I frequently get asked in the parking lot…“Is that a ‘foam’ or ‘epoxy’ board?” or “is that board ‘fiberglass’ or ‘epoxy’?” to which I now smile and give a one word answer “yes” and walk away, because explaining things doesn’t seem to work…they always ask it again. It happens even more frequently when someone says “hey you do repairs right?” and without seeing the board I ask “yeah, what’s wrong with it and is it EPS or Poly?” they tell me what’s wrong and then almost always give an answer like “I think its foam” or “I think it’s fiberglass.” If it is EPS I would say take it to someone else…I won’t fix it, but I will fix PU/PE…don’t want to get your eps/epoxy board home and realize that any resin I have in my shop will melt the thing. Anyone else have this problem as regularly as I do? Why is it that everyone is on the same page as far as thinking that “foam” “fiberglass” and “epoxy” are 3 different constructions of surfboards? sorry for all the dialogue in quotes, but I don’t know how else to explain this.
Welcome to “surfers”…
Blame it on the uninformed people who write for surf mags and also those who work in surf shops. For instance, a friend of mine (female) bought her first board last year. She got a Surftech. As she was telling me about her decision process and why she chose that one she mentioned that the guy at the surf shop told her it was stronger than a “fiberglass board”. I told her the unfortunate news that the salesman didn’t know shit, and that her board was in fact built with two layers of fiberglass.
I’ve seen print articles that have made the “epoxy vs fiberglass” comparison in surf mags… Just more proof that the surf media and industry have been flooded with people who don’t know shit about surfing or surfboards.
The term “foam board” seems most often applied to softboards like BZ and such. To my knowledge, nearly all surfboards are made with foam, except for some hollow and wood boards.
Also, how about the guy who recently posted here with questions about “glass and cloth”?
Then, there’s the whole fish thing…where most anything with a split tail is called a fish, and even some non-split tail boards get that description.
There are just so many people who do not know what the hell they’re talking about!!
Ha! Well said!
...oh crap...I used to say some of those same things...dang It!
It's really sad when even a widely respected long term shop owner/shaper can't get it right... for instance I've been told that you "can't glass polyurethane foam with epoxy" and other such nonsense. To be fair, it wasn't until I read it on Swaylocks and tried it myself that I knew any different.
I tried to explain the differences between EPS, XPS, and polyurethane foams as well as compatability with epoxy, polyester, or urethane resins... the glazed look triggered my next question, "OK, so where did I lose you?"
Now I just bite my tongue and save my breath.
my favorite ( or actually most annoying) is when some one calls my shop and says how much would it cost to get a ding fix, then i have to ask them how big it is, and where it is, and if it needs color, and so on
it also amazes me how many people dont know how to take thier fins off or put them back on or even know what fin system they have
but i would have to say that Sammy nailed it pretty good
And then the clueless are pointed to Swaylocks - with their stupid questions - that anyone with common sense would be embarrassed to ask…
And we get 6 (or more) friggin pages of discussion, from the equally clueless, in response…
Ain’t da intranet a wunnerful place
I must disagree, Pete. As the old saying goes…There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. I have already listed a few stupid answers that are often given by people who too frequently are assumed to know what they’re talking about.
While this forum often gets visits from very ill-informed people, I believe it’s one of the very few places online where there are people who can give valid, well founded answers about board construction. Granted, the ones who ask a ton of questions about damage or a “valuable” board and post no photos can be an annoyance. But, this is one place where many can be set straight and pointed in the right direction.
so many get things wrong that its almost easier to just go along with them, the fish thing has become a joke, anything even slightly wider is now being called a fish by some, even shapers who should know much better…and the epoxy thing, well that gets 80% of surfers I reckon…
People like that make me feel smart… which pretty hard to do.
A guy I do work for dropped off three surfboards. He needed them done before Christmas. I needed money before Christmas. No talk about surfboard construction.....The 5'10" fish was real light. I dug a little deeper into all the boards. The fish was EPS/Epoxy...work smarter. Not harder. Most people don't know and don't care......................................