Design, Volume and Shape

When choosing a surfboard for the river the most important thing to think about is design. Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean or a board specifically shaped for a river? Don’t get me wrong an ocean board could do the trick just fine. I surfed on them for years. But nothing will beat a board shaped specifically for the river.

Volume is the next thing you want to think about. Volume of a board is really important because it is a board floatation. Most river waves are pretty mushy and a higher volume board will surf better and ride more waves than a lower volume board. A lighter construction and overall weight can help add to the volume of a board.

Nothing beats a board shaped specifically for the river.

Shape of the board is equally important. A lot of river waves will require a shorter board with proper nose and tail rocker to fit into the wave and surf well. From my personal experience a nose rocker should be anywhere from 3”-3.5” and a tail rocker from 1”-1.5”. You are also going to want to look for a little wider tail. A board with a wider tail is going to allow for more push while on the wave. Which means on a smaller and softer wave, your board will stay on the wave better.

One Board Quiver?

Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean?

A lot of people are looking for the answer for the one board quiver. There are really not many boards out there that will meet all these specifications and surf pretty much any wave you will encounter. The Badfish Sk8 is one of the few boards that I have found to be a perfect answer to the one quiver board. I ride the 5’ which is a whopping 48.5 liters. It has perfect tail and nose rocker. I know that it will surf the powerful high performance waves (like River Run Park, Boise and Bend), it will surf the mushier waves that require the higher volume (like Glenwood Surfer Left and other local small waves) and it will definitely surf big waves (Glenwood Surfer Right, Pipeline and Lunch Counter)

So I go back to the question everyone river surfer should ask themselves … Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean? Or, something shaped specifically for the river? Something that will perform well no matter what wave you end up at? It’s a no brainer!

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The post How to Choose a River Surfboard appeared first on Riverbreak.

So, Greenlight Surf Supply is in the surfboard shaping business, what exactly are you guys doing?

Greenlight was founded in 2005 with the vision of comprehensively teaching and continuing to support surfers who want to shape their own surfboards at home. Through our unmatched talents of engineering, manufacturing, education, and communication in the surfboard world, we provide top quality materials, tools, methods and support to make surfboard building easy, fun, and affordable.

Being a DIY-focused company, we also design and build all of our machinery and processes to manufacture the products. DIY is in our DNA and we want to share the pride of the surfboard building process and the absolute stoke you feel when riding a board you designed and built for yourself and style.

This river surfboard building kit will get you on the wave in no time

What led you to found Greenlight Surf Supply? Tell us a bit about your story …

I couldn’t find what I wanted to ride on the racks at the surf shops so I started building my own boards in my garage. Materials were limited then so I glued up some insulation panels and glassed it with boat resin. Then I started developing EPS (expanded polystyrene) blanks and tools to make shaping foam easier. 13 years later and still having fun developing new products to make surfboards better.

Why should someone get a board building kit in the first place instead of ordering a standard surfboard?

Other than the cost of a building kit is less than ½ of buying a board off the racks, the #1 reason our customers make their own surfboards is the feeling of pride and accomplishment provided by shaping my own boards. There’s nothing like the feeling of riding something you created.

Your dream shape is in your own hands now

What exactly is included in your surfboard kits? What else (tools, materials) is required to get started?

We offer an array of surfboard, SUP, wake, and riversurf kits. There are “Starter Kits” that include all the materials, tools, instruction, and friendly Greenlight support as well as basic material kits if you have the tools and knowledge already. We also make custom surfboard blanks per customer’s specifications and can package them in to a custom kit.

Shaping a surfboard is almost considered an art of its own. How much know-how and experience is required to shape a board? Can anyone do this? What kind of skills are needed?

