1. Your Name: Paul Dragomir
2. Your Brand name: Dragomir
3. How did you hear about us? In the water surfing by “word of mouth”.
4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Convenient.
5. Why did you want to build your own board? I like building my own things. And also there was a lack of options on the S.U.P. market.
6. Shape of finished board? Short S.U.P. with “bat tail”.
7. Size of finished board: Length 8’5” Width 26” Thickness 4-1/2”
8. What blank did you use? EPS by U.S. Blanks.
9. How was your board building experience? It was a “love/hate” thing because it was first board. But I want to make another board again.
10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? I found most of my info on the web, asking other people, and my own personal experience.
11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? I found some stuff on You-tube, and everybody at Foam E-Z were SUPER helpful.
12. Do you recommend these resources? Yes.
13. What do you wish you knew going into this project? I should have better planned my shaping of the rails on the board.
14. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Make sure you plan ahead for every detail.
15. What tools did you find most useful? Stanley rasp planer, Makita upright sander polisher (with 600 to 2000 rpm settings), and a tool I made that work as a sander/leveler/planer.
16. Where did you run into trouble? On the rails. I did not plan enough before I started.
17. What kind of fin system did you use and why? Future. Because they had good options to choose from with S.U.P. fins. They also seem stronger and durable.
18. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes. It was scary at first, but I got used to it quickly and ended up enjoying it.
19. Where did you shape and glass your board? In a work shop that I am currently renting.
20. What type of board do you want to make next? Another S.U.P. in a wide tail fish shape.
21. As a tip to other people who want too make their own board. When you are mixing the epoxy in a measuring cup take a couple of minutes to make sure it is mixed well. Then pour it slowly into another clean cup (slowly so you don’t get many bubbles), get a brand new stirring stick, and continue mixing again. Doing this process will ensure that the resin is properly mixed, as epoxy is a high viscosity material. I also noticed that doing this seems to keep it from exotherming as quickly. And try to use a big stir stick like the ones they hand out at the hardware store for mixing paint.
