RealSurf Surfers' Forum

I reckon the key is to find a shaper who is really happy to spend a good amount of time talking about the many areas that go into making a great board for you as an individual (e.g. boards you like, boards you dislike, how you normally like to surf, what waves you normally surf, what you want the board to do, what specifics do you like in a board, questions about why this and not that..etc etc etc)

Plus

Someone who experiments with a lot of different types of surfboards, fin placements, etc.

Plus

Bringing an open mind and trusting the shaper's advice as to what might work well for you, even if its something new and unusual.


If its a local shaper or a big name, who cares?

Score one for the locals-my latest 6'5" quad from M.P.-looking the goods!

Look forward to seeing the finished product Lessormore.

Fanny

Natho wrote:Got a new stick today for smaller waves today.

Shaped by Nick Blair. Same design he does for Dean Morrison.
its 5'11 x 18 3/8 x 2 1/4 so a bit more width than my normal boards.

The board felt and looked that good I had to get it.

Took it out today in tiny 2 foot waves.

Frk me dead. Early signs are this could be one of the best small wave performance boards Ive ridden.

Big call. Just need to get some proper waves but early signs are good. Frk his boards look the goods.

Do you guys really notice the difference between 18 3/8 and 18 1/4 ?

A 1/4" can make a world of difference. Not so much on the order form but in how the shaper interprets the change and distributes the foam. A board I had was a little under volumed for me so I ordered another from my (well respected and experienced) shaper of 6 years, complete with a phone call to make sure all would be sweet. It was to be 1" longer,1/4 " wider and 1/16" thicker. When it was delivered my high performance short board to take to the Maldives was a Mcoy Nugget like heapa shaped for Kim Beazley. So I got the ruler out to make sure. All the measurements were as I asked, but the planshape area and rail contours were all wrong. Fcuken dog of a board.

Kim Beazley surfs ????

the furry magnet....

The Bearded Oyster

The Diverse website is a good place to start if you want to see in volume terms how much difference 1/4 in a boards witdth can add to a boards floatation. Go to the section on board volume. Going wider adds more relative volume than going thicker or longer.
Also width can improve a boards planning ability.

The gurning chimp...

dinosaur wrote: You can put any old size blank in a machine and it will chew it down to the size you want with no real difference in time. You cut too far into a blank and your gonna end up with exactly the type of board your describing. The glass job is not really an issue. The answer is get to know the shaper I guess. Even merricks you could go down to onboard and have a chat. Take the board down and show em.

Even some of the bog standard boards these days are rubbish the way they stand up.

Ill fitting blanks to profiles is just part of the problem. If you ask me, some of the worst boards are the ‘NEW’ alternatives. Why? Because the foil and in particular deck line, do not suit the board within. Some of the best ‘looking/presented’ boards are the worst offenders from what I have seen/repaired.

You know that saying you get what you pay for? It’s crap! Unless you are into a ‘brand’, and that is about the only value you get.

’tis all about processes and piece work. Some are are good at it some are crap. Pick the difference... good luck!

Bit of a generalisation Ric

Perhaps a bit of a chip on the old shoulder when it comes to shapers/ brands/ designs that are a bit different to your own?

Natho wrote:Bit of a generalisation Ric

Perhaps a bit of a chip on the old shoulder when it comes to shapers/ brands/ designs that are a bit different to your own?

Yes perhaps a bit of a generalistion, but still a caution. I have seen quite a few crumbly SAOs and other flat wide shapes and everything else. If you know blank profiles, CNC machines, well not the machines, operators thereof and what they are fed to cut, you would know anything is possible and quite often it isn’t good. Net result is not a strong deck, bit late when you find out.

Unless you are there when a board is cut you wouldn’t know if a few mil or a few too many has been shaved off the deck to make a board fit. I have seen it done, believe me I was horrified. There was a time when a certain machine company cut basically everything out of the same blank, hmm that’s going to work. A lot of this is also driven by cost, no really if you can cut a thing out of something that is cheaper, but perhaps does not quite match up nicely to the preferred deck line, what do you think they will choose and will the saving be passed on? Case in point, hybrid/fish blanks versus, well, others.