To have an idea of what you want to do on a wave, shape the board based on that idea, and then experiencing that feeling you crave when surfing the board … no words can describe it. It’s the highest level of surfing. It’s EPIC! ~ Dave Grimes

No one expects you to do it all on your own. That’s why Greenlight Surf Supply continues to build and support an extensive educational online library of video and step-by-step instruction to comprehensively teach surfers of any age or ability how to design and build their own surfboards. Our education-based approach takes the mystery out of shaping and surfboards by providing an unprecedented level of instructional resources available to you online 24/7. The Greenlight brand is widely recognized in the surfboard building community as the most innovative, professional, and trustworthy source for materials, instruction, and service on the web.

How much time does it take to shape a board based on your building kits?

You can shape a board in less than 4 hours and the fiberglassing process takes 4 days overall with the resin curing times. So you can build a new board in a week if you work on it about an hour a day.

How much flexibility do your kits provide? Some people may want to go creative, doing crazy tail shapes, asym shapes, different rockers, channels, bottom contours etc.

One of the benefits of our Engineered EPS blanks is that they allow any shape up to 24” wide to be carved out of the foam. Rocker adjustments, channels, and concaves are easily shaped in and we can also cut close tolerance custom blanks to any shape a customer wants. The blanks can be painted with acrylic paints before glassing or resin tints and pigments can be added while fiberglassing to give your board color and style. We include custom ink jet logo paper to print your own logos and special paint pens to draw detailed graphics on your board too. Infinite possibilities in design!

Infinite possibilities in terms of shapes and board art

Surfboard shaping can easily turn into a challenge … what could go wrong?

Building my own board with this kit was fantastic! So much fun and the board turned out pretty good for my first one. I liked how light the EPS foam is and it shaped nicely. Thanks to Greenlight for all your help and the great supplies! ~ Mark K.

Bottom line – everything is fixable while building a board. The best board builders know how to hide the mistakes! Things will go wrong on your first board but understand those issues will come out later in the process and not affect the ride. The biggest mistake we’ve seen is a bad outline cut which makes the board look like it’s your first one. We have a library of outline templates to choose and download online and if you cut the outside your template line and sand down to the line with our special RailRunner tool, your board starts out right and sets you up for success.

Do you offer a kit that is specifically tailored for river surfing? If so, what is included in this kit and which board types are covered?

Yes, we offer a river surfboard building kit with different size blank options to build and board style you want up to 6’0”. Resin, fiberglass, fin boxes, and custom logo paper are included in the kit. And while supplies last, we are including a new Innegra woven fiberglass cloth that greatly increases the ding resistance of a river surfboard.

Many river surfers prefer durable and resistant boards that can take a beating in a rocky river. How resistant are your boards and what options do river surfers have to make the boards more resistant (e.g. reinforce rails with kevlar, carbon etc.)?

The way our Engineered EPS foam blanks are made they can take a hit from a rock or another board and absorb some of the energy and bounce back rather than crumbling like conventional polyurethane foam blanks. The Epoxy resins we supply also have some elasticity to flex before breaking and letting water in. We also offer a new fiberglass cloth with Innegra fibers as well as a variety of fiberglass cloths and carbon fiber reinforcement to make the board as strong as you’d like.

Futures or FCS boxes, it’s up to you

What fin set ups are possible and do you support both FCS and Futures?

We carry both FCS and Futures brand finboxes and you can put as many fin boxes in a board as you want. Our River surfboard kits come with 3 fin boxes of your choice for a tri fin set.

In which sizes are your blanks/kits available?

Our stock blanks range from 4’11” Skimboard blanks to 12’ SUPS. We quickly manufacture each blank per order order for maximum customization in length, thickness, rocker, foil, and stringer setup. We can make any blank you want if it’s not in our catalog.

Are there any guides, (video) tutorials or manuals that come with the kit? How do you deal with people who need more specific advice or have questions?

Beginner shaping kits come with a video download shot in my garage over 10 years ago. No flashy editing or hi resolution, but tons of great information and tricks are shown for first time shapers in a home environment similar to what they’ll be shaping in. We are very proud of our online Surfboard Building Guide which is a comprehensive step-by-step tutorial for board building. In addition we have a Surfboard Design guide on the website that tackles all the physics and hydrodynamics of a surfboard so you can learn how a board works and design it to suit your style of surfing and the waves you ride.

