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Surfboards
 As long as I have been shaping I have been making regular surfboards. I stopped making polyester surfboards around 1998 when I started getting into the exotic materials used for making wind surfers. I started using styro/epoxy and also custom composite construction for surfboards and never looked back. With the options of such high tech materials I was able to explore ideas and designs that I wanted to try for both kiting and regular surfing and Polyester construction was limiting my design progression. With epoxy technology which produces different flex properties, buoyancy and lighter, I am able to try different techniques and ideas. Now I offer the latest in progressive shapes AND construction to take your riding into the future.
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EPOXY LITE - EPS/ epoxy system
These boards are glassed with durable epoxy resin with a expanded polystyrene (EPS) core.
Epoxy / EPS core boards has it's advantages. They are stronger and lighter than the old polyester types and more buoyant. They have a great rebound flex properties that add power to your surfing.
I have been using EPS foam and using epoxy resin/glass (rather than the conventional Polyester resin) for quite a while now. Basically I have always thought that Epoxy is just a better product then the regular polyurethane foam and polyester resin/glass, and now with the industry in term oil with the shut down of Clark foam, it has not effected me at all, and demand has gone up.
Any shapes can be produced in epoxy, it will improve on basically any shape that worked in Polyester.
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Repairs should be done my someone that knows about epoxies.)
Epoxy lite construction
 Epoxy Lite boards are constructed very similar to the regular surfboards, just with newer and more advanced epoxy materials. What we call a wet lay-up over a shaped foam blank. The difference is in the custom (made in house) foam blank core in a tested and proven density. A strong 1/4 inch plywood stringer is laminated down the middle of the blank adding strength and rigidity. The blank is then shaped the same way as conventional surfboard blanks are shaped. Once shaped, it is laminated using the highest quality reinforced fiberglass and UV treated clear epoxy resins. No more yellowing epoxy boards. Board stays clear and bright for the life of the board. Multi layers of combination 4 oz and 6 oz cloth to suit the riders requirements insure that the boards are custom made for your requirements.
Epoxy boards are the future of surfboards. Simple construction, stronger, springer and more floaty than the old polyester boards. All in the same great clear glass finish we have been used to seeing over the years. The price is right and the performance if outstanding.
Epoxy Surfboard prices details:
Surfboard for kiting.
- Price $ $695 up to 6'6"(does not include pads or straps)
- price includes fins
regular surfboards
- up to 6' 0" $600
- 6'0" up to 6'6" $650
- up to 7'6" $690
- long boards 7'0" - 8'6" $750.
- price includes fins. (Future, FCS or glass ons available)
- please specify glassing options... competition super lite - standard - durable
(contact me for prices on longer boards )
(payment options.)
NOTE: price of board includes airbrushed one or two colors of your choice. Additional custom work is additional $100.
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EPOXY sandwich composite system
It is possible to make a board that willbeextremely ding resistant and still be even lighter than a regular surfboard and has amazing flex and rebound properties for both surfing and kiting.. This is done using a double sandwich composite construction method (similar to custom windsurf board construction). It is tougher and lighter than the Epoxy surfboards made by Surftech that is currently available in the surfing world. It is totally custom and hand made one by one. Any shape, any size. This is very labor extensive, includes a mix of exotic materials and is costly to produce. But you will be amazed how these boards ride and what punishment they can take. No more treating your surf stick like an ege shell!
Steve Firogenis at Glassworks USA and I have collaborated on this to offer the best construction to date available for surfboards. Durable with fantastic flex properties and strength that are second to none! This is not the molded sandwich boards coming form tuff light and other Asian manufactures. These are totally custom shapes hand made with the best materials for the best product available. Ck out the video of Steve bouncing on a long board sandwich composite without so much as a ding or buckle...
Board test movie ( 3.27 MB~30 sec)
What is Custom Composite sandwich construction?
Composite Sandwich construction refers to the combination of different density foam sandwiched with fiberglass to optimize it's strength and durability in a light weight application.
