I remember my first board… a 5’7 Glen Darcy with a crazy old school design on it. Between then and now I’ve had loads of good boards.

Being part of a family that surfs, our conversation of choice often revolves around board shapes, outlines, concaves, volume, rocker and a million other equations that could potentially be melded into the best board of your life.

After all, your creativity and ability in the water is bound to be influenced somewhat by your choice of equipment. So I figured since I do need a new board I may as well rethink the design and go for something on the edge.

Finding the right shaper

I met up with professional shaper, surfer and family man Ian Armstrong early Monday evening at his home in Kommetjie to put my order in and check my design options. Ian, having so much raw talent as both a surfer and shaper, knows exactly how to shape what I need and what to tweak.

Talk to your current shaper or somebody with a few boards out on the backline. Take your board design to him and make sure he knows what performance you want out of the board. It also helps if your shaper surfs too!

It’s always good idea good to take “old faithful” along. If you aren’t lucky enough to have one then a board that works for you is option number 2. Often time’s shapers keep records of this to use as reference.

After pen has been put to paper and the idea of a new board comes to life the blank can start taking shape. Bear in mind that different shapers have their own respective techniques in creating the final product - this is where the behind-the-scenes magic takes place!!!

Step 01 – The Outline

The first step is getting the correct outline - penciling out the shape of the board on the blank. Perhaps you’d like a hip in the tail with straighter rails up front or a double-winger swallow-tail? Talk to your shaper, he’s your friend!

The outline of your new stick is made using templates, the sniper rifle in a shapers arsenal. Edge templates are essentially a half-width outline of your board and are penciled onto the blank.

With careful measurement the shaper ensures a mirror-image outline on both sides of the stringer. Nose and tail templates are drawn separately to allow for variable length boards.

Step 02 – Rocker around the clock

From here the rocker gets put in. Rocker can be put in the nose, tail, throughout the board or if you want some extra speed a flatter rocker is kept.

Board thickness is then determined. Once the rocker’s in and the thickness is correct it’s time to cut the board out and begin smoothing out the rails to its specific shape - boxy, soft or pinched are just a few of the possibilities. Once again the shaper will apply his critical eye to the task…

When the blank is looking sweet the concave gets put in - single into double, flat, vee, reverse vee, or even channels. Your shaper plays mathematician and finds solutions to the many questions your mind can muster up! The answer to the question is not always 42.

Step 03 – Fin Placement

Last on the shaping list is fin placement. Fins can be placed at different angles and drastically affect performance therefore this is crucial to every board that goes through the shaping bay.

By now the shaping bay is covered in foam dust and your board should either be ready to get its artwork sprayed on or glassed.

Step 04 – Glassing

Glassing involves layering strips of fiberglass matting which are then covered by laminating resin which is mixed with catalyst to cause it to harden. The bottom of your board is glassed first.

When the bottom of the board has dried (about 2 – 4 hours) the board is flipped over and your leash plug hole is made using a router. The hole is then masked off with tape in preparation for glassing the top deck.

Matting is once again layered and resin poured over. When an even consistency of resin is reached, your leash plug is inserted. Further sanding resin is applied as well glassing in the fins or fin system, depending on your choice.

Step 05 – Sanding

The final stage of surfboard manufacture is the sanding which is done in two stages: dry sanding and wet sanding.

Dry sanding is done using an electric disk sander and is better left to experienced hands – for the novice remember: It’s better to sand too little than too much, and always wear a face mask, this process kicks up a ton of dust.

If you’re looking for a glossy board, a gloss coat of resin is applied.

Well by now you must be feeling sorry for your shaper, he’s certainly used a lot of elbow grease! However his job isn’t quite done yet…

Last but not least is the wet sanding phase. This is a similar process to dry sanding but water is applied to the board and finer-grit sandpaper is used.

Quite a bit of this is done by hand! The board is finished by giving it a good once-over using a buffer pad on a rotary sander.

The Conclusion

After a lengthy period of time your shaper emerges from his shack bleary-eyed, covered in foam dust and gagging for air after inhaling an unhealthy dose of resin fumes…

He trudges over to his phone and punches in your number. Your phone rings, you pick it up… a tired voice on the other end say’s “Your board’s finished and man does it look sweet!”

It’s time to wax it up and get it out into the line-up. One word: stoked!

Written by Just Bustin' | Edited by Mister M.

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