Our online HELP CENTER currently has over 400 answers to customer questions over the years and is a tremendous resource for any board builder to gain more knowledge of the process. Lastly, as always, we’re eager to help anyone through email and get back with answers amazingly fast.

Board based on a Greenlight Building Kit

Where do you ship your kits?

We ship kits and blanks throughout the USA and Canada. We cannot ship resins overseas due to airline regulations but we ship fiberglass, fins, tools, etc. to international customers daily.

Use discount code RIVERBREAK for 10% off a river surfboard kit!

Contact

Website: greenlightsurfsupply.com
Email: info@greenlightsurfsupply.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Greenlight-Surf-Supply-187175107971108
Instagram: instagram.com/greenlightsurfsupply

The post Build Your Own River Surfboard – Greenlight Board Building Kit appeared first on Riverbreak.

Chris, you have long been pioneering the river surfing scene in Idaho and beyond. How did you get into river surfing, tell us a bit about your story.

I moved to Hawaii in 1987 when I was 15 years old and I met a lot of the top guys in the local crowd. I went to Wailua high school for a few years and just like the guys do now, we would wait for the big pond behind the shore break at Waimea Bay to fill up, dig it out and surf the huge river waves it would make for about an hour or two. When I first moved Idaho it was to take care of my grandmother, so I had to leave ocean surfing behind. When she passed away, I found myself lost and thinking of moving back to the ocean and I told my friend Ronny that I needed to surf. He knew about river surfing from back in the day, so he sent me a surfboard wrapped in a wetsuit regular postage with glass-on fins and that’s where it started for me in Idaho in 2010.

What led you to become a shaper and where did you learn how to shape surfboards?

Shaping is an art and there’s no room for mistakes.

The first board I shaped was in Hawaii when I was 17 with my neighbor who was a well-known shaper of the time, so I’ve always known a lot about surfboards but riding them was always my passion. I’ve ridden thousands of surfboards broken 104 last I kept count. I was always sponsored by a board company or local shaper up to this point so I had no desire to shape. I wanted to win competitions but I’m older now and times have changed. The last surfboard I bought said was made in China. As a former semi pro that disgusted me so I decided to make my own boards, because there was nothing else out there in the United States. I’ve had quite a few people copying me up to this point which is very flattering but shaping is an art and there’s no room for mistakes. I’ve done a lot of R&D and know what it takes to make that magic river board.

Chris “Crash” Peterson out in the river

What inspires you when you develop new shapes or designs? Where do you get ideas for new design concepts?

I’ve come to find out that the river and the ocean have a lot in common. Although both have their specific characteristic you can still ride a traditional surfboard at both ocean and river. Each wave in the river and in the ocean has a different quality, steepness, speed and texture, so every board has its purposes just like the ocean waves.

What is your shaping philosophy?

My shaping philosophy was always to build a community that has not existed because I felt like a fish out of the water and it seems to have taken off more than I thought it would. The philosophy remains the same as in ocean surfing even though we’re stuck miles inland. The unique, spiritual connection to the water remains the same … and there’s no sharks in rivers.

Would you agree that good surfboard designs are born from experience of surfing and building boards? Is that why river surfers love your boards?

Yeah, I have a lifetime experience of surfing and working with shapers of so many different board designs that it gave me the knowledge to design the perfect board for each wave. I’ve definitely had some help along the way with surfers who helped me find tune the craft they want to ride.

Peterson boards come in different shapes, sizes and artworks

Let’s talk about shaping technology … machine shaping has become increasingly popular these days. What do you prefer?

Machine shaping is a funny thing, the machine can only be used with years of shaping knowledge because you would still have to come up with designs that were proven and you know would work. So when you scan the board or punch the dimensions in the computer you must know what you’re going to get. Shaping isn’t as simple as it looks sometimes. I have no problem using a computer shape if needed. I haven’t been busy enough yet to justify it, but maybe one day. I have some proven designs now and it seems like river surfing is here to stay, so maybe I’ll use it one day. Right now it’s all by hand.

