am i reading this correct …surftecs are foam then fiberglass,then more foam,then more fiberglass? why is that so amazing?
surftec is garbage. I still don’t understand why people are spending their money on an outsouced piece of crap. Support your local shaper!
that is called sandwich composite!
the inner foam is much lower density than normal wich makes the board lighter and the skin is super strong because of the sandwich effect.
is it actually a composite…or just epoxy and fiberglass?
so why cant someone hand shape a board using the same foam and same skin?
or just same light foam with more fiberglass?
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is it actually a composite…or just epoxy and fiberglass?
so why cant someone hand shape a board using the same foam and same skin?
or just same light foam with more fiberglass?
go look up the definition of “composite”
the first time i rode one i could hardly feel the board under my feet and now i can really drive it, i like the way they ride,also think its great for shapers who make the same models day in and day out. this way they can make a few standard models instead of the same thing all the time. There will always be room for experiments and improvement. Guys like McCoy, Rawson, Merrick are masters and they are the right people for these boards. Different ,materials give a different feel to the way a board rides along with everything else. for me I like variety in the boards shape, weight and structure aloha.
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the first time i rode one i could hardly feel the board under my feet and now i can really drive it, i like the way they ride,also think its great for shapers who make the same models day in and day out. this way they can make a few standard models instead of the same thing all the time. There will always be room for experiments and improvement. Guys like McCoy, Rawson, Merrick are masters and they are the right people for these boards. Different ,materials give a different feel to the way a board rides along with everything else. for me I like variety in the boards shape, weight and structure aloha.
I have been telling you guys Cheyne loves them. Hi Cheyne. Nice 360 at the Stubbies. Saw it on Youtube.com
I think the real value that surftech will have is a line of boards from shapers who’ve passed away like Velzy. If the really great boards from the old master shapers can be preserved and made available through this process it can be a good thing. The only thing is this technology doesn’t create perfect copy because the materials are different and that affects how the board rides, so the boards need to be adjusted some to feel the same.
Being able to ride a great design and not worry about destroying it allows you to push the limits. If you break it, you just go to the local dealer and get another one. This is great for the surfer that wants to ride the same board all the time. Guys that like to tweak the designs and push their abilities through board designs need to work with a custom shop, or better yet learn to make their own boards.
There’s a place for both types of boards. Good hand made boards will always be sought after, and good board builders will always have lots of work. I think there’s a lot of opportunity for good glassers right now. Glassing is a very important part of making a good board, and I think it’s a lot harder than shaping if you do the whole process yourself.
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surftec is garbage. I still don’t understand why people are spending their money on an outsouced piece of crap. Support your local shaper!
personally i dont believe Surftech are garbage .
when was the last time you had a close look at one ??? at Sunova we pride ourselves on high quality and the finish and quality of surftech is definitely up there …
i fully support the notion of supporting your local board builder …
supporting your local shaper is a little different …
unless you are completly set up to deliver sandwich tech ,a local shaper isnt really in a posistion to give consumers advanced tech …
so by recomending to support your local shaper , your essentially asking customers to except lesser quality and tech to buy locally …
my advice , is local shapers should adapt and learn to build what the market and consumers are demanding …
regards
BERT
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am i reading this correct …surftecs are foam then fiberglass,then more foam,then more fiberglass? why is that so amazing?
Does anyone have a link or a vid showing how those tricky bastards are forming the high density foam over the rails. Someone has got to have a resource for that. I would really like to know the steps with picts on how they are doing it.
I mean come on Surftech can access just about every trick in the book right here at Sways, but we can’t peer into their magic cook book? What’s up with that?
look at the pics from the boardlady
I rode a TL2 Stretch quad the other day and was pleasantly surprised. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it felt like any other poly board I’ve ridden. It didn’t have that weird, sketchy feeling that I hear some people talk about in regard to their tuflight models. They were having one of those test drive days at the beach so I gave one a spin.
