Hi everyone, after upgrading from a soft deck to a new 'breakable' board, i have come to the conclusion that i will need a nose protector for the foreseeable future.
I am going to attempt to make my own Carbon fibre one 'cos it'll look cool
Can anyone tell me what grade cloth i should use and where a good supplier of CF cloth is SOR in Perth?
I'll post some photos of my experiment.
Cheers all.

just get the grade of cloth that looks cool

I'm not too keen on those rigid mast protectors......

My brother in law is specialized in catapults, so he had a carbon nose protector fitted on his Fanatic.

After a few crashes he removed it to check underneath, the carbon nose was intact, but the board was smashed..... Go figure....

He now has a deviator installed, only issue is you can't turn your sail from the front of the board....

Rigid nose protector = cracked mast on hard impact.

Best to go the pool noodle concept imo.

Just bust it and fix it...That's my motto

....It hurts the first few times

But you will get over it.

Stuthepirate said...

I did see a bloke down at the pond with a surfboard kickpad on the nose.
That looked liked it might do the trick.

Thanks everyone for the info Looks like carbon np's aren't what i'm looking for. Still might give it a go at making one, just for the fun of it. Next project will be a fin mod me thinks

You sound like a guy that enjoys fiddling. Still make a carbon jobbie if you really enjoy the challenge but all you need to do is glue some mid density EVA foam under it as Waiting4wind suggested. Think motorcycle helmet, it works on the same principle.

Or you can go the fugly way and shape some EVA from Clark Rubber and glue it to the nose with contact cement eg. Kwik Grip. I've made one for mine, it ain't a new board but I don't want to smash the nose either. I used 2 densities of EVA, hard on top (grey), softer underneath (black). In time when I stop catapulting my rig into the board's nose I will peel it off, maybe not.

Here's a pic I posted a while back of my nose pad. Fugly but works very well.



Or you can go the cheap and easy route and look on eBay or your local windsurf shop and rummage through their old stuff and look for an old '80s-'90s "mast protector" for the base of the mast. I still have mine! The idea is you attach it to the mast UNDER the boom in alignment to where the mast/board contact point is. I nicked this pic from the 'net somewhere. Oh I forgot, you turn it upside down so the velcro straps wraps around the mast.

Hey nosinka...how good are those old Fanatic Cross's?! Fast, great for chop-hops, great allrounders. Just 'retired' mine, but miss it already.

Stuthepirate said...

Sailhack said...

Best to go the pool noodle concept imo.

I did see a bloke down at the pond with a surfboard kickpad on the nose.
That looked liked it might do the trick.

Thanks everyone for the info Looks like carbon np's aren't what i'm looking for. Still might give it a go at making one, just for the fun of it. Next project will be a fin mod me thinks

On a big yellow BIC?

I cracked the nose on my board a little bit so i just cut three layers of an old foam sleeping mat into the shape of the nose and gaffer taped it into place. Worked a treat so far and didn't cost me anything as I had the materials at home.

The mat I had doesn't suck up too much water but that could be a problem if you get foam that loves water.

that's what I've got on my futura 122, dual density is the way to go !!

nosinkanow said...

Stuthepirate said...

I did see a bloke down at the pond with a surfboard kickpad on the nose.
That looked liked it might do the trick.

Thanks everyone for the info Looks like carbon np's aren't what i'm looking for. Still might give it a go at making one, just for the fun of it. Next project will be a fin mod me thinks

You sound like a guy that enjoys fiddling. Still make a carbon jobbie if you really enjoy the challenge but all you need to do is glue some mid density EVA foam under it as Waiting4wind suggested. Think motorcycle helmet, it works on the same principle.

Or you can go the fugly way and shape some EVA from Clark Rubber and glue it to the nose with contact cement eg. Kwik Grip. I've made one for mine, it ain't a new board but I don't want to smash the nose either. I used 2 densities of EVA, hard on top (grey), softer underneath (black). In time when I stop catapulting my rig into the board's nose I will peel it off, maybe not.

Here's a pic I posted a while back of my nose pad. Fugly but works very well.

That looks like a pretty neat job to me. Well done!

cammd said...

I bought a JP nose protector for my Xcite after crunching the nose a couple of times, didnt like parting with the cash as it pretty expensive for a bit of foam with JP written on it. But years later it has done its job well, I,m over the pain of paying for it and now my son is getting into the sport he will use the board and I,m pretty sure it will save the nose from many more catapults to come.

Sorry shameless plug - I bought one & never fitted it so for sale cheap if anyone wants one.

Agree with the points. nice information to share