Tutorials, Tutorials

Chapter 6 | Fin Holes

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Here we go!

Marking out the fin position on your Kilaia — Measuring back from the tail to mark out the fin position

Measure up from the tail of the board 150mm/6 inches from the tail, mark the centerline if you have not already done so. The space between the holes of a Twin-Tip fin is 38.5mm/1.5 inches.

Make 2 pilot holes on the centerline using a fine 1mm drill. We’re going to drill right through the board with the pilot drill and then using a 5.5mm wood bit, drill halfway from the hull, then halfway from the deck – meeting in the center. The drill will not tear the wood & leaves it nice and clean.

Pilot drill through the board – ensure when you drill that your holes are vertical to the deck.

If you choose to make your board using lightweight Paulownia or Red/White Cedar you will have to over drill the fin hole with an 8 to 10mm drill bit and then fill the hole by scotch taping one side of the hole and filling it with epoxy/silica mix or a suitable casting abs type resin, which is poured into place and left to cure. Once it has cured the hole centers are marked in a similar way and drilled as explained previously. This will be covered in a separate video based upon how to shape a Paulownia preformed blank and apply the glass fiber/hot-coat.

Drilling through 50% from the deck-side of the Kilaia to avoid damaging the surface of the wood — Drilling through 50% from each side keeps the surface of the wood nice and clean

Chris Middleton

Hello, I'm an Englishman living in Montpellier, France. I've been kiting and shaping boards for over 20yrs. I’m super stoked to share my knowledge via these DIY self-build Kilaia pages with you.

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