Info on Building Kitesurfboards?

Hi there,

i'm hunting for some information on the constrction of Kiteboards, especially for do-it-yourself methods. For the background: I do know (and have a number done myself) the construction of modern windsurfing boards as well as surfboards, so the methods should be similar. I'm selling materials (glass, resin, inserts) for these types of boards loacally here (northern Bavaria, Germany, Europe, Planet Earth) and help people getting it right. Now i get a lot of questions regarding kiteboards but don't have any expertise here

Hi Wolfgang,

What do you need to know?

I have only built a clark foam kiteboard so far. Still haven't tackled a sandwich project yet.

As with sailboards I think clarkfoam is great for starters. Better yet, weight isn't nearly as much of an issue. My board turned out heavy for it's size but is still easy to carry under one arm for a half hour walk back upwind. Once you get the need for BIG air, light sandwich construction will be better.

There seems to be a multitude of shapes out there right now that all work pretty well. In fact I have the impression that shape isn't as critical as with sailboards as a few issues just aren't there: Early planing isn't essential since you can sweep the kite to pop onto a plane with almost any kind of rocker and outline. Size relative to kite is less important as the kite is far away. Size is more related to skill, gustyness and seastate. Chop, as you slice through it rather than bounce over it.

What is critical is being able to set the rail of the board and being able to hold it when getting overpowered. For that thin rails are key as is the fin setup. I think the thruster setup with all fins behind the back strap on directionals is crap. I put in an extra set of thrusters in my board just in front of the rear strap and I think (haven't tried it yet) it'll relieve excessive pressure from my rear foot and hold an edge better as a quad fin board. I think side fins do all the work on wider directionals so center fins should be reserved for narrow shapes if at all.

Others have made big wakeboard style kiteboards which also seem to work well. But there seems to be a strong correlation as to how thick the rails can be with minimal fins to keep the rail set. Hard rails only work on really low volume rails. With more volume you want them to be surfy so the water can wrap around and create suction to keep the rail set and side fins to provide lift (for rail hold not going to windward).