Turning on the national ABC (Australian Broadcasting corp.) news and headlining, along with Sly Stalones hotel and customs drug raids, Tony Blairs withdrawal of troops from Iraq and poor old Dave Hicks in Guantanamo, was a story of how badly the Aussie shapers are feeling the heat from the cheaper imports coming in from Asia.
An interview with a medium sized and very respected shaping company revealed how they are now using only casual workers and are really worried about the future.
The owner of said company also had a very big beef with shapers that had never even been to the beach, let alone ridden a surfboard.
Another interview with a Salesman from a (so called) surfshop was spouting how this can only be good for the sport and the customers.
Looks like time for Aussie shapers to adapt or perish.
Either a very slow News day or some feathers are really being ruffled.
Now, I fix quite afew of these boards that come in from overseas, both poly and compsand stuff, and am yet to see one that isn’t twisted to all buggery or has some other flaw that just doesn’t get overlooked by even your average backyarder, yet these boards are on the racks right next to some of the most respected shapers in the country at the same price, and with no distinguishing markings as to the origins of such boards ( a “made in” sticker of 7 point print is not easy to find.) . No I haven’t seen the latest batch of TL2’s or the rest. Maybe (hopefully for the consumer) they are beter.
Well the latest batch of Chinese boards … there is a guy pimping them off a craigslist. I decided to check them out. They are very clean, workmanship and quality of glassing / colors nice, even with tints and pinlines. Stringers straight, fins aligned properly, can’t good, clean outline, rails were the same.
But I noticed some weird things. This was a 6 2" foot thruster. The rails near the tail were rounded (instead of hard edge) no edge. The cant was equal on the fins, but it was a little excessive. The rocker was weird, it had high curved nose entry, and the tail rocker was nearly fish flat. The rocker looked like a toboggan . . . The center rocker was flat, and the thickness was in the middle like 2 3/4 for the middle 3 feet, but after that it blended dropped to an inch and then tapered to the nose and tail was very thin, even for a thruster. I’ll bet if you put a flashlight under the board you could see your hand underneath casting a shadow from the top. The foil was like a curved javelin and didn’t seem right. . . …
But the quality of glassing / and shaping was tops . . .
When I didn’t want the board, the guy cut off $100. I told him I didn’t want it because X and X and X and . . … and he looked at me like he was confused.
The non surfer made boards are getting better and better. But at local surfboard factories there always is work to be done . . .
the saying only a surfer knows the feeling . . . only a surfer knows the shape . . .