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Checkout this surfboard that actually changes color with heat. |
The board’s fiberglass has a pigment that’s sensitive to heat. As the board gets hotter, the fiberglass turns white, which deflects the sun’s rays. This keeps your board from getting too incredibly hot. Then, when you paddle out into the water and the board cools down, it returns to its normal, darker color.
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You have to do something with those used surfboards, right? Turn them into lawn chairs you can take to the beach.
I found this blog post that shows how these guys turned the surfboard above into the chair you see below.
Here’s the finished product. I’m gonna have to make one of these.
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Used surfboards are great for learning to surf, but most experienced surfers buy custom surfboards. They go to a local surfboard shaper and talk to them about what they want their board to be like. You can specify everything about it: the length, width, how much of a curve you want at the tip, how many fins you want it to have, how it’s cut in the back – everything.
Every beach town has its local surfboard shapers, and if you’re in Corpus Christi, Texas, Mike Doyle is the shaper you want making your custom surfboards.
Custom ordering a board built just for you is a wonderful process for the surfer who wants and expects a little more when the all important decision needs to be made on what you expect to get out of your first, or next surfboard. – Website of Custom Shaper, Mike Doyle
Mike will even fix you up with custom surfboard art.
You can view a LOT of pics of Mike’s surfboards by clicking here.
If you want the highest quality surfboard design, a board that’s made just for you in Corpus Christi, this is the guy who will be shaping your next surfboard.
Mike Doyle
Get directions to Mike Doyle Custom Surfboards shop, contact Mike, and order your own by checking out his website here.
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Sell or buy used surfboards for free on Texas Surfers. And by the way, you don’t have to live in Texas to use the for sale board.
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If you recall an earlier blog I posted about carrying a surfboard on a motorcycle, you’ll know that I have an interest in doing this. Also, by looking at some of the search terms that people use to find Texas Surfers, I know that people come to this website looking for the same thing; apparently there are a lot of us surfers who realize how economical it would be to carry our board on a motorcycle. Gas prices have been high in recent years and they’re just now going up again with the seasonally high prices of summer. I have some great news: after searching hard for several months, I’ve found the perfect answer to the problem: Surfer Pegs.
David Saber, a Merchant Marine Captain and former Director of the US Pro Tour of Surfing, invented what are basically surfboard racks that safely fit onto your motorcycle. To carry your surfboard you need two Surfer Pegs to attach to your motorcycle. Captain Saber invented these in 2007 just after a motorcycle accident that snapped his leg in two places. After four guys pulled the bike off of him and his wife, he found that he wouldn’t be able to brake (slow down the motorcycle) with his broken right leg, but he could use his hand brake. Captain Saber then carefully and slowly drove his Harley home, 105 miles, all the way from Santa Barbara to Redondo Beach, straight to the emergency room.
After the surgery, he says, “I couldn’t take just looking at the brand new bike so I invented a way to carry my crutches. When I got better I asked myself what else I could carry … the birth of Surfer Pegs. I got the patent, copyrighted the name and started selling in January 2008.”
I asked Captain Saber a few questions to find out more about these Surfer Pegs, as I’m sure many of you will be very interested in purchasing them for your own bike. Considering that the amount of gasoline a motorcycle uses is about 1/5 the amount of gas that a car or truck uses, the money you’ll save on gas over the summer will more than pay for a set of Surfer Pegs at just $250. And this price is a total steal because it costs Captain Saber $245 to build them. The low price of $250 is due to the fact that this is Surfer Peg’s second year in business, but prices are set to rise as demand increases.
They’re standard for bikes with engine guards or access to frames. All others are custom made.
Surfer Pegs come in two sizes of cradles, 4 inch and 12 inch, and they slide into highway pegs or passenger pegs. To attach the pegs to a bike you’ll need to purchase what’s known as a “clevis clamp,” which is the fork that holds the peg. Since this part is unique for most bike models, we don’t supply it but they can easily be ordered online.
