are surftech boards any good??

[swvic]

Josh's are EPS. Lighter than PU, but way stronger. Mine is excellent for heaving beachies. Wide point slightly forward, narrow round pin. Did a Sth coast NSW trip with it as my only board. Chucking some small fins in it was okay for smaller days too. Don't surf it much these days, but barely a mark on it

[swvic]

pinhead is a mate of JD. If he was still about, his comparative inputs would be well worth the read

[Yuke Hunt]

Prove me wrong.
Most collectables have been reglassed.

Untrue.

[marauding mullet]

Epoxy on PU is pretty good.

Yes! The board I bought off Iggy was that construction. Didn’t keep it, wrong board for me but it felt solid and tough.

[Beanpole]

Prove me wrong.
Most collectables have been reglassed.

Untrue.

Well that’s irrefutable evidence

[Yuke Hunt]

Prove me wrong.
Most collectables have been reglassed.

Untrue.

Well that’s irrefutable evidence

I don't need irrefutable evidence to prove your half baked thought wrong. Some vintage surfboards are indeed re-glasses, many others are not. A quick Google search will prove that as an irrefutable fact.

[Beanpole]

I will accept your apology, Yuke. Yes, some specimens miraculously make it through after being kept in the dark for 20 years.
Fcuk, I had an absolutely mint MP that was one of the last boards he ever made. Sat on top of a piano in my mums garage for ages.

[Pants]

Anyway, have we concluded Surftech boards aren’t much good when compared to PU? Personally I don’t want to ride something just because it may last longer. Defeats the purpose of surfing.

[steve shearer]

They don't really last longer though, that was all marketing.

The reason you'll still be able to buy 50 year old PU/PE's and not 50 year old EPS/Epoxy boards is that PU is a much more stable, inert and hydrophobic core material.
Once EPS is exposed to water it breaks down very quickly due to water intrusion into the molecular structure.

Really well built compsands like JD's will last because of the strength in the lamination, but take a look at an old Firewire, they've all turned to shit.
Most Tuflites end up in landfill once they get waterlogged.

While a Brewer gun (for eg), well glassed, is still going strong. I have one under the house. The chemical and physical bond between the lamination and the core is much more solid and stable.

And the reason an ancient PU/PE can be stripped and reglassed is that the core is still solid and stable.

[Pants]

Fair enough

[Yuke Hunt]

I will accept your apology, Yuke. Yes, some specimens miraculously make it through after being kept in the dark for 20 years.
Fcuk, I had an absolutely mint MP that was one of the last boards he ever made. Sat on top of a piano in my mums garage for ages.

Jesus fucking H Christ on a stick, you really do waffle on don't you ... there's a shit-tonne of vintage surfboards in good condition all over the planet. Have a quick look on the internets and see for yourself.

[swvic]

Another couple of things about JD and the I'll stfu; He told me if the laminate is punctured, get it out of the water and here asap. Probably wouldn't have charged. Great guy

The also have a vent to accomodate heat expansion/contraction. I imagine it's a real problem for EPS cores without them

[steve shearer]

Yeah, thats the other problem.

Early Firewires had the vent.

Without the vent, delamination is almost guaranteed.

[Cranked]

Surftechs were built in a mould, they have a "divinicell" layer which is incredibly strong and
very resistant to damage (like a factor of 5 or 10 compared to traditional fibreglass boards), it does not shatter like fibreglass, nor does it age.

Hit it with a hammer and it will not damage. It's ludicrous to believe there would be more surftechs in landfill. The exact opposite would be the case.

[Cranked]

I was at a sailboard shop about twenty years ago and they had the tail segment of a wave board. It was there to show how strong their new glassing tech was. Along with the tail segment was a hammer that you were encouraged to use.

I wacked it a few times and it left no mark at all. If it had been a surfboard I would have buried it right into the foam.

Can we really try, I asked the owner, he said go for it. He held out the tail and I wound up a huge hit to it, as hard as I could possibly hit it. No damage at all. Surftechs aren't that strong, but they are way, way stronger than the regular glassing regimes.

I find your continued denigration of them as very strange Steve. And the "they are too stiff" is also a cop out. They are too stiff is only because surfers ride boards that aren't stiff, they are not used to them and their reactions arent optimised for them. Flexing the board wastes energy that could be used to drive the board down the line faster, push harder faster turns and get more air.

[Pants]

Nah mate. They are as stiff as well, boards. They work against the water not with it. How many to you see in pro events? In free surf footage..etc.

You’re in the minority but, that’s cool too. You also ride McCoys. You’re an outlier and that’s totally cool.

[steve shearer]

Hit it with a hammer and it will not damage. It's ludicrous to believe there would be more surftechs in landfill. The exact opposite would be the case.

Sorry mate, that is utter bollocks.

I've seen them snap, I've seen fin boxes ripped out, I've seen them gouged from hitting rocks and other surfboards. I've seen them delam.

And once water gets into the core, thats all she wrote.

Landfill.

I found this thread from 2005- it makes very interesting reading almost 20 years down the track.

https://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewto ... 8&start=18

[Cranked]

What does "work against the water not with it" mean?

Current surfboards are already very stiff. I'd hazard a guess that the average surfboard probably flexes about two inches front and back. I think surftechs may halve that and may flex 1" front and back.

Not so very different, but one works against the water and the other doesn't?