DIY

OUTDOORS

GREENER WAVES

Surfboard kit uses a new epoxy technique without fiberglass. By Keith Hammond

“Aren’t we all tired of surfboards being as fragile as a porcelain doll? I can’t think of any other piece of sporting equipment that is as easily destroyed.”

—Board maker Matt Barker

Traditional surfboards are a frustrating old technology. First, they’re toxic landfill — polyurethane foam, fiberglassed with polyester resin. Worse, they’re fragile and short-lived because of cracks and leaks. That’s ridiculous, and at $400 and up, expensive. Modern epoxy boards are stronger, and greener, but start at $600.

A DIY kit from Greenlight Surfboard Supply is the ticket. For $395 it’s got all the materials and tools you need to make a tougher, greener epoxy board using expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam that’s recyclable. Greenlight’s new lamination technique, using stretchy bamboo fabric instead of fiberglass

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cloth, is easier and safer. And when this board finally fails I can recycle or compost most of it. Nice.

The layup uses a 2-part amine-cured epoxy resin from Resin Research. Their wetting agent, Additive F, helps the resin flow and “wet out” the cloth, and eliminates epoxy’s tendency to “blush” or sweat in humid or cool conditions. This resin was designed for surfboards; it cures clear and it’s UV-resistant.

I’m amazed at how pleasant it is to work with. It’s got 1/50th the VOCs of polyester, so instead of choking on fumes, you can barely smell it. You use less, and it cleans up with water and citrus cleaner instead of acetone. What an improvement for the DIYer.

Greenlight co-owner Brian Gagliana says they experimented with natural fibers for a year before perfecting a layup with bamboo fabric. “We found that putting it in tension made it stronger and easier to laminate,” he says, “as well as using less material.”

Photograph by Sam Murphy