Boat Scraps to Foil Board: A 14-Year-Old's First Carbon Fibre Build

14-year-old Olly has been collecting scraps of foam and carbon from our Paikea refit and has decided the time has come to make his own carbon pump board. The skills he has been learning helping with the modifications on Paikea means that he is already familiar with materials and processes so this is the logical next step for him. He has done a fantastic job filming the process so you can all follow along with the build.... and listen as Shayne gives guidance throughout this very cool project.

This is the start of the DIY carbon pump foil board build. Faced with a €900 price tag for a new board, we're building our own from scratch. In this first part, we go from a pile of scrap foam to a fully shaped core, ready for carbon lamination.

Watch as we shape the foam, plan the laminate schedule, install fiberglass reinforcement inserts, and mix the perfect epoxy blend for a vacuum bag. This is the "why" and "how" behind the composite decisions that lead to a high-performance result.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 The Problem & The €900 Solution
01:20 Gluing the Foam Core
03:00 Shaping & Sanding the Board
05:30 The Importance of Radii
07:00 Drilling for Structural Inserts
08:20 Day 3: Installing Inserts
10:00 Calculating Resin/Cloth Ratios for Vacuum Bagging
12:30 Mixing Epoxy: Fast vs. Slow Hardener
14:30 Wetting Out & Vacuum Bag Setup

MATERIALS LIST
Materials used for this project can be found at Easy Composites EU (@easycompositestv)
PVC CLOSE CELL FOAM: https://www.easycomposites.eu/easycel...
EL2 EPOXY LAMINATING RESIN: https://www.easycomposites.eu/el2-epo...
CARBON FIBRE CLOTH 200G: https://www.easycomposites.eu/200g-bl...
Note: We are still experimenting with this - it may be worth going a heavier cloth as we have flex in the board
BREATHER FABRIC: https://www.easycomposites.eu/breathe...
VACUUM BAGGING FILM: https://www.easycomposites.eu/vb160-v...
PEEL PLY: https://www.easycomposites.eu/pp180-p...
TACKY TAPE: https://www.easycomposites.eu/vacuum-...
PERFORATED RELEASE FILM: https://www.easycomposites.eu/r120-pe...

SAFETY DISCLAIMER: PROFESSIONAL WORK
This video documents professional marine work with significant risk of injury or vessel damage. This is NOT DIY instruction. You are solely responsible for your own safety and actions. We are not liable for any application of this information.
Full Disclaimer: https://youngbarnacles.com/website-di...

USEFUL LINKS
➜ Supporting blog post https://youngbarnacles.com/diy-carbon...
➜ Want to go deeper? Access our detailed composites videos, project files, and community on the Youngbarnacles Members Hub: https://youngbarnacles.com/plans/all-...
➜ Need world-class engineering for your project? Learn more about our professional design and consultancy services at SYAS Performance: https://syasperformance.weebly.com/
➜ Free Sailing Library: Check out our free guides on composites, systems, and seamanship: https://www.youngbarnacles.com/resources

MUSIC
YouTube Audio Library ➜ https://www.youtube.com/