Awesome Fins

Epoxy Longboard Surfboard

FCS TC Redline Performance Core Surfboard Tri Fin Set List Price: $73.98 Sale Price: $68.98

FCS TC Redline Performance Core Surfboard Tri Fin Set Tom Carroll's well-loved template features a power-generating base with a small tip for quick release through tight turns. The Red-line fins have a wide base for hard off the bottom, and a thin tip for a really quick release off the top! Designed to deliver the feeling of traditional glass with the added performance of reduced weight, Performance Core (PC) construction allows more tip flex for a smoother feel than the original Carbon Lite fin...

	FCS TC Aqua-Line Performance Core Surfboard 5-Fin Set - Black/Aqua List Price: $96.98 Sale Price: $95.98
	The TC Aqua-Line is a 5 fin set that can be ridden as a thruster or a quad. The thruster set features an inside foil making it extremely fast rail-to-rail. The added cant and hydrodynamic template provides a balance of pivot, drive and hold through multiple angles of attack...

	FCS FG-3 Epoxy Surfboard Tri Fin Set Red/White List Price: $68.98 Sale Price: $67.98
	FCS FG-3 Epoxy Surfboard Tri Fin Set The F Series fins by FCS are performance surfboard fins specifically designed for tight pocket surfing. The Inside Foil Technology increases acceleration through turns and allows for a shorter turning arc...

What surfboard should I get?

I currently have a 6'8 NSP Funboard and have surfed on it for about 3 yrs but i plan to sell it soon to get a shorter board with more manueverability. I am open to pretty much any kind except longboard, gun, etc.

Well, I am glad you are surfing, and you want to continue and improve. However, NSP boards are "popout" they are made in a sweatshop factory in the fare east by unfortunate people, most of whom have never even seen the ocean. Alas, so are Isle surfboards. See this link http://bp3.blogger.com/_hPACOtZKKko/RkSTwhvv9kI/AAAAAAAAAfg/QMqBFAtXzQ4/s1600-h/chinaboards.jpg All of these boards are made under similar conditions in the far east or eastern Europe. They are all popouts. What is a "popout?" you might ask:http://www.mckevlins.com/nopopstory.htm
Now, there will always be some time when some folks just can't afford any other type of board, and I guess a popout is better than no surfboard (but not by much).

Now, there are lots of great, hand-shaped boards that are covered in epoxy. I am not an epoxy fan (it is too "floaty" for me"), but is durable and probably the way of the future. But, like Sianni said, don't buy surf for surfboards on line. Go to a good surf shop.

Although I am sure you will get lots of "advice" the real BEST ANSWER is to go to a good local surf shop and discuss your skill level, your size (your weight is very important, your height is fairly irrelevant) and local wave conditions with the folks there. they will give you much better info than ANYBODY out here in cyberspace. And don't forget, there are always used boards for sale in every surf shop. After almost 43 years of surfing, I still get my surfboard buying advice at good local shops in the places where I surf.

Anybody who would give you SPECIFIC advice as to what size or type board to buy on-line is foolish. Anybody who would take that advice is more foolish

And, I know there are lots of nice kids who want to share information with you on line. But don't take the advice from youngsters, who may know even less than you do about surfing, a surfboard is a big investment. I hope you are mature enough to read through the BS that lots of people throw at you on line. Don't waste your time on line, go straight to the source, a good local shop.

Good luck! Buy a nice, "real" surfboard and have fun.

Surfboard Ding Repair Is Easy

It is becoming harder to just go out and buy a new surfboard these days with smaller tighter budgets and higher prices so learning how to keep that magic board in top condition makes more sense than ever.

If you own a surfboard your eventually going to get a ding, there's just no avoiding it and sadly enough most dings happen in the home so be advised a protective board bag is where your board belongs when it's not in the water. Not only will it minimize ding potential, but it will protect your board from the yellowing effects of u.v. rays.

These days many boards have an outer resin coating or "glass job" made from epoxy and that means the core is likely to be made from a type of foam that is very water absorbent, great stuff when it's dry and the outer layer of resin and fiberglass are intact, big trouble if it's exposed to water for very long. What happens is the water gets in between the foam core and outer resin shell then expands and contracts with temperature and atmospheric pressure changes to create delamination (separation) of the outer shell from the foam which opens the door to several bad developments.

ü Weight gain  - Heavy Boards Lower Performance

ü Weakening  - Wet Spots are Potential Break / Buckle Spots

ü Yellowing - Lowers Resale Appeal

These conditions add up to lower performance, higher risk of breaking and just a plainly ugly looking surfboard! keep this in mind as we cover the basics of a good repair job. For my repairs I use a non–toxic sun activated acrylic resin. I'm still careful not to get any on my hands and to work in very well ventilated area, outside if possible.

Work in the Shade!

• Prep is the first stage so make sure the ding is dry and all loose damaged material is removed.
• Then sand the area making sure to create a surface that's clean so the new resin can get a grip for at least one inch or about 3 centimeters. Now it's not essential, but if you have some masking tape you can tape around the outside of the repair area to maintain the work area separate from the undamaged area.
• Your ready to apply a thin layer of resin to the repair, but make sure your in the shade and position the ding so when resin is applied it won't run or drip out of the targeted area.
• Apply enough resin to fill the ding and cover the sanded area then move the repair to direct sunlight.
• Ok, after 3 minutes more or less the resin is fully cured and ready go! Remove the tape if you like what you see, if not repeat the process to add a buildup until your satisfied. You can use your sandpaper to blend in any excess resin to the original form of the surfboard and you're good to go!

Fixing a surfboard isn't that hard, I mean there are some dings I'd rather leave to a pro, but most of the time dings are small and easily fixable. For some reason people find excuses for why they can't do it so surfboard repair skills are always in demand, plus it beats the inconvenience of giving up your surfboard for sometimes a week or more and then paying at least twenty five dollars or more for someone to do what you can do in just a few minutes and a couple bucks! I found some really cool disposable kits online for just a couple bucks at phixdoctor.net and they fix like 5 dings! Now I'm the new repair pro in town.

About the Author

What matters to the reader about me I think is my surfing life which started in my teens beginning in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I moved to the North Shore of Hawaii in my early 20's and created the first commercially available surfboard repair kit. My first customers were Local Motion, Town & Country and Hawaiian Island Surf shops, but before long I was supplying all the surf shops throughout the state and some on the mainland too. Life was good, I traveled to surf around the world in places like Africa, France and plenty of Indonesia. Eventually I sold the company to the states biggest resin supplier and returned to Florida getting into the real estate market, but never losing my creative side for surfing as I was credited in Surfing and East Coast Magazines with the creation of the first "SurfCam" an online camera site dedicated to providing live surf conditions of local and distant surfing spots in 1998. This was an invention that truly came ahead of it's time because I couldn't find advertisers to support it so the concept was adopted by established surf companies and today is a very important tool to many surfers daily lives.

http://phixdoctor.net/

Proxy custom Proctor Epoxy Titanium Series Longboard Surfing