MyPaipoBoards Forums

Ran across this tonight after seeing some of the stand-up boards at my local shop. Construction is interesting...

"Our custom made Clyde Beatty Jr. soft-top surfboards start with a hand shaped EPS blank, are then glassed with Volan fiberglass and the highest quality epoxy resin. We then cut the EVA soft-top material and vacuum bag the entire surfboard giving you one of the best crafted surfboards on the market today. We are not limited to sizes and shapes due to expensive molding start up cost. We can custom make you almost any shape and dimensions you want, or choose from our current models."

http://wavefrontsurfshop.com/soft-tops/ ... y-42-paipo

Nels

Interesting hybrid, eps surfboard/bodyboard deck construction.

2 3/4" is a fat board though for those dimensions, would be way over the L volume I would want for that sized board.

Interesting to see a paipo model amongst those longboards. I think P = profit. Must be pretty cheap to make em. The video featured a nice looking left, but wasn't too exciting.

Huh...didn't see a video, Bob. But I miss a lot of stuff right in front of my eyes.

I actually think these boards are probably a value. Not to mention there probably isn't a lot of profit in paipos. I believe it's a regular EPS shape with a full-on volan glass job, a finished board that gets "wrapped" with the soft skin. Seems like more labor and materials. That's also a lot of board-building experience there with Clyde Beatty Jr. I'm thinking repairing a ding would be a monster but between leashes and protection from the soft skin it might be a rare thing.

Nels

I thought they were pretty cheap too, but I guess enough eps for a paipo isnt to much.

Hello Nels,

You could be entirely right about the labour. I was surprised they didn't bag the lot together. It seemed with EPS foam and bagging they would be pretty straight forward boards to make. We'll have to find a test-rider.

The video was a Youtube clip on one of the other pages.

Bob

I ti s an interesting looking board. It would have to be thinner for me.

HOWEVER: if you look at the diagram, only the bottom is glassed with volan. The top is vacum bagged EVA.

Personally, I'd take a home-built paipo over an offshore-built paipo every time, regardless of who's name is on it or how much it costs. Now, I do like my boxers made in Thailand and my T-shirts from Vietnam, and everything else from China (love Harbor Freight). But I draw the line at surfcraft. They should be made by guys who surf, who talk with other guys who surf, about surfing and surfcraft, and who put some of that soul into their creations, however crude or unsophisticated. My boxers, my T-shirts and my iPhone are soul-less so it doesn't matter to me where they were made, as long as they're cheap. But, that's just me...

you know what they say in china one out of five it not bad. home made always better only if it is only a piece of plywood with house paint

I saw something similar on Ebay...at least the construction seemed similar.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Body-Board-42-P ... SwcwhVOC3i

If I saw same video it was a POV using a GoPro or similar. Those always put me right to sleep unless they are the mesmerizing deep gnarly barrel kind. I'm a sucker for those!

Ah...do we actually know those boards are offshore jobs? I can't even find the effing video some of you guys are talking about, much less specifically detailed manufacturing info. But I long ago lost interest in trying to unravel mysto underground coolness when I tried asking who was behind the Orbicular Flyers boards when they first appeared and got completely dead-ended...by the retailer. Beatty's boards have been good ones, every one I've seen, going back to early Rocketfish days.

INT down in Carlsbad (I think) has made a softtop hard bottom product for years and years. The thing about these new ones is the possibility of customized shapes...which doesn't sound offshore to me...

Nels

While the price alone is a dead give away, I went to the source and paid a visit to Wavefront Surf Shop after my morning session. The price for the one belly board in the rack ("that's a paipo" I was told by the clerk) was listed at US$325. When I inquired about a " custom" board, he told me I could order one, but it would take 3 months "Why?" I asked. He responded "because it comes from...(wait for it)...CHINA!"

Alas. Profit indeed. So not only wasn't it a good value, it's kind of a hose job on many levels.

Over the years I've done the rudimentary math on board building for personal and limited sale production, and I figured maybe with "volume" or a loss-leader period (and in something like that I would include minimal or no profit in with loss) that could have been U.S. Ah well. So on we go...

Nels,

See http://wavefrontsurfshop.com/

or do a search and type in Wavefront surf shop


I' don't really recall hearing much about Clyde Beatty Jr so I did a search and there was a discussion board about him where the China angle came up: http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/ubbthr ... d=1#import

I don't have a particular take on whatever country does mass production but the biggest enemy of small business is big business.
Commercialised paipo boards do have a long history and trying to find out who is behind them does lead to dead ends. I know Rod and I tried to unravel all the Huntington Beach brands and who owned/shaped for them. He may have made progress since I gave up.

dammit hit the wrong key and lost the post...if anything truly gets lost in the internet...oh well...

While I check in here a lot, I never look at surfermag...so that was interesting. Thanks Bob.

It's expensive to live in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, San Luis too. And L.A., Orange, and San Diego. I can't imagine running a glass shop in Santa Barbara was easy or cheap either. China? I'm not a huge fan, but then with the "soul" issue maybe it depends on who makes it, not where. But like Bob says, finding out who really is making commercial paipos through the years has always been difficult. It would never occur to me to treat them any different than standup boards, but the attitude always seems to be one of embarassment or shame or something. Peculiar.

I have long thought, and I think I even put it down on Swaylock's years ago, that every board including stock boards should have a sheet of paper with all the details...dates and names and facilities...a modified version of what takes place in aerospace manufacturing. At the time I wrote that up at Sways the economy was booming and some guys were crowing about paying as much as they could for boards because that's what they were worth to them...a nice thought but only half about the manufacturer . But a full page laying out all the work...for every board...that might educate the consumer about what goes into the build, make it clear where the value really is. And something like that applied to paipos might make them a little more "acceptable" in the surf world. Assuming we rally want that...

I've heard and occasionally read about some kind of huge semi-mysto manufacturing scene built around Channel Islands Surfboards, sounded like a large glassing facility and maybe a shape-scrubbing factory too. Like I wrote earlier, that whole mysto underground thing is beyond me. I don't network and abandoned the parties years ago. It's probably well known, maybe others here know the skinny. To me it sounds like there should be enormous production capacity in Ventura and SB Counties. Probably not languishing capacity, but every business has some downtime where limited runs might sneak in. Dream on I guess...

Nels,

I just came across surfmag via a search to satisfy the curiosity. It adds to the experience if you can see your board shaped and glassed.

Clyde Beatty has taken a beating on Swaylock's for years for being one of those who chose money over soul and shipped manufacturing to Chicomm.

He's not the only one........