No More Firewires for me !!! I broke or creased three firewires in twelve months . The last one I bought early this year because it looked good in the shop and sucked me back in and i did really enjoy surfing it . They were two six foot dominators and a 6 4 hellfire . Twice they broke on the second surf and im not talking in big stuff either . Absolute rubbish and never again . Ive since bought a couple of All merricks and love surfing them and in much bigger waves as well and no problems although the glassing still isnt as good as it should be .
Select to expand quotekatana said..
^^ got a couple here if you want to try one mick some day when your up this way, have been also looking into new fabrics and processes to make both pu and epoxies lighter and stronger without sacrificing flex
Sounds awesome Dave, will grab one for sure sooner than later 
Just had a chat with SDR at his shop. He has a bunch of really nice looking boards in there at the moment. Any Perth crew really should check it out.
The monkey chop model looks great for local waves but Del showed me one called the iconic, looked awesome for good waves down south or up north.
Yes!
But I think the new addition to the family has left him with as little time as me ha 
Ive had 8 firewires since they were first made at burleigh about 9 or 10 yrs ago. Only snapped one and one other would get depressions all over a little too easily. All the others have been solid as a rock. Im 6'1 and 88kg. On a 6'4 bourez at the mo and loving it.
How could you ever regret purchasing a surfboard??
For what it's worth as well the criticism of contract glassing is not really correct, the companies mentioned here only use the best standard materials with skilled tradesman. The blank and machine cut have more to do with dent resistance and strength unless you want a heavy board. That's if you're using 60 year old technology to build it anyway.
Imagine having a PU but lasted like a tuff lite? It's not that far away.
^^^^
Sorry Cmc, I believe it is correct, at least for the one down in margs / dunsborough area. I have talked to a few crew and they all agree boards glassed there are as week as piss. I have had 2 (that I know of) from different shapers but glassed by the same contract glasser and both boards are super fragile.
Select to expand quoteCtngoodvibes said..
Bought a 6'10 lewy for good / big waves at end on 2011. Paid over 800 bucks. Looked sweet in the shop. Surfed ok at first, but soon found it to be too stiff. Very difficult board to turn / dig a rail. Add to that the glassing was very light as the deck caved in pretty quickly. Sold for 250 last week. Probably surfed say 10 times. At 10 waves a session (average) that's $6 a wave!!!
I Payed 100 bucks for a 6.4 da lewy and it cranks. Few tiny dings but nothing major. I use it when local gets big or a good day at inji/yalls. if he still shaped ide be getting a 6.8 or 6.10.. def have to disagree on that one
Select to expand quoteCtngoodvibes said..
Yes!
But I think the new addition to the family has left him with as little time as me ha
**** telling him to fix the website!! Just tell him to finish my board
Select to expand quoteSaltydog10 said..
No More Firewires for me !!! I broke or creased three firewires in twelve months . The last one I bought early this year because it looked good in the shop and sucked me back in and i did really enjoy surfing it . They were two six foot dominators and a 6 4 hellfire . Twice they broke on the second surf and im not talking in big stuff either . Absolute rubbish and never again . Ive since bought a couple of All merricks and love surfing them and in much bigger waves as well and no problems although the glassing still isnt as good as it should be .
my firewire is one of the best boards I have had.only one ding-that was my head.got ran into by a kook on a longboard- he got a full-on nose ding and i got away with no damage
regret:
channel islands MBM 6'3. couldnt find the sweet spot to make her hummm
Webber mini fish 5'9. could not make that board work in any condition. rails to fat and boxy for me.
Buying an Insight about 1 inch thick in the late 80s/early 90s. May have been great for Kelly, but for me, made one kook even bigger. Took years to recover and enjoy surfing again once I figured out volume is gold !
Select to expand quotejjd said...
Buying an Insight about 1 inch thick in the late 80s/early 90s. May have been great for Kelly, but for me, made one kook even bigger. Took years to recover and enjoy surfing again once I figured out volume is gold !
1990 a greg Weber insight banana board. That to damaged me......and thousand more I imagine. Thing was . Thought I liked it at first,more likely I thought I was **** hot. Sold it and went and ordered another Sam Egan. Apprentice money as well so it hurt
Select to expand quoteCtngoodvibes said..
Add to that the glassing was very light as the deck caved in pretty quickly
Whilst the glassing plays a major role in the strength and durability of the board do not forget that one of the major causes for decks caving in can be the foam itself. If you do not want (as many) pressure dings and cave in's get yourself a more dense foam like an "orange" from Surfblanks. A touch heavier but they last a lot longer. The other issue is if the shaper takes too much foam out of the deck where its strongest. The right blank for the right shape is your friend here. The shaper really has no excuse here as you can pretty much get a blank blown to your specs and rocker etc. But some of them definitely like the cheaper blanks and the volume discounts etc But maybe its not so much the shapers fault - he / she is just operating in the environment that the market has served them up - and its the customers who want to pay as little as possible that drives them to pump out less than perfect boards. Also if you are having to dig a lot of foam out for deep concaves etc then you need the denser foams to reduce the cutting into the less dense middle of the blank.
