No glue or epoxy

[Surfdad]

Do you think I can make a wakesurf board using no glue or epoxy, just empty water bottles with the caps, I'm thinking two pieces of wood and plastic wrap? Not a fancy performance board, just a wild project that throws some stuff together.

Doable? Surfable?

I was using some of the 2 inch wide stuff to hold down some basswood rails during a glue up and that stuff is pretty amazing!

[Timmy!]

You mean just taping a bunch of empty water bottles together?

[Surfdad]

Not exactly, it'll need the two pieces of wood to act like stringers. So I pictured two rows of bottles, then a wood stringer on either side and then maybe two more rows of bottles on either side of the wood. So 6 rows of bottles and two wood stringers, all lashed together with plastic wrap.

[Timmy!]

Hmmm...the newer bottles are so thin, since they are made to decompose in the landfill faster, that I would think they would crush if you stood on them.

[Fiveflat]

I wonder if you could make an SUP out of 2 liter bottles that same way???

[Surfdad]

I was hoping with the air inside that it would withstand the weight, especially with so many, but you know what makes sense, Timmy? Is to fill the few that we'd stand on with water which wouldn't compress and they'd withstand the weight.

What do you think?

I'm sure that a SUP could be made also, FastFive!

[Timmy!]

Filling with water would just add a LOT of weight!

[Surfdad]

But's it's neutrally bouyant so I don't think it would be meaningful once in the water and should prevent the collapsing. I'll have to try a mock up and see.

[gwhite94]

Adding a pound or two of air to some of the bottles may help them from crushing. Sounds like a cool project.

[Timmy!]

Adding a pound or two of air to some of the bottles may help them from crushing. Sounds like a cool project.

Yeah, if you could figure out a way to pressurize them. Put the lids on in the freezer! Oh, I know, have James take the bottles to work and put the lids on in the walk-in cooler! Then you are bottling cold dense air and it when it heats up, it will be pressurized! LOL!

[Timmy!]

I just remembered that you don't have time for this build...you are supposed to be working on the lexan/plexiglass board!

[Fiveflat]

IF you wrapped it tight enough with the plastic, it should be pressurized and wouldn't collapse.

At least that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[gwhite94]

Yeah, if you could figure out a way to pressurize them. Put the lids on in the freezer! Oh, I know, have James take the bottles to work and put the lids on in the walk-in cooler! Then you are bottling cold dense air and it when it heats up, it will be pressurized! LOL!

Or just let the completed board sit in the sun for an hour before using to expand the air in the bottles. But you will have to ride quickly before they colapse...

[Surfdad]

I think I'm going with Timmy on this one, I just squeezed a bottle and they are awfully thin. So the first test panel is to drain three bottles and then seal them up and wrap them together. THEN stand on them to see if they crush.

If not, we're golden, if they do then I'll try by filling the bottles completely full of water and wrapping them together.

Who thinks the air filled will crush like a potatoe chip?

[4bw]

I guess it depends on how big the person is who,stands on them?