If you want a sub $1000 SUP you are going to need to do a little work for it but it is deffo doable....steps below :


Download Aku shaper (free)
Go to Shapers.com.au and order a machine cut blank and mail them your design (a bit less than $400 for the blank + $50ish for the cutting)
Hand finish blank (free)
Take blank to glasser and get it glassed and sanded (approx $300 - $400)
Buy some fins and ($100 - $150)
Go out and rip

...all prices approx and you will save some money sourcing second hand fin boxes, FCS insterts, deck grip equivalnet is availble from clarks rubber


Good luck

Normal fibreglass will come in alot cheaper than epoxy....I'm pretty sure if you ask around you will find some...we got quoted $400 for short boards at the start bit of a ring around and lo and behold we found a guy willing to knock them out for $100....or if you realy want to save dough DIY there are plenty of instructions all over the internet

What he said the more you do yourself the cheaper it gets...the first post was more for people without much space or novices looking for a cheaper option

Hey you dudes.....
You obviously have a computer........do you know what google is?????????

Hundreds of web sites detailing every aspect of board building

ask the questions & the machine will tell you!

If you need further help email me
cheers


inspiration.............$150 to make a board.....try it its not rocket science
(although it will take practice, get a scrap of eps sheet & make a scale model to learn how to shape, its all the same process)

LSD said...

Hey you dudes.....
You obviously have a computer........do you know what google is?????????

Hundreds of web sites detailing every aspect of board building

ask the questions & the machine will tell you!

If you need further help email me
cheers


inspiration.............$150 to make a board.....try it its not rocket science
(although it will take practice, get a scrap of eps sheet & make a scale model to learn how to shape, its all the same process)

Yeah hundreds of sites is what Im worried about. Thought maybe there was a site that stood out rather than just reading the one I google at random, or worse wading through a bunch. Google is ace for a ballpark idea of whats out there but human reference is still the best for finding exactly what you need.

Good tip on the scale model though. Hows 2 foot for a 1st attempt? Too small?

Lobes said...

I have never done any sort of surfboard shaping or construction. Dont even have much fibreglassing experience.

Can anyone point to a website or likewise that goes through the basic steps in language a novice could understand? Or better yet someone start a thread on how to shape, glass, hand finish etc?

www.swaylocks.com/ and www.grainsurf.com/forum/ if you like to play with wood look useful

Lobes said...

LSD said...

Hey you dudes.....
You obviously have a computer........do you know what google is?????????

Hundreds of web sites detailing every aspect of board building

ask the questions & the machine will tell you!

If you need further help email me
cheers


inspiration.............$150 to make a board.....try it its not rocket science
(although it will take practice, get a scrap of eps sheet & make a scale model to learn how to shape, its all the same process)

Yeah hundreds of sites is what Im worried about. Thought maybe there was a site that stood out rather than just reading the one I google at random, or worse wading through a bunch. Google is ace for a ballpark idea of whats out there but human reference is still the best for finding exactly what you need.

Good tip on the scale model though. Hows 2 foot for a 1st attempt? Too small?

Same applies to human reference.........ask a hundred builders how to do it ...you will get a hundred different answers!

Yes 2 foot is good...bigger the better

Check out surfersteve.com I got a lot out of his website.

Sorry, I pressed "post my reply" before I got to the point (hope it's worth it) . My point is if you build your own, you cannot fail . If you build it between 2.5 feet and 3.5 feet wide and between 9feet and 14 feet long ,thin at one end, much fatter in the middle and thin again at the other it will work

I have made/ridden my own boards (shortboards and kiteboards) for the past 15 years. It is way enjoyable to make/ride/ experiment.

I've gotta say. I'm up to around my 20th now. (1st SuP starting soon when I find somewhere to build it...) and while I reakon I will get it out cheaper than buying one....Overall I reakon its more expensive.

You never get the resell value on boards you make yourself. Even if you have decals, perfect finish and top shape. People are like sheep. They buy what everyone else has. Be prepared to keep it FOREVER.

That said. It isn't a money saving exercise. You will make a mess. You will have to sand off all the mistakes you make. The board will end up Great, and will probably surf better than anything you've ever ridden (Because you've made it to work for your style/strengths and weaknesses) Its totally awesome. I say go for it. Lets start a thread on ideas....Ive got a few million to share. LOL.

Yes it is rewarding building your own boards.
At $150 to $200 for a DIY board you can build a quiver for the price of ONE shop stick!

Having made epoxy goatboats for 12 years, just wondering how you make a SUP for that sort of money? I assume they are epoxy. The material cost of a goatboat in the 80s and 90s was about $400 dollars from memory, admittedly there were a lot more finboxes but less material over all.

Has anyone got a photo of there board close up with rails tape on it. i would like to see the placment and line you take.

Yeah mate whatever.

Consumables...$10....hmmm.

dtm said...

ok mate i shaped around 40 short boards a week in my peak but yeah they saw me coming .

Whats 40 boards a week in your peak got to do with todays material prices & cheap sub?

An 8' or so sub can be made for less than 200 bucks
The easyest way for prospective board builders to see this is check prices on www.shapers.com.au & they certainly are not the cheapest way to buy.

Hi sillsy,
The pink foam you have is probably xps, that is extruded polystyrene, I used to make sailboards & kiteboards from it.
Its not hydroscopic like eps. it will never take up water, its a pitty they cant make eps like that & lighter like eps.
Most production boards use the lightest grade eps, although some stuff from China use a form of xps, you can tell by the weight, real heavy!
If you want to make a high performance sub for surf, go small & light, they rip. Most production stuff is way off the mark.
They can make very light strong boards but they dont. They go cheap materials & minimal labour.
Once you have ridden a 5.5kg board how could you ride a 10kg log? Its just so much more fun.

Hi Sillsy,

I'll fill you in on the details today on the down-winder today, you can shape it or hot wire cut it no problems. Foam available form Foamex www.foamex.com.au/ . You can either buy blocks in whatever thickness and width you want or they will even hot wire a plan shape and rocker shape into it for you if you give them dxf files ( I can help with that if anyone wants to do that - relatively easy to turn straight on rocker and plan photos into dxf files that they can cut) Than all you have to do is shape rails, concave etc.

JC