Custom Surfboard Shaping
T
RADITION
CRA R FTED
new beginnings
n
ew Tides custom surfboards by Ron Jons is about more than
getting the perfect surfboard. It is about the art and tradition of shaping that has brought surfing to life. Creating your own custom board is more than getting exactly what you want, it is about being apart of the process from beginning to end. Watch your board go from shaping foam to sea foam, and see just how much of a difference it makes when your board was delicately crafted especially for you.
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new tides 3. New Beginnings, New Tides. 7. Our Journey. 9. Custom Shaping. 11. Boards and Pricing. 17. The Perfect One. 19. Shaping Process.
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OOne of
A
kind
our journey
r
on jon surf shop was founded in 1959 on the new jersey shore
when a young man named ron dimenna was just discovering the sport of surfing with fiberglass surfboards. His pastime became a passion and homemade surfboards would no longer do. When his father heard that ron wanted his own custom surfboard from California, he suggested, “buy three, sell two at a profit, then yours will be free.” Dad was right, and Ron jon’s surf shop was born.
“The Original” Ron Jon Surf Shop opened in Long Beach Island, New Jersey in 1961. DiMenna sold surfboards out of a tiny Jersey shore shop and supplied former customers with surfboards to open their own surf shops on the East Coast. When he headed to Florida two years later and opened the “One of a Kind” Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach, he sold more. The Ron Jon Surf Shop logo has become recognized around the globe for more than 50 years with only minor revisions. It has been spotted on the space station Mir 200 miles above the earth, and has purportedly embraced the long slender legs of the Eiffel Tower. And every day, it seen on vehicles ranging from ‘65 Ramblers to ‘12 hybrids.
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NO twoSURFERS
EACH HAS
ARE ALIKE
HIS OR HER OWN
+
custom shaping
s
urfing is unlike all other sport. The ocean is constantly in motion,
conditions are always changing, and no two waves are ever exactly the same; essentially, when you surf you are on an ever-changing “playing field”. In addition to these unpredictable variables, no two surfers are alike; each has his or her own surfing style, ability level, and motive for surfing. This is what makes surfing so unique for each
SURFING STYLE
and every surfer.
ABILITY LEVEL,
MOTIVE FOR SURFING.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES SURFING SO UNIQUE FOR EACH AND EVERY SURFER. While there is always a buzz around what shape and size of surfboards the pros are riding, the reality of surfing is that the needs of each surfer vary and a surfboard that works for one surfer (be it a professional or competitive surfer, weekend charger, or beginner) will not work for another. However, the one thing all professional surfers have in common is that they all ride custom surfboards that are made to ft their specific style of surfing.
New Tides shapes for surfers of all abilities, as well as for all types of surfers, including those who enjoy riding longboards, fishes, highperformance shortboards, or “guns” for big-wave chargers.
9 9.
de
SIGNED
WANT IT
HOW YOU
e
boards and pricing ach board starts at a set price, then a fee will be added for the
shaping. Options for some boards vary, but that will be discussed with your shaper at the shop. Each board can be designed exactly how you want it, or ask your shaper for suggestions based on your criteria. Please note that not all customizations are applicable to each board. General shaping options include:
FIN SET UP: Quad ($0), TriFin
THICKNESS: 1 7/8,
($20), Utility 5 Fin ($5), Twin
2, 2 1/8, 2 1/4, 2 3/8
($20), Convertible 5 ($25)
NOSE: Shaper’s template
TAIL TYPE: Swallow, Squash, Rounded Pin, Rounded Square RAIL: Medium Full, Medium, Tapered, Full, Modern
MIDPOINT: 17” - 23” (by 1/8”)
Additional Options: Finish: Sanded ($0), Satin ($10), WetSanded Gloss ($50), Gloss/ Polish up to 9’ ($75) Foam: Standard ($0), EPS Epoxy ($100) Fin System: FCS, Glass On, Future, Other: Resin Tint/ Side ($50), Volan Cloth/ Side ($45) Ask about our custom color, custom designs, and signature designs.
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boards and pricing Hybrid
$550
$500
A surfboard designed for high performance maneuvers and optimal performance off the top of a wave. Shortboards come in a vast array of shapes and sizes but in the end are the highest performing boards in the water.
THE HIGHEST PERFORMING
BOARDS IN THE WATER.
added thickness
Hybrids appeal to surfers who desire to maintain some of the performance characteristics of shortboards but need or desire more volume to aid in paddling ability and getting into a wave earlier. Most often its a shortboard type design with added volume (length, thickness, width).
Shortboard
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Longboard
Eggs refers to a style of board which bridges the gap between longboards and shortboards. Although they have more curve in their outline than fishes, Eggs are similar to Fishes in that they have flatter rocker and plane quickly, allowing them to catch waves easily. Traditional style eggs have a single fin while newer designs utilize modern fin setups. The newer fin setups such as quads, 2+1, or Tri fin helps the rider perform harder rail turns. Retro refers to classic shapes from the 1960’s and 70’s and before. Some may have modern adjustments but draw mostly from classic designs and most often feature a single fin.
wider arc
$550
9 ft +
more curve
Egg retro
$800 Usually 9’ and over in length; used for a more classic style of surfing with emphasis on grace and style. Board size usually results in wider arc turning and different moves such as noseriding. Their size makes them easier to paddle on flat water and into waves sooner. Recent design improvements have resulted in a segment of longboards called High Performance Longboards which allows a rider to perform many of the same maneuvers accomplished on shortboards
boards and pricing $570 A shorter board with added width and thickness, designed to improve wave catching ability while maintaining some elements of a performance shortboard. These boards are primarily used in smaller, mushier conditions because of their ability to maintain speed through mushier sections. Fishes are most often short and wide with flat rocker in the entry and tail. However, fishes catch waves surprisingly well despite their lack of surface area primarily due to flatter rocker, this allows the board to plane at a much lower speed.
