Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/16/xyla-foxlin-makes-a-clear-kayak-with-led-lights.html
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Someday I want to shape and glass my own surfboard.
Seems like if there are places you can DIY ceramic glaze, there should be places you could get help 'glassing your surfboards, kayaks, etc.
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Resin is not exactly friendly to a nice sit-down with friends and a glass of wine. The smell is terrible. That might have something to do with the lack of DIY spaces. You also want to keep it separate from any projects that produce dust, like a shared maker space with a woodshop. There is a company out there that has wood surfboard workshops (grain surfboards). Perhaps there’s something similar for foam/fiberglass boards.
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That’s a really cool boat! I’m impressed by the confidence engendered in glassing in the led strips. Also the timeline - four days before a cross country move and I’d be a mess with all projects shelved.
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I just like watching fiberglass go on
Watching it pop off the mould was great this time, too.
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Amazing and impressive. My first attempt at boatbuilding and glassing (a pirogue) was a mess.
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I got to “welcome ack to my channel” before I could get to the back button. I’m sure the crafting of the boat is awesome; I just couldn’t deal with that level of exuberance and energy. It’s not just this maker, either - there are so many content creators out there with similar feels, and it just makes me edgy.
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This boat is so beautiful, gliding through the night… 
The brightness probably also minimizes collision risks in the darkness, as other vessels should be able to see them and stay well clear. 
But I wonder if the LEDs are bright enough to ruin the paddler’s night vision, or if they diffuse enough through the fiberglass so that’s not a problem?
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Made for squid fishing?
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Giver her a chance. She’s actually great at explaining what she’s doing without being cheesy.
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Yeah, she also gets past that “welcome back” really quickly. She is doing things that are very time intensive so it’s maybe 2 or 3 builds like this a year and only one or two videos to explain the whole build. So the “welcome back” may sound like that of a dopey “influencer,” but it’s coming from a place of having worked her ass off.
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Agreed. I’ll watch her other videos now, in large part because I like that despite her engineering chops, she’s got a “eh, let’s try this imprecise shit and see if it works, if not, nbd”-vibe.
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My fibreglass kayak has coloured gel coat deck, clear hull. It’s not as clear as hers, being chopped strand mat and no flood coat on the inside, but I am tempted to try some LED strips in it now.
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Ooh nice. I’m curious how it handles the sun/heat in the summer? Not like, does it melt, but does it feel warmer than an opaque kayak?
Can confirm. At least with whatever woodworkers use to seal chairs and benches. Something about my bum causes me to stick to some chairs. Not “stick” like post-it note glue. After sitting for a few hours (long dinner once, 3-hour gaming session another time, different chairs), my outer clothing is stuck to the chair. I stand up and the chair comes with me. I have to peel it off, with help.
Ruined a pair of jeans the first time it happened; no amount of washing removed the large butt stain. And a very noticeable butt print was left in the finish, so much so that the chair had to be re-finished.
TLDR: I avoid sitting on finished wooden chairs. My hot ass can ruin them.
Back on topic: Xyla is cool. Love the enthusiasm. She did a few videos last year, mostly building canoes. She also has a channel called “Beauty & The Bolt” with some basic shop videos.
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You can do it at home. May I suggest starting small? Do a hand plane, or a decorative piece to get some experience with resin and glass. Pretty soon you will be vacuum bagging and resin infusing with the best of them.
Yes, a mansplain, but, but, there’s an error that may result in ordering the incorrect stuff: I think she used “plain weave” (or maybe “twill”) and not “biaxial” cloth. To mimic biaxial cloth, she angled the cloth to lay fibre on the bias. And to compensate for the seam, she did another bias layer in the opposite orientation. Nothing wrong with that as biaxial cloth is more expensive. She also could have had the same effect using unidirectional fibre in two opposing layers. Triaxial is cool too, but even more expensive.
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