 EPS foam core. Expanded PolyStyrene foam is a very low density ( from as low as .5 lbs to 1.5lbs per square inch) light weight foam. In this application it is basically used to hold the inner shape of the board while the rest of the strength supplying higher density foam and fiberglass is constructed around the core. It's low density also aids in energy dampening which reduces failure in the construction. It is important to note that there is NO stringer down the middle of the board. This is what makes for a new exciting feel in flex and rebound.
Inner Fiberglass Layer. This layer of selected weights of fiberglass cloth is the first (from inside out) structural wall that makes up the sandwich. It is adhered to both the inner core and the higher density outer foam. The core is fully wrapped with this fiberglass and you can think of it as a fiberglass board within a board.
PVC D-cell wrap. PVC D- cell is a high density closed cell foam (upwards of 100lbs+ per square inch) that makes up the main strength of the board. (regular kite boards are entirely shaped out of this type of foam.) This foam is very durable and can be heated to form any curve. Even though it is a very strong foam, it is NOT brittle at all and ideal for applications like this being used between two layers of forming and structure supporting layers of fiberglass. Typically in thickness between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thickness (depending on the strength required) it is wrapped fully around the core serving as the main support element, a wall, similar to the shell of an egg.
Outer fiberglass layer. This is not just the outer skin of the construction, but it is the second element of the sandwich process. Having a hard strong layer on EITHER side of the PVC foam is what makes up the sandwich. There are many rules that apply to composite construction. Here is one for example. If you double the thickness of the core, you quadruple the stiffness of the structure. So basically, the wall thickness provides the stiffness and the fiberglass layers provide the strength.
So using all the above elements it is possible to achieve a perfect balance of strength and flex in a very light weight and durable package. Because the outer core of PVC foam can handle a lot of flex, it does two things for the rider. First, the board can bend a lot without internal failure occurring (see board test movie on this page) AND because the PVC foam always wants to return to it's original shape, with the aid of the fiberglass skins, it provides a great rebound property that flexes under pressure and spring loads back into it's original shape without any damage. Every time regular fiberglass structures are flexed, they loose it's strength and rebound ability little by little until eventual failure. This is what happens to a regular surfboard when a new surfboard 'looses it's new board feel' over time. This composite sandwich construction greatly reduces this 'dieing board' effect. 
So why is it so expensive?
Apart form the higher cost of the exotic materials like the specialized internal fiberglass and thin PVC skin foams, it is very labor intensive. The board has to be hand shaped a few times. The original low density core first has to be hand shaped. But shaped to smaller specs to compensate for the thickness of the PVC layer and fiberglass that will be wrapped around it. This takes time and a lot of measuring to get it right. Then the board has to be fiberglassed and wrapped with the PVC foam. This usually takes a couple trips into the vacuumed bag and reshaping between vacuumed processes to produce a core wrapped with a layer of fiberglass with an outer layer of hard PVC foam that is the general shape of the finished board. Now the blank has to be fully shaped again to the final specs of the board. The stronger, now outer PVC foam layer is harder to shape because of it's density and takes as much time to shape as a regular surfboard blank from scratch. FInally, the outer fiberglass is applied and everything is put into the vacuumed bag (twice, top and bottom) with it's associated peel ply and breathing materials to extract all unwanted resin and heated until cured. Then the board is fine sanded and prepped for paint. In my shop a composite board gets about 5-6 times the attention a regular epoxy surfboard gets. It is a lot more work but the finished product is second to none.
What is the difference between Custom Composites and the 'tuflite' and 'surf tech' type of boards?
 Most production surfboards are made in Asia in factories where the workers have no idea what the product they are making is used for. They are made from a mold from the inside out using the same sandwich construction technique mentioned above. Just backwards. For example, in the mold, they would lay some fiberglass in the mold (top and bottom) , then put a layer of thin PVC foam and then another layer of fiberglass all wetted out with resin, and then a computer pre shaped low density EPS foam core would then be compressed inside and the molded clamped together until cured. After curing, the top and bottom molds would be removed and then the rail will have to be strengthened with fiberglass because the PVC foam and the fiberglass layers were not continuous from the top thru to the bottom. It would then be sanded and painted (I am generalizing for the sake of education, so please don't nail me if one company over the other does thing a little different). While this method does reduce the labor and produce a higher quality construction product, there are a couple drawbacks.
