I haven't bought a board in over 10 years and the one I did was a soft top for my wife and kids
I build all my boards myself and have never looked back.
I know what suits my style and the conditions I usually surf in.
Plus, it's cheaper to build you own and you get a certain satisfaction riding your own creation.
Cheers
1. yes.
2. making my own allows me to inexpensively make progressively more personal modifications to their designs.
3. i have received 2 inquiries from non-family surfers regarding making them boards. this doubles the number of inquiries i had last year. does this mean that the recession is over?
4. as per number 3, am i now in the industry?
Short answer yes…
Long answer, no…
Being a hobby board builder each board is more of a “big deal” to me than it would be for a (semi)professional shaper. So when one works well its really a big deal. So far though only two of my own boards really work well enough (three if I include Marty’s blue fish which he still uses as main board…)to figure a spot in my “permanent quiver”, my 8’1 speedy red single fin and my 6’1 quad fish… imho … and since I mostly longboard, I spend more time on boards built by others (Greg Stokes 9’6 and Guilhelm “balsa” Rainfray 9’8). I have made some longboards and they have been fun but average, I cannot build something as nice as what Guilhelm is capable of making… but I may very well try if time and resources permit…
I'm a shaping greenhorn having only recently finished my first board. After 2 weeks of frustrating summer flatness I finally got to give it a go yesterday, and I'm still absolutely buzzing.
The first wave I took I felt like I was tripping! It was a pretty overwhelming feeling knowing that what I created actually worked and surfed (reasonably) well. It may be a heap of crap to anybody else but I've got rose tinted glasses on.... I'm just glad that it can actually catch a wave and turn
Two more blanks en-route.....
Yes.......but I didn't realize it until recently. I've always purchased custom boards as well as boards off the rack. Even after I started making my own. The sleek lines, crisp colors and symmetry of a professionally made board are too alluring. Having said that, in most cases, I now prefer to ride my own boards. The exception is my big wave board, (Campbell Bros 5 fin Bonzer). I came to this realization just this year. There is a comfort and familiarity with my own boards that I really enjoy. I know their abilities and limitations unquestioningly. That makes it a cinch to pick the right board for the conditions at that time.
Over the past year I've been a riding a board that I made for a friend. He wanted a short, fat quad with a rounded pin. It was to be his summer board. Unfortunately, the board came out too thick for him. So I gave him my Biofish quad and he's been really happy ever since. I took the fat boy and started experimenting with different fin configs and found that the board worked exceptionally well for me. So well in fact, that I pretty much ignored my other boards. I even purchased two new boards over the past year. Both from very reputable shapers and there is nothing wrong either of them. The thing is, I'm so comfortable with my "latest mistake" that I end up riding it more than the others.
I have a board on the racks right now and am just waiting for the day that I can finish it and take her out. Until then, I’ll continue riding MY latest board.
it all depends on the conditions...the boards that i have purchased are all high performance shortboards for high performance waves...when i moved back to the east coast i decided to make a mushbuster egg to get through the summers...so when its ankle to knee high yes i do like to ride the board i made better than the ones i have purchased
Harry, Good question. Made me think. I often build my own to just sell as used boards so I can keep building more. I keep the ones by the master shapers as reference boards. But overall think I prefer my own. I think. I still make copies of and ride the “mother board”, a 12 year old post mod twin fish that Greg Loehr built for me. Just repair a few dings on it the other day. As I have posted here before, I have copied it dozens of times for others and for me. Thus the name. But to be honest, I made a slightly different version of it (little narrower in the tail) that I like the best of all. But I sold it so I could make another.
OK. Pretty sure the above only will make sense to those addicted to building the next board.
Do you ever say to yourself, wow I like that board, wonder what it would be like if…
I actually got back into making boards because I wanted something very different from what the shaper was doing. After his testing and all he didn’t think my ideas would work on the particular design he was doing.
My brother asked it I wanted to make a board so I jumped all over it. I didn’t realize that my brother wanted to make the compsands. That was a fun distraction and something I’ll continue, but I’ve been playing with pu/pe lately and it’s so much easier and faster to pop out a board.
It’s also so much easier to add a couple of FCS plugs in a pu/pe board than the compsands we make. I’ve done that with the last 3 boards, start as a single with a long box then add 2 side fins. With the long box I can mess with fins and placement, and I can remove the sidefins whenever I want.
The first series of boards were all based on a 8’ single fin egg design. I altered the rocker and thickness on each one and altered the rails on one of them. The goal was something that paddles well but wasn’t too long. They each have a good characteristic, but they definitely work better in certain types of waves. Except for the last 3 or 4 boards, I don’t think anyone is making anything like first 10 boards I did. I really went for “different” on those.
The pu/pe blanks I have are all small and are throw aways They didn’t give me a lot of flexibility in width or thickness, so they are more mainstream. They are all based on the same template, but with adjustments in the nose or tail. The one I’m making now is something that I’m hoping will be my go to board for the bigger days. A little wider and shorter than the BK I have, but bigger than my other small boards. We just installed 3 boxes, but I can always add another set to make it a quad. I’m hoping that my brother likes the way it rides. I also have 2 more blanks to refine this design if it’s not just right.
I always figured that when it came to surfing the good, big days, I have the boards that were made by true masters. I’ve been very happy riding a couple of my boards, and that’s really something I can be proud of. I guess having surfed over 40 years helps me know what I want, and having made enough boards now I think I’m getting used to the process and the tools I use.
