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My body board float

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Magpie

Apprentice old git
Supporter
Jan 11, 2006
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Had been keeping an eye open for a cheap but foam (not polystrene) boogie board all summer to make a float from and having not found any I spent more than all of the boards I'd seen on a slab of foam to make my own!

First step was to carve the foam with a big knife from the kitchen:



Then sanded it down to a smooth shape:



Then had a lesson in fibreglassing (cheers Predator) and set to it. Gave it one coat of pvc glue to stop the resin melting the foam...which was successfull...ish!



Here you can see the conduit channels I set into it prior to covering it, you'll see why later.



Next undercoat and a few coats of the brightest red I could find for visibility.



Opened up the channels and fitted stainless rings in loops of bungie cord with stainless washers to further protect the board. Also put my custom bodged hooks in place for the line and inlet it for the line and flags.



A closeup of the fittings:



......
 
Reactions: Mr. X, deep thinker, azapa and 1 other person
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Now put all the bits together with bungie forming a cargo net and the line wrapped around the line holder to allow variable length rope but without a line holder below water level increasing drag. Also wanted the line coming from under the board so put a tube through the board with a neoprene gland on the top to provide some tension and stop the line coming off the winding hooks.





Left the underneath with just the undercoat showing so to reduce the chance of spooking any fish. You can see the same ring setup as on the top which will be useful for clipping accessories that I want in the water.



Wasn't sure where to put the flag at first, and also couldn't decide between what seems to be the international diving flag and the more commonly used locally A-flag. Decided on both which also solved the location problems! The flags are rigged on bungie so they can be pulled out of their slots and folded flat for storage and for when I want to ride the board back in after a dive.



Hope it was of interest to someone!
 
Reactions: KingRexy
Awesome idea for the line holder :king

What are the wheels in the background?
 
Cheers, I wanted the length adjustable but didn't want a line winder in the water increasing drag, and thats what I came up with. Can be any length from 3m for surface stalking to however much I want for aspetto (the 15m on there is plenty for me!).

That's my mates Jedi single seater, he's one here and will no doubt be along shortly!
 
I've been thinking of making something similar but I wasn't sure what sort of foam to use and as you say those boards are expensive. What is the board? What is the PVC glue, the stuff for waste pipes?

That line winder is genius, the best idea I've seen in ages :friday
 
I used closed cell underfloor insulation foam. The slab cost 16 quid but is enough to make a good few. I've got a plan for a smaller more streamlined one.

Doh, typo, I meant PVA glue! Would need a few coat to do its job properly as I did get some foam melting bubbles when I put the resin on.
 
Ah PVA makes sense I had researched making a polystyrene board and found out that epoxy is used to stop melting it in boat building but at a price, that foam is the stuff to use, many thanks bro
 
You have a few choices... The easy to get hold of ones are:

PVC (poly vinyl something or other??) foam which is what maggers used can be had in different types; cross linked for stiffer panels, or uncross linked for more flexible ones. It can also be thermo-formed, that is shaped to conform to complex curvature by an application of heat. Needs to be sealed with pva/epoxya if under elevated temp during curing, infact it's best to do it anyway as you can see by maggsters example, not doing so will cause voids underneath the glass. Easy enough to work with depending on the application, and is quite tough.

Or

Expanded polystyrene/styrofoam. Normally comes in sheets and is readily available from builders merchants. If using polyester resin it will need sealing, if using epoxy resin (which is very expensive compared to polyester) it wont. Very week, makes a right f-in mess when all the balls fall apart but is easy to work with.

Or

Polyurethane foam. This wont melt with polyester or epoxy resins (it's the same stuff you get from DIY shops as expanding 'gap filler'). I dont know who stocks sheets of it as I have only used this stuff in 2 pack form for making really curvy shapes and seats for my car. Easy to work with and quite tough too, 2 pack aswell makes it verstaile.

OR theres the really fan dabie dosey one for geeks like me:

Polymethyl-methacrylamide - said to have the best mechanicle strength and thermal properties currently available. Used in the areospace industry and showing more in motorsport too as the price -slowly- becomes sensible. I 've used it once and it really is the dogs b*****, even the hot exhaust on my car wont melt it!


Pastor - Jedi Racing Cars Ltd it's for sale too if anyone is interested in the quickest jedi in the uk, class record holder and mint
 
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nice one Magpie.

Question: why did you make this instead of using a body board? It looks very cool but must have been hard to make. Is it quite light?

You could put some rucksack straps on the front to make it easier on walks to more distant spots.

Lovely job!
 
Do you guys come up to Anglesey to race that thing? I live just a couple of miles awy from the Anglesey circuit, if you're up..
 
Nice one mate, I mite steal your foldup flag idea :t
I use a garden irrigation attachment siliconed into the board at the mo but it aint working so well.
Not at all actually it tore out when the board got flipped over by a wave rofl
 
To be totally honest I stole the foldup flag concept from another one I'd seen, probably on here somewhere, modified it a bit, but that idea wasn't mine.

Az: Erm, why didn't I use a body board? Erm, because I didn't find one that wasn't polystrene that was cheap enough. But then I spent far more on the foam than I expected to as well! It wouldn't have been half the fun anyway.
Its not feather light mainly because of the fibreglassing, but it needs that because it'll be dragged round and over granite reefs which aren't the most forgiving. Weighs 3lbs all in with 15m of line.
Rucksack straps are planned, just haven't got the webbing yet. They'll simply clip into the accessories rings on the underneath, then unclip when at the water to keep drag down (which was the key design criteria).
 
magpie thats an excellent looking float, how much did it cost if you dont mind me asking? have you tried it in the water? or not yet..
 
Good one Maggers but I bet you got a little stressed when you applied the polyester resin to the high density polystyrene?
O by the way you can buy polyurethane froam most builders merchants sold as double "R" insulation.
Epoxy is not so expensive as it used to be & polyester resin is far more expensive than it used to be!
I buy my epoxy for about £22 a gallon.
 
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Approximate costs:

Foam: £16 (enough for 4 boards)
Fibreglass mat and resin: £4
Paint: £2
SS washers and rings: £4
Bungie cord: £4
Line: £5

The rest was bodged together from stuff I had lying around. Its not been out yet, 60 knot winds make diving a bit unpleasant!

It went on ok actually, a bit of melting here and there, but nothing major or project threatening. Never done any fibreglassing before so was all new and exciting to me!
 
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Magpie said:
It went on ok actually, a bit of melting here and there, but nothing major or project threatening. Never done any fibreglassing before so was all new and exciting to me!
Click to expand...

I hope I never see the stuff again!
So now you got the hang of it what you going to build next?
 
Foxy - please tell me where you can get 5liters of epoxy for £22? I use west system epoxy, £60-70!
 
ok so all in all (if we consider the foam cost only 4pounds) 23 pounds
thats like what 62$ almost, the omer shardana float is for around 80$....still quite cheaper, it will depend on how it handles in the water though, you almost cant feel the shardana behind you..... GOod Job
 
anyone ever consider the use of the fish bag coolers, you know these soft cooler bags for fish, i thought it could be a good idea if you could put one on top of the board load it with some ice and store the fish in there instead of dragging it around on a stringer...a fresher way to store the fish
 
here they put them in a mesh bag (chinguillo) and trail the bag behind the float. Often a few empty but sealed water bottles are placed in the bag to make it float more. very little drag. Sorry no pictures of the idea...
 
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