Congrats on the build! Here's to warming waters for ya. You'll have a blast. 

Dan

Nice job.  Dig the side stripes and Old Glory too.  Like the innovation on the vent.

Looks just beautiful.  My daughter and I are building one now for her.  I don't like the way I think the breathing tube will look.  Would you elaborate  on the vents you used?

Thanks

The vent is an air compressor drain valve...Home Depot about $3.  I put one up forward too.  The aft one was probably not necessary but makes a good flag base.

Beautiful job.  Where did you purchase the fabric?  How are the air compressor drain valves working for you?  

Nice job, how long did it take to build start to finish?

The fabric came from a friend's shop, The Cloth Barn in Goldsboro NC.  The trick is to select cotton fabic and do a final trim after resin with a razor blade.  Also squeegee hard to lay the fabric down on the wood, otherwise it will float...just like the fiberglass cloth.  The drain valves are great, simple twist open, twist closed.  Inexpensive, replaceable and low profile.

I took from September to February working an hour or two here and there a few times each week.  I was very careful about hull alignment and I have founding sanding to be a gratifying experience...once you are done.  I reshaped each part so the seams were tight.  I flattened the top of the frames to match the hull sheerline. I sanded the glassed structure and between each coat of varnish.  Sanding really brings out every detail and mistake.  A 16" automotive sanding board with rolls of sticky back do the trick and in the end you just stick to your hand for the detail work.

Question for you SUPSelby.  Concerning .... 

You stated:  The trick is to select cotton fabic and do a final trim after resin with a razor blade.

Once you wet the cloth to the board, you went back with a razor and trimmed any irregularities from the cloth?  The cloth stayed put?  I can see why you would do this step but it seems there could be room for big fudge ups doing it.

thanks

I noticed when laying the fabric that as I wet the fabric with resin and squeegeed off the excess resin, the edge of the fabric frayed, sometimes wider than I could cover with automotive trim tape.  After I got the fabric wetted out and smooth, I went back with a new razor blade and trimmed the frayed edges while holding the fabric inside the edge with the squeegee.  I did it carefully and had the squeegee ready to smooth it back down. 

BTW I really pressed hard with the squeegee at a low angle when I was wetting out so the fabric was not floating at all.  That is why it frayed.

As far as cotton, I read somewhere that cotton without any sizing or finish wets out the best.

Hope that helps.

George

Why does it matter what temperature the water is?? You stand ON the board, not IN the water. Air temperature should matter more. I'm in Seattle and have been taking my Kaholo out all winter, even on days when it's been snowing. The only special clothing I wear are 7mm booties (I hate cold feet!), 3mm neoprene gloves and a 3/4mm farmer john wetsuit. On many days the wetsuit was actually overkill and I stopped wearing it a few weeks ago because I'd get too warm. I do make a point of not going out when it's especially choppy out or straying too far from shore. I also keep a dry bag with warm clothes lashed to my deck just in case I do fall off the board. Don't let a little cold water keep you from enjoying your new board!!! 

If you have a tin can with a screw top, heat it up, seal the top, and pour cold water on the sealed can, what happens?

You build you SUP on warm or hot days and seal it air tight. Now cool the SUP. If you cool it fast enough the presser drop in the SUP will pull the hull and deck inside the framing and it could be enough to crack it or break the framing.

This might not happen every time you use it, but it is possible you might get the righ temperature gradiant and a big suprise!

My 80 lbs Yellow Lab does not let me paddle alone.  Swimming is a frequent event :-)

Two comments re previous entries.

1) Always dress for the water.  If the water is cold and you end up in it for very long your fingers stop working.  If you get hot you can always splash a   bit of cold water on to cool off.  At least that is the advice from almost everyone concerned with kayaking safety.

2) RE change in temperature collapsing your board.  That is what the breather or its alternative is for.  I have a chesapeak.  Before I got around to the hatches i drilled a tiny hole in the bulkheads to let air in and out.  Sometimes going from top of car to cool water I could hear the air going in.

The brass valves sticking up are an accident waiting to happen. You hit a log or other submerged object your going to do a face plant and you will land on that front valve, The board kicks out in front of you your going to fall on that back valve. For your own safty get rid of them !! I have over 2,000 hours of paddling my Kaholo 14. I have fallen twice . Once a face plant over the nose and the second fall a kick off over the back. The valves would have got me both times !!

Beautiful board but I have to agree with Wood Ogre. I hit my head going under a bridge, fell backwards and landed on my butt hard enough to crush the back of my board. Glad I didn't have a brass pin sticking up. FYI I drilled a 1/16 inch hole in the cover of the deck hatch in my board and that has been plenty of pressure releaf and never a drop of water in the hull. SEEYA Jack

Indeed - remove the brass thingers. The two boards I built have fairly clean decks - no ridgid parts sticking up to cause a blip on one's health record if they fall on the board.