Last year I built a wave twintip which was pretty much a shameless copy of Nomad's wave twinny's, at least on the outline.
It has become my favourite board, bar none.
However, I really really dig the convenience of travelling with a split board.
So, logically, there can be only one conclusion.. I have to build a split version of my wave twinny.
Some requirements:
* Fit in a suitcase with inside measurments of 76cm x 50cm
* Bindings (boots) compatible
* Grind base (so I can do beach starts with the boots on)
* Retain the flex characteristics of my other board where possible
Given that this is my first attempt at a split board, I wanted to keep things simple, but robust.
Doing a bit of Google-fu, I finally decided to use the plate approach, also known as a strapped butt joint.
This seemed the easiest to fabricate and would allow the most flexibility in terms of adjusting the flex after the fact, by changing the plate.
Also, the plate approach allows you to fit a longer board into the suitcase, as the W-joints take up another few centimeters.
To test the characteristics of the stapped butt joint, I screwed 3 pieces of foam together and bent it both ways.
What I learned from this is the where the two plates overlap, the structure is as strong as both plates together, if not stronger.
Where the top strap terminates on the bottom plates, there is a definite stress concentration, unless the top strap is tapered.
In the middle where the butt joint is, the top strap does all the work.
Some of these conclusions are more obvious than others