♣ Research Question: What are the factors affecting fiberglass’ surfboards fragility ? ♣
For this research assignment, I studied the fragility of fiberglass surfboards. I wanted to learn what specific factors made this type of surfboards physically and chemically fragile. Also, I wanted to discover what other types of surfboards existed as a solution for the issue and why are they a solution. Lastly, I was also willing to learn about the positive effects on the surfer of the board’s fragility (you will understand this later).
I decided to choose this topic because I recently bough a new fiberglass surfboard and noticed how fragile it is. The board is only 9 months old and already has a large number of dents and went more that a dozen of times to the surfboard repair technician. One reparation is not such a problem, but on the long-term scale, people can loose a lot of money on them and end up with a old-looking board.
During the research, I was able to learn a large number of new information about the topic. I first learned more in depths about what daily factors can affect the board. These included heat, the wax you put on it, where and how you leave it when you are not surfing, and what to do when the board is dinged. For example, i already knew before the project that heat and sun light could create an air bubble, however, I did not know that it could also twist the board. Moreover, I did not know that not changing the wax every season to the corresponding one (according to the season) could also damage the board and fragilize the deck. Other factors that make the surfboards vulnerable to damages are the techniques used to build them. These
include the glass weight, which is most of the time light. Because the glass layer is so light, a little impact can cause a huge dent on the board. The problem in this case is that high performance surfboards require a light glass weight because it makes maneuvers easier to perform. Similarly with the foam’s density, high performance boards require a very weak density, resulting into a vulnerable board to any small impact. Because I found this information relatively quickly, I was able to go beyond my research question and find a solution for this issue. An indirect solution for as existed for already the past decade: epoxy surfboards. These have a denser foam core and are overall stronger than fiberglass surfboards. However, because these are stronger, they do not provide a flex as good as fiberglass surfboards. For that reason, carbon wraps were created; they create a better flexibility on the board and make it more maneuverable. Adding on to the previous point, while fiberglass surfboards have negative indirect effects on the environment for various reasons, epoxy surfboards are causing avery few to no
environmental damage. Often, intermediate surfers will prefer boards that float better (epoxy surfboards) in order to complete more tricks on a wave with more facility. I own both a fiberglass and epoxy surfboard and I know exactly which one to take in what conditions. If you want to know more about what board to take, scroll down to the last paragraph. Another solution, but this time more recent, would the evolving Nexgen Surfboards that were created by the brand Degree 33 Surfboards. These are a a perfect combination between fiberglass and epoxy surfboards. To simplify, Nexgen Surfboards to fiberglass and epoxy boards are like Iphones SE to the Iphone 5s and 6. The surfboards are in the body of a epoxy surfboard with the capacities of a fiberglass surfboards. While I did learn some more about surfboards overall, including their history, this is all I now know about my research question (if you forgot what the topic was because of all the interesting facts I happily just gave you, just scroll to the top !).
Now that I am aware of all this information and all these facts, I won’t choose my next surfboard randomly, but instead make sure I know what can happen to it. Overall, I also grew as student because often people will just research about an issue and stop from there. Not only did I research about the issue, but I also found several potential solutions and ways to “reduce” the issue’s impact on surfers’ lives. ALOHA !
As I earlier explained, Nexgen and epoxy surfboards’ impact on the environment was reduced compared to fiberglass surfboard. This can potentially be part of movements to preserve our nature and earth. Once a large number of people will be aware of this fact, it is very likely for them
to switch from fiberglass surfboards to epoxy or Nexgen. As a result, this research could somehow help our precious environment.
Because this interesting project is already finished, we are starting a new one, which will basically be the same except we have to pick a different topic of course… While I am not sure yet what the topic will be, I am hoping to have a positive impact on myself and my community. I hoping to do so by teaching people around me something new, something helpful that they will use directly or later.
Once I finished researching, I presented to my class what I had found out. Here is the link to the google slide I created to share what I researched (the citations for the sources I used during my research are on the last few slides). While I felt like my presentation went pretty well, I wasn’t satisfied with the grade I got. The presentation had to be about 3 minutes and respond to our research question. Also, to make sure my peers clearly understood the difference between epoxy and fiberglass surfboards, I brought my own surfboards to school.
Which board should YOU pick ?
A lot of people who just began surfing and are getting themselves a board are not sure how to choose it. The most common options are: a fiberglass surfboard or an epoxy surfboard. Because I have both, I know exactly which one to pick on what day (according to the conditions). For example, on a big day, it is nice to have a longer fiberglass board (depending on your height, weight and level – here is the link of a project I did about this)
Also, steeper waves will require a more flexible board (either fiberglass or epoxy with a carbon wrap). Overall, because fiberglass are currently the most used surfboard, they are better for generally good conditions while epoxy are better for smaller and weaker waves.
…. By the way, in order to find all this information, I had to SURF on the web ! But using a fiberglass board of course….Aha…. !
Works Cited
Anthony. “Shaka.”Pixabay. 2013, https://pixabay.com/en/users/InspiredImages-57296/. Accessed on November 29, 2017.
Bourdeaux, Leon. “My new Surfboard.” Instagram. 2016, https://www.instagram.com/p/BO7f7-AhfH- z7eW7Ck2YQN4Bn66hZFoyXK93c00/?hl=fr&taken-by=leon_bourdeauxAccessed on November 29, 2017.
Budiman, Fajar. “Magnifying Glass”. Pixabay, 2015, https://pixabay.com/en/magnifying-glass-flat-glass-icon- 914922/. Accessed on November 29, 2017
Gleeson, Gina. “Laughing boy, Ghana.” Flickr, 7 February 2012, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ginagleeson/7965940082. Accessed on November 29, 2017.
Kirie, Pantcho. “Voici ta planche.” July 2017. Accessed on July 2017.
Peggy and Lachmann-Anke, Marco. “Questions.” Pixabay, Storyblocks, 2015, https://pixabay.com/en/questions- answers-question-mark-1014060/. Accessed on November 29, 2017.
PIRO4D. “Puzzle.” Pixabay. 2016, https://pixabay.com/en/puzzle-part-3d-model-task-solution-1721271/. Accessed on November 29, 2017.
Roy, Soumyabrata.”Protect These Lands.” Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki, 6 May 2017, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Protect_These_Lands.jpg. Accessed on November 29, 2017
Youngson, Nick. “Research.” The Blue Diamond Gallery. 2016, http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/wooden- tile/r/research.html. Accessed on November 29, 2017.