How much does your SN Flex?

[cam_lg]

Hey guys Im trying to decide if my ski is surf ready, and looking over the hull I realized i can flex several areas of my ski pretty easily by hand. Not really sure if all skis flex this much or its just my 24 year old hull lol. The most flexible section is strangely enough where i already reinforced it, on the sides of the engine bay over the bond line. I can pretty easily push on the hull where it meets the hood and it flexes about 1/2 an inch. I want to say i used 3 layers of 12 oz but it was a while ago not to sure.
Also Ive been running a tight pole set up because Im to cheep to buy a spring lol and noticed the other day that when i move my handle pole up and down that the top deck flexes where it meets the pole mount... this is kind of scary as Ive beat the hell out of this thing and surprised its lasted so long like that. Does this happen to anyone elses ski? or is it just time for me to upgrade hulls? Any thoughts or input would be great.

Here is a link to my skis build, i hope i didn't ruin the hull when i chopped it up lol
http://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?threads/sn-my-first-build-going-all-out.126688/

 

[cam_lg]

also thinking about relocating my pole bracket, would this be a better location?

 

[BruceSki]

You have to foam or cabosil where the sidewalk meets the hoodlip and glass the sides right up to the hoodlip to get rid of flex.

Also you need to foam and reinforce a tok under the pole bracket area and tie it into the sides of the hull. I have done a couple that are bulletproof now.

That flex is a weak point of the square hulls in surf.

 

[BruceSki]

Here's one I built. Very similar. -5, lowered hood, moved pole bracket way forward, bob holds.

 

[Sparkplug]

3 layers of 12 oz? Can you say overkill? Flex is ok. Without it things crack. Glossing the sides is mostly about keeping the 2 sides together. Adding just 1 layer of glass over both sides increases the strength dramatically. It's all about spreading the load throughout the hull and not focusing it in one spot. And like I said before, some flex is good. No amount of reinforcement is going to stop the side from flexing when you pancake the side from 10 ft up.

 

[BruceSki]

12 oz isn't much. I recommend 1-2 layers of 17 oz depending on how hard you are going to punish the hull.

Big air in surf and pancaked flips or rolls will break a hull quick.

 

[TheBuzzard]

i used a cardboard drill bit case covered with glass to re-enforce just under the lip of the hood opening. the round shape adds major strength as opposed to just adding flat layers.

 

[Sparkplug]

Yeah. You ride big shiat bruceski. Wish I had as much access. Where I ride is pretty damn big too tho, regularly 10ft+. My surf ski I built just has 1 layer of 17 oz. I did the sides and bulkhead and pole bracket all in one shot tho, so it all cured together. That in itself adds a ton of strength. I've thrown mine quite a few times from way up, and pancaked it a ton of times. I know I shouldn't let go but when you first learn surf, it's hard not to. my ski has been rolled into sore a few times also, and it's stil rock solid. Turf takes the worst beating it seems.

 

[BruceSki]

I just bent my bars the other day. Ski got away from me and washed up on the beach without me.

All the fiberglass bits were fine but my bars are pretty good and bent.

 

[cam_lg]

I just bent my bars the other day. Ski got away from me and washed up on the beach without me.

All the fiberglass bits were fine but my bars are pretty good and bent.

Dangg lol I had my bars break on me a few weeks ago... not fun. So my plan so far is find some thin tubing like buzzard has and glass around it to support the nose and a around the hood line. like some kinda skyscraper support beams lol

 

[mthomps]

OP, my SN flexes about the same...

So guys, the thing is I would really like to avoid adding 10 pounds of material to my superjet to make it strong enough to avoid breaking. I have like a 500 dollar winter upgrade budget and would rather reinforce before getting a 701. If I got a 701 before reinforcing I know for a fact I would destroy my ski crashing on a side.

Please tell me if you think this is a good plan for glassing or if it's not worth it. If not please explain why.

I want to reinforce the upper deck from just above the bondline to the end of the curve the hood seal sits on. I'd do that all the way long ways and, making it ideally all one piece, lay glass under where the pole mounts. I don't want to fill in the bondline and I don't recall seeing pics of a square cracked on the bottom deck. As far as the nose goes I am super careful in shallow water so I'm willing to take the risk of leaving it alone.

I was thinking of doing 2 layers of 12oz or even 3 of 9oz s glass. I was under the impression multiple thinner layers end up being stronger than one or 2 thicker layers. Is this incorrect?

 

[Quinc]

OP, my SN flexes about the same...

So guys, the thing is I would really like to avoid adding 10 pounds of material to my superjet to make it strong enough to avoid breaking. I have like a 500 dollar winter upgrade budget and would rather reinforce before getting a 701. If I got a 701 before reinforcing I know for a fact I would destroy my ski crashing on a side.

Please tell me if you think this is a good plan for glassing or if it's not worth it. If not please explain why.

I want to reinforce the upper deck from just above the bondline to the end of the curve the hood seal sits on. I'd do that all the way long ways and, making it ideally all one piece, lay glass under where the pole mounts. I don't want to fill in the bondline and I don't recall seeing pics of a square cracked on the bottom deck. As far as the nose goes I am super careful in shallow water so I'm willing to take the risk of leaving it alone.

I was thinking of doing 2 layers of 12oz or even 3 of 9oz s glass. I was under the impression multiple thinner layers end up being stronger than one or 2 thicker layers. Is this incorrect?

Crack between the sockets... Build thread is in my sig.

 

[mthomps]

I don't know what part of the hull I'm looking at?

 

[Quinc]

Bottom of the hull next to the battery tray.

 

[mthomps]

the picture added in your edit makes more sense. So how did that happen?

 

[Quinc]

Well the picture added in your edit makes more sense. So how did that happen?

Ski was beat to sh*t when I bought it, Plus it was my first season so way too many pancakes...

 

[mthomps]

pancakes dont explain a cracked bottom of a hull. As said the resonance from the flex forces the impact through the entire hull and prevents it from being localized at impact point. So what type of abuse forces the thick ass SJ bottom deck to fail? That has to be from mistreatment and not from jumping water.

 

[Sparkplug]

I was gonna say it got dropped. Doesn't look like a crack from pancaking to me.

They can take a helluva beating stock. Trust me. Enough to learn rolls flat water. My main sj never got reinforced. 3 yrs HARD riding. Just got waterlogged. Surf is an entirely different story tho. I didn't reinforce mine for the landings. Mostly for pancakes and when it gets beat back into the shore. Like stated before, I've thrown mine many times from 15ft+ in the air. It's still lock solid as hell. No cracks.

It only costs about 40-60 bucks to reinforce a sj. If you do it right. Multiple layers is stronger in a sense, but for the type of strength your gaining by doing the reinforcement, multiple layers is not near as beneficial. I have done 4 skis now, and totally repaired one, and have got it down pretty well. If you have any ? Pm me.

 

[cam_lg]

Does anyone have any thoughts on relocating my pole bracket and reinforcing the top side, like in my first picture? Or would it be stronger to just go and reinforce the underside instead?

 

[Sparkplug]

What's the purpose behind moving it forward vs shortening the pole?

A lot of work to move it forward, and with the amount you can move it forward without serious work, is it really wort it?