foam/fibreglass paipo and paulowina paipo they all tun the same. So from that I have found template shape translates to turnability no mate what construction the board is.

I wanted to do a board of construction like yours but was worried the cork would not stay stuck to the wood for long :?
I haven't tested the cork board yet. I'm not very satisfied by the result, it has a nice look, but it is surprisingly heavy (cork + wood), and since the rails are not made of cork it is not safer than a regular plywood board.
The cork would probably add buoyancy in the water though. I used epoxy glue, hopefully it will keep the cork stuck to the wood.

Last weekend in small waves I tested the blue plywood board, which has almost the same shape (just a little longer). It works well, I guess it depends of the waves and the rider's surfing style. I tend to ride it a little bit like a surfmat, no radical turns, using my body weight to turn, sometimes dragging a swim fin in the water to hold a line. In small surf this surfing style works great with that kind of board, but I am not sure it would work so well in bigger / hollower waves.
Papa Paepo o
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Interests: building & riding Papa Paepo`o (Paipo) Boards. All types and sizes, I even rode a abandon 4'ft - 8'ft. plywood that adrift from a commercial fishing boat in Kewalo Basin, O`ahu in the year of 1996.
Location: Honolulu,Hi

Re: New plywood paipo

#12

Unread post by Papa Paepo o »

krusher74 wrote:looks good. :D

once you get a shape you like you should try out some paulowina, my friend had a go on my board and liked it, so he bought some ply to make a cheap copy. He reported back that the ply board was much heavier, sunk and was much harder to paddle due to lack of buoyancy.
Why don't you try in similar of a body board shape and then taper your rails. I shape Hawaiian Paipo boards of 3/8", 1/2" & 3/4" wood using a 6oz E glass cloth top and bottom with epoxy resin and these boards hold me up and I'm 5'-11" and 237lbs. Hawaiian with ease. And I chase small to BIG waves (Makapu`u & Makaha Hawaiian-Scale: 6'ft.-10'ft. (12'ft.-20'ft. FACE).
Here I am paipo boarding a shorebreak surf on East-Side, O`ahu "Sandy Beach Shorebreaks" a famous beach for body-dislocations or death.
Hawaiian Papa Paepo`o Board.
Hawaiian Papa Paepo`o Board.
One of my BIG 3'4"thick board, board is heavy when it's out of the water but when I'm in the water with this board it can take further, drops, barrel-stalls, half-pipe slider, spinners and underwater take-off. To me you need the weight to get you down the face and it would give the speed when needed. Believe me, I used and abused any extra ordinary wood board, even tried a 4'ft. x 8'ft. plywood that was adrift after a commercial fishing boat got stuck on a reef the night before, found this 4'ft.x8'ft. plywood came across the channel to "POINt PANICS" and I surfed with it on some 2'ft. occassional 3'ft surf.
Hawaiian Papa Paepo`o Board.
Hawaiian Papa Paepo`o Board.
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zensuni
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Re: New plywood paipo

#13

Unread post by zensuni »

I finally tested the cork paipo that I mentioned bellow. The cork makes the board a little more buoyant, not that much, but I liked the fact that the cork avoids to wax. The board was not as fast as my other boards. I don't think the cork has something to do with that, I think the board is just a little too small, and it a has too much flex. Instead of using 1 plywood plank I glued 2 thinner planks, that explains the flex.
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