As far as selling boards… I don’t know when I’ll get there. Maybe when I retire from my day job. Right now, I don’t have the patience to make store quality finishes. For me that’s OK, but I wouldn’t be happy if I made it to sell to someone else. I still got a bit to learn about glassing on foam, and finishing.
Swaylocks started it all and I’m greatful for all the things I’ve learned here and the people I meet.
Aloha, Harry
ive shaped two boards so far.... just shaped the first,but did everything on the second....
not the best surfer but when i just paddled my board out for the first time, it was the best feeling ever! to surf something you made!
havnt got out on my new board yet but cant wait!!!!
I love making boards. I have limited funds. If I buy a board from a known shaper that equals two boards I can’t build myself. I would love to try other boards. I tried Shwuz’s carbon railed twin fin and loved it. I’d like to try more. Anybody in the South Bay of Los Angeles have a Griffin mod fish or a Campbell Brothers Octafish they would let me try? Every now and then there are board demo days but I’d feel guilty riding boards I know I’m not going to buy. So until my financial situation changes radically, I’ll ride my own shapes, good or bad as they are…and have loads of fun.
I've found that my enjoyment surfing is determined more by the crowd factor than anything else. I enjoy riding a bunch of different boards some of my own design and some from the pros. I even have two tuffLites that I have fun riding if the conditions are right If there is a crowd in the water its not going to matter what I'm on because I'm gonna be miserable.
I only own one board that I did not shape and it is kind of a cheesy “fun board” that I rarely take out so I am always on my own boards. Before I started shaping I held onto my boards for a very long time (at least by todays standards) so I never really experimented with different shapes too much. I am getting that thrill now as I create my own. I do enjoy riding my own and of course there is that little bit of pride that comes with telling some one “I shaped it”. I too have yet to nail down that “magic” board and don’t fool myself that my boards are better for me than a custom by a pro. When I see an interesting board in the shop/water now I don’t think about riding it but shaping something similar to it. So for the time being, yes I enjoy riding my own.
Fun, that’s what it’s all about. Les (tridrles) and I had a ton of fun at Waikiki riding our boards. Then we had a more fun explaining them to a lot of curious people. Took us longer to get back to our slippers and towels than I expected.
Gotta say one thing about making your own boards, you can do whatever you want. I was using a woven bamboo home depot special with 2 center fins ala Bill Thrailkill, and Les had his thick concave deck balsa compsand quad with these insane curved wooden fins he made. You will never see something like that from a shop or “big name” board maker, they were just too different. But I enjoy riding my board, and it doesn’t have a leash plug, so I have to swim if I screw up.
I can make a board for well under $200, so a custom from a big name would be at least double that. If I don’t like that board, I have to figure out if it’s because of me or the builders. I’m at the point where I know I can build a board that I will like, and that’s all that matters to me.
Ya,,, I like rideing my own shaped and glassed boards
Ive got my favorite shape but I need to make something a little different next time
I remember this thread when it first came out because I was just getting ready to build my first board. I just cut out the template tonight on board #7, a 7’6" pin tail.
The answer is definitely, “Yes.”
It’s not just about riding the board. It’s about the process, the feedback from friends; good and bad, the humbling f*#!-ups, etc.
I have made a thruster, a mini sim, 2 fish, a pig, and a fun board. I have also made 4 LB fins and two sets of twin keels (thanks to the old Jim Phillips “how to make fiberglass fins” thread.
I have a ‘Terry Martin shaped’ Hobie. It is a Dream Machine and I will never come close to making something close to it. But the quest to attempt it is what it’s all about.
Final thought. #1 reason to shape and glass your own boards… Even when the surf sucks, you can still be having the time of your life.
Is it safe to say that we all intuitively know what’s going to work for us? There’s something that’s lost in translation when ordering a custom, with exceptions like griffin, who seem to get it, but for the rest of us, we know what thickness, what width, etc, works or doesn’t for the waves we’re surfing, and we lay that design up, shape it, and for the most part, it surfs great. Long live the Swaylocks Shaper!
Along those same lines Ethan…
You could buy a cheep used board try it, buy cheep used fins, try all the combinations… sell it or trade for another try it.
But!!! The only way I improved my knowledge of WHAT I wanted was to study as much of what was in here (Sways) and other online articles/books to have an idea of what I wanted. Then the next step was to make the boards and see if that was it. After 25 boards and about 40 fins I have a VERY good idea of what works best for me.
My friends just have one to two boards and keep the the same fins in that came with the board! No experimenting…but they seem like it that way.
I think that we (Swayloholics) are just that… experimenters and I love it!
Les
When I looked there were two pics! Now editing it there’s only one? Sorry if there’s two?
Definetely enjoy riding my own.
Do they work ?
Not as well as a board from a master,but that said,i've had a couple that i should never have sold.
Tried Barnfields method on latest shape and it helped greatly with regard to foil.
Yes. Not even close. I couldn’t even find a clark blank close to what I want…
I rode my first home shape this past weekend and the thrill is beyond anything I've experienced in surfing. Feeling it transition smoothly from rail to rail and hit the lip, and then drop back down was an incomparable sensation.
As far as shaping things that I know work for me, the first challenge is just shaping what I want to shape! The first one came somewhat close to what I had planned, but I overshaped and ended up narrower and thinner than I wanted. When I get to the point when I can actually control the finished product better, it'll get even more exciting.
