Essay About Kind Of Surfboards And Surfboard Shaper

Fiberglass or EpoxyFiberglass or EpoxyEvan Mangione1:30Old School or New School?If you ask anyone who started surfing in the 1950s what kind of surfboards they used to ride and you will likely get a long story about how surfboards were constructed entirely out of wood and weighed 50Lbs or even 60lbs. The solid wood surfboards marked the beginning of surfboard construction. Surfboard design has progressed over the years. Now you have the choice between fiberglass or epoxy surfboards. Which design is better? Is it most important to benefit the surfer or the surfboard manufacturer? Everyone has a different opinion about the ride of an epoxy vs. fiberglass surfboard but the facts are as follows.

Fiberglass and EpoxyFiberglass

Epoxy and Epoxy can be divided into various types of surfboard and all can be used in most surfboards. So what is the difference between the 3 surfboard styles?

Epoxy is like any other type of foam that is attached to a rubber body. It has a strong strong strength and the rubber body has to be strong enough for the surfboard to be able to bounce the surfboard off. Even though Epoxy foam has a stronger strength it can get damaged after a break when exposed to rough and tumble. In order for the epoxy to get strong it needs to be able to bounce the surfboard off. But epoxy surfboards cannot bounce off the hard surface of a rubber body in the exact same way that any other material and therefore in much better terms it is less of a problem in surfing in the past due to the stronger building.

What are the pros and cons?

Pros

The fiberglass, epoxy, or fiberglass surfboards are all the same performance and performance is very similar on many different types of waves.

Epoxy surfboards are a natural fit to any type of surfboard and their durability is very good.

Pros of fiberglass surfboards are better on smaller and lighter waves. They can get hard and break when exposed to rough, tumble or rough air.

Cons of epoxy surfboards are less powerful than foam surfboards in surfing. Some of the other advantages of epoxy surfboards include they work well in a small size and a comfortable look. This is why they are an important part of any surfboard builder’s kit which includes one of the most famous surfboards of all time and it is only cost that makes you decide on the brand for your surfboard.

All 3 types of surfboards should have the same weight, dimensions and construction. But each surfboard is also a separate piece of building material and you cannot use any combination of all the elements of the composite together in one place and all of them will also affect the surfboard and therefore other brands may have similar specs.

For an introduction to the 3 popular surfboards see my post: The Ultimate 10 Best and Worst Surfboard Guides.

A quick tip: The more materials you use it the better you will get in your surfboards.

Epoxy or EpoxyFiberglass

Epoxy and EpoxyFiberglass are a combination type of surfboards that have different design characteristics. Epoxy surfboards are heavier and have higher quality components. And unlike the epoxy or fiberglass styles it is extremely difficult for your surfboard

In the late 1960s and Early 70s came the Fiberglass Revolution. Rather than shape a board entirely out of wood, the surfboard shaper would mold the surfboard into shape by pouring a mixture into a template. When the mixture hardened within the mold, the outer shell was removed and out would come a surfboard blank. Which was much easier to shape. The surfboard blank was polyurethane and substantially lighter than the old wooden surfboards. This extremely light foam blank would then be wrapped in fiberglass cloth, soaked in a clear polyester resin and then sanded to a smooth finish. The Fiberglass surfboard was to become the standard surfboard at this time. The blanks could be easily shaped and the fiberglass resin made for a clean smooth outer finish. For Shapers this became an artwork. The way the shaper hand crafts the board affects surfboard performance. Every surfboard that is hand made is unique in its own way. When word gets out that there is a shaper making ripable boards they tend to go far in the rapidly, growing surf industry.

There is an art to finding the perfect wave, your own perfect break, determined selectively by the certain style of board you enjoy riding and the type of wave you like to surf. The fundamentals to surfing are no more than a plank to perch on, and a plane of water that breaks from one side to the other. From these elements legends of surfing have become what they are. Shaping a surfboard is like painting, a way to express yourself with out words, but emotion. The emotions and feelings you get when you catch the perfect wave, on that hand crafted fiberglass surfboard created by the blue collar man, is a much better feeling than a machine which has zilch in the artwork department. Getting to know your shaper can improve your surfing dramatically. With talking to your artist, giving him your personal feelings about how you want to progressive as a surfer or what surfer style you have, he can design you with anything you want. You cannot custom order a epoxy surfboard because they have certain templates that the machine only pops out. Tuff-lite, a epoxy surfboard producer, makes a 6’2 and 2 ј design. Let’s say you wanted a 6’2, 3’’ design. You a surfer can’t customize your boards with epoxy made companies, such a Tuff-lite. This limits the way you want to express yourself which defeats the whole purpose of surfing. Companies such as Tuff-lite can mass produce these generic surfboards in a short period of time. This method of production is more expensive due to the complicated application process.

It’s unfair to the local surfboard shapers because they can only produce, not mass produce a certain number of surfboards at a time. A fiberglass shaper has to put time and effort along with ingenuity to create what you want. Buyers can be mislead because the average waiting period for a custom Channel Islands board is about one month. If you want a “just add water” surfboard it can be to your house in about three to five business days using FedEx. Waxed and ready for your riding enjoyment. Surfboard shapers get mad that a machine is taking over there way of life. Fiberglass surfboards give you a smoother, expressive and less stiff style, more old school if you will.