The story of a surfboard blank.

Early 1994, during a typical routine of ordering blanks from Clark Foam. Usually I'd have a few blanks I'd need for specific custom orders. Then while I still had the order gal on the phone I'd grab the Clark catalog, turn through the pages asking the gal if there were any seconds or reject blanks available of the different blanks I'd call out from the catalog. Every blank that I was interested in that was available in a second or reject I'd buy and have sent up with the other blanks I'd ordered for my custom work.

Seconds and reject blanks had blemishes, or were order screw ups, like wrong stringer or glue color. Most of the blemishes would shape out. So I could end up with a good blank to use for a good discount. The blanks that wouldn't clean up good enough I'd keep for myself. Then fill or cover anything that didn't get shaped out of the blank. I'd get a board for myself and spend a little less in the process.

May of 1994 I moved off to Kauai. My original intention was to return to the main land a couple times a year, make some boards for Ventura Surf Shop and any orders that might come along, then return to Kauai. When I left in May I had a few stock blanks, seconds and rejects, that I put up in the rafters for safe keeping. Thinking I'd use them on my return visits.

I ended up only coming back September of '94. And as it happen I got an order for several boards all to be shipped to the east coast.  The orders took up all the time I had for my return visit so those stock blanks I had in the rafters weren't touched. And remained in the rafters until I returned to Ventura in 2002.

The 2 years I was back in Ventura I never touched those blanks in the rafters. But when I went back to Kauai in 2004 I decided to put the blanks in our shipping container with the plan that I make a few boards with them in Kauai.

My wife and I ended up only staying on Kauai for a year and in that year I didn't do anything with the blanks. So, not wanting to bring the blanks back with me I thought I'd sell them in the yard sale we had to reduce the number of things we would need to ship back to the main land. I'd tried to sell the blanks for $10 bucks a piece but had no takers... crazy.  

The funny thing is... this was November of 2005. It was December 5th of 2005 that Clark closed leaving the whole surfboard industry with no foam and just a few weeks before that I couldn't give those darn blanks away. So they came back with me to Ventura and went up in the rafters again. Then when we sold our house the blanks moved to the shed up in the horse corral at our new place.

Fast forward to now with my granddaughter wanting a surfboard for her birthday, she is getting serious about surfing. I tell my son I've got a few old Clark blanks, we could use one for a birthday board. Some 22 years later one of the rafter blanks becomes a surfboard. 

To every thing there is a season.

D.R.