After turning a 1-piece sup into a 2-piece on the weekend (popular brand
), I contacted Alex at Stonker and although happy with Alex's quote to repair it, the end result was too good to pass up - an offer for a trade-in on a new custom sup & it looks like I'll be going down that track as I'm happy with the quote. I've also inadvertently turned a mate from buying a factory board to also going for a Stonker custom (will cost him less than the factory board!!!). We're both about the same size (fat b@stards) & sup the same conditions so I'm assuming that the 2 boards will be the same - but different graphics (I assume).
Alex has already offered a board that matches weight/height (although not sure what height has to do with it), style and the conditions we surf in...he's told me that it will weigh slightly more than a production board, but we won't be able to break it - brave words.
I was wondering what else should I be asking? (and yep, I've already asked what the extra cost is for the timber veneer option
)
Just for those interested, I thought I should wrap this thread up (DJ style - but without photos or vids)...
After only breaking my board a week earlier and a couple of phone calls to Alex (at Stonker - Torquay), he organised 3 completely different boards for myself & 2 mates to demo on Saturday. His own board (9'8" x 31"), a mates (10'2" x 30", I think) & a demo (11' x 30") from the shop. Road trip began at 6:30am (3.5hrs drive to Torquay), got to the shop, grabbed the boards, tied them on, checked the straps about 10 times! & headed to 13th beach. We must've picked the worst day to sup...swinging onshore 20kt gusty winds (why didn't I bring my windsurf gear? was all I could think for a while!) & f-all swell, but probably the best day for demo'ing as it represented the worst conditions we'd go out in.
After 2hrs of battling the elements, back to the shop to give our opinions. Unfortunately Alex had an important event on for the weekend and had let me know that he was sorry that he wouldn't get to catch up (which was pretty cool of him to say), he had organised the boards & paddles for us which was the important part. Although we didn't get to catch up with him, we had a good chat with his offsider and luckily for us his shaper was in the shop working on a board. One of the boards we demo'd (the 9'8") stood out as the pick for all of us, very loose & manoeuvrable, nice rocker & tail, awesome fins (futures!) & fin setup, easy to catch a wave with & although was very stable...was just a tad too unstable for us (110kg kooks) in sloppy conditions so we thought we'd use it as a guide, but go slightly bigger.
We started talking "add a couple of inches to length" & "needs to be thicker" etc, as newbies do, but as we gave feedback, the shaper (using the 'chosen' sup as the example) educated us on customising a board to suit the individual and basically told us that he would be able to add stability using the same overall dimensions.
The result for both of us being the same length/width board, but with added volume in a couple of places & without adding width to board, slightly increased width toward the front for stability but without detracting from the 'surfability' of the board.
We're all very happy with the added knowledge we gained from the guys in the shop, especially after listening to the shaper...and to top it off I had 2 happy passengers thanks to the new brewery/bar we found on the way to Geelong that had only opened up that same day, and Dan Murphy's in Warrnambool.
Dropped them off at their homes about 9pm that night with the sound of bottles rattling in the car after 4hrs of discussing (in-depth) the pro's & con's of intricate sup design & fin placement.
Looking forward to getting our new customs only a few weeks from now...and as for price - better than most imports!
Had a look at your customs at Stonker on Friday and they look awesome. Alex has done a cracking job. So much so that I am now going to order a 10'2" or 10'6" for myself from him. You boys are going to be pumped with the shape and design.
Enjoy
Finally picked the boards up last night, was well worth the wait. Boards are great in the water, love it when you feel confident on a board within 20mins. Thanks Alex's great Job
Sailhack will post a few pictures for those that are interested.
) camper.
Great looking boards, looks like you are realy enjoying them, seen you get a few more this arvo where the conditions were a bit better than yesterday morn, was tough for the maiden sesh but you did realy well in the bumpy water (was tuff catching them) after a smashing on the shore break
Jefin has a bigger stonker than you Sh
