7-0 Wood/Kevlar Slider

The fusion of high-tech materials and wood has arrived! This Kevlar covered wood board idea was born out of an earlier board I had built, which ended up failing due to the construction materials I had used. I used Agave cactus for the rails which ended up not being strong enough and causing the board to leak. I had to retire it, but wanted to replicate the board as well as I could. I also wanted to build it strong as could be, and have always been curious about using Kevlar fabric.

Working with Kevlar was a challenge, as it is a bit thicker and stiffer than the normal fiberglass, and it will not sand!!! That of course is one of its properties, abrasion resistance. I also decided to cut out the center section of Kevlar to show the wood construction underneath. In the end, using Kevlar wasn’t too bad , and the results speak for themselves.

As far as wood choices go, I used madrone, black walnut, and purple heart walnut as the top deck, with recycled cedar as the bottom deck. The fins are sycamore, with a bead of Kevlar in the front. The leash cup was hand-turned out of black walnut and purple heart, the tail block is black walnut, and the wood burning on the nose is of Africa. I also decided to put a finbox in, just in case I ever wanted to play around with a center fin setup. The board was glassed with Entropy Bio Resin, with Kevlar and 6oz fiberglass on bottom, and a single 4oz layer on top.

I’ve surfed the board a few times now, once in overhead surf, and it was awesome. It surfs exactly like the previous one, which I’m really stoked about. Snowboard style takeoffs, sliding sideways, 360′s, and a really fast, loose ride! I love it.

Shaped by Martijn.