Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

[hospadar]

Curious to hear if anyone has built a skin-on-frame stand up paddleboard without plans or using some free plans (which I haven't been able to find). I'm not opposed to paying for plans - just trying to survey my options.

I've made a couple SOF kayaks, always without plans (steam-bent ribs, just sized the frame to my body traditional style) and wondering if I can get away with something similar. I'm not trying to make anything super fancy, just want to putter around my local ponds on calm days and have a place to tie my cooler when I go swimming. Also been doing too much fiberglass work lately and want to bust out the hand tools

If no plans, any good resources (or personal opinions) for desigining a SUP? (i.e. how to choose length/width, rocker, deadrise, flare, etc)?

My thought was (if I just freestyle it) to take a kayak-like approach, something along the lines of:

1. Build rails and attach to transom/nose (a-la SOF kayak, this sets the shearline and flare)
2. Put keelson and stringers in place temporarily, get them to have whatever deadrise and/or rocker I decide (maybe measured off of a "real" sup and approximated?)
3. cut & insert plywood frames
4. Figure out some fin arrangement - I have a spare longboard fin box and a big D-fin in the ole' basement-chandlery-rubbermaid-tub, so probably I'd figure out a way to use that (maybe embed into the keelson?)
5. lash keelson/stringers/deck stringers (I assume just a flat deck?)
6. strap a deck on top (piece of thin plywood? maybe thin plastic? whatever I find in the basement?)
7. success!(?)

Curious if to hear if anyone has attempted a plan-less build or knows of a good set of free plans so I can avoid the bother

Thanks!

[amish rob]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

If you plan for a ply deck, and ply frames, why not just a good old plywood board, like a “kook box”? A few sheets of thin ply and some stringers and glue and done?

[hospadar]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

If you plan for a ply deck, and ply frames, why not just a good old plywood board, like a “kook box”? A few sheets of thin ply and some stringers and glue and done?

Good point - I certainly could and have some ply kicking around. Mostly I just enjoy the process of making SOF and like how the end product looks. Also I suspect it'll end up at least a little bit lighter? Really joy-of-making trumps weight or performance though

[David G]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

SUP's are not hard. Popular Mechanics (or similar) published 'plans' back in the 50's, and we had 2 at our cabin. Pointed ends, otherwise dead straight & flat. We kids had a lot of fun on them.

OTOH doing a SUP well? More serious endeavor.

Does it have to be SOF? Because there are excellent plans for very lightweight SUP's available --

Example. 12'-6". 10-12 kg. 3 sheets of 3mm plywood: https://www.storerboatplans.com/boat...-paddle-board/

[oakcanoe]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

I built the Gentry Lanui (gentrycustomboats.com) SOF paddleboard spring/summer of 2020 and enjoy paddling it. He has a picture on the website of one skinned with a clear fabric so you could see what the insides look like. Of course I really enjoyed having the plans to work from.

I lashed everything but the bow and transom. If you really want a vacation from epoxy you could also lash those.

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[BOI]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

As for determining the right size and shape, do you have the option of visiting an SUP rental place or store? The staff will have some educated opinions and you may be able to try some. If I were to do this, I'd drive up to 2 hours to try one in person, and if possible compare several. I once built a 17" fairly narrow SOF baidarka in a course. I hadn't used a kayak of those dimensions before and didn't like how it handled as much as the 16" fibreglass kayak I had before.

[Lugalong]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

Good luck with this. Having made a board based on a plywood deck patch on top a a ply bulkhead and twin stringers that terminated in fins, with a couple of longerons (creating the upper rail edge) and which locate a nose and tail block at their ends, I see the feasibility Of this type craft.
What I definitely got right was a beam dimension for decent stability and a length that provides good glide characteristics for extended paddling - beam is 28" and length 14'.
Shape and skin of my board was carbon composite over EPS core built up between the wooden frame and ply parts (bulkhead, stringers etc.), but an alternative structure of additional stringers with fabric skin should be do-able .Shape of the bottom could well benefit from the fabric skin, in that a slight bottom concavity is the ideal sectional contour. Rails want to be well rounded ( rather than sharp edged boxy things) so think of multiple stringers as per kayak structure for the turn of the bottom into the sides.Then the top edge really wants to have a wooden capping as a rubbing strip to take paddle contact.
Could well be that SOF with a ply deck patch is as good a SUP board as can be desired for flat water paddling, with a weight that is not much greater than a composites craft of equal size.

[kbowen]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

I don't remember names, but the local high school in Port Townsend, Wa. has a dynamic woman in their shop program who just challenged the kids to create their own design. I was there for the TWSBA symposium a couple years ago and, yes, some looked better than others but they all looked functional. They were also making stools from split cordwood using a shaving horse and drawknife. Go for it!
Ken

[yooper]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

I built a Dave Gentry Big Aloha, my first SOF project. Great design, great plans, very well thought out, great board. Excellent support from the designer.

Launch day was a bit chilly. If I was choosing again I'd build Aloha, which is slightly smaller.

https://duckworks.com/big-aloha-plans/

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[82Crewe]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

Curious to find out what path you chose. I spent a few hours over the weekend watching YouTubes of some of the Ozzie and Kiwi companies building SUPs.



jb

[dr_innovation]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

I built the Gentry Lanui (gentrycustomboats.com) SOF paddleboard spring/summer of 2020 and enjoy paddling it. He has a picture on the website of one skinned with a clear fabric so you could see what the insides look like. Of course I really enjoyed having the plans to work from.

I lashed everything but the bow and transom. If you really want a vacation from epoxy you could also lash those.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]84983[/ATTACH]

Very nice.. I am looking at doing a SOF paddleboard. Curious what fabric you used.

[oakcanoe]

Re: Free skin-on-frame stand-up-paddleboard plans?

I used the the 840 X-TRA Tuff Ballistic Nylon from the skin boat school and the two part urethane coating that he sells. I did this because I was interested in learning how to work with the fabric and because I didn't want my kids to have to worry about dragging it around on the beach. The designer recommends polyester fabric and now that I have used the nylon skin I better understand why the polyester would be more straightforward to work with.

It was early summer when I skinned the board so I did my sewing in the wee hours of the morning when the temperature was down and the fog was thick (SF Bay Area) so that I could take advantage of the relaxed fabric. I did get some pretty funny comments from my partner as to why I was up so early. One mistake I made at first was to pause my sewing part way through (had to go to work) and not keep it out of the sun. The fabric tightened up enough with the combination of warmth and sunshine that it opened a good 12" length of the seam right up.

Happy building!