- Being a mold, all the resin that is put into the mold stays in the mold as opposed to the custom method where all excess resin is pulled away from the structure in the vacuum process.
- As mentioned above, the core is not fully wrapped in the PVC shell so there is a weak point along the rails where the join is made. To strengthen this fault, a lot of fiberglass is applied here which stiffens the board and kills some of the feel.
- Quality assurance. The quality of a molded board ranges from being excellent to poor with rails splits and de lamination at the poor end of the scale. Having workers that are just following a script as they go along, minor faults that could easily be spotted during the building process gets over looked and once the board is out the mold there is no way to check the quality of the insides of the product. In the step by step process in making a board from the inside out like the custom method, any imperfections will be apparent and corrected before the next step in the process of construction is carried out.
- Each particular mold produces only that one particular shape without the ability to customize to get the shape that works best for you. If you are lucky enough that the board that is best for you is exactly like one of the molded boards produced, then you are in luck as a well built molded board is a great product for a reasonable price.
Yes, these boards are expensive, but you are getting the best technology available today in board construction. I recommend to anyone who does not have much experience with surfboard that they should go with a regular epoxy board at first. Try different designs and shapes, and when you know what you want then take it to the next level and go for a composite custom board. It only gets better.
Custom Composite surfboards Priceing details:
Regular and kiting
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Price $990.
- price includes fins. (Future, FCS or glass ons available)
(contact me for prices on longer boards )
(payment options.)
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Here are a few samples of my many shapes before leaving the shop.
    
    
What shape to get?
What ever shape you want. Swallow tail, round pin tail. squash tail, single or double winger, no wings. Bottom shape? single concave, double flat....All your choice... I would be glad to discuss any of these design options with you to help you decide on what would work best for you. 1,2,3,4 or even 5 fins? I am big on the 4 fin designs in that it allows me to do (more on that below) but I can shape a board around any fin configuration you want.
I can shape you a board of any shape and size for any conditions. From sloppy mushy surf to classic Hawaii reef brakes, from 50 lbs. groms to big +250 lbs. 'bro's...! ...
If you have not used an epoxy surfboard before I am sure you will like the feel the new material beings to your surfing. More buoyancy allowing you to ride a couple inches shorter. Also try out new designs like the positive feeling concave deck, pinched rails, concaves Quads etc. etc. Everything you would expect from a totally custom board. Don't limit yourself...
I offer all styles from Fishes to long boards offered in three glassing lay-up options : competition super lite - standard - durable.
Surfboard design is something that has always been and continues to be very personal. Most riders know what works for them and what they like. I can work with you to bring out what you like in a board.
The rebirth of the Quad.
The quad was fast on the heals of the thruster in it's original introduction, but it was too soon and too close to the thruster revolution and was over shadowed by the 3 fin movement so it faded away as fast as it came. Riders were not yet ready to move on from the thruster revolution as yet. Now with the introduction of new materials and the quest for a better performance board, riders are starting to entertain new designs once again and are open to experiment with different fin configurations. Twins came back to the drawing board, but the loose and twitchy feel of the twin came back with it. Fun in small surf, but not a solution to push high performance surfing.
A few shapers like Stretch for example, started experimenting with 4 fins again and  with my original goal to find a better surfboard for kiting I started doing some prototypes with a 4 fin set up originally just for kiting. As I was shaping and working with volume distribution everything just seemed to make sense. And the results were encouraging too.. well that started me into a full on look into 4 fins for surfboards. I started flattening out the rocker making a faster board, faster than what the thrusters could handle and allow me to do. I found that I can make a faster board and still have a very controllable feel, yet still have a lot of bite and drive at lower speeds. Having a faster board means that I can maybe go down a size, change some rail shapes, configurations and bottom lines too. It just basically allowed me to re-open the book on what we thought was workable for a surfboard.
It is not just about adding 4 fins to conventional shapes. To get the true potential of this configuration it is best to take advantage of all the other aspects of surfboard design like volume, rail shape and outline profiles to name a few. Here are just a few of my findings with the new Quads.
- More speed. More speed means more wave face accessible. And aerials.