That and way too many shiny boards that you can put a finger nail through and then there is the FCS installation that ‘looks’ better. When you start fixing you just see patterns.

Natho, you don’t get me yet, you probably never will. I will/have made a range of boards that might even defy logic so design is not the issue. Not trying to be the next anybody, just like to try and make a decent board for the intended person and that to me means it may not work for someone else rather than <insert model name here> will work for everyone.

Shapers? Most aren’t what I consider that open-minded, but that is probably a reflection of the audience and most are just trying to make a living.

Brands? Yes you bet I have an issue when someone is paying a premium (relatively) for something that I believe is not particularly well constructed. Would you buy a Ferrari and expect the wheels to fall off?

As I said, I fix plenty and even casual observation suggests quite a few popular brands don’t hold up too well. I can’t believe anyone thinks it is acceptable, from manufacturer to consumer. I’m not saying a board has to be bullet proof just better.

Then there are those that buy ex pro boards and light, light, light eps. I mean what are these people anticipating?

Natho, you may be close to the industry not sure, but perhaps you need to see the reality. Lot of talented people just working for the brands because they have to.

iggy wrote:big brand names or otherwise..
sure, the shapes and designs/designers themselves might be great, but the construction isn't always that good..

been looking at Merrick Pods in the secondhand racks for about 9 months, after my brother got one and is raving...
haven't found a symmetrical one yet. the stringer has been off-centre at least 1/4" in every one

called the owners of a few stores on it, they just laugh and say "why do you think it is back in the shop basically in new condition?"
especially considering the sh!thouse glassing on most of them, i'd be surprised if they got surfed more than once.

it goes back on the rack, for some poor sucker.

Its funny coz when I read Iggy's post I thought of the Merrick's straight away.

Look sure there is some truth in what Ric said, Merrick's are a case in point. Yet to find a Merrick I would purchase myself.

But I stand by the fact that his comments were a generalisation.

Ric I have seen your boards as shown to me by Rich Q so Ive seen the stuff you have been toying with. Nothing wrong with doing something different.

Like alot of comments posted on these forums by so called 'indusrty experts' you have gotta read between the lines and see some of these people are pushing their own agendas and own products. I guess that's the freedom of these forums. I like to challenge that.

Frk I push my own agenda too.I like to challenge and get people to bite. It bars me up. I always did it in class when I was at school too. Its called A.D.D. Makes the forums interesting. Far too many sheep on here.

I'd like to hear people plug their local shapers who they know are there for the benefit of their customers.

What are some of those magic boards you've had made, and by whom?

I'm new at this forum, and am not sure if a lot of you are industry types owning / running surf companies, but what the heck - plug away!

Next time i go to buy a board, it's feedback like this that my mates and i refer to more than glossy brochures.

Industry types owning / running major surf companies don't frequent these forums ...

... they're too busy milking the cow, the cash one that is.

^
Hope I get one from Ric too, eventually.

Dylan Perez at King surfboards made me an in-between shortboard, tho Kingy are better known for longboards, in Caringbah. I loved that board for a few years.

My current top three favourites, it's not just coincidental they all oughtta handle good good middling conditions, are:

Darcy in Currumbin, Stuart used to make Vudu in Cronulla, and even tho he has a big factory now, I've been through plenty of boards from him (still would go out on the old gun except I've got a channel bottom for if I ever go out in any size), and all those boards have always had me come up smiling.

Same thing with fibreflex, except I don't know who they are. The one I've got keeps me happy in under 3-4 foot, Darren Longbottom put some thought in helping me choose this baby, and Tom Carroll checked it out and gave it a thumb's up when I had it on consignment at boardscape avalon, so I kept it, luckily. It might be a bit small for me, but now I lost weight, could be just right!

Then from Dalmeny is DSC, it's called either a Steve Irwin or a Fat Bastard, and if you want an all-rounder that will take on just about any size, this board is too easy.