What parts of the board design are most important in determining the performance of a river surfboard?

I like to watch people ride my boards and seeing the stoke.

Actually everything is super critical the rocker, fin set up, bottom contour, rail design, outline, length, thickness. And of course what wave you’re going to ride it on.

What materials do you use? What role does sustainability play for you as a local shaper?

A lot of people are highly allergic to a lot of the surfboard chemicals. I don’t use polyurethane it’s very toxic, smells bad and it’s more brittle. I use traditional surfboard blanks with the stringer for durability. I use very strong glass that is still flexible so the board doesn’t feel like a brick and high-quality epoxy resin for it’s lightweight and durability.

In the shaping room …

For many river surfers durable and resistant boards are key. How resistant are your boards and what do you do to increase their durability, such as reinforcing rails with kevlar or carbon for example?

I offer a lot of durable materials but over time people tend to stick to traditional surfboard weight and feel. Today, there are so many different surfboard materials out there but through my research everyone still prefers the traditional feeling. However, I do offer tougher materials such as carbon for example, if people want it.

How do your boards differ from other boards, what makes Peterson boards so unique? What defines your style of board that you are known for?

Working with local shapers has always been better because we know where you’re going to surf.

There is only a handful of guys out there that build boards from start to finish like I do and I have a artistic background in painting and airbrushing so I’m able to integrate a lot of art into my surfboards that otherwise would add too much time to the process. And having a lifetime of surfing experience lets me identify little changes and tweaks that would take another shaper who doesn’t surf a lot much longer to work through.

How would you describe the “ultimate river surfboard”?

Just like in ocean surfing there really is no ultimate surfboard but you can come very close to it, depending where you live and what waves are your are going to be riding. That’s why, throughout history, working with local shapers has always been better because we know where you’re going to surf and sometimes we’re going to surf with you.

What advice would you give river surfers to find the perfect board?

In the beginning I would suggest you look for something that you know that work. Maybe what you see other people riding, something that fits your style. Don’t worry too much about beating it up, the first surfboard always takes a beating. Over time you learn to take care of your boards better. It’s better to get a really good board in the beginning, so you will learn faster but if all you can afford is a junker, get what you can and get started!

Getting some air time on a Peterson board in Boise

For what level of surfers are your boards suitable and why?

I’ve learned that for a lot of people who want to get into river surf it’s better to get a performance board right at the beginning. People learn quick – it’s better if you don’t have to upgrade right away.

Which ones of your shapes are the most popular right now? What are you customers’ favourite boards?

My most popular board is a 5’0 squash tail that looks like an ocean board. I worked on this shape together with Adam, an ocean surfer who turned into a river surfer. We worked hard on this design and it’s the magic all around river surfboard I think.

What is the ideal river surfboard fin setup in your opinion? Any preferences for Futures or FCS?

Yeah, a thruster set up with a smaller center fin is ideal. I have no preference on fin boxes, though a lot of people get FCS because they usually have an old box of fins laying around. I do like Futures though, they look cleaner.

What is the most challenging thing about being a shaper?

Shaping is very time-consuming and it doesn’t leave much time for other things.

Definitely the time. Shaping is very time-consuming and it doesn’t leave much time for other things like another job to pick up the slack. There’s not very much money in this business and surfboard materials are expensive. They look cool and they’re fun to ride but board builders generally don’t make much money.

What do you find most rewarding about shaping surfboards?

I like to ride them and I like to watch people ride my boards and seeing the stoke. Their lives change and they become surfers when they feel that energy.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I’m getting older and I have a bad back, but I still try to surf as much as I can. Right now, I’m really focused on board design and building a community.

Can we find your boards in a shop, or where can they be ordered? Can we get our hands on a Peterson surfboard outside the states?