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the first time i rode one i could hardly feel the board under my feet and now i can really drive it, i like the way they ride,also think its great for shapers who make the same models day in and day out. this way they can make a few standard models instead of the same thing all the time. There will always be room for experiments and improvement. Guys like McCoy, Rawson, Merrick are masters and they are the right people for these boards. Different ,materials give a different feel to the way a board rides along with everything else. for me I like variety in the boards shape, weight and structure aloha.
good points Cheyne. There is a picture of Shawn Thompson at pipe ripping a Merrick Surftech. I am pretty sure that Shawn could ride any board (or Merrick, if that is his current sponser) he wants, and he is on a surftech.
I like having a little variety as well.
Thanks, I’ve checked out boardlady’s picts before. I can see the finished product, I just want see the how.
I can see why Aviso bailed on the core completely. The low density EPS on some of those boards looks terrible.
I’ve even tried checking a bit online about thermoforming. Some good info but still not enough.
If I let my imagination run I can see a CAD master made out of aluminum. A CAD cut-out on an 1/8" piece of Dcell. Then some experienced techs using a simple heat source to make top pieces all day everyday. Just enough curve to not crack under vacuum or in the mold during the press and form stage.
To me the difference is the same as explaining to someone how to glass as compared to showing them a video on how to do it. The slight tricks of hand and the little steps are the ones that can drive you crazy. I can’t help it I always like to look at the pictures in the book before I read it.
None the less I got my 1/8" Corecell sheets and a stringerless EPS blank. Plan is to shape a 5’10" kitesurfboard and subject the thing to hell.
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I rode a TL2 Stretch quad the other day and was pleasantly surprised. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it felt like any other poly board I’ve ridden. It didn’t have that weird, sketchy feeling that I hear some people talk about in regard to their tuflight models. They were having one of those test drive days at the beach so I gave one a spin.
From what I can tell with my limited personal experience with surtech type tech is under 7 feet in length they tend to ride similar to poly. Not the same, but not nearly as much difference. In fact…I would say they are probably a bit more lively in small surf. Over 7 feet and especially over 9’ they seem to be too floating and too rigid. Nothing that can’t be gotten used to…but thats what I experienced. Having ridden Mccoys popouts and the real deal…(Nuggets and the like being what I mostly ride now a days) the poly Mccoys ride much different than the epoxy. I think if Geoff thinned them out a bit they would work better with sandwhich tech.
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Quote:is it actually a composite…or just epoxy and fiberglass?
so why cant someone hand shape a board using the same foam and same skin?
or just same light foam with more fiberglass?
go look up the definition of “composite”
…O.K…I looked up composite Composite material - a material that is made from several different substances. sorry…still don’t get it. original question. is it really a composite if it is just layers of foam and fiberglass, and if so are not poly boards composites too. i understand why they are called sandwiched…because R2D2 puts them together instead of a person 
Hey, Solosurfer…
Are you referring to a hand shaped epoxy from Geoff or a Surftec?
If they are hand shaped, which do you prefer the poly or the epoxy?
I’m ordering 2 poly’s from Geoff right now. Might be interesting to try epoxy.
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Hey, Solosurfer…
Are you referring to a hand shaped epoxy from Geoff or a Surftec?
If they are hand shaped, which do you prefer the poly or the epoxy?
I’m ordering 2 poly’s from Geoff right now. Might be interesting to try epoxy.
Geoff told me he does not do handshaped epoxy and doesn’t care for the Surftech ride. It was the surftech that I was speaking about. Cheyne likes the surftech models…I don’t personally care for them. I think nuggets were designed thick for poly tech. The surftech models are too thick in my opinion because of the excess boyancy. Are you in Australia? Surftech only provides the base nugget line. The line is way more extensive than what you see from Surftech. No mico nuggets from surftech and no more pointed nose models and etc.
BEst of luck. Tell Geoff hello.
I personally don’t care for surftech either. I’m ordering an LZ and potbelly from him. I’m in California… (yeah, ouch on the shipping)
thanks
Webster online dictionary describes “composite” as -
A solid material which is composed of two or more substances having different physical characteristics and in which each substance retains its identity while contributing desirable properties to the whole; especially : a structural material made of plastic within which a fibrous material (as silicon carbide) is embedded