Surfer Pegs are made in Los Angeles, California by the best metal workers in the high-end yachting business. It takes four people to make a set of pegs, there are ten steps involved, and about four hours is required. The process involves bending, cutting, and welding the tubes, as well as another process to water-cut, drill, and weld the 22-degree stud that is the part that slides into the bike’s clevis clamp.
The pegs are made out of stainless steel, which means they can survive a lay-down. This actually means that riding with Surfer Pegs is safer than riding without them; they’re an extra shield between you and the road. Unlike aluminum, plastic, or PVC pipe, stainless steel won’t bend or break if a lay-down occurs.
One of the best things about Surfer Pegs is that they cause your bike to be too wide to split lanes. This means you have to ride safe and that means you might live to surf.
Surfer Peg buyers are required to sign a waiver, which should bring peace of mind to any surf shop owners reading this that are interested in selling them.
I’ve got no road nicks in 20 months, all conditions and up to 100 mph. Boards are works of art to be seen, used surfing or cruising at 80mph. Bags remind me of living room furniture, encased in plastic you can’t see through.
Surfer Pegs are being purchased from surfers all over the world, with most orders coming from Australia. They’re being sold online at Surfer Peg with intense followup to ensure each set fits the bike correctly.
Los Angeles, California.
It’s possible Surfer Pegs could be sold in stores in the near future. In fact if there’s a surf shop in Texas that’s interested in selling these, I’d like to hear from them. However, I’d be very careful about who I let sell Surfer Pegs because it’s too high-tech to not have an expert guide you through using them. They’re not for everyone; only special rider/surfers can use these and I want to be careful of who buys it.
This concept is so incredible that no insurance company will take it and so far no store’s been willing to take on the responsibility involved in selling these, and that’s why so far they’ve only been sold online.
Word of mouth. My logo is on all of my boards (I’m an expert glasser) so people see the business name on the road. Everyone notices you when you ride with Surfer Pegs. They photograph you in the fast lane on the freeway. They smile and wave. They come up and talk. You get the rock star treatment. When a car full of babes starts waving and taking your picture you’ll never ride without the board on your Surfer Pegs again.
Sure, you name it. I use my Surfer Pegs to carry all kinds of things on my Harley, including my guitar, fishing poles, sail board, golf clubs, skis, whatever you can think of.
Ready to save some gas money and cruise to the beach on your motorcycle for a surf? Get your own set of Surfer Pegs!
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Surfboard bags are paramount when going on a surf trip, but I have to admit I never feel like my board is as protected as I’d like it to be. If something gets thrown on the bag, it’s still likely to ding my board or even break or put a hole in it. Even putting foam on the rails doesn’t guarantee that your surfboard will make it safely to your next session. Enter SOMA Airbag Designs. These bags are made out of triple coated Polyester with Poly Vinyl Chloride and sonic heat welded. I’ll be honest – I have no idea what any of that stuff is, but apparently it’s some amazing and tough material that keeps your board in perfect condition while you travel from one surf spot to the next. The prices are good, too. A bag that’s 6′6″ costs only $125. Watch this quick video to see a demonstration of just how tough these surfboard bags are.
See more about the SOMA Airbag Design.
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Seriously, I feel really bad for the dumbass, and I’m not even talking about the SUV he just wrecked. He just smashed all those boards!! Wow. Just … wow. That sucks!!
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Wax is the stuff you rub on your board so that your feet stick to it. Without it, you’ll just slip right off when you catch a wave and try to plant your feet on the deck (the top of the board). There are several different kinds of surfboard wax, from Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax, Mrs. Palmer’s Sticky Bumps surf wax, and numerous other brands. They all have their own pluses and minuses, and they’re all really cheap. At around $2 per bar, you really should try out the different types of surf wax at your local surf shop to find which one you like best.
Once you arrive at the beach, pull out your board and lay it on the ground, with the deck (the part you lay on) facing up. This is the side you want to put the wax on since this is the side you put your feet on. You can also apply the wax while the board is standing up, propped against a car or truck.