We don’t have many surf shops in the mountains, so I mostly rely on word-of-mouth and my website freshwatersouls.com. I’ll ship my surfboards anywhere in the world – FedEx is cheap.

Where do you see river surfing in 5-10 years from now?

I didn’t know things were going to go this far this quickly. So many wave pools being built, stationary waves and waves mimicking the ocean and all that. I think it’s one of those things where you just have to wait and see if a lot of these projects really happen. And if they do, yeah, things will change a lot, more waves are always better!

Anything else you want to pass on to our readers?

Yeah, the river surf community is a very cool crowd, it’s like skateboarding and surfing combined. No bad vibes, people are stoked when you get a good ride so don’t be afraid to come on down and give it a try, we’ll definitely help you out!

Contact

Use discount code RIVERBREAK for 10% off a hand-made Peterson Surfboard!

Website: freshwatersouls.com
Email: petersonboards@gmail.com
Social: facebook.com/petersonboards | instagram.com/freshwatersoul

The post Shaper Talk with Chris Peterson: Boards Made in Boise appeared first on Riverbreak.

Duct Tape

It can be a session saver, but by no means should it be considered a season saver. Duct tape is not waterproof and will let water into your board over time. That water will cause your foam and fiberglass to mould and rot and will destroy your board. Use a waterproof tape to get you through a session or local two, but have a ding repaired as soon as possible if you want to get the most out of your board. But be careful which type of tape you use. Those that are for industrial applications do a good job of keeping water out but have very strong adhesives, which may tear off some of the good fiberglass when you attempt to remove the tape or it may leave a residue that is a nightmare to get off.

Dings at the tail and on the rails, previously covered in duct tape

Waterlogged foam around the fin boxes

Fin Boxes

Older boards tend to have FCS X2 fin plugs, which are two individual plugs per fin (one per fin tab). Many newer boards have FCS Fusion or FCSII boxes (or Futures, of course). These boxes are stronger and much less likely than fin plugs to pop out if you hit a fin on a rock or something else that is hard. However, they do tend to crack around the edges, which can let water in, which can lead to foam rot when water gets in.

If the foam around the fin boxes has rotted, there are a couple of options for repair. One is to rip out the fin boxes and replace with new ones, but both Fusion and FCSII boxes were meant to be installed before the board is glassed, so this is not ideal (though not impossible). A new method that I just tried was to remove all of the rotten foam, replace with filler, and to fill in, paint, and glass over the existing Fusion boxes without removing them. I then drilled them out and installed FCS X2 plugs directly into the old Fusion plugs. This works well because FCS X2 plugs are meant to be installed after a board is glassed. I’m quite happy with the results – they are as solid as the original Fusion boxes and were easier and cheaper to install.

New fin boxes installed and dings repaired

Board ready to shred again

Final Note

My goal is to continue to share this sort of information with our community when I see specific problems arise. I don’t expect to get rich doing repairs, and I’m certainly not able to quit my day job, so I would rather try to educate others so that they can keep their equipment finely tuned and significantly increase the lifespan of their boards.

The post Tales from the Repair Shop: Duct Tape Nightmare and Installing Fin Boxes appeared first on Riverbreak.

• 1st place will take home a Catch Surf Beater Board (paid link)
• 2nd place: a prize pack from Surf the Greats
• 3rd place: a prize pack from Riverbreak

Share the stoke and best of luck to everyone!

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Photo: Surf Cabo Guide via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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E-Mail
bixbysurfboards@gmail.com 

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/Bixby-Surfboards-492152024136578/

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Recently, Joel started designing his own hand crafted epoxy/composite surfboards called “Infusion Surfboards”. After intense testing of a combination of new high tech composite materials he has designed this model that works perfect for not only the rugged Norwegian conditions but as all-round boards for small to overhead waves worldwide and in river waves. These EPS Epoxy boards are all hand crafted shapes and laminated with the most advanced high quality materials available on the international market.

Social:
https://www.facebook.com/jsboardservice/
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Photo: JS Board Service

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