Anacapa Surfboards. Does anyone know anything about them? Reviews? Comments? Anything would help. I saw one cheap in the shop, only $375
I got a 6'6" Glider for my daughter. It's a Merrick design (Flyer) made in Thailand (cheap labor). I paid $150. brand new. They also make a pro standard and a swallow tail. Three models total.The glassing is good but not as good as Merricks glassed in CA. The board also seems a little heavier than a comparable Merrick and rides a little stiff (to me) The Anacapa brand is no longer made so you are getting existing stock (http://www.islesurfboards.com/gsi-closeout-surfboard-sale.aspx) This is the distributor and on this site they are $299. That's a pretty good deal for a new board.
My friend got the anacapa off the isle surfboards site. Depending on preference, you might not like that board. It doesn't float or paddle too great, but we're longboard people so who knows.
Nothing wrong with them. A good deal if you ask me... if your not hung up on brand stuff. Or telling everyone on the beach how cool you Campbell Brothers quad is while putting on your Patagonia wetsuit.
Agreed...picked up one as a spare...they are based off al merrick designes and you are correct, they feel a bit heavier to me but i dont mind a little extra weight to my board. Helps me go faster and turn harder. Decent boards all around though.
They're a little stringy and the fiberglass gives me the runs, but it's worth it for the delightful meal sitting on top.
Anacapa 6'6" I've had one since early last spring and ridden it a lot - anything from knee high to 2' overhead. It is a nice board - paddles easily, turns well, etc. It is definitely worth the money - I paid $300 for mine new.
Heres the deal with Anacapa boards. A thailand company came to Al Merrick and said we will supply you with as much foam as you need as long as you design templates for us to use. The street that the Al Merrick factory is on is called Anacapa, hence the name. Well these boards sold much less and were pretty much the same shapes as the traditional merrick's, aka the sashimi, flyer, ect. Merrick got smart and realized that he was selling his shapes for much cheaper, undercutting his own business so he shut down the whole operation. This is why they are being dumped and you can find them so cheap!
You just showed everybody how little you know about surfboards. Support your local shaper, don't buy pop outs. Buy a nice used surfboard- reduce, reuse, and recycle. Leave a smaller footprint behind you. Your children will appreciate it. These anacapa boards are cheap, and will breakdown quicker, landing in a landfill quicker... a great gift for your kid. Future generations will thank you for saving that $100. A better gift for your kids would be to buy a nice used one and spend some quality time together teaching them how to fix their own dings. Or maybe buying some cheap foam at Home Depot and building one with your kid and enjoy that experience even more. Hell, you can build a brand new board with supplies from Home Depot for under $120. How much was that piecacrapa from overseas? Surfing isn't always about the time you spend on a wave. Spend time with your kids and let them appreciate riding different crappy old boards from garage sales... single fins, old twins, what ever. They don't need "Brand New" everytime.
Word. By the way thats not a good deal. With a budget of $375 and an hour or two you could find 5 used boards in the surf shop racks just about anywhere that are better than an Anacapa. new doesnt = good. It just means new.
Thai boards ... Anacapa, Webber, etc are made at the Cobra factory in Thailand. I have shaped and glassed several of my own boards. I currently ride a 6'6" imported Webber Fatburner and it's a nice board. It's a better shaping job ( done on a CNC machine like most domestic boards so its perfect - then finish sanded by hand ) and a better glass job than I could do. There is nothing wrong with the craftsmanship. The Thai guys might not surf but they shape and glass all day long and they have it down pat. The shapes incorporated at these facilities are proven designs. If you want a beautiful work of art with tricky resin tints go see a talented limited production glass shop and you'll get what you want. If your budget is limited and you just want a board that works well some of the imports are a good option.
Off topic, but I'm not sure being shaped by a CNC machine guarantees perfection - just replication and speed. The CNC is perfectly capable of spitting out 10 boards per hour that won't necessarily work for you.
