Quick Trip To Newport

I shot up to Newport this past Saturday, looking for some waves and to learn a little about shaping surfboards.  I didn't get the waves but I got to meet Neil Toracinta, talk to him about the board he's going to make for me, and get an idea for how that process works.

Brent (old roommate) and I drove over to First Beach to scope the swell.  We surfed here the last time I was in Newport and it was going off.  Unfortunately, this time around the waves were pretty much nonexistent.

Surfing was out, so Brent and I drove over to meet Neil.  We pulled up to this shady garage, boards everywhere, and out pops this kid from a red pick up.  Hoody, flat brim, board shorts; standard bro.  He brings me into his shop and we start talking.  Neil works out of this grandma's garage.  He started shaping boards for a school project when he was a junior in high school and he's been doing it ever since.  Born and raised in Newport, he grew up in a tight-nit surfing community among titans like Ian Walsh.  He's only 20 but he's very professional and a master of his craft.            

All Neil's boards are made with polyurethane blanks.  This is the material at the core of all surfboard.  It gives it the buoyancy you need to stand up on the water.  The process starts with dimensions; I'm looking for a 5'11 x 20 x 2 3/8 board.   He'll enter these numbers into a computer program, which will create a stencil he can use to shape the blank.

From there you add whatever graphics you want (paint, stickers, etc.), a few coats of polyester resin, drill in the fin plugs, and sand it down.  It sounds pretty easy but it is truly an art.  

 

I'm pretty excited about this board and I'm especially happy to be supporting a local shaper.  Would you rather have a mass produced board made by somebody (who probably doesn't surf) in China or one by the guy down the street who goes out whenever he can?  Surfing is a very personal experience.  You have to talk to a surfer to find a shaper.  In the end, the relationship you establish with a local shaper strengthens and deepens the relationship you have with the sport.  

 Watch a surfboard be made in 5 minutes: