here's my latest project finished this week - a new kitesurf board.

built after i had proved a home made board was actually feasible and works, this one is finished better and is not quite so shoddily put together (in my opinion!).

it's essentially 12mm plywood, painted, about 8 coats of yacht varnish. maui magic bindings bolted on with flush-to-the-board boltheads on top of foam foot pads. the bottom side sports two cabrinha fins on the heel edge.

i'm quite pleased with it, especially since this one cost me nothing - i'd got this plywood left over from my first attempt, likewise with the bindings, and with dad being a decorator we have an abundance of paint in the garage! (and i don't think he's noticed several stiff paint brushes lying around yet!)

as it's only 125x36 it's not ideal to learn on but i can't wait to try it out!

here's the underside...

[Edited on 5-7-2005 by rob]

all it needs now is a grab handle for me to perfect my board-off's!!! yeh right!

loo0king good rob ; did yo try putting on some rocker by steaming the wood, or soaking it in boiling water the leaving it to dry, the tips on a couple of inchhes and a weight on the centre section. you could try making it a bit wider ie about 40cm or so ,helps with the lulls.
good luck neil

somebody mentioned that idea to me the other day, but by then it's been varnished and everyth9ng. i've thought about just putting some weight in the middle and hope that it stays in a little bit? what do you think?will rocker really make such a difference on a board this short? thanks for the input!

you bet rocker will make a difference!the board isn't really that short by todays standards, i ride a 125 * 41cm and thats over one year old.
you could try grinding off the bottom surface and applying steam, then re varnish.

I'm inspired mate.... That's my project for summer given that my current board is a 160 it's a great way of obtaining a much shorter one for nearly no money.

What difference does rocker make?

upwind ability ,submarining in waves, but upwind ability mostly.

it certainly puts things into perspective shawn when u consider buying a board for £500!! this one's a top of the range model compared to my other home made stuff - as i'm sure al and shem will tell you there isnt a thing you can throw at my custom built control bar that it won't be able to handle! comes in handy for breaking off pad locks too. (and no, not for illegal purposes!!)