Front Springboard
I'm making my front springboard and rear plank out of white ash. It is a little heavier than Sitka spruce but it's also stronger and slightly more elastic. My dad had a bunch of FREE white ash from a huge tree he cut down and had milled. The wood has been air drying in his workshop for about three years. He was planning on flooring a room with it someday. Of course I grabbed the longest, clearest and best looking boards. Thanks Dad.

I would have used Sitka but free outweighed a little extra weight. The Sitka was going to cost me around $200-250. Also after I cleaned up the rough cut lumber I was able to get a 12" x 9' piece out of one board. This will simplify the lamination for the airfoil plank.



This is actually a test run for the rear plank but the setup was the same for the front. My dad made a strip built paddleboat a few years ago and still had the strongback he used to make the hulls.



I put a slight curve in the front plank. I started with about an inch of pre bend in one half of the board. The end that goes in the boat was glued up straight. After spring back I ended up with about a half inch of curve in the 40" of board that extends out of the boat. I used a pre bend mainly because I want to make sure my pedal system has enough clearance.



The pre bend is almost unperceivable and the board should be almost straight under sailing loads.







I routed the sprinboard so that the aluminum plates are flush with the surface. I'm also using flat head 1/4" screws and countersinking the plates so everything is flush. Less clutter in the cockpit for the sheet to hang on.