Patagonia / Point Blanks

Does anyone have any comments on the “hand crafted” epoxy boards from Patagonia?

I like to give Yvon Chouinard credit for systematically testing foam, stringer, glass combinations. They presently have a decent range of designs with custom modifications available. I don’t know why “hand crafted” has quotation marks - they really are hand shaped and glassed in Ventura, CA. Logical stringer set ups for longer boards and big wave boards to resist breakage. I don’t have one but I think they’re a good thing.

They chug.

I like to give Yvon Chouinard credit for systematically testing foam, > stringer, glass combinations. They presently have a decent range of > designs with custom modifications available. I don’t know why “hand > crafted” has quotation marks - they really are hand shaped and > glassed in Ventura, CA. Logical stringer set ups for longer boards and big > wave boards to resist breakage. I don’t have one but I think they’re a > good thing. If you have been a regular customer of Clark Foam for any length of time, you would have received his work ups on stringer, glass and foam weight impact on board durability. This is something that Clark has done, going back 25 years or more. One thing their testing has shown, that since boards have gone much thinner, additional stringer widths don’t really help that much on stopping breakage. Another item in their info details how the resins have actually gotten weaker over the years. This is mainly to blame on the desire to have clearer resins and the air quality goverment people demanding less release of styrene during the wet work phase. When doing balsa boards, it is necessary to cheater coat the wood to keep it from delaming, in years past, with the old Diamond-Shamrock Dion resin, not as clear, but not needing cheater coats on wood. If you’ve been in the biz’ for any length of time, you will know of this morph that the chemicals have gone through. Gary McNabb was at the new resin developers office a few days back and saw first hand the strength of the “new” resin. The chemist picked up a new Channel Islands they had glassed and dropped it on its rail from 4’ off the ground, it bounced, not a shatter or ding. The resin is more expensive than epoxy, but!!!

They chug. as in non-responsive, slow, sluggish from rail to rail? what?

Jim: Is this new resin being marketed with any claims to a more “user friendly” or less toxic formula? Some time at the beginning of the year we heard briefly from Mark Tolan a young chemist who had come up with a new resin formula that could potentially turn EPA and health issues surrounding surfboard mfg. into a thing of the past. I believe Surfer Mag. had a writeup and later he himself visited Swaylock’s and shared what his plans were. He was going to work with California surfboard builder (http://www.astsurf.com/) and be ready to introduce this product Summer 2002. Seems that he was in the middle of discussions with larger chemical manufacturers and was to come back to us with the developments as they were finalized. Is this new resin you mention possibly the same? Stronger and less toxic? Tom S.>>> If you have been a regular customer of Clark Foam for any length of time, > you would have received his work ups on stringer, glass and foam weight > impact on board durability. This is something that Clark has done, going > back 25 years or more. One thing their testing has shown, that since > boards have gone much thinner, additional stringer widths don’t really > help that much on stopping breakage. Another item in their info details > how the resins have actually gotten weaker over the years. This is mainly > to blame on the desire to have clearer resins and the air quality > goverment people demanding less release of styrene during the wet work > phase. When doing balsa boards, it is necessary to cheater coat the wood > to keep it from delaming, in years past, with the old Diamond-Shamrock > Dion resin, not as clear, but not needing cheater coats on wood. If you’ve > been in the biz’ for any length of time, you will know of this morph that > the chemicals have gone through. Gary McNabb was at the new resin > developers office a few days back and saw first hand the strength of the > “new” resin. The chemist picked up a new Channel Islands they > had glassed and dropped it on its rail from 4’ off the ground, it bounced, > not a shatter or ding. The resin is more expensive than epoxy, but!!!

I have seen that kind of test before at the expo in Orlando several years back when tufflite was coming out. The rep had a board that he would drop on its rail from 3 or 4’ up onto the concrete and the board would bouce back with no damage. After years on the market we all know that these boards are not really less prone to ding or snap. I think it is due to the fact that these boards and there pvc/epoxy coating accept impact well when it is distributed over a large surface area (meaning when the rail hits the ground 3 or 4" of the rail is hitting at once, distributing the impact). Smack it with a ballpean hammer (or even a shin bone) with the same amount of force and what would happen? That is the test I want to see. Someone needs to come out with a resin/cloth/foam combo that can handle concentrated force on a small area. From what rabbit says the foam is the key, but if you can’t keep it sealed by maintaining the surrounding surface, what good is it?

Does anyone have any comments on the “hand crafted” epoxy boards > from Patagonia? get one.Fletcher is a great shaper and has been taught by some of the best.all the people i know that have one like it very much.What model were you thinking of?

as in non-responsive, slow, sluggish from rail to rail? what? All of the above

I have seen that kind of test before at the expo in Orlando several years > back when tufflite was coming out. The rep had a board that he would drop > on its rail from 3 or 4’ up onto the concrete and the board would bouce > back with no damage. After years on the market we all know that these > boards are not really less prone to ding or snap. I think it is due to the > fact that these boards and there pvc/epoxy coating accept impact well when > it is distributed over a large surface area (meaning when the rail hits > the ground 3 or 4" of the rail is hitting at once, distributing the > impact). Smack it with a ballpean hammer (or even a shin bone) with the > same amount of force and what would happen? That is the test I want to > see. Someone needs to come out with a resin/cloth/foam combo that can > handle concentrated force on a small area. From what rabbit says the foam > is the key, but if you can’t keep it sealed by maintaining the surrounding > surface, what good is it? Your right about the foam needing to be the first line of defense, but a more cross linked molecular version of resins are going to be discovered and when the do, surfboard will take another quantum leap forward with boards that are extremely light and strong.

I’m thinking about the HP model, possibly modified slightly, primarily for winter surf in the Santa Cruz area.