Gun
narrow
short &
wide
Fish
$560 A surfboard for big waves. They are long, narrow, and most often narrower than other boards both at the nose and the tail for maximum rail to wave contact in the critical part of big waves. The strength and performance characteristics needed for a big wave environment usually result in a thicker and heavier board. They are sometimes also called Elephant Guns and Rhino Chasers.
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ANATOM
Y
1a.
1b.
1c.
1e.
1d.
2a.
2b. 3a.
3b.
OF A SURFBOARD
1a. Leash Cup: An indentation in the deck of the board close to the tail that contains a small bar that a short cord can be girth hitched to for attaching a leash. 1b. Deck: This is the top section of your surfboard on which you apply wax and stand while surfing. You can also add a traction pad to ensure a grippy surface. 1c. Nose: This is the forward tip of your board. Short boards and fish generally are characterized by their pointy noses, while long boards and fun boards have a more rounded nose. 1d. Rail: Speaking of rails.. These are the outer edges (outline) o the surfboard. The thickness and curve of the rails are very important to the surfboards performance. 1e. Tail: This is the rear tip of your surfboard and it (like the rails) greatly affects the board’s ride. The surfboard tail can be pointed (pin) or flat (squash) or even v-shaped (swallow-tail).
b
the perfect one oards come in many shapes and sizes making choosing a board
very daunting to the beginner as well as to experienced surfers. Compounded with improved technologies and new school ways of surfing the boards are becoming very specific. In general there are the Long boards that are boards over 8 1/2-foot long that will float anyone, are slow and not as easy to maneuver but provide easier and better paddling as well as wave catching. Short boards are fast, short, easy to turn, but requires experience to ride one. They are more difficult to catch a wave on, and they require experienced balance to stay up on. Fun boards are a good cross between a long and short board. They are easier to turn than a long board but are much more buoyant than a short board making it fairly easy to catch a wave. For beginners using the right type of board can make learning to surf fun and improvement rapid. The best beginner board are ones that are light, wide and thick.
2a. Stringer: The stringer is normally made of balsa wood and most commonly runs through the center of the surfboard (and can be seen through the deck). However, many innovations such as epoxy boards and the parabolic stringer (which runs along the rails) have either eliminated the stringer altogether or placed it in a different location. 2b. Bottom: The bottom is where the magic happens. It’s probably the most important aspect of your surfboard. It all depends on how water flows over it and how much friction occurs between it and the water. Bottoms can have lots of curve (rocker) or very little. They can be concaved or channeled or even dimpled. 3a. Rocker: This refers to how much curve the bottom of the board has from the nose to tail. Increasing the rocker helps improve a board’s performance when it is used in and around tighter curves on the wave face while flattening the curves of the board help it to handle better on flatter sections of water. 3b. Fins: The surfboard fin is a stablizing rudder fixed to the rear of the surfboard to prevent it from sliding sideways.
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Shapers need to be sure at this point that they marks the maximum guidelines, so that they know how far they can sand down the board without going too thin and they use these guidelines to monitor any sanding deviations. If a shaper sands the board beyond the surfer’s specification, he is essentially shaping the board for someone else and must start again on a other blank. Like a true artist, shapers must envision the rail that they want to sand out of the rough rail panels of a surfboard. A lack of vision and confidence in this process can lead to uneven, over sanded, or just plain wrong rails.
OUR TEMPLATES ARE
DESIGNED
At New Tides, we have embraced the future of surfboard design through our digital shaping system. Our templates are designed, cut, and shaped by hand. Once perfected, our templates are input into our digital shaping system. At this point in the process, we use computer aided design (CAD) software which provides us the flexibility to alter a variety of factors (e.g. outline, dimensions, rocker, concave, fn placement, etc.) in order to meet our customer’s individual preferences.
2. Hand Shaping
LIKE TRUE ARTISTS
1. CNC Shaping
shaping process 3.
4. Finishing
Glassing Most surfboards are built with a clear polyester resin and fiberglass cloth (Silmar 249 resin and “E” cloth). This combination can produce a good, economical, time proven board. Most short boards are made with 4oz “E” cloth - one layer on the bottom and two on the top. Most longboards are made the same way with 6oz cloth. This is a marginal amount of cloth for longboards, and not enough cloth for a shortboard. The durability problem of the thruster can be solved by simply using “S” cloth (with no increase in weight). Many professional board builders complain about the “disposable board” attitude which is accepted.
Apply the paper to the desired area of the sanded hot coat, using a squeegee and a small amount of resin. Work the air bubbles out to the edges with the squeegee. Wipe off the excess resin and let it harden before putting on the gloss coat. If the gloss coat is applied directly over the paper the edges will probably lift after you walk away.
BY HAND.
CUT SHAPED 19