Got me a freshie

Nice south swell to christen her in tomorrow- if you haven't already..

 

One of my boys has an Uber Driver but the rocker and foil look totally different. Just went and pulled it off the rack to confirm since yours looked so much different.

 

In the 4 years I’ve been serious about surfing, I’ve spent over $8k on boarts, most of that on local customs, some of that on off the shelf customs at local shops. The first non local bort was the Roberts. Still a custom but just from a different shop. It’s supporting a “local” shop, just not MY local hahaha...id say that’s what BMan is sayin! I’m sure there are many on Swellie that have DOZENS of borts from all over, and still have a dedicated local shaper/shop -

 

And by the way, Queen B asked if her name was going on it Hahahaha

 

Theirs have too. There’s been tremendous kickback against the sellingout/commercializing of a way of life that has brought in the local shaper. The anti-commercial guy, for a long time now. That close personal relationship, the ability to see true art and craftsmanship and love of the work is a proof that their not selling out something that is special and important to surfers on a religious level. Big name Board makers/builders/shapers did t have to worry about it because of volume...then surfers kicked back with locals that started making better borts for half the money and making theirs look like crap along the way. Now your seeing a change in some of the “big name” guys as a result.
They will never push out the local shaper now, but they can try to reach out and change an image by doing more of this stuff. Roberts? Man, they were so dam good to me and easy to talk with and CARED about the boart - and I’m just one slob from the east coast...and yet worked with the Man himself like we were pals, and he came through in Spades. For a well known shaper in the land of surfing, that’s huge.
A closer, personal touch, more attention to detail and quality, and a fair price is the key.
As far as better design/higher level of design - the only separation is R+D money and what the focus is on. Locals can shape you other designs - it’s done on the reg because we each have different needs and goals, they just don’t have the tech/time/money to spend engineering new stuff while working their fullies or other life stuff. Still awesome to have, and it keeps designs constantly
Improving and surf gear getting better and in turn helping surfers reach higher goals.

 

Curious about this "kickback against commercializing that has brought in the local shaper." I see things going the opposite way.

In my experience, a far far lower percentage of surfboards purchased today are bought from a local shaper than 20 years ago, 30 years ago...on and on. (local shaper is somewhat vague, i.e. person who made your board is nearby within a state or two away, has a relationship to the shops and surfers in your area....the shaper knows the territory...the local surfing community knows the shaper).

When i worked in a shop in Delaware 20 years ago NOBODY bought a shortboard through the mail, all were bought in shops. The shop I worked in carried probably 80% east coast boards and over 50% of the boards were made by shapers from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina...within a 4 hour drive of the shop and they delivered batches....shop orders for off-the-rack boards, and customs. When Tim Nolte, Rob Kamp, or Bob Yinger brought over a batch of boards in the van it was cool to fondle the shop boards and the hang our with people who were in the shop waiting to get their customs delivered.

Those days are long gone. Sure local shapers are still around, many making great boards, but show me a shop where the rack is full of shortboards made nearby.

 

Nice...my local shaper used to have his own shop as well. Just Ashton boards.

I was just puzzled by the "kickback against commercialization/mass produced boards" when that's whats pretty much taken over the industry past 10 - 15 years.

 

I was referring to the prevailing attitude with many here that is anti commercialization/pro local shaper, of surfing. The impersonalization of it. And how it continues to drive people to make choices based on things besides a name. I think that’s what BMon was saying, and how I see it anyway.
And it’s funny but you asked about shortboards and I will say that one of the two big shops near me carries a bunch of handshaped shortboards as well as name brand lines and custom longboards - he has a great mix. I never thought about it before. He also carries a baseline of pop outs and entry level stuff too.

 

My guess... 8 out of 10 surfers couldn't tell the difference in performance between a board of "decent" quality and "perfect" design. I think they just don't have the skill to discern the subtle differences between... say... a perfect foil and a not so perfect foil... a 1/4" of entry rocker... a thick point that's juuuuust off the mark.

That's why 80% of us should be building our own boards!

 

Totally agree with everything you said 100% in this post.

Regarding the numbers... The board-buying public is made up of 80% novices and mediocre surfers. Just count heads next time you're in the water. Who's ripping to the degree that they are maxing out the performance of their boards? Who's surfing way below the limits of their boards?

I just try to get people to think about DIY'ing it whenever I can. That was really my point.

 

That bitch is sweet! rails do look thick, maybe it's the angle.

 

Holy crap man that's a lot of scratch!

Thanks for supporting the community.

 

The internet. It's what we've been trained to use to buy everything now. I can sit at home, spec out a board, order it, pay for it, and have it delivered to my door. It's lazy and it's sad.
Every board I have ever bought has come from me walking in a surf shop, working with employee or owner of said shop, and eventually, walking out of the shop with a board. But I'm an old head and old habits die hard.