People Near the Beach

[Hancock4Duke]

Anyone that knows anything about water sports and/or live near the beach, does anyone know anything about skimboarding? I got addicted to it at the beach, and want to do it alot more. I have a skimboard, but it is kind of small. I want a new skimboard, but one that is under $60. Can someone recommend one for me. I am 120 pounds, if that helps. Thanks
P.S. I would not like a wood one.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Anyone that knows anything about water sports and/or live near the beach, does anyone know anything about skimboarding? I got addicted to it at the beach, and want to do it alot more. I have a skimboard, but it is kind of small. I want a new skimboard, but one that is under $60. Can someone recommend one for me. I am 120 pounds, if that helps. Thanks
P.S. I would not like a wood one.

I don't even remember being 120 pounds. :o :o :o

[captmojo]

I don't remember 120lbs either. I do recall twice that much.
I don't remember skimboards.
I don't remember the beach.
I hardly remember $60.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Life is too short to waste time on measurements.

[devildeac]

Anyone that knows anything about water sports and/or live near the beach, does anyone know anything about skimboarding? I got addicted to it at the beach, and want to do it alot more. I have a skimboard, but it is kind of small. I want a new skimboard, but one that is under $60. Can someone recommend one for me. I am 120 pounds, if that helps. Thanks
P.S. I would not like a wood one.

I don't even remember being 120 pounds. :o :o :o

Birth weight? :oops: :roll: ;)

[Miles]

Anyone that knows anything about water sports and/or live near the beach, does anyone know anything about skimboarding? I got addicted to it at the beach, and want to do it alot more. I have a skimboard, but it is kind of small. I want a new skimboard, but one that is under $60. Can someone recommend one for me. I am 120 pounds, if that helps. Thanks
P.S. I would not like a wood one.

I don't know much about skimboarding but I ran a couple of quick searches on ebay and craigslist (Charlotte) and found quite a few matches for less than $60. My recommendation, go used and save yourself a few bucks. If you can't find a skimboard on your local craigslist, switch cities to beach town and see if you can arrange shipping details. Good luck.

[Johnboy]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit, and now look at everything as a new project for marine plywood and epoxy. You could build your own kickass skimboard that will look like it's wood, but will be lighter and feel like a fiberglass board. Just use 3mm marine plywood, some epoxy, lightweight fiberglass cloth, elbow grease and imagination. It probably wouldn't cost $60 and would be a fun project if you are inclined to do things like that.

Otherwise, the best suggestion here is from miles.




*Mine looks like the one in the foreground of the picture.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit.

Do you have pictures of yours? I believe DA also was helping to build one. I want to.

[DukieInKansas]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit, and now look at everything as a new project for marine plywood and epoxy. You could build your own kickass skimboard that will look like it's wood, but will be lighter and feel like a fiberglass board. Just use 3mm marine plywood, some epoxy, lightweight fiberglass cloth, elbow grease and imagination. It probably wouldn't cost $60 and would be a fun project if you are inclined to do things like that.

Otherwise, the best suggestion here is from miles.




*Mine looks like the one in the foreground of the picture.

Did you build it in your basement? Do we call you Gibbs now? Gratuitous NCIS reference

[TillyGalore]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit, and now look at everything as a new project for marine plywood and epoxy. You could build your own kickass skimboard that will look like it's wood, but will be lighter and feel like a fiberglass board. Just use 3mm marine plywood, some epoxy, lightweight fiberglass cloth, elbow grease and imagination. It probably wouldn't cost $60 and would be a fun project if you are inclined to do things like that.

Otherwise, the best suggestion here is from miles.




*Mine looks like the one in the foreground of the picture.

Did you build it in your basement? Do we call you Gibbs now? Gratuitous NCIS reference

I thought Gibbs was building a boat?

[DevilAlumna]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit.

Do you have pictures of yours? I believe DA also was helping to build one. I want to.

Indeed I was. Mr. DA is putting together this one: Pygmy Coho Hi Volume

[DukieInKansas]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit, and now look at everything as a new project for marine plywood and epoxy. You could build your own kickass skimboard that will look like it's wood, but will be lighter and feel like a fiberglass board. Just use 3mm marine plywood, some epoxy, lightweight fiberglass cloth, elbow grease and imagination. It probably wouldn't cost $60 and would be a fun project if you are inclined to do things like that.

Otherwise, the best suggestion here is from miles.




*Mine looks like the one in the foreground of the picture.

Did you build it in your basement? Do we call you Gibbs now? Gratuitous NCIS reference

I thought Gibbs was building a boat?

Yes - his was a boat but both are sea worthy vessels. I've know people that have built airplanes in their garages, but never a kayak or a boat.

[Johnboy]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit.

Do you have pictures of yours? I believe DA also was helping to build one. I want to.

I have some at home that I'll post sometime. I need to take more from different angles. Unlike some builders, I didn't keep a journal of the build or time my work, so I have no idea how many hours I put into it (though you can find dozens of these online, and more than one for my boat, a Chesapeake 17 LT from Chesapeake Light Craft).

It came out great, despite my inexperience with such things and a couple goofs I thought might really be a problem but it turns out are unnoticeable unless pointed out. I did make the boat a little heavy, as happens to nearly all first-time builders.

It's a really fun and rewarding project - I still get a little happy buzz/feeling of pride/accomplishment when I take her out paddling, and I always get looks and comments. It's fun to say "Yes, I did build this."

