Dick Brewer Balsa Surfboard Lamination

Dick Brewer shapes some of the nicest balsa surfboards out on the market today. We were able to observe Otis while he was laminating a beautiful Brewer balsa with glass on fins. The majority of the cost of these boards is in the blank and the shaping but during the glassing process the true beauty of the wood comes to life. Since balsa boards cost a premium it’s even more important that the glass job is absolutely perfect. You wouldn’t pay top dollar for a Ferrari that has a big scratch down the side of it, right?

Otis utilizes the Fiberglass Hawaii UV cure polyester resin and materials in order to cure the resin before the balsa has a chance to absorb the resin and to keep the glassing process moving along quickly.

Below are 10 simple steps to laminating a balsa board with glass on fins. For more detail, check out the video. All the materials in this video can be found at http://shop.fiberglasshawaii.com.

 

1. Seal the bottom of the board as well as the rails using UV cure polyester resin.

You’re done! Fins are trimmed and ready for hot coat.

10. Trim the excess fiberglass cloth from around the fins.

9. Apply your fin rope and fin patches to the fins in order to glass them to the board.

8. Tape your glass on fins to the desired tow and cant and then tack them on with laminating resin.

7. Flip the board over and grind the resin and lap line on the bottom of the board.

6. Apply a hot coat, or sanding coat, to the deck of the board.

5. Laminate the deck of the board with a single layer of 6oz fiberglass.

4. Seal the deck of the board using UV cure polyester resin.

3. Grind the fiberglass laps with a 50-80 grit 8” disk.

2. Laminate the bottom of the board with a single layer of 6oz fiberglass.