How long is acceptable to get a custom sup made? 1,2,3,4......months! Australian made and local.

Im now looking at 4 months from time I placed order, and still no board. Just thought I'd get some feedback from those in the know about sups.

Yeah I'm starting to get a fair idea of what is not acceptable. And 'crazy' is putting it mildly.

Yeah deposit paid and about to take action to retrieve it. Ive heard enough excuses, im a reasonable person but enough is enough now. I've since heard there is a history of this happening with the same business.

How long??? Depending how good the surf is where your shaper lives.


Your question warrants a few more questions before getting too critical...

1. Is the board coming from a registered (and professional) business that specialises in custom boards? (if yes - most of questions below prob aren't relevant and I'd be a bit peeved too!)

2. Was a timeline discussed with you when you placed the order?


If your answer to Q1 is no;

3. Do they know what they are doing? (ie; not just 'a guy' that says he will shape you a board)?

4. How good is the shaper? (it might be worth the wait, or he may have a ridiculous amount of orders to get through & is struggling, but too 'proud' to tell his clients)

& 5. Does the money the shaper makes rely heavily on WOM advertising? If so - threaten to name/shame.

My first custom took a few weeks longer than I was told - including a 300km trip (with the wife!) to stay overnight & get it wet (the board) I even called 2 days beforehand and was told, "all good - it will be ready", only to turn up on the day with a mate, whom also was told/expecting a finished board and found that the business owner had gone away for the weekend and the board wasn't ready!

Got offered 2 boards to take out for the afternoon by his guy in the shop (another surfer who could tell we were fuming) to keep the peace & the owner drove half way to meet us the following week to hand over the finished boards - so ended up with 2 happy customers in the end...the boards were worth the wait!



I have another custom in the pipeline atm from another shaper (deposit paid also)...I'm being looked after with price, shaper's knowledge and years of experience - so I'll just wait until I hear that it's ready I guess. I know the finished stick will be awesome!!! I'm happy to wait until it is ready as per agreement, although I am frothing to get it & throw it around in some waves asap! (in case he reads this)

Can be an integrist shortfboard shaper who hate SUP, keeping the money and laughing about it

where is this place so i know where to avoid for my next custom job...

No more than a month tops & that's being patient

Howd you go Surfer73.

And this is what is piss weak about the internet. You are not allowed to name them to warn others but they can still pimp their wears. ....

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Just not good enough!
However, Australia has an amazing pool of shaping talent and Dan of DTM Custom Sup designs fantastic Sups. I would not hesitate recommending him.
Delivery time can always vary for all shapers for many reasons sometimes out of their control. Life is pretty focused on instant gratification these days. I guess why so many ride production boards.
When your frothing on a new stick it is hard to enjoy the wait but so worth it when you get a sick new stick.
If you get a good relationship going with a shaper who is able to tweak a board as your wants and needs change the best outcomes occur. Also keeping jobs and your money local.

There is far to much protection for these people/ businesses who do the wrong thing.
These Forums should exist to advise,educate, and arse kick if need be.
If your a shop or a shaper or just a grub and you wrong someone we should all know to avoid someone else getting bitten by you.
These forums seem to praise publicly and hide the crap,to bad for the next poor bugger who drops his hard earned cash with this guy and ends up 5 months later with no board.
We can all sleep better knowing his ID is protected.

you do have to say that due to adverse circumstances that some times **** can happen in the manufacturing of products, my longboard shaper just had something happen where it took him an extra six weeks to get extra blanks in some manufacturing issue etc, this was a once off but in your case it sounds like he has done it to a few people at least,

Hopefully you will get it sorted and get your money back, i highly recommend custom boards and don't let this throw you off, if you still want a custom i highly recommend DTM (as i've had one of his boards), but there are a few other shapers on the east coast that are pumping out great boards like Deep, DC, Laguna Bay,
hopefully you'll get something you like and get out on the water

Jarryd

its worth the wait for the best custom sup in the country,annie and me have had 5 boards each over the time we have been on customs,had to wait for a couple but we got what we wanted and got the most progressive board out there.go and talk to him face to face.surfer73,
ps not sponsored we pay the same as everyone and they are still worth the wait

Rod -- you did not tell any of that to me when I ordered the paddles and board from you - I thought you were a fair dinkum board shaper like the ones I have used in the past ( Outer Islands, Nirvana, Laguna Bay -- all four weeks) -THAT WAS THE IMPRESSION YOU GAVE - a professional shaper, not a semi retired person doing it part time when your ailments let you
-
I do not think you are out to rip people off deliberately , but YOU DO , because clients have to wait months for an order to be filled.

This is partly because you are a good surfer and I believe that your business is something you use to fill in time when the surf is poor !

Steve ps stand by everything I said in the phone call at that particular time - have mellowed since.

Probably see you in the surf over the years as I have moved to Arrawarra Headland - I'll say hello and keep paddling, hope you do the same, forgive and forget is the way to go, I will try and do this out in the water if I see you

stehar said..
Rod -- you did not tell any of that to me when I ordered the paddles and board from you - I thought you were a fair dinkum board shaper like the ones I have used in the past ( Outer Islands, Nirvana, Laguna Bay -- all four weeks) -THAT WAS THE IMPRESSION YOU GAVE - a professional shaper, not a semi retired person doing it part time when your ailments let you
-
I do not think you are out to rip people off deliberately , but YOU DO , because clients have to wait months for an order to be filled.

This is partly because you are a good surfer and I believe that your business is something you use to fill in time when the surf is poor !

Steve ps stand by everything I said in the phone call at that particular time - have mellowed since.

Probably see you in the surf over the years as I have moved to Arrawarra Headland - I'll say hello and keep paddling, hope you do the same, forgive and forget is the way to go, I will try and do this out in the water if I see you

Pretty hard to defend the indefensible....but here go's
I first became aware of Rod through this forum some years ago...his boards were at the time light years ahead of what was happening on the pop out scene and his work with paddles was inspirational.
I think I still have a photo of one of Rods hand crafted balsa paddles in my favorites file and his how to photo essay inspired me to get off my ass and have a crack myself.
The resulting paddle, constructed from cedar and balsa has been a source of joy...heavy as all crap... but jeez it looks good!! Has been hanging on the loungeroom wall since.
The board, deposit payed and custom ordered never arrived despite months of one way email correspondence, and like you guys i was pretty angry about the whole process.
The detailed CAD program file that Rod forwarded me was the basis for the first board that I had shaped by my curent local supplier. In short, the failure to produce forced me to find a guy less than ten minutes from my front door who could supply the same product without the dramas. Eight boards later and dropping from 8.8 to 7.4 I could not be happier with my surfer, shaper relationship.
After a considerable amount of time I was admittedly suprised when my deposit was refunded. Pretty much had written Rod off as a shonk.
For what its worth, this is my take on the situation...Rod is a talented, passionate creator of unique hand crafted, cutting edge surf craft. However, he has real dramas delivering product in a timely fashion for whatever reasons...I wish it wasnt so...but it is.
I also believe that at heart he is, as he described himself to me, an "Aussie Battler" who at times finds himself for whatever reasons, under the pump and unable to deliver on time.
I hope you guys all end up with a satisfactory conclusion to your "custom board" experience. Unfortunately it might mean taking the things you have learned from what has been a negative experience and, as I did, turn it into a positive.
Cheers
Sparx