Today Oliver and I did a trip to Torquay to take Alex (from Stonker) up on his offer to show us through the Stonker factory.

Oliver liked what he saw from my pics taken at the GSI demo weekend a few weeks ago and wanted to see a Stonker SUP in real life.

Stonker are located opposite Strapper and besides the big Rip Curl shop in the main street.



Walking in the front door there were windsurfers and kite boards everywhere.



I spotted one of the early Stonker boards that were not made on site.



Next to it were a couple of nice looking wood SUP paddles.



I haven't seen many wood paddles..These were very nice even if a bit on the heavy side but maybe I've been spoiled with my Kialoa's.





Anyway... We didn't come all this way to look at paddles..and Aaron took us out the back of the shop and into the factory.

The first thing I saw were their custom made SUP board bags.. Very nice.



It was like every other surfboard factory I've seen with ding repairs everywhere.



I love all the mess and interesting stuff to look at.



Oliver spotted one of their early custom boards... Interesting.



There were boards like I had seen down at the point a few weeks ago..all with that classic wood veiner deck...Very nice.





We saw the biggest block of foam that I've ever seen..Aaron said it was 15' long and it occurred to me that Stuey's new boards are even longer..

I couldn't help smiling.. I just can't imagine paddling a board that long.



We looked inside a shaping room and saw a surfboard being shaped..I could watch these guys all day doing their magic.



Then came the highlight of the day..Aaron showed us one of their new boards.

This one's for a customer..It's 10'6" x 30" and looked beautiful.



The wood grain on the deck looked fantastic.



I liked the nose shape and it had a slight point to it like my new Naish 11'4".



The tail was also very nice..I love the small squash tail..and they're much safer if you get hit by the board with no sharp points.



This board still needed it's finish coat and polishing and I could not fault the quality.

I could see Oliver trying to work out how much he could sell one of his kids for..I was going to offer him my hanky to wipe the dribble.



This is the bottom..nice and simple.





Alex turned up and told us about his new board and that it had a two tone wood deck and his board was still in the vacuum bag so we didn't get to see it.

We saw some wood veiner that they use.



They had a mal in the shop that Oliver liked the looks of and be was sold..It had a nice light wood center strip with dark wood sides.. Oliver wanted a SUP just like it.

Oliver ordered one.

Thanks to the Stonker guys for showing us through their place and letting me take pics so you guys can also have a look.

DJ

Once again some cool photos DJ. I was nearly gonna post today saying what's up with all you guys going for the os production models when there are quite a few companies in Australia producing boards that are actually SUPerior, they cost less and you're SUPorting local industry! Your photos proved my point. Was pleased to see those Stonker boys doing the right thing as well and installing all their fittings (boxes, plugs, etc) pre-glassing. Buying a locally made product as well gives you the option of customising to suit your requirements, try doing that with your imported production models............

Great post name and beautiful pics

Love to see a quality board being crafted

I have my eye on a fish of those sorta specs, if not a mini mal

DJ,mate you should be a reporter,great stuff and gee Oliver get your head out of the shots,JKidding.
DJ the veiner decks you show,is this the way Naise manufacture thier boards?
Veiner inlay on the deck?

Cheers Marty

mac62,
Pretty sure the naishes are full foam sandwhich, which is the way most of the boards are built at the cobra factory in Thailand. This includes surtech, naish, mistral, JP, starboard etc. Jimmy lewis are made at a factory in Vietnam and C4 are made at a factory called board works in China. That would be a molded board with styrofoam blank, a hard foam and wood vacummed on top. It gives an lighter and stronger construction. Some surfing traditionalist have criticised this construction in surfboards because they differ a lot from how a custom board feels because the EPS foam is very boyant which can make a board feel a lot more corky. Companies like firewire have spend alot of time trying to reproduce a custom feel with the performance advantages of foam sandwhich.

Dj 18 -20kg is a fair bit of weight to be lugging from the car to the beach,(fine when its in the water) what would the 11 6Kalama or naish weigh in comparison, what does the 9 6" weigh?

boardbumps said...

Brooko, I'm sure DJ mean't pounds not kilos.

Rod

I'm not sure what I meant or what they said the weight was but it seemed about the same weight as my Naish (maybe less)..So yeah..maybe it was 8-10kg..

Second thoughts about it when we flipped the new unfinished board over to check the other side it was very light but then there was no fins or grip..and top coat.

This is what my Naish 11'4" weighs all up (11kg).. We'll check Olivers new board when he gets it.

DJ

I recall hearing 10 - 11kg which felt about right.

Hey there Oliver

How many sleeps till you get your new board ? I must say I'm envious !!

Are you getting the two tone timber veneer on yours ? are you leaving it up to the Stonker lads to do you one up to suit you or did you put in an order specific ?

You'll have to get the Professor DJ around to do a full run down on your new Stonker Stick
Length, width, weight, rocker, and we demand photos from every conceivable angle alright !!
Would it be to rude to ask an approximate price ? What ever it is I'm sure it will be worth every cent, and if I ever get one I'll be wraping mine up in cotton wool at night.

Hey Oliver,

The board sounds sweet,from a longboarders piont of view.
My question is,are you planning on using the
board for flat water or surf? I understand not wanting to
cover the wood grian with a deck pad,but wax on such a
large board is a pain in the butt to keep clean and you will
find it will find its place on everything it comes in contact
with.Maybe you could 3/4 deck pad and put a clear non
slip tape on the nose.That way you get the best of both
worlds,performance and looks!

Great idea regarding the double plugs so you can insert
the paddle!

Cheers MAC

Oliver,

I can understand your dilemma about the deck pad. I used wax for a couple of months before I bought a deck pad but I was constantly scraping off and re-waxing where I stood to paddle because the wax melts under your feet. I have seen pictures of SUP surfers with a small pad where they stand and wax everywhere else.

Steve

Regardless of looks there is no-way i am running wax on a sup, for several reasons there is just no comparison with a deck grip, even the simple little thing of how much protection a deck grip offers when transporting your sup, to hot days with messy wax. All my surfboards are wax and really its a pain in the **s!

Hey Oliver, ask Stonker to put a peel ply non skid finish on your board. It is clear resin and shows the grain real well. I put it in front of my deck pads on all my SUP boards. Its a simple easy process and adds no extra weight.

Rod

Hey Boardbumps,

I believe they had a board there with that finish on it:

It has as a matte pourous kind of finish



Oooh that tail block looks good!

You guys have got me thinking.... wax is a pain. Maybe I could get some vertical strips of deckpad placed about 5cm apart through the middle/ section of the board.

Hehehe bendover - I got that (deck rash) when I first started supping I was floundering in surf too big for me for hours using the standard Naish deckpad. Ouch.

You just want the nonskid in front of you EVA deck pad for those nose walks
I wash my boards every time I use them with fresh water before putting them on my car roof racks, got to stop the rust!

Rod

Internerd said...

What sort of $$$ we talkin' for these boards?

I'm not 100% sure but I think about the same price as a new Naish board..Maybe a bit cheaper.

DJ