Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

This is an archive report from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Cornwall's 2007 Blast reporter Hannah Heywood.

Living in Cornwall you cannot avoid the surfing culture that exists down here - particularly in a place like Newquay.

Not being a surfing expert myself however I was unsure as to why certain boards are made to look like they do so I went to find out a little more about it at Newquay's surfboard factory Seabase.

Where I previously thought that surfboard art was all about the design on the back I soon realised that it was more than that; the shape, the spray the the finish combined - it's hard skilled work at every stage of its creation.

Stage One

The first stage was the shaping room where Mark Neville, a local shaper, showed me how he shapes the boards starting from a square block of foam and gradually sanding down to the shape that has been requested.

He uses templates as a guide but it is largely by eye.Μύ He needs to understand a lot of the physics about why a surf board acts like it does to get good performance out of every board he shapes - very clever!

The Spray Room

Next in the process is the spray room.Μύ

Here Sam - a surfboard artist - sprays a design incorporating themes or colours that have been requested.

Ben Skinner, one of Cornwall's top surfers, explained a little bit about how he created his surfboard design saying:

"I like the design to work with the shape of the board" so the two work together really well. Sam therefore gets his works with the shape of the board and customer requests to get the finished result.Μύ The transfers are also stuck on at this stage before it moves on to be glassed.ΜύΜύ

The fin boxes are then added - again the number and size of fin made to specification before a final gloss and polish.

The low downΜύΜύΜύ

As if surfing isn't difficult enough, it turns that out picking your perfect board can be just as difficult so here is a brief guide to help you get on top of it.

short boards / thrusters = more manoeuvrable

long boards = better for smaller waves / good for learning

more rocker = steeper waves

mini mals = all rounder

thicker boards = more buoyancy

more fins = better turning