Select to expand quotechrispy said..jjd said...
Buying an Insight about 1 inch thick in the late 80s/early 90s. May have been great for Kelly, but for me, made one kook even bigger. Took years to recover and enjoy surfing again once I figured out volume is gold !
1990 a greg Weber insight banana board. That to damaged me......and thousand more I imagine. Thing was . Thought I liked it at first,more likely I thought I was **** hot. Sold it and went and ordered another Sam Egan. Apprentice money as well so it hurt
have got a insight board sittting in the garage- 6'2 x 19 x 2 1/4. it has really steep rocker- banana ish. should I sell it?
Select to expand quotedickodee said...Ctngoodvibes said..
Bought a 6'10 lewy for good / big waves at end on 2011. Paid over 800 bucks. Looked sweet in the shop. Surfed ok at first, but soon found it to be too stiff. Very difficult board to turn / dig a rail. Add to that the glassing was very light as the deck caved in pretty quickly. Sold for 250 last week. Probably surfed say 10 times. At 10 waves a session (average) that's $6 a wave!!!
I Payed 100 bucks for a 6.4 da lewy and it cranks. Few tiny dings but nothing major. I use it when local gets big or a good day at inji/yalls. if he still shaped ide be getting a 6.8 or 6.10.. def have to disagree on that one
Well my 6'10 lewy is for sale in the shop I traded it too if you are interested.....prob is they have it on for twice the $ I traded it for.
Select to expand quoteSaltydog10 said..
No More Firewires for me !!! I broke or creased three firewires in twelve months . The last one I bought early this year because it looked good in the shop and sucked me back in and i did really enjoy surfing it . They were two six foot dominators and a 6 4 hellfire . Twice they broke on the second surf and im not talking in big stuff either . Absolute rubbish and never again . Ive since bought a couple of All merricks and love surfing them and in much bigger waves as well and no problems although the glassing still isnt as good as it should be .
What construction was it
If it was the Rapid fire tech it's rubbish
The bamboo laminate is as weak as p!ss
Cheaper but you get what you pay for
Get a Katana if you like firewires, similar (better) construction less $$$$$ great shapes...... I have had 5 of his epoxy shapes never been dissappointed even when i did fold one (it was fixable nose job) Dave made me a new one for cost of repair......customer sevice A1
(get that plug Dave any discounts on my work) NOT REQUIRED Mate always happy.
Select to expand quoteCMC said..
Imagine having a PU but lasted like a tuff lite? It's not that far away.
Well CMC have enjoyed your previous posts on board construction. Mate can you please elaborate on the above? Intrigued....
Select to expand quotemocha1 said..
Get a Katana if you like firewires, similar (better) construction less $$$$$ great shapes...... I have had 5 of his epoxy shapes never been dissappointed even when i did fold one (it was fixable nose job) Dave made me a new one for cost of repair......customer sevice A1
(get that plug Dave any discounts on my work) NOT REQUIRED Mate always happy.
Just from reading Seabreeze forums it's definitely made me interested in his boards
Don't know him and have never ridden his boards but I think his tech is the future and the way to go if durability is your thing
On this firewire talk. I.saw a board for first time the other week. It caught my eye on how beautiful it looked. I have never really seen a wood shorty before. Got talking to this bloke and Sussed it out. The way he raved about it you would think he made it. Josh dowling makes them and they are made like a firewire,just way sexier, plus the shape was very hp and nice. Never seen another one so am not sure how good they are,but this looked crazy nice.
Ask Legion Chrispy he has 3 of them I think JD makes lovely boards.....a long 3 mth wait I think is the norm. There are a couple of nice ones floating around these parts that I lust after at every opportunity. One bloke has 5 of them!! He swears by them. I had a look at one of his boards that is over 4yrs old......it looked like it was 3 mths old. JD also has a wicked shed. Check his website out. He actually joined up to SB a while back briefly - lets hope he comes back.
Cheers,I'm generally to lazy to Google stuff. Was worth the effort. Some very nice shapes and craftsmanship on show.
Select to expand quotemocha1 said..
Get a Katana if you like firewires, similar (better) construction less $$$$$ great shapes...... I have had 5 of his epoxy shapes never been dissappointed even when i did fold one (it was fixable nose job) Dave made me a new one for cost of repair......customer sevice A1
(get that plug Dave any discounts on my work) NOT REQUIRED Mate always happy.
hmmmm !! maybe
