Hand made!
I make each kite board totally by hand using building techniques from many years of mixing resin. After making surfboards and windsurfers on a small scale I began studying the way fiberglass composites are used in the aeronautical industry. This introduced me to exotic materials like epoxy resins, carbon fiber, Kevlar, S-glass and the use of core materials and introduced me to building techniques like vacuum bagging, sandwich application and
heated mold construction. I realized how these hi tech materials can lend itself to the production of kite, surf and skate boards and so began this mix of hand shaped boards with a modern 'state of the art' construction.
Kiteboards
Check out the videos of the building process: part 1, and part2
I use only the best materials to do the job. Each material (carbon, Kevlar, S-glass etc. ) has to be used to it's designed advantages, so the combination of these materials, it's distribution throughout the board and it's directional bias have to be strategically used. This is very important. You can ruin a perfectly shaped board with the wrong application of the composite make up. It takes knowledge and experience using composites to produce a good product.
For the core of the board I use d-cell foam. After each blank is shaped I check each one for the correct flex pattern and the desired bend. It is easier to do this before it is glassed. It is fine tuned by hand and then off to be laminated. In order to maximize the strength, minimize the weight and control the flex of each board, I try to tap into the designed strengths of each material. I also consider riders style, weight, riding conditions to determine the correct combination of fiberglass material to use for each boards lay-up. The rails are wrapped with Kevlar for strength, then the blank is then laid-up using epoxy resin to insure the best bond of the materials used.
It is then put under pressure using a vacuumed pressure heated system until it cures. Using this construction method, I can wrap the board and rail 360°. There is no seam as you get in production molded boards. Also, with the vacuum method, all the excess resin is pulled away from the glass optimizing the resin to glass fiber ratio further reducing weight and increasing strength. In the industry standard molding method, what is put into the mold stays in the mold. Although the vacuum composite method is very time consuming and extremely labor intensive, it's worth it. That is why the pros still ride custom boards that resemble their highly marketed production copies.
The effect of weight and flex on a boards performance is substantial, and I believe over glassing boards is just as bad as under glassing them. Obviously I don't want my boards to break any more than you would, so like any high performance product, I seek the perfect
balance between weight and strength in my construction technique. I do have a warrantee and stand behind the strength of my boards.
After the boards are glassed and cured under controlled heated conditions to further increase it's strength. From there my kiteboards are fine sanded, primed and prepped for finishing with a 3 part tough marine paint job.
I have a very high tech 'new school' approach to the materials and construction I use for my boards. I have to admit, similar to a surfboard shaper, my shaping process is still very much 'old school' style . Beyond the basic fundamental design inputs into each board (length, width etc.) my approach relies heavily on the feel from my hands to make the lines and curves flow and be visually pleasing. With a riders requirements in my mind when I am shaping a board, I think each board adopts a slightly different feel. I guess this is the essence of a custom board.
Surfboards
more infomation comming soon.
Skateboards
more infomation comming soon.
