So you want to make a surfboard?

I read a line on a forum this past week that said basically ‘a surfboard is something any _______ could make with a few weeks training’.

Is that a true statement? After all I made a surfboard when I was 13 that was good enough for me to learn to surf on. And I’d never seen anyone make one or was ever trained to make a surfboard.

First lets qualify that the board I made started with a blank that was pretty much pre-shaped. I had to cut the blank in half and glue in the stringer but didn’t need to do any real shaping. So I had to laminate the board including the fin, sand and gloss the board after I’d done the prep work on the pre-shaped blank.

Today it’s possible to do about the same thing. If you can get a pre-shaped machined blank and clean up the ridges all you need to do is set fin boxes and laminate the darn thing. Reality is it’s not to difficult to do.

The question is will the end result of the board made by the person with a few weeks training or no training be commercially viable?

Let’s face it, there are plenty things that you or I could do on our own that a professional may do every day. My brother in-law built a good sized addition to his house and he’s no carpenter. He needed a little help lifting some of the heavier framing lumber but that’s about it. I’m not a mechanic but have done some repair work on my own cars, the same kind of work a real mechanic would charge $50 an hour to do. And guys that don’t know much about surfboards or surfboard construction can make a surfboard.

I trained my son how to sand surfboards. After about six months sanding everyday five days a week he’d gotten good enough at it to make a fairly decent wage with few screw ups. To be fair…. He’d been around surfboard work some, and done other related kinds of tasks, but still getting to a sufficient level in six months may seem like at least that part of making a surfboard isn’t to difficult.

Doing clear free lap short board laminating is not that difficult either. One could learn to do that sufficiently in a relatively short time as well. But, getting to the point of doing good color laminations and heavier fabric work. Nice tints and foam stains will take a long time to get down. And, fact is some guys just can’t do it.

Shaping? Easily the most difficult part of making a surfboard, now easily done with a computer controlled machine that allows just about anyone to become an over night shaping sensation. Geez, only about a year ago CI was advertising their need to hire shapers, you only needed a year of shaping experience to qualify for the job.

Honestly it takes a lot of shaping experience to get really good at it. Sure you can clean up a machined blank, though I’ve seen guys mess up a machined blank pretty good. And if you get a 6’3 H and shape the same 6’1 every day in a few months you may get pretty good at making a 6’1 but, any other shape? May not come out to well…

I think it’s cool that people make their own boards, it can be fun. I know I enjoy making surfboards so why wouldn’t anyone else. There is enough information floating around these days that can help make the process much more successful. If only I’d had it so good when I was 13….

But the reality is, to do anything craft or trade related well can take a life time, and making surfboards so no exception. Sure you can get proficient enough in a fairly short time but to get really good? It will take longer.

BTW, I thought what the heck, I’ll apply for that shaping job at CI, filled out the online application and sent my resume. I never got a reply… I think I may have been over qualified!

D.R.

My story post 37

It was 40 years ago…. time flies when you’re having fun…. I had moved up to the Wilderness ranch house in Rincon valley on Casitas Pass rd. where Mike Cundith, his wife and Richie West lived.

This time of year what we would do in the morning before going up to the ice house shop in Santa Barbara to make surfboards is check for surf. Spring time and into summer what we call The Rincon which is the stretch of coast line from below Pitas point to Rincon point is usually pretty flat. South swells are blocked by the channel islands in this area so except for wind swells there is no surf.

Some times a good enough wind swell will refract around Rincon point as well can make a few of the beach breaks from Over Head to oil piers work. By that time Stanley’s was gone. So it was wind swells we'd be looking for. Unless we knew of a south swell and hit Ventura for surf.

The surfboards we rode by then were all sub 6’ boards of the Greenough hull design and very cutting edge, though at the time it really didn’t seem that way. We were just surfers trying to find new ways to ride waves. There were no big commercial interests, no big money involved… actually barely any money at all. I was single and only interested in surfing so I didn’t need money. Enough money to pay rent and buy peanut butter was about it for me, actually I think I ate trail mix. We all drove VW’s, wore t-shirts, shorts and flip flops, didn’t get hair cuts or watch TV. It was a simple life of surfing and making surfboards.

