tried out my Balsa board yesterday. 110x47cm , 2,6 kg
Results:
Outline is good- super forgiving during starting and touch downs at speed and slow and crashes. Next board: make it 1-2 cm narrower overall and reduce nose width
Flat deck is good- takes some getting used to- will need a few sessions to adjust.
Textured deck is excellent: grips great, easier to move feet and do foot work. Big improvment and saves 220g and money.
My homemade kickpad sucks ( not in photo) - looks terrible and didnt get it to stick down all the way. its good to help with positioning board during waterstart. Will use a small bit of deck pad instead.
Ride: swing weight at nose is greater than the orange/magenta board, despite the fact that the O/M board wieghs 2,7kg. This effects boards feeling in air, the balsa board is slightly less agile. Next board i will make with one less layer balsa and make it hollow in nose area to reduce swing weight.
The tail block is really ugly and added weight/time to build- plus a potential weak spot. next time i will scarf the planks to 110cm instead.
Still have to ride this one hard to test durability, and get other rider inputs. But pretty close to a good design, materials and method.