Epoxy surfboards in Kuta Bali
Looking through the window into Peter's shop on Jl. Benesari, I saw a rack of new boards. I asked him about them and he told me some were 'epoxy' boards. I don't my ass from my elbow when it coming to surfing, but I have heard people say that the epoxy boards are made from a mold and are lighter, tougher and more buoyant than regular boards.
My problem with buying a surfboard is that a new board cost $500. That's for something that will ding, dent, snap and eventually have to be replaces after a year or 2. The epoxy boards can take a beating by all accounts and Peter said all you have to do is take a scouring pad to the board to get the dirt marks off. Normal boards are made from a 'blank' which is a type of hard white foam. This is shaped by hand and then wrapped with a fiberglass sheet and coated with resin. Apparently these boards are the best performers but are prone to damage.
When I've talked to my surfboard making friends and say that in my opinion their process makes no sense they aren't interested. To me the most logical way to manufacture surfboards is to make several molds and use a plastic material that replicates the desirable qualities of the foam and glass, without being fragile. Surfers say there is no such material. I say yes there is, they just don't know about it. If NASA needed a surfboard we'd have a new generation of boards super quick. The epoxy boards are the first step towards this and will only get better. I hope my board making friends are ready for the paradigm shift when it happens. There was once a man who made the best buggy-whips in America, then cars came along.
If I buy a board it will probably be one of Palu's 'tourist torpedoes'. But down the line maybe an epoxy board will be a tougher and more durable choice for me. My main challenge right now is learning to surf before Jevon.
By Nick | Permalink
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Hello: surfing in California for over 40 years, I have just bought and started surfing 2 epoxy boards in the last year. I can attest that they are lighter and stronger. However, they do take getting used to if you have surfed the “normal” conventional resin boards. This is due to the lightness and buoyancy (they are harder to duck-dive). I do like these boards but am not sure if I like them as much as conventional boards. If you are a beginner, it might make sense to start on epoxy boards (except for the cost), because it is much harder to damage them and they therefore stay almost new looking for quite a long time.
nick, i went into that shop that u wrote about with all the apoxy boards, they look good, but, they are so expensive, and i was surfing with this guy who lives in bali called peter, who rides one, he got a fin chop across the nose of the board and it just totally cut into it like butter, but worse of all, the ding was so big he couldnt fix it, what a waste of US800.00. the other problem was i wanted some advise about what size i should get etc, i asked the pretty shop girl, but she new nothing about surfing, i asked if peter the owner surfed and was told NO!
i didnt want to buy a board off a guy who doesnt even surf, thats crazy!
so then i went to see that other guy you talked about, palu. i talked to him for ages about boards etc, he knows his stuff, it was great, so were the beers.
i ended up getting a custom board off palu and well the rest is history, it surfs unreal, and what was even better, i got to go surfing with him and his friends, i had the best serf session that i have ever had.i got to visit his factory and see him actually making a surfboard from scratch! so,thanks for the advice nick.
Hello,
I am a beginner and currently trying to decide between an epoxy board and soft top board by Surftech. I learned on an 8′2″ Epoxy board in Dominical,CR but wonder if a soft top board might be better since I’ll only be surfing a few times a year. Any suggestions?
Patricia
Just read the post from Thomas, regarding buying EPOXY ‘SURFTECH ‘ , ‘TUFLITE ‘boards here in Bali & it seems he has strecthed the facts & information a lot out of shape!
The boards can be repaired here in Bali with no hassles at all & NARUKI located just 50mtrs from the SUrF TRaVeL ONLiNe shop is the nominated repairer.
The owner of SUrF TRaVeL ONLiNe , Peter does surf & rides a tuflite board so is well versed on stocking suitable boards to meet customer requests & varying conditions here in Indo!
The prices on the boards are exactly that which you would pay in Australia & the great staff actually hook you up with a few extra goodies when you purchase the new boards just to sweeten the whole experience.
Perhaps these boards & the high ‘controlled’ quality does not suit all folks but it sure makes sense if you are wanting to purchase quality & reliability instead of cheap bargains.
Check the selection of SURFTECH .. TUFLITE boards available in Kuta Bali at the SUrF TRaVeL ONLiNe shops located in front of Suka Beach Hotel & next to Legian Klinik in Jl Benesari.
They also stock a complete range of surf hardware & can help you out with all your surf travel needs whilst in Indo!
Trust this has helped you out with the facts on SURFTECH..TUFLITE..EPOXY boards in Bali
Do you know how can I contact the Surf Travel Online shop ?
Because I’m coming in Bali this September and would like to buy a SurfTech shortboard there
Thanx
hi…
im andika naruki rider
grom from sanur
i need one epoxy resin 8, 5,6/2 squash tail
can u help me about it?
Hi,
I guess what you call epoxy boards are Tuflite like boards (see http://www.surftech.com/tuflite.php) for which a mold is stuffed with polystyrene foam, then wrapped with PVC, fiberglass and epoxy resin. Those boards are very strong indeed, you can beat them, drop them from you car roof without hurting them (plus they provide the epoxy fixing kit to cure scratches). I met even pro longboarders (no shortboarder though) using those boards so it seems fair enough for average surfers like us: stronger, lighter, longer life… much more expensive as well.
What I don’t really like in that process is that it is 100% industrial. No shaper to adapt the boards to your local conditions or to your surf, no local glasser or designer to work on it, which means less jobs for us surfers.
But if we are talking about epoxy resin itself, and the new generation of boards using polystyrene instead of polyurethane, it seems a most welcome trend. Polystyrene is recyclable whereas polyurethane foam is not, and epoxy resin contains 6% solvent vs 87% for traditionnal polyester resin (stinky for environement), though you will only need 2% hardener to mix with polyesther resin, vs 33% with epoxy (less stinky then, but a bit still).
For those who read french you can find an article with more info on environement friendly boards on our web site:
http://www.madebysurfers.com/gossip4.asp
Cheers,
Emmanuel