While you’re learning, you should put a really thick coat of wax on your board, using as much as a whole bar of it before you get in the water. Rub the wax up and down and left to right to get it all over the deck. Pay special attention to the places where you know you’ll be planting your feet, but also put it in places you’re not sure about. For example, applying wax to the nose is a good idea in case you have to scramble up there to balance, and at the back in case your feet don’t hit the track pad. Surf wax is cheap stuff and it’ll keep you on your board, so use it and use it some more.
Once you have a thick coat of wax on your surfboard, you can improve the traction of it by using a regular cheap hair comb to scrape some grids into the wax. Basically, pull the comb down across the wax in one direction, then scrape it down in the other direction, to create squares or diamonds, depending on which way your head is turned.
The best surf wax is not only sticky, but “bumps up” as it’s applied. This means that bumps of wax are created on the board’s deck as you wax it. This also increases traction.
If you’re wearing baggies, more commonly known board shorts, put some wax in your pocket because you’ll likely need to re-wax your board after you catch some waves. While you’re in the water, just slip off your board and into the water, then hold onto your board while you wax it up. Surf wax also floats, so you’ll only lose it if a strong current grabs it from you and runs away with it. If you’re wearing a wet suit, you can slip a bar of wax into the calves of your wet suit for use in the water.
Be sure to take plenty of surf wax with you to the beach because you never know when the waves will be so awesome that you’ll be too stoked to leave before dark!
>> How to Remove Surfboard Wax
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Attaching the leash to your surfboard isn’t as difficult as it at first seems, but you don’t want to use a simple knot to do the job because so much depends on this knot staying tied. If your leash comes detached from your board, you’re very likely to lose your board, especially if there’s a strong current.
When you buy your surfboard leash, it should come with a little black rope. The little rope usually also has a knot already tied on one end, as shown in the picture below.
(Click on any picture on this page to see a larger view.)
The first thing you’ll need to do with this little rope is push it through the spot on the end of your surfboard with the little metal thing. This is a really vague description, so checkout this picture to get a better idea.
Next, pull one end of the rope through the other end as shown here.
Pull it tight.
Now that you have the rope attached to your board, you want to attach your leash to the rope. Un-velcro the leash so that you can slide it through the rope like this:
Then just velcro the leash back together and voila, your leash is attached to your surfboard!
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Attach your leash to the foot that you keep behind you. Most people put their dominant hand’s foot behind them… so if you’re right handed, you’ll probably keep your right foot behind you, which means you should attach the leash to your right ankle. If you do the opposite of this, such as if you’re right handed and you keep your left foot back, you’re a goofy footer. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just a fun way to to refer to people who do this. If you’re a right handed goofy footer, put your leash on your left ankle.
If you park a long distance from the water, you might not want to put the leash on your ankle right when you get your board out of the car because it can be annoying and trip you up. Wait until you’re either right by the water, or after you’ve walked into the water where it’s about ankle high. If you put it on while you’re still on the sand, it’s best if you can set your board down on it’s side, not directly on it’s front or back, while you do this. If the sand is wet where you lay it down, the board will have a ton of sand on it for you to clean off. Of course, the easiest way to get sand off of your board is to just set it down in the water.
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Surfboard Wax isn’t usually sticky from one session to the next, so it needs to be removed from your board between sessions. You don’t have remove all of it, but removing a fair amount of wax will make room for the new wax and keep your board sticky for a fun ride every time.
There’s more than one way to remove wax from your board, but one quick and reliable method is to simply use a comb. This can be a comb you buy at a surf shop like a Mr. Zog’s comb, or it can be a regular, 59 cent comb you get at a gas station. A normal, black hair comb will do the trick. Simply use it to scrape the wax off of your board, going in downward strokes while your board is on the ground or leaning up against something. It’s a good idea to pull the comb down in different directions too, so that a grid is made on your board with little squares about 2 inches apart. This helps with traction.
Got any good tips on how to remove the wax from your surfboard? Tell us about them here!
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