Converting surf board

[Flyboy]

I have a small (4'10") surfboard that I love. I have a Zeeko blue & white that I've only tried a couple of times so far. Looking to get some more practice on a trip to Cabarete next week. I can't take my SB & a foil board. How realistic is it to add mounting points on the SB to accommodate the foil? Obviously people have done this before, but how effective is the end result? Will it hold up? Will it ruin the SB for non-foiling? Any experiences/opinions would be appreciated.

[BWD]

If the board is a heavy/strong one it may work, get someone with experience to do it. Will need heavy stringers and/or lots of glass patches plus through holes or inserts.
If board is light it will probably not feel as good and have a risk of breaking.
I have a light surfboard I kite with some but wouldn’t dream of converting it except as a salvage if it snaps...
But are you sure you can’t slide a 2nd board into your bag? Usually the fee is the same for a stuffed coffin bag and a smaller bag with one board, unless you are unfortunate in your airline choice.

[Flyboy]

My airline is excellent: they actually take kiteboarding gear at no charge ... however, there's no way I can take my SB, a foil board, the foil, kites, harness, bars etc. & not be overweight (20 kg). Even if I put the kites in another bag, I think two boards & the foil will be overweight.

It's not a "light surfboard". It's a board that was built for kiting & has held up for 8 years of heavy use, including a lot of jumping. I would only consider "converting it" if it could be done without substantial changes ie. inserts for the base bolts. I actually had another board converted: it was a race board that had a track added. However, it is too big to take with me, especially along with the SB. The other alternative would be to buy a small foilboard ... but I'm thinking the small board might make the task of learning to foil too challenging? Having a single board that would double as a SB & a foilboard obviously would be ideal, I'm just not sure if realistic to expect a conversion (that doesn't involve extensive reglassing) to hold up to the stresses of a foil.

[juandesooka]

I am in Maui now, just used my converted surfboard tonight for a flat water foil session, yesterday in the waves. Nice to have a single board solution. Thought it sucks fiddling with hardware at the beach.

I did through-hull bolt holes in mine, using a combination of golf clubs shafts glued in with epoxy, and then fibreglass cloth over the top and bottom. Seems to be holding fine. I taped up the bottom holes when surfing, but the tape came off immediately, so I have these funny water jets shooting out the top when tacking at speed ... foot massage extra bonus.

Board is a beater though. If it was a long term keeper, I'd probably invest in the mast tracks. Done right with divinycell blocks and glassed in, would be bomber.

By the way, agree about the 2 boards in a bag. You get charged same fee for a 6' surfboard bag with 1 board and weighing 10lbs, as for a triple board coffin with longboard and sup weighing 50lbs. Next trip I am bringing my mako shortboard too ... prefer 2 boards at the beach so I can kite through wind changes without re-rigging.

[mopman365]

I did this with a surfboard, and it seems to be holding up fine. The 4 deep nuts-in-plastic-plug is also half the weight of two fin boxes.

[Flyboy]

Thanks for the replies. With regard to the travel bag: as I explained, I actually get a kite bag free, up to 20 kg. I have in the past been able to get my SB & TT, 2 kites & harness in it without being overweight. However, removing the TT (which I don't use) & adding a foil board PLUS the foil itself will be too much weight. The foilboard that I have is a converted race board, which is definitely too big & heavy. A very small foilboard might work, but it would mean learning on a small board.

The perfect solution would be to have a SB with inserts to accept a foil. There are a number of "converter' boards that claim to work for surfing. Some of these are clearly poor SBs (like LQF fish), others seem to have started with an actual SB (like SS Converter) & I assume would work much better as SBs. My SB is unusually compact (4'10") & so, in theory, should make a good all-around foilboard, but I am dubious about tearing it apart to add a track (something I did with the race board). It might make more sense to start for scratch with a new custom board that is designed fro the ground up as a combined SB/foilboard.

The alternative would be traveling with the SB AND a compact foilboard. I imagine this is what a lot of people do. I guess my question is: how much more difficult is it to learn to foil on a very small foilboard (I am thinking about something like a SS 3'6" Dwarfcraft or a Zeeko mini pocket)?

[BWD]

Now I get it, tiny surfboard in "golf bag" type of bag must be what you are doing. Sounds like your board is a candidate for a mopman style conversion. I would love to see pictures of the board or brand/model etc.
By the way in case anybody doens't know this, international flight board bags are usually allowed to weigh 30kg, so sometimes worth paying the $100-300 in round trip fees if you are going for more than a week and would otherwise have to rent or miss out on some conditions with a limited quiver. Last int'l trip i took 2 surboards and a paipo with 4 kites etc in a coffin, got good use of all except the storm kite.

[Jan F2B]

https://www.facebook.com/foil2board/
https://www.instagram.com/foil2board/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HqBC0dNSGI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MRSyttMJ8k

[Peter_Frank]

IMO a lot more difficult to learn on a pocket board, I would not do this for several reasons.

Your 4'10 is a good size, a bit small still for initial learning, if a pointy nose and not a new square one - but still way better than a pocket board, and even when learned you WILL need a board size like that for allround riding, and only use a pocket for higher winds.

You will change the rocker flex and dynamics, when you are stiffening it by making attachment points and reinforcements, but if you are not picky about that, it does not really matter, so I would just go for it, to be able to learn hydrofoiling on your vacation, and have a light wind and allround board - maybe getting a pocket board later (or not).

PF

[Flyboy]

Now I get it, tiny surfboard in "golf bag" type of bag must be what you are doing. Sounds like your board is a candidate for a mopman style conversion. I would love to see pictures of the board or brand/model etc.
By the way in case anybody doens't know this, international flight board bags are usually allowed to weigh 30kg, so sometimes worth paying the $100-300 in round trip fees if you are going for more than a week and would otherwise have to rent or miss out on some conditions with a limited quiver. Last int'l trip i took 2 surboards and a paipo with 4 kites etc in a coffin, got good use of all except the storm kite.

Exactly! What's a mopman style conversion? At 4'10" the SB fits (just) into my "golf bag". Most of my flights south (from Canada) are via a Canadian charter company which provides cheap, direct flights to many Caribbean destinations. They used to provide free carriage for golf equipment, more recently they have extended that to specifically include kiteboards, so theoretically no need for a "golf bag" anymore. There is a a 20 kg limit on the weight. Strangely, all regular (non-sporting equipment) checked baggage is subject to a $25 fee. I don't know how long the "free kiteboards" policy will continue to apply, but as it stands, it is a generous policy - I'm not sure how many, if any, other airlines offer this.

My SB has been discussed before on kiteforum. It is a custom 4'10" x 18" board made by Lee Britain. It was designed as a "pocket" (traveling) SB & is now 10 years old & still going strong. It is pretty flat rockered, fast & plans up quite early. It's the only board I use ... & use it in anything from 12 knots to 40, either with no straps, 2 front straps or 3 straps (for jumping).

What I just noticed on the airline website is that they will take surboards (max. 12 ft./32 kg) for $100 per flight segment. So, I could take my large foilboard in that category: a Cabrinha 178 raceboard with a fitted track for the foil. It's a big, bulky board, but it's (obviously) floaty & has a fair amount of nose rocker, so it should work OK. The first couple of attempts with it were kind of pathetic - wavy onshore conditions, sandbars & dying wind. I found it very awkward to use - but perhaps in flatter, deeper water & sideshore winds I will have better success.

Some pics of the Rogue Wave, next to the Cabrinha & a 5'4" SS

RW & Race 178copy.jpg (56.18 KiB) Viewed 2173 times

Screamer.