Ski Builders Forum

I've been making boards with hemp canvas instead of fiberglass for a while. What I'm noticing, is that the exposed fabric edges are sucking water into the board after a day in the snow. This is obviously not a good thing. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to either coat the edges of the board, or the fabric itself? It's kind of a unique situation, so I'm trying to brainstorm a solution.

Thanks!

i don't know any way to seal hemp fabric, but you could try building cap construction and/or make the hemp layers a little narrower than the ski itself, so it gets covered with epoxy (i guess you'd have to use vds rubber all along the edges to help the layers bond and fill the voids from the lack of fabric there).

why are you building with hemp anyway? want to keep you boards eco friendly?
still i think fiberglass is the better material since it's already known how the different types of fiber affect the characteristics of a ski and you'd have no moisture problems.

first off where did you find hemp fiber? I have been looking for a while.

I would think that if the hemp fiber is wicking moisture then it hasn't fully absorbed the epoxy. Maybe the fiber doesn't absorb epoxy?

I also wonder about flame treating the edges so that the fiber melts kind of like burning the ends of shoelaces with a lighter.

I've ordered hemp canvas from Hemptraders.com and Rawganique.com

The board rides great - it's not noticeably different from a fiberglass board. I've been noticing that it feels slightly heavier at the end of the day. I think I need to weigh the board before riding and then after to be sure.

be glad they aren't eating all your twinkies!


If its exposed at all, its going to suck up moisture. Hemp rope is the same way. You could try things like mink oil, but then you lose the bond to the material.

I agree with chrismp.. cap them bad boys. If not, try varnish or shellac, but treat the hemp before you lay it.. do a 1/4 or so in from the edges and lay it up. If the epoxy grabs then it should seal