Aloha:
I turned on my Oxnard cousin’s kids to surfing during their visits to Hawaii. They know that I make boards and ask that I make their boards; however, after 9-11, the shipping cost to make the boards in Hawaii and ship it to them to Cal is not worth it. I am looking for a trustworthy board builder in the Oxnard or Ventura County area that is willing to build boards according to my specs and design and place some of my laminates on the board. I also want them to interact with the builders there and develop good relationships with the local surf industry. My cousin’s kids are big boys (O-line football player size) so the shaper needs to know how to build a board for a big guy (250 lbs.). I usually start with the Clark Foam 10-3 blank with the 10-1Y rockers, BC, +1"N last 24", green. My glass job specs are as follows: bottom two layers 4 oz. S-glass and deck layers 4 oz. s-glass with 6 oz. volan deck patch, gloss finish. I am thinking about tinting the bottom and top rails red or yellow with black pin lines. I like my longboard strong and durable.
I want the shape to be a modern longboard with a pulled in nose with the measurements as follows: 10’2" x 17’ x 24" x 14.5" x 4" (the shaper can adjust to fit the template). Floatation is critical so a flatter deck with fuller rails is required. The bottom should be flat to vee. I like Infinity Surfboard’s Cluster template (see attached) with a 2+1 fin set up. FCS as side bites and 10.5" center box. This will be a Christmas present, but I want to start making contacts now and have my cousin check out boards made the prospective board builders first.
If you know any builders in the Oxnard-Ventura County area that can build this type of board, let me know.
Mahalo!
