ok maybe your right decrepit, years ago we used to have a windsurfing class in the state and nationals, that was called custom if the board was hand layed up, or production it it was factory molded layed ,what i was saying carbon art claims there a custom board not a production, now if you want a board made for you and have some changes like the footstraps in or out or back or forward or your own graffics then that board is custom made especialy for you, you dont have to be in the workshop and futher more say you rode a tabou and said that boards great but i'd like a bit more volume in front of the mast track do you think tabou would doit, on the other hand call james i want a 55 but can you stick a bit more volume in front of the track because i couldnt tack the one i tryed he would say sure its your board you can have what you want is there anything elese i can do for you sir you dont have to be there

yeah he is pretty receptive to slight changes to the established designs, allthough it may not be common knowledge.
i have had extra strap inserts installed further aft in my sp 50 and a mate has had a quote to doctor 1 of the sp boards to suit himself... so there can be little custom changes done. obviously the changes would add to the standard price.but thats still an awesome option to have with a quality product like the CA's.

Back to the cutouts, and with you board modification knowledgable types there, I'm thinking of routering some cutouts into a bic techno slalom board, I only use it for marginal days but that seems fairly often. I've done plenty of glass/epoxy boat construction but I'm unsure of whats going on with the plasticy outer skin on the bic. I'm not too worried about cosmetics but wouldn't want to wreck the inner core with a botched leaking skin. Anyone cut into one of these and have advice whether to route or not to route?
Thanks

I'm not sure about the bic, there's different types of plastic finishes.
If it's only a thin layer of plastic over glass, you're probably OK.
But if it's a thick skin of plastic all the way thru, I'd leave it alone.
Unless you're really convinced it's going to make a huge improvement, probably not worth the risk of a failed bond and a water logged board.

The cutouts made a huge improvement on my speed board because it's the first one I've made/modified, and I had too much area behind the backfoot.
Hopefully the bic was designed for optimum angle of attack and cutouts may not make much difference, may even make it worse!
Have you tried moving foot straps all the way back?
Mast track all the way back as well?

If doing these improve your ride, and you think sinking the tail even further would improve it more, then maybe it's worth it.

Maybe I'll hold of till I can get more info on the layup and skinning of the original board then see if its worthwhile. As you infer Decrep its all a gamble anyway but then I like tinkering with these things. The board goes OK but at 69cm width the (don't look Nebbian) wetted surface aft could be alot reduced when planing.
Thanks for the input.

NotWal said...

Nebbs (et al) are right. You wont reduce your planing area by installing cutouts. It will just move forward a tad - same as moving your footstraps and fin back a notch.

Or similarly by narrowing your board a notch. The way I see it cutouts extend the wind range of a board of given width by delaying the point where the hull lift moves too far back for comfort.

Combines the wide board's advantage of early planing and big fins, with the narrower board's high wind ability. But possibly compromises both?

I was impressed how easily my cutout equipped 72cm wide Falcon sailed powered up on a 6.0, but then found the later model Falcons had deleted the cutouts? Maybe they figured on selling more boards each with a narrower range. Maybe they decided to target sailors with a bit more skill.

decrepit said...

Yes if there's any glass in there, you can sand the plastic away from it, so that the epoxy has something to stick to.

ok so youve got the glass coverd, but the epoxy still won't stick to the plastic

when i did a noslip on my tiga i roughed it up with a hacksaw blade the epoxy bonded great

sales/sails gimmick ????????

[b]nebbian said...Does the missile S also have pipes to connect the cutouts to the deck?

has anyone seen one of those missile s's with the wind pipes ,where are they on the board and what do they do ,ive been looking everywhere on the net but no luck

keef said...

has anyone seen one of those missile s's with the wind pipes ,where are they on the board and what do they do ,ive been looking everywhere on the net but no luck

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