Skimboard to hydrofoil conversion

[merl]

I've got an old Zap Pro large skimboard that I don't use. Thinking about trying it with my hf. Drilling oversized holes, filling with epoxy and chopped glass and redrilling as standard. Anybody tried this skimboard or another model? Wondering whether it would need an extra layer of glass and/or some carbon strips. . I'm not even sure whether it's epoxy but it feels light and stiff.

[jespin4845]

Will flex to much, have to reinforce the whole thing, especially on top, use unidirectional carbon. Reinforce in front of the plate heavily, top and bottom.

[merl]

Sounds like a major pain - especially if you have to reinforce the deck. But it is at least as stiff as my hydrofoil board (twintip style construction). What about a shinn style plate?

[jakemoore]

A friend did one. Also cut off the tip and tail to make a shorter pocket board shape. I liked it and didn’t notice any flex problem the one time I rode it strapless. Nice and light.

[TheJoe]

I converted a Phase 5 skim board to a foil board. It works just fine. You will have to sand down a giant patch to the foam. drill and place the inserts and fill in with epoxy plus a filler or use a poly urethane. After all that is done you then come back and re fiberglass the bottom where you sanded it down to the core. After the epoxy cures sand it smooth.

Another option would be to do thru the board bolts. For this I would drill out holes from the top of the board but not thru the bottom layer of fiberglass. Clean up as much foam as possible then pour urethane or epoxy with a filler. Come back with a layer or 2 of fiberglass to keep it water proof sand smooth. Finally drill the holes thru the board. I have never done this to a board mind you but it is how I would go about it.

I did the first option because I like using my skim with the kite in light wind.

[BigSky]

I've done this to 2 skim boards. I used steel wool and marine epoxy with inserts. Frankly, I found the performance to be substandard compared to the pocket boards I use so not worth the effort. I thought the boards were stiff enough but they are too wide compared to other boards. Fun project with mediocre results. Good luck.

[merl]

Awesome for a whole 50m.

I didn't reinforce the deck - just added a bit of carbon fiber to the bottom. So, it is not enough to be stiff, it needs to be strong too. Who would have thought?