I don't have a basement or garage big enough, but I was invited by a friend who knew I wanted to build one to build it in his shop. He's building a 32 foot sportfishing boat, so I was able to take a corner of his shop for a while. And when I say a while, I mean way more time than I should have needed because I wasn't particularly diligent or in a hurry. You can do one of these boats in about 6 weeks of steady effort a couple hours a day - it's about 35-40 hours to assemble and glass and that much time again to do all the finish work. You must enjoy sanding. Also, I gotta admit - I got it ready for varnish, then paid a guy to spray 5 coats of marine polyurethane - so I cheated a little bit.

[Johnboy]

Bear with me here, this post will become relevant - I recently built a kayak* from a kit.

Do you have pictures of yours? I believe DA also was helping to build one. I want to.

Indeed I was. Mr. DA is putting together this one: Pygmy Coho Hi Volume

Nice! Good luck! How did he decide to build a Pygmy - are you on the West Coast? Did he just like the lines better?

Edit to add: Doh! I see your profile - Pygmys are from Washington State, and that's where you are.

[TillyGalore]

I have some at home that I'll post sometime. I need to take more from different angles. Unlike some builders, I didn't keep a journal of the build or time my work, so I have no idea how many hours I put into it (though you can find dozens of these online, and more than one for my boat, a Chesapeake 17 LT from Chesapeake Light Craft).

It came out great, despite my inexperience with such things and a couple goofs I thought might really be a problem but it turns out are unnoticeable unless pointed out. I did make the boat a little heavy, as happens to nearly all first-time builders.

It's a really fun and rewarding project - I still get a little happy buzz/feeling of pride/accomplishment when I take her out paddling, and I always get looks and comments. It's fun to say "Yes, I did build this."

I don't have a basement or garage big enough, but I was invited by a friend who knew I wanted to build one to build it in his shop. He's building a 32 foot sportfishing boat, so I was able to take a corner of his shop for a while. And when I say a while, I mean way more time than I should have needed because I wasn't particularly diligent or in a hurry. You can do one of these boats in about 6 weeks of steady effort a couple hours a day - it's about 35-40 hours to assemble and glass and that much time again to do all the finish work. You must enjoy sanding. Also, I gotta admit - I got it ready for varnish, then paid a guy to spray 5 coats of marine polyurethane - so I cheated a little bit.

I am really impressed that you built your own kayak. WTG!!!!!

[DevilAlumna]

Nice! Good luck! How did he decide to build a Pygmy - are you on the West Coast? Did he just like the lines better?

Edit to add: Doh! I see your profile - Pygmys are from Washington State, and that's where you are.

Yup. He was able to go up to Port Townsend and talk to the owner of the shop, plus try out two or three different models. He's had his eye on this company and their kit for years, it's just that this summer, he finally had the time to devote.

What do you mean by "made it heavy"? Too much epoxy?

[Johnboy]

What do you mean by "made it heavy"? Too much epoxy?

Bingo. I'm not sure how Pygmy kits work, but CLC kits use end pours, and mine were too big (esp. in the bow), and I just used too much epoxy overall. You know your boat is going to be a little heavy if you run out of epoxy before your work is done and you have to buy more (which I did, but only a little bit). I ran out right at the end, doing finishing work.

Some tips for keeping the boat light -
1. Keep the fillets really small - they're not there for strength - that comes from the 'glass cloth. They are there to make the cloth stick in the corners. They can be small and work properly. I overestimated the size of the bead of thickened epoxy required and made my fillets way too big.

B. Do not oversaturate the cloth - fill the weave with as little epoxy as it takes to make the cloth turn clear, apply in small pools that are worked in to the cloth (the trick here is striking the right balance - you don't want to starve the cloth, but too much glue will make the cloth "float").

3. Probably the most important tip - Work with small batches of epoxy. It cuts down on waste, which saves money, but more importantly, if you mix just enough (or not quite enough), so you're worried about running out, you'll use less and keep the boat lighter. It also helps to keep you from having to race to finish the job before the batch kicks off.

[DevilAlumna]

What do you mean by "made it heavy"? Too much epoxy?

Bingo. I'm not sure how Pygmy kits work, but CLC kits use end pours, and mine were too big (esp. in the bow), and I just used too much epoxy overall. You know your boat is going to be a little heavy if you run out of epoxy before your work is done and you have to buy more (which I did, but only a little bit). I ran out right at the end, doing finishing work.

Some tips for keeping the boat light -
1. Keep the fillets really small - they're not there for strength - that comes from the 'glass cloth. They are there to make the cloth stick in the corners. They can be small and work properly. I overestimated the size of the bead of thickened epoxy required and made my fillets way too big.

B. Do not oversaturate the cloth - fill the weave with as little epoxy as it takes to make the cloth turn clear, apply in small pools that are worked in to the cloth (the trick here is striking the right balance - you don't want to starve the cloth, but too much glue will make the cloth "float").

3. Probably the most important tip - Work with small batches of epoxy. It cuts down on waste, which saves money, but more importantly, if you mix just enough (or not quite enough), so you're worried about running out, you'll use less and keep the boat lighter. It also helps to keep you from having to race to finish the job before the batch kicks off.

Good tips - I'll pass them along to the boatmaker. He's just finished epoxying and sanding down the seams (it now looks like a boat!), about to start the bow & stern taping, then the all-over first epoxy layer.

I interrupted his boatmaking with the request that we actually finish the work we wanted to do on the deck, while the weather is nice - so we're working with wood stain rather than epoxy today.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Did you build it in your basement? Do we call you Gibbs now? Gratuitous NCIS reference

As I read your first sentence, Gibbs' boat is the image that came to mind. Then I read your second sentence

[Johnboy]

I interrupted his boatmaking with the request that we actually finish the work we wanted to do on the deck, while the weather is nice - so we're working with wood stain rather than epoxy today.

Ohh - stain! That's going to be a pretty boat!