Movers and shapers

Story by Min Cook. Photography by Heidi Lewis.

Page left: Leighton Clark of The Ding King checking the curve. Above left and right: Son and father, Tom and Rodney (Weasel) Bedford – multi-generational shapers.

Most surfers will tell you that surfing is a visceral way of communing with nature, that the ocean is their constantly changing playground. Countless waves of varying size and consequence are traversed, patrolled and dropped into by surfers on multifarious surfboard styles.

Board choice is one of the ways surfers express their creativity and freedom – a showcase of personality, skills and knowledge. Choosing a board becomes an extension of your individual style, as well as a response to the wave and the conditions of the day.

Varying surf conditions makes for a long list of styles to shape. There are many models of long boards and mini mals, conventional short boards, fun shaped short boards like the ‘fish’, as well as ‘guns’ or boards specifically designed for big wave surfing. Shaping has evolved dramatically over the decades as the sport’s popularity has increased, while hardcore surfers bent on pushing the boundaries of the sport have led shapers to evolve and improve their craft. Shapers will alter the design of the nose, the tail, rails, rocker and channels on the bottom of the board, the fin system, and the amount of fibreglass used. The Fleurieu is home to most of SA’s local shapers. There’s Leighton Clark of Ding King, iconic father and son duo Weasel and Tom Bedford of 100percentsurf, Mr Damage, John Cranwell of Rebirth Customs and a handful of other backyard shapers making custom boards, as well as repairing dings. These established local shapers all have their own history which is respected and celebrated in the community. Their stories are interwoven and many of them have worked both with and for each other over the years. It’s a community of friends, not rivals.

It was really only in the late 1950s and 60s that shapers started experimenting with fibreglass and resin as an alternative to wood. The technology was an advent of military endeavours during World War II to improve the performance of aeroplanes and boats. This transition in materials revolutionised surfboard design and shaping.

The method of blowing expanding foam into a mould is still the most common way to make the foam core or ‘blanks’ that shapers use as their starting block today. From here, there are two main ways of shaping boards: hand shaping or 3D-modelling machines. These shapes are then fine-tuned by hand, before undergoing the glassing and sanding process. The benefit of computer technology is the increased consistency, accuracy and ability to mass produce. The beauty of hand shaping is the artistry. However local shapers Leighton and Tom both point out that shapers pour the same >

Page left top: John Cranwell of Rebirth Customs. Bottom left: Simon McLean has been collecting vintage surfboards from the 60s and 70s for years. Bottom right: At the Ding King shop surfboards are stacked high and low and everywhere in between. Above left top and middle: Paraphernalia and more boards – all part of Simon McLean’s collections. Top right: Tools for a better ride. Bottom: Tom Bedford doing what board makers do when they are not making! Surf! Photo by Rodney Bedford.

amount of heart and soul into computer designs; they’re simply utilising a different medium.

Hand-shaped boards are more likely to have individual characteristics that are harder to replicate. Some may see this as a downside, but paradoxically these inaccuracies or ‘mistakes’ can create individual quirks that a surfer will love. Whether machine or hand shaped, third generation shaper Tom Bedford loves this process of creating a board to match the surfer and appreciates the process of developing a relationship through time and good conversation. ‘It’s trial and error sometimes, but the dream surfer is someone who’s willing to experiment and try something different,’ he says.

The typical Adelaide surfer tends to look for a balance between performance and durability. Many enthusiastic surfers will have a ‘quiver’, or a selection of boards for different conditions or styles of waves. For a local surfer, the line-up often includes a longboard, a high-performance grovel board and a step up or ‘gun’ for bigger surf. Any surfer will tell you there’s no such thing as too many surfboards and many obsess over the perfect design. ‘I had one board come back due to it being less than a millimetre too wide,’ says Leighton. While the Adelaide shaping community isn’t big, there’s a comradery between local shapers that has blown backyard shaper John Cranwell away. John speaks highly of Leighton, saying he’s been extremely generous with his knowledge and time. They all agree they’re in the industry because they love what they do, with Leighton saying ‘my satisfaction comes from the stoke of a happy customer.’ Tom emphasises the community, saying ‘it’s great to be able to talk with other shapers, sometimes we catch up, bring a blank and a file and just have a chat about what’s going on in the market, what boards people are wanting, what tools we’re using.’

No matter what kind of board you ride or your level of surfing, there’s no questioning the immense joy surfers experience when they take to the water to ride the waves on their chosen board. As for me, I’m in love with my fun little 5’0 all-rounder shaped by Leighton. It goes well in 1ft grovel style mid-coast waves, and has also carried me into some Indo bombs. I love that when you get a board shaped locally, you can have a chat with the shaper and really get a board that suits your individual style of surfing. You certainly can’t get that off the rack.