Compsand #3's maiden voyage

James has just recovered from a 7 day bout with the flu AND has a winter formal this evening, so it won't be a long or arduous day,(ok ok ok PLUS it's FEELS like it's 8 degrees outside! ) but...the e.balsa board will get wet today.

I just weighed it before loading it in the boat. As pictured above, with fins and traction it weighs 67.1 ounces. So it' a 3 pound some odd ounce board, naked. 4 pound 3 oz outfitted. That's fully 1.5 pounds lighter than anything else I have...hand built or purchased.

When I reflect on that, 1.5 pounds isn't much by and of itself, but it's in the area of a 30-50% weight savings, depending upon how you calculate it. That's pretty significant.

I'm hoping it doesn't self-destruct on the first run!

awesome Jeff! beautiful!

Thanks Matt.

So...it was cold today. Just at the 100 degree combined temp that Ed S indicates is a minimum.

Water temp was an invigorating 55'ish.



The air temp, a brisk 45'ish.

My lovely assistant, Judy showing us the board and her weather appropriate attire, especially the fur lined boots

First pull, I hope it doesn't break!

YES! It survived. I honestly was a bit nervous that it would fold on the start. I gave that e.bals board the best years of my life!

The board rode remarkably well. The design of the board itself is ancillary to the construction methodology and materials. The board is incredibly light and so it was easy to toss around. It also felt very alive, probably the most lively board I've ever ridden.

You can feel it flex a little, not significantly like a wet noodle, but more like when you pressed it hard into a turn you could feel the shape of the board change...what was great about this, however, was that the board, I believe due to the e.balsa, would seem to spring or squirt out of the turn. The materials really are quite interesting.

and backside switch too!

I found that the board spun fairly easy, it felt like as you lightened it up it would spring upward a bit...I don't think I landed this...I over-rotated.

Nice, sounds like the board turned well. I actually got out for a little wakeboarding today. Combined temperature was about 80. Air temp around 34F and water temp at 44F.

Nice, sounds like the board turned well. I actually got out for a little wakeboarding today. Combined temperature was about 80. Air temp around 34F and water temp at 44F.

Ed!!!!!! Combined of 80?! You have lost your mind! And wakeboarding to boot...I could almost understand it, if you braved those temperatures to wakesurf. It explains why you love wood so much!

Really with the dry suit and gloves it wasn't bad at all. Toe got a little cold. Closed toe boots would help.

When your riding behind someone else’s boat it's a when in Rome thing. With todays ride I have 9 out of 12 months.

really like that aggressive fin placement.thats how i like to tighten up the turning arch too.you guys riden in 45 degree water is what i call stoke!

That's Billy...not so sure it's stoke or obsession!

Wow! didn't realize it was so cold out there already. was out with the Wake Outlaws this weekend in nothing but trunks. I think the combined temp was about 150F. You should come out to TX for your test rides in winter! Ed you can come too. After riding in those temps you might be fine in a shorty in CA in a few weeks!

i love it Jeff!! Good work.

James got a chance to ride Compsand #3, last week he was recovering from the Flu, so didn't get in the cold water. Aerials are probably the "hardest" on the structure of a board and this board held up well I think I indicated it weighs 4 pounds 3 oz with fins and traction.

Jeff that board is nice. So what is your sons take on the board?

Hey Matt,

I have to give the LONG answer - sorry

There are two things going on with this design. One, the major part of this experiment was the composite sandwich construction, the other is the actual design of the board separate and distinct from the construction process. This board was similar to the Bullet that James has been riding for a few years, but lacked the single concave, wings and a few other design smaller design features. The composite sandwich allows us to make a board that is light and flexible, heavy and flexible, light and stiff, heavy and stiff and anything in between - or even combinations thereof in certain spots.

Bert Burger who was part of the Firewire surfboars and now is part of Sunova boards is a HUGE proponent of flex. He also is an advocate of wood. For the ocean, they build with 2oz sandwich glass, 2 oz bottom and 4 oz top. Also, skin thickness is typically 1/16" or thicker. This is TOO "sturdy" to initiate decent flex behind the boat. Water is mushy, exceptionally so at 10 to 11 mph. James rides in a skate'ish manner. For his purposes, he needs and feels most comfortable with a super stiff board that transfers all of his energy without a windup and also that doesn't lose any energy to this windup and return.

So, his opinion was that the board was better than average, it's a great ride, it wasn't the ride he was looking for so it also wasn't superlative - which is what he is used to riding at this point.

This picture gives you an idea of how mushy water is at our speed and it's fairly easy to project just how flexible a board has to be to interact with this medium.

The board we finshed was exceptionally light. This has bth pros and cons. One of the pros is that it can be tossed around easily...think it and the board does it. It is hard to fully appreciate from this picture, but the board is completely hidden. James is on top of the wake and drifting away. He just pushed it down and forward and actually saved this. I SWEAR!!!! There is a bouyancy and control factor in this that I don't fully graps, but can say that this recovering was pretty amazing.

The con side is that it lacks momentum. James describes his aerial tricks as done 1/2 in the water and 1/2 in the air. He twists and loads his body before becoming airborne and then unloads and untwists once in the air. The super light board doesn't carry through the air. So you can tweak it easily, but it loses it's "feel" in the air. So there is a desirable level of lightness. Light and rigid is good, but too light appears to be a sub 4 pound board. The desirable or target area is in the 4 pound range. For James, a 4 pound, 1-4 oz weight looks to be ideal.

That's kind of the type of answer I was looking for. Thanks for pushing the envelope. One thing I noticed in my board is the lack of drive it had. It was plenty thick. Very bouyant. It would turn on a dime. But you have to really pump it to stay in the pocket. It works much better just holding onto the rope and slashing the lip of the wake.

You bet Matt...I enjoy borrowing ideas from other knowldegable folks and implementing them behind the boat. I think the balance between drive and turning responsiveness has a lot to do with rocker and fin placement. I think, but don't quote me on this, that it was Sean Ward who was just talking generally - that often the two attributes are oppossed to each other. So a board that is exceptionally fast down the line, tends to give up turning responsiveness and vice versa. I know that this seems true in practice for me.

I had one board made that has some ridiculous nose rocker and tail rocker...like 4.5 nose and 1.5 tail - it was curved like a banana It also had an insane toe-in angle, close to an inch between rear of the fins and front of the fins. It would turn on a dime and even surface rotations were easy...but it would give you a stroke having to pump it to stay up with the boat! The opposite seems true also. We have that 5'8" surftech Barney thruster. It is very narrow and fast, but attempting to turn it can break a femor!

yea I remember somebody saying something along those lines but that Wardo character is a kook and doesn't know what he's talking about.

So Jeff now when got light board you just can add weight where it's needed. Remember FireWire design - I saw video where shaper talked about adding piece of metal weight to certain place - on top in 1/3 towards nose and it quite change how of board behave during ride.
I think there is space for research to perfectly balance board in all aspects with experiment weith several wights on different places. Wakeskaters already know that heavy boards are better for riding.

(Message edited by hawaj on December 19, 2007)

That's interesting Petr. I know that I have used some different fins in one of James boards. The FCS H2 carbonlite (I think it's called) are exceptionally light and the board's balance point moves forward, when you pop in the heavier plastic fins that balance point moved backwards about 4 inches. I can imagine that has an impact on the way the board rides.