Looking back that time has become the defining time of change, the beginning of the evolution in surfboard design as we know it. None of us thought that 40 years from then we’d ever say ‘geez that was us, we were right at the forefront of the design process’ we were all just caught up in the moment. Never a thought about what it might mean in the future.

D.R.

This board shaped in 1973, a 6’3, is similar to what we were doing at Wilderness 40 years ago. That board has been everywhere, from Mazatlan to the south shore of Oahu and all up and down the California coast.

Sacred Craft Ventura

I had a great time this weekend at the Ventura issue of Sacred Craft. It was a pleasure to see so many surfboard enthusiasts, talk story and talk about surfboards. This is a special thanks to all those that came by my booth, as well, the Studio 609 booth. And a special thanks to Ray Moss, Spencer Kellogg and Jeff Sardine for hanging at the 609 booth, and helping with set up and tear down. Also the Riley guys, Dan and Matt for helping with my booth.

And not to forget a special thanks to my wife Suzi for taking some cool pics.

D.R.

Set up and ready to show. Happily right next to US Blanks


Show celebs

John Peck, Duncan Campbell and me.... The Campbell Bros. had a Penetrator when they were teenagers.

Wayne Rich Outlining his Bradbury.

Talking surfboards.

Michel Junod telling me I need to go get my picture taken.

Photo opp with Spencer Kellogg

Rachel and Chris at the 609 booth.

My booth sponser Randy... Wave Front Surf Shop owner.

Starting to pack things up.

Mark Andreini and I about ready to head home.

Today was Mothers day.

I’ve mentioned in a couple posts how friends of mine had moms that would take us to the beach to surf when I was a teenager. There are moms that surf though mostly what I see is dads in the water with there sons or daughters, but, what about the moms that support their kids in surfing?

My mom never took me and my friends to the beach to surf but she sure supported me and my surfing interests. And as I progressed through my teen years she supported me in my surfboard business.

I see kids getting dropped off at the beach by their moms here in Ventura all the time. As well see kids hanging on the promenade at inside point waiting to be picked up by their moms after surfing. My wife would take our son to the beach so he could surf and was always happy to go off on a camping surf trips for 2 or 3 days. Making sure my son and I were will taken care of while on our trips…. Plenty food, warm sleeping bags, sun block, surf wax…. All the important stuff.

Maybe your dad did some of the heavy lifting when in came to getting started with surfing but without the support of our moms I think it would be safe to say there would be far fewer surfers.

So here’s to all the moms that have made surfing possible for so many.

D.R.

Me, my wife and half sister sitting around the camp fire on a surf outing… note pile of boards in the back ground.

The making of a model.

I’ve got a couple new models that just got to Wave Front Surf Shop. And I’ll have them on display at the Ventura Sacred Craft Expo on May 16 and 17.

One of my most popular boards in Hawaii was a mid length tri. I made them from 7’10 to 8’2 but most were right at 8’0. This board worked great for bigger guys and guys that didn’t get in the water as much as they’d like. It paddled well, and had the right foil and dimensions so guys could surf it in small surf as well as stuff up to 6 or 7 foot. A very responsive board.

When I returned from Kauai in 2004 I decided to make myself one of those 8’0s but had a little mix up at the glass shop and instead of a tri it was fitted as a 2 + 1. I didn’t have a trailing fin the size of the available side fins so I thought I’d surf the board as a single fin, put an 8 inch in it… what the heck.

The board worked great! After surfing it for awhile with the single fin I decided to try some side bites. I was amazed at the drive and distance I could get with the 2 +1 set up. I loved getting to the beach when the surf was overhead with that board… it was so much fun in waves with a good face.

After I made the Perimeter stringer quad long board… PSQ… I thought I’d retro fit the 8’0 for a quad. I really liked the way the PSQ handled so why not see how the 8’0 goes as a quad. WOW! The board worked great with a quad set up. I’ve not changed back and it’s been at least a year of surfing that board.

So here’s a board that works great with 4 different fin set ups. Depending on what the surf is like on any given day the board can be changed around to meet the need or interests of the moment.
A fantastic travel board because it’s fun in small surf as well, hold it’s own in bigger stuff too.

Because of all the ways the board can be fixed up we’re calling it The Gadget.

D.R.