champcrow said...

Yeah i know Brooko but with a young family and me being the main income earner i won't be going anywhere for a few years yet. Luckily i work 4 on 4 off and we like to travel so that makes things easier. It could be worse though and i could be stuck up north working and be a 7 hour trip to the ocean.Gotta love the 4 on 4off though and 24 hours off in the middle of that when i change from day's to night. Get's me on the water a fair bit even if it's mostly just cruising flatwater.

Hey Champ I work the same roster as you and I really dig it 2 day 2 nights 4 off .
So that means only 2 morning a week I can't paddle Talli creek and that is the best thing that has ever happened to me . I have a Ron House 12 footer and really like it as it's good for long distance fitness paddling and also good for the waves as well .Daz

It must be a married thing, Friday night at the internet cantina.
But thanks for the votes of confidence.
Some of us Aussie manufacturers have been competing against the Cobra factory since the real early 80's when they first appeared on the windsurfing radar with their light weight boards.
This was before Randall move into Thailand. The smart ones learn't/taught themselves how to do vacuum forming to compete. I remember asking around Geraldton at the time about vacuum pumps, what are vacuum pumps? No one new at that time so I used a vacuum cleaner, simple.

Rod

62mac said...

Hey Piros,You say Dave does not recall me Gee i sold one of his first boards!
Mate,sorry your so wrong with your post!


have fun mac!

62 Mac, who's Dave, I don't recall him?

Piros said...

Realisticly supping in Aus is only a year old and our custom shapers have had very little experience in shaping, if you buy a Sup from the home grounds of Ron House, Gerry Lopez , Blane Chambers or Laird Hamilton they have had years of R&D and you are going to get something tried and tested , so if you are going to sink 2k into a sup I would invest in it something that is proven.Our local boys will come to the party soon but they will have to make many mistakes before they get it right.

Rob

If SUP has only been realistically here for a year what were we doing nearly 4 years ago?? We started SUPing here (Noosa) in 2004 - have used the local Manufacturer (Noosa Surf Works) who has produced great boards.

Woogie has gone through a few boards but it was all good for for the Manufacture as it was R & D for him. Woogie also gets Stu to have shape some of the surfing boards and his next projected is a 14' gun.

Instead of whining and moaning that local Manufactures don't know what they are doing why don't you work in with them - every one has there own opinions on what a SUP board should have but remember we are all individuals and like different things

Piros said...

I'm not at a stage yet where I can order a custom Sup board simply because I don't know what I really need...
Thats why I'm so infulenced by whats off the rack because of reading reviews and riding demo's.

Big players have big marketing budgets, big marketing doesn't mean better design or better performance. Big marketing just means glossy brochures, fancy websites, good distribution and big name riders getting into all the magazines.

From what I can tell, listening to the shapers on the forum and meeting them, the few players who are left in the custom game are very passionate people, who are willing to share their skills - often at personal expense. They know their boards and the conditions in which they are used, better than any marketer - who work to another agenda.

I think you are right, a custom board is really for someone who actually knows what they want from a board, someone who is not just influenced by what the status quo think. Someone who can see the shortcomings in the mass produced boards and want something slightly different or a board more suited to what they use it for.

Great thread guys! Good to see it ramping up a bit!

I am a fence sitter - I buy both ( not much choice in Snowboarding, MTBiking or Windsurfing.

But I cant help but throw my 2c worth in.

1. Thank God for the local shapers who keep it real and passionate - continually pushing the envelope.
2. Thank God the likes of Blane Chambers, who got out of the shaping bay (except R&D) and decided to step up and share his passion with as many of us as possible. If Blane was still in the shaping bay we would NEVER here from the guy and he would not be out there ripping it up and stoking us out with his photo's.

If he was till hand making boards we would never see them down here - the US market would take them all. Same goes for Iggy (Naish) and Dave Parmenter of C4. I have ridden local boards that rip and pop outs that rip - its all about choice!

Different strokes - different folks - there is room for everybody!

But if you are going to get all patriotic I dont want to hear that you ever eat at Macca's ( adding to the demise of the good ol' corner Burger store) OR that you buy anything on the internet that can be bought here!

Luv youz all!

Andrew.A

PS: ACTUALLY the thing I like BEST about this thread is that it opens up with 62mac standing proud and telling us we should support Aussie and then we find out he is going to buy a NAISH. Gotta love this thread!!

AA said...

PS: ACTUALLY the thing I like BEST about this thread is that it opens up with 62mac standing proud and telling us we should support Aussie and then we find out he is going to buy a NAISH. Gotta love this thread!!

yeah i think thats pretty funny as well....nice call mac , but andrew you yourself are on the side of evil aren't you the psh agent notwithstanding all the above i think the australian sup industry is about to hit 36 red on the roulette table and we are all going to benefit from this influxe of imports and the growth of the local shapers , with the reviews of guys riding the imported rippers and local small boards i think the best is yet to come.

bring it on

rob

nice work oliver

................lol................that was a funny trip down memory lane

Yeah Oliver,
I am still getting over 40128 when you accused me of trying to make out I am Blane Chambers and surf the most populated surf breaks in the world....
Thanks for picking at an old scab....

yeah roger, and as if....
One day I will drill a tiny hole in that stonker of his.....

oliver is such value oxoxox..........lol..........

?

0 = kiss
x = hug

kiss hug

but no reach around

Thats alright Piros - don't forget I am at home mum that does all my shopping on the net as I hate shopping with the kids in toe.

Just like any thing do the research before you buy and get the best bargin

Reach around? What does that mean?

No woories Oliver, i accept responisibility for the mis-understanding but not for having intent. Its all water under the bridge.

The Narrabeean one could have got nasty. Was looking doggy from the start.

Hey the C4/DJ was a bit rank also.