- Less drag. Seems strange that by adding an extra fin, it would be less drag. I always thought that the middle fin on a thruster just added drag as the board got faster. I discovered this riding a thruster behind a speed boat. The middle fin just seemed to be in the wrong place. Not close enough to the underwater rail to really be effective, but not high enough out of the water when the board is on it's rail to be out of the way. A better description of the NEW quad really is a split back fin. They are there for the same reason, to give drive and power, just they are placed in a more effective place and eliminates the drag.
- Shorter board length. Being able to handle speed means that I can have a wider tail and still keep in control. Also allows you to go down a couple inches on your short board without making it harder to paddle and catch waves.. And who does not like shorter?
- More range. Being able to handle speed means that one board can handle a wider variety of surfing conditions. Less boards needed in a quiver. For most of us, this means one board for all conditions.
- More reactive. The way the fins are spread on the tail, your back foot is right over the fins which makes it very reactive to back foot pressure. You can say it has the turning ability of a Twin and the drive of a thruster.
If you get a chance to test drive a new generation Quad, give it a go.
Kite surfboards
I realized that what the kiters were looking for in a surfboard was more of a pure surfing feel and not just the powered up edging found in normal kite boards.They want more glide, more response similar to riding a surfboard and I used this as my goal when developing this line of boards. Even though most regular surfboards will work for strapless riding with a kite, there are some modifications that need to be considered when using straps and this starts with the rocker line. . It has a lot to do with hull speed. Regular surfboards are made to handle a lower hull speed. To better adapt to the faster riding with a kite, the rocker has to be modified to handle a higher hull speed. The outline profile has to be considered as well as riding with straps you will be using the rails more and too much outline curve makes the trim angle unstable resulting in a board that bounces when on a rail. So in general the rocker has to be flatter and faster and the rails more parallel.
My latest development is the new Quad I call the '4' Play. I have spent a lot of time developing this board. At first I was reluctant to go with 4 fins, but I was pleasantly surprised how well it lends itself to kiting. The 4 fin configuration allows me to keep the rails more parallel and keep the tail fairly wide and still have lots of bite that a thruster or twin would not have with such a tail. The 4 fins works better for riding on the rails also. I found that the center fin on a tri fin set up does not offer much when the board is up riding on it's rail. The center fin actually is counterproductive with the forces on the board when it is up on it's rail while riding with a kite. Creating more unwanted drag reducing control at the higher speeds of kiting. Other features included on this board is the faster rocker. It has a gentle nose entry, flattened out with a deep'ish concave that transitions to a clean exit between the fins that makes for smooth rail to rail transitions and can still be as snappy as you want it to be. This mix of characteristics makes for a surprisingly adaptable board for kiting and a ride that rejuvenates the feel of surfing while being powered by a kite...
NOTE: these is a good discussion on the kiteforum 'surfboards' about surfboards for kiting if you want to get more technical info.
All the boards are shaped in my shaping room. .The glassing is done by Steve at Glassworks USA. Steve is a master with fiberglass and spearheads Glassworks USA. He has been ahead of his time in the Epoxy revolution as one of the best surfboard glassing factories that glass boards for some of the biggest names in the industry. I have known Steve for years and I have been working with him directly to meet the challenges with epoxy resins and glassing the boards for a new generation of longer lasting higher performance boards.
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NOTE: Due to the forces of kiting on a surfboard with straps, you can expect to get dings under the heel areas, but these dings are superficial and will not reduced the structural strength of the board.
Warrantee. For 3 months if any of my boards break during normal use I will fix it or make you a new board at no cost to you. I value the feedback I get from my riders and the boards that are damaged during normal use. (warrantee not valid for boards used on ramps, sliders or kickers....or impact with any hard object )
Current waiting time varies on workload. Contact me to get a time frame. (Ranges from 3 to 5 weeks.)
* Payment method. money order, personal check, or credit card using  . Make payments with Pay Pal - it's fast, free and secure!
Normal payment schedule: 50% due on placing the order to secure your slot, the remainder due prior to shipping.
NOTE: Due to the large size and light weight of a boxed surfboard, shipping costs can be quite high out side the United States. Please take this into account when ordering over seas. It is more cost effective to box 3 or more boards in a single shipment than a singular board.
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