Hello,
Back in the 90s I bought a wood veneer surfboard from a shop called Surf Tech in Santa Cruz. I wanted a longboard but I wanted the beautiful wood look as well so I ordered my board.
I can’t remember anything about it or when I bought it even and all receipts are lost.
Does anyone have any info on this board?
I called Surf Tech and the kid had no idea when I told him the numbers printed on the stringer (please refer to picture)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Reason being; they did about 10,000,000 of them and have lost all recollection of which fly speck your board was.
But, they are pretty and I have a friend who still surfs his on occasion. Fly speck. That’s funny Ding. You haven’t lost a step. Mike
I think I bought it in 97. The kid told me it probably was issued before they started stamping them out and using serial numbers.
I am wondering if there is any information on my first generation Costco 8’ Wavestorm and if it’s worth restoring! LOL! But that wood vfinish is pretty.
The numbers mean nothing, and they were “stamping them out” from day one. It is a high end popout with a pretty wood veneer on it.
Sandwich construction with a PVC sheet wrap under fiberglass and wood veneer. The later ones were labelled “Woodtech”, as I recall.
here is a diagram of the construction used for the standard Surftech line. Yours has one less layer of fiberglass with the wood veneer, instead.
All that number means it that it’s an 8’0" Surftech. the last three numbers could be the date it was made. Not sure.
I actually owned one around that time. Probably a couple of years before you got yours. The boys delivered it to my house. Told them I wouldn’t buy it unless they could get Dale to sign it. Which he did with a Sharpie. A few years later I sold it to Bauer(rip) in Santa Barbara. Lowel
I don’t think there is pvc under Wood on this build, just fiberglass epoxy to stick Wood vener on eps foam. If i remenber well it polyester over foam for “traditional” Touch.
EPS core means no Poly. Surftech is EPS . The veneer is bagged on and the whole board is sprayed with a Polyurethane Gloss finish. No cloth over the veneer on these.
Thanks for the info. Now I’m not afraid to use it, just have fun.
ok, in fact i would say polyester finish over wood. Some years ago I repair one of this and find it smell poly when i sand varnish over wood but you are right it’s far better to use polyurethane for this.
Really have to smile at this thread - I believe that Surftech boards have a very mixed rep among surfers, including me - that is until I rode one about 3 weeks ago - I’m retired now surfing in Costa Rica, have been surfing over 50 years and made just about 50 boards for myself - I rode a 6’2" Surftech Rusty Dozer for a few days and went and bought it - been riding it for about 3 weeks - it’s one of the best boards I’ve ridden in years - great at catching waves, fast as hell and makes beautiful turns - even bought a second one for home in the US - very surprised at how good it is, and very strong epoxy - no dents or dings and it was a rental board for a couple of seasons. Wow - I’m impressed - no bullshit !
The diagram SammyA posted is of the older ‘Tuflite’ construction. The newer ‘Tuflite’ is similar but they use a different skin core. And lemat is correct, the outer coating is polyester gloss resin. The wood veneer was described as a “structural veneer” at the time. It did not have any fiberglass on the outside, just resin - and a lot of it where they built up the edge in the tail. They look nice but most people who put them to use as daily drivers found the weak spots. I’ve seen plenty of them snap, dent, delam, develop cracks in the outer resin layer, etc. The ‘Tuflite’ construction was arguable a better method but some found the painted surface less aesthetic than clear glass jobs or the wood veneer. Even with the above mentioned problems, I’d have to say the boards had a good strength to weight ratio and quite a few shapers had models with the wood treatment. They (surftech) haven’t exactly been resting on their laurels… Here is a link to their current technology. https://www.surftech.com/surftech-technology-story Many of us wish we could execute the same stuff in our backyards on a consistent basis.
No more pvc in the last tuflight i repair. A kind of bad looking thin red wood veneer instead with more glass under than before.
They spray the finishes in that factory. No hand brushed gloss polyester. Go in the shop sometime when you are in SC and ask 'em. 41st Ave , Capitola. That’s the reason it cracks and shatters so easy. You don’t notice it against wood veneer, but it also yellows quicker than a UV Poly board if left out a lot. Don’t imangine they changed the basic finish and method of application over the years. The only reason would be if they found a less toxic, tougher and more UV resistant spray finish. There have been a lot of changes in Automotive Clear Coats in recent years. Most these days are Acrylic rather than Polyurethane. Though they are based in Thailand where environmental and worker health concerns are few; product availability is key. Manufacturers do their R&D and come up with a product that meets environmental standards and then eventually phase out those that don’t
Why do you ask?
I see guys riding them. My brother bought one about the same time from an Australian company. All of those Surftechs were built by a windsurfing board manufacturer overseas. Some surftechs are good, and some are not very good. Depended on the shaper and model. Biggest problem with the early boards was their buoyancy, they were too thick, but they figured it out.
I think it’s sad that some of the great shapers that have passed away made boards for Surftech, but they are no longer available. Hobie, Velzy, Byrne, and others.
Not much dollar value, but you can use it. Hard to fix and make it look like it wasn’t damaged.
Great thread. Lots of good points. Hard to repair & make it look good. I have one of these, the repairs are discussed in another thread. Basically a compsand over EPS with fiberglass under the wood veneer, but sprayed polyurethane (or polyester resin?) over. I sanded & glassed it with 4 oz. & epoxy resin, which added 2 lbs. the fabric inlay is to cover some nasty cracks (the polyurethane no-glass finish is very brittle).
