We love it when customers email in expressing their stoke!
A young chap named Dylan got in touch a while ago and told us he was thinking of making a surfboard for his school technology project. He came to the right place – we stock all the necessary materials to make your own surfboard and have the knowledge and expertise to guide you through the process.
Dylan sent in some photographs he has been taking to record the progress of his surfboard shaping project and gave us an update to let us know he is nearly finished!
One of our 6’4″ Xtra Foam Surfboard blanks was taken up to Diplock Surfboards, who with their CNC machine, shaped the board from Dylan’s AKU Shaper file (designed by himself)
After a number of weeks of hard work, the blank was returned to Dylan and after some last minute pointers from Triocean, he set about finishing it ready for glassing.
Fibreglass cloth and surfboard resin are used together to create the strong, watertight finish we expect on a surfboard.
The fibreglass cloth is laid out over the blank (underside first) and trimmed to slightly below the rails (see the rail laps in pictures 9 and 10). The surfboard resin is poured on to the cloth and blank, and is worked in to the fibres (using a squeegee) saturating the fibreglass with as little excess as possible. Once the rail laps have been “wet out,” they are lapped around on to the opposite side of the board.
This process is repeated for the deck (with multiple layers of fibreglass cloth) after the lap lines visible in picture 11 have been sanded smooth and flat.
See our knowledge base post on glassing here for more information and our video on how to mix polyester surfboard resin here
CNC Shaping Machine – Underside Cuts
CNC Shaping Machine – Alignment
CNC Shaping Machine – Finished Cut
Last Minute Tips for Finishing the Blank
Finished Shaping the Nose
Finished Shaping the Tail
Final Shape – Ready for Glassing
Glassing the Surfboard – Fibreglass Cloth Cut Ready for Surfboard Resin
Time to “Lap the Rails”
First Rail Laps Done
Glassing Complete – Ready for Hot Coating, Fin Plugs and Sanding
We look forward to seeing Dylan’s progress through the final hot coating, fin plug setting and sanding stages. and hope to see a great looking board in the water soon!
He’s made a great effort so far and Triocean are proud to have been involved with a great School project.
Has this given you an urge to shape your own board? Don’t worry, help is at hand at Triocean Surf – just come and see us in store or give us a call/email and we will be happy to answer any questions and get you started making your very own surfboard.
Surfboard Shaping Kits are available online – providing the necessary materials needed for the first-time shaper, with a extensive range of surfboard shaping materials (such as polyester surfboard resin and fibreglass cloth) and tools available in store and for shipping.
Get Involved