Thinner BOARDS

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Ta for the reassurance P.G. Three of my current crop of boards are Exocets, so I like good news
With regard to construction; surely shorter wider thinner boards have no right to be lighter than older shapes OF THE SAME VOLUME! If they are there must be less material, or greater use of carbon. [Unlikely in todays harsh economic climate.]
One change from the 80's/90's is the use of lighter less dense foam. I sawed my 1989 custom Lightwave wave board in half [obselete shape] to see why it was so strong? Clearly, the very dense and heavy foam combined with the epoxy skin worked together with a degree of flex. Apart from constant epoxy dings it survived my learning to jump unscathed.
Might this constant striving for none flex stiffness nowadays be compounding the fragility problem? After all, Oak trees and Willow trees and all that!

[steveC]

One important thing to keep in mind is that the EPS foam has very little structural strength by itself, so the thickness of the foam blank really doesn't contribute notably to a board's structural strength and durability. However, in a recent discussion that I had with Mike Zajicek, he indicated that there's often quite a difference in the density of ESP. Although the specified rating of the manufactured foam might be the same, the actual density and weight of different manufacturing lots can vary quite a bit. That's one of the reasons why the overall weight of boards can vary by plus or minus 5-6%.

So, depending on the actual density of the foam used, it can have an affect on the long term durability of a given board. I have found this to be true with a few of the custom boards that I've owned. All the boards were built by Zajicek, so the construction integrity was always extremely high. Over time, the beating a board takes on the bottom below the footstraps, and on the deck in front of the rear strap(s) can literally crush the ESP foam under the divinycel and laminations causing an internal separation and softening in those areas. I should emphasize that this softening occurred after 4-6 years of hard use, but it never has resulted in breakage or leaks of any kind. Other boards, which were used for far longer never reflected any softening of any kind.

To summarize my thoughts a bit, the thickness of the foam means very little with respect to board strength, but its actual density means quite a bit over the long run and can affect a board's overall strength and durability.

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Many thanks SteveC. Youconfirm what I found with the Lightwaves. The foam was very dense, and the board was strong. Many jumps went wrong but it withstood the impacts, half ton epoxy Rotho Super Wave masts inertia loadings not withstanding! I wonder how my current J.P. Freestyle Wave board would take to such treatment? It doesn't bear thinking about!!!

[GURGLETROUSERS]

With the helpful information now received I want to know exactly what, and how much, is inside a board before I buy any more new ones? Fancy marketing pictures of hot shots doing twirly whirly things on 50 foot breaks, then throwing in a couple of loops while picking their noses in boredom at the lack of real action is useless. I want to see sectioned [nearly said exploded] diagrams of a boards innards. The thicknesses names and average densities of the materials used is also needed. In any other field [cars, cameras,etc] we get deluged with such information. Why not with boards? Iv'e spent thousands over the years so I feel justified in now making demands! P.S. I note that with carbon booms the strengh before lightness principle is the norm, but not with boards! Well, the worm has turned!!!!!!