Pocket board: start over or can it be ugly yet functional?

[kiteman_hellyeah]

So this is my very first pocket board build (90cm), which I am hoping is salvageable. I tried hot wire and hot knife for shaping, which resulted in some burny spots

Then I just went for jigsaw and sandpaper for the rest. The top is remade from a light wind board that I made, has inserts so was going to use those for a hook. I used 2.5" x 20" x 36" eps foam from shipping coolers which are thrown out at work, and trying to float a full aluminum foil setup. Trying to find a way to save this build, unless I should just go ahead and redo this with some closed cell.

I'm probably going to have to add maybe a block of cedar in back for the foil mount, which I'm hoping will cover up the burned up mess, then do hand layup with a few layers of glass. Is it gonna work, or should I abandon hope of saving it?

[Nelis]

I've shaped a couple of EPS-epoxy boards long time ago. As a filler after shaping I used this stuff: https://www.alabastine.nl/product/grote-gatenvuller-2/ It's called 'big hole filler' in Dutch. It's a super lightweight bondo type stuff for ceilings and walls. Worked really well, and was a lighter substitute for glass balloons.

Hope that helps.

/edit I think I got that tip from the Swaylocks forum back then; a good source for this kind of stuff.

[JakeFarley]

I would continue your build. Who cares about how ugly it is as long as it works. I've built some twintips that were basically a 1/4" sheet of plywood covered with epoxy with T-nut inserts and painted the board with appliance epoxy spray paint. Worked great but ugly. As far as filling the void in the EPS, if you cannot get some lightweight filler, just mix some epoxy with micro balloons and colloidal silica to make a thick paste and fill them in. And after it is done you can paint the bottom with whatever color appliance epoxy you wish. Here's a pic of the surfboard I made in 2015. The top was ugly but when I covered it with a traction pad, it looks fine.

[Trent hink]

Really bad gouges like that, you could use 2lb urethane foam to fill them in, and that's a common method for repairing eps-cored boards.

But if you get your core material for free and enjoy building and learning, you might wish to chalk it up as lessons learned and try again before you go using expensive materials like epoxy and reinforcing cloth.

[kiteman_hellyeah]

Thanks everyone for the tips! I forgot about the swaylocks website, I will check it out. I think I'm going to try and Bondo it up a bit, add some blocks for a bolt through mount, and continue with the build. I'm not sure I want to continue to try using this foam for the next attempt, it gets everywhere!

[Trent hink]

Bondo and and other polyester resins eat eps foam.

[kiteman_hellyeah]

Update: I ordered some EPS foam sealer from Greenlight Surf Supply which really helped to fill in all the gouges. I placed the (pine?) Indeterminate 2x2 scrap wood from shipping containers at the back. I think I might try adding some tempra paint to the sealer for a finish colored coat after some more sanding. I'm trying to figure out if I should drill six holes to fit my cabrinha aluminum threaded mast plate and larger clearwater mast, or slot it.

[kiteman_hellyeah]

So here's a question: I still have these very thick EPS (3") sheets laying around, thinking about redoing this project a different way. Does it make sense to cross cut it at say 1" and glue pieces to each other to get a rectangle at the smaller height (then cut outline, sammich in between some ply)? Or shave down over 2" from cut outline and end up with tiny eps balls everywhere? My main tools are one of those sureform planers and a table/jig saw, no hotwire setup yet.