Skimboarding adventures #1: Building my own carbon foamy!

Hi Steemians & skimboard enthusiasts around the globe!

A couple of months ago I fell in love with skimboarding. I started out with a cheap wooden board and as I progressed, I figured out I would need a foam board to be able to reach some waves. Therefore, I decided to get an ACE 54'' board from ZAP.

I live in Europe, so ordering a ZAP from the US would cost me a lot of money due to shipping and customs. At the moment, I could not find any dealer in Europe to get an ACE on the short term from. So, I paid that extra $$$ and finally got my ACE!

Check me out, practicing some side-slipping on a calm day on Karpathos Island (Ag. Nikolaos Beach, Arkasa), Greece:

Everything was going great with me getting the hang of my new board, till I managed to damage it and expose the foam at the bottom, after sliding over a sharp rock hidden in the sand :(
I was quite disappointed, considering the amount of money I had to pay for the board. But after reading online, I managed to get the information I needed to fix the big ding and bring the board back to shape :)

The whole repairing process got me thinking: If I can repair a damaged board, will I be able to make a new one from scratch?

After doing some research, I decided to give it a try!

I started out by buying a sheet of 15mm thick PVC-foam and using my ACE as a template to cut out the foam core:

I cut out the foam and smoothed out the edges with 120 grid sand paper:

This is how the foam core looked like next to the ZAP:

Next,I needed to make a table with a rocker, on top of which I would start the lamination process. For that purpose, I cut out a thin wooden sheet and sticked it with double face sticker tape at the bottom of my ACE, so that I could copy the rocker. I, then, built the table around this sheet:

I used some strong double faced sticker tape to stick the foam core on the rocker table:

I applied a thick layer of epoxy resin on the top of the foam core. Then, I placed a piece of carbon fiber cloth on top and applied an extra thick layer on top:

After the resin has dried up completely, I cleaned up the edges. At that point, the foam core had a rocker being held in place from the hardened epoxy resin and carbon fiber combination. I turned the foam core on the other side and repeated the process:

This is how the board looked like after the foam core had been layered with epoxy resin and carbon cloth:

I brought the board back to the lamination workshop (my kitchen! :P) to apply another couple of clear glossy epoxy resin layers:

I repeated the process on the bottom as well:

After the resin had completely cured and the edges had been smoothed out a little bit, the board was ready!

Although not perfect, I am proud to have given the whole process a try. The board feels light (1,6 kg) and very solid! The finishing is far from perfect, but the most important thing is that I have now gained some experience and I am sure the next board will be a lot better. Total costs for the board were around 200€, which is quite cheap compared to a commercial carbon fiber board ordered from overseas. I do not expect someone would build a very good carbon board on the first attempt, so if you are not into DIY-projects, buying a board from an experienced manufacturer is the way to go.

However, if you decide to make your own board, please pay attention to all safety requirements! Epoxy resins and such are quite toxic. I hope my first attempt provided you with some useful insight!

I have not tried the board yet at the beach. Stay tuned for the next episode of my skimboarding adventures! I will try it out and compare it with my ACE under the same conditions.

Cya & keep on skimming!