I went to the Channel Islands demo this weekend and want to have a board made based on one of their shapes. I'm in MD but wouldn't mind traveling to jersey, nc or virginia. I'm looking for an established local shaper that works in epoxy and has the ability to copy a design and maybe tailor it to our east coast conditions. Thanks
Talk to LegendJim on the forum . He shapes Epoxy and his boards are magical. Whatever u want he can do. He is in South NJ . Send him a pm he will answer any questions u have
Brian Wynn also in South Jersey can re create whatever shape you need, epoxy or polyester http://www.wynnsurfboards.com/index.html
You're a wise man... It's a little further drive, but Greenlight in Belmar, NJ, does custom boards in eps/epoxy and can do one-offs tailored to your specifications.
i had a board custom built by brian, and although he makes epoxy boards (i think) he did say he's not crazy about them and I tend to agree. Curious why do you prefer epoxy over poly?
I can do EPS/epoxy or EPS/Resin-X. I personally much prefer EPS/Resin-X. It feels like poly, but with the strength and weight benefits of epoxy. http://gallerysurfboards.blogspot.com/ Tom Mahady can do epoxy. He does a lot of PU/epoxy boards that give you the feel of PU plus the strength of epoxy. He sells a lot of boards through Greenlight http://www.mahadysurfboards.com/ Brian Wynn can do epoxy and Resin-X The guys at Coil down in Florida do vacuum bagged composite lamination with epoxy that is insane. http://www.coilsurf.com/ Natural Art down in NC can do EPS/epoxy. http://www.naturalart.com/ Good on you for going local. Whether you buy from me or another local shaper the important thing is that you buy local. ~Rick
Since you are in MD, I would get with Jon Ashton. Been making epoxies for years and is very local to you. Legend in South Jersey is also a good choice.
+1 on the Resin-X and EPS...love the flex of Resin-X and the lightness of the EPS blanks. Wynn, Greenlight, and rDJ do some great stuff...rDJ post on the surfermag forum...his last shape looks super fun. I have had customs from Wynn shaped out of EPS...they were great....sniff around...realize prices increase with this type of technology...
just throwing this out there, but i believe that brian wynn has/is moving away from working w/ resin-x. too expensive for what he says has been little to no benefit over straight poly or eps. live4truth, i love your Greg Loehr quote...he's a legend.
I just got a new Tommy moore done in EPS/Epoxy. ITs got alot of foam for a 5'-6" as its my groveler and the thing is super light and rides just as responsive as any of my Poly boards. Honestly i really think it comes down to the EPS blank quality, and the glassing schedules and what not on Epoxies. I am curious what shape from Channel Islands do you want to copy?
Thanks for all the input guys. To answer some of the questions, I'm interested in epoxy because I'm a larger guy relative to my height and I'm trying to go as short as possible without having to get beyond 2 3/4" or so of thickness. As far as board model goes, I went to the demo to try the Fred Rubble and the Motorboat but ended up liking the Neck Beard. I prefer a little width in my boards these days and the Neck Beard was just about right. I'm 5"9" and 200lbs and I tried both the 5'10 and 6'0 - the 6'0 was just about right. I think that if I adjust the stock dimensions about 1/4" in both the width and thickness and go with epoxy I can go 5'11 or 6'0 no problem. I do prefer traditional boards, I find epoxy to be too light sometimes, but in this case the benefit of being able to go a little shorter outweighs the weight issue. I've never head of resin-X. Anyone know if Ashton uses it? Anyone ever had a custom from him? What's turnaround time like?
I've had close to 100 poly customs from him so I can't speak to the resin-X. Turnaround times vary depending on how many people are in front of you in line. typically late fall and winter are quicker than summer. Best thing to do is contact him and talk. He did a number of shape copies for me and they all turned out much better than the originals.
Good to see you're going with a local shaper and not a CI or Lost like all the brainwashed sheep. Plenty of good board builders around here for your to choose from. I know both rDJ and Mahady can do super nice color / artwork on the boards they shape for you if you're looking for a unique custom. ~Brian www.greenlightsurfsupply.com Shape Your Surfing Experience
Why don't you just get a Neckbeard if thats what you liked? Just get it a little thicker, the neckbeard is designed by professional shapers and test by professional riders, why go with a local shaper that hasn't ridden the neckbeard nor probably knows how its supposed to be designed. If you like a board just buy it.
I'm big,so I started getting boards with a raised deck,so rails are kept very thinned out and can go much shorter.Go to the website blog for the video at In The Eye Surfboards-Cape Hatteras,Natural Art Surf Shop.Scott Busbey is a great shaper who also does great EPS boards.his glasser Curtis came up with the raised-deck idea.all the info you could need is on the website.give Scott a call
Lots of reasons. Turnaround time is slow, price is too high and quality is average. When I started surfing I purchased a board off the rack and it didn't last (and I take care of my boards). Then I was getting my boards from a guy in Hatteras when I lived down there and the quality was much better and they were better suited to the surf there (he doesn't work with epoxy or I wouldn't have started this post). If I lived on the west coast, were more of an average build and had a lot of money to spend, I'd go with the CI.
I'll have to check it out. Your description makes me think of the Firewire Sweet Potato which looks strange to me.
http://www.timnoltesurfboards.com/ All of the shaper listed so far are really good. I can say Tim Noltes epoxy boards ride and feel closer to a poly board than any other epoxy I've owned or tried. They are also very durable. http://www.timnoltesurfboards.com/
