Starboard busted.

[paddlesurf.net]

I like Dave's boards because they are SICK!!!! I'm still haunted by how good that 9'6 channel bottom I surfed was... and talk about pressure: I get the board from Hawaiian Chris and Dave stands on the beach watching me surf it... he doesn't need to advertise, his boards speak for themselves.

[Shaper1]

His boards look sick I hope to try one someday. photoshoping, just another reason to buy local!

[SoCalSupper]

wow that david craig board looks amazing-website?-SD Local?-whats the theory on the channel bottom?-More speed i presume?

[ODJ]

David Craig has no website, no phone number listed on the internet, and info about him on the web is pretty limited. To be honest i got in touch with him by contacting the factory that glasses his boards and asking them how i could reach him! His shaping room is at the TNT factory in imperial beach. there is only one shop that sells his boards. I guess he and the owner of the shop have had an agreement for several decades that that's the way it would be, and they seem to both be happy with that arrangement. I spoke to David a few times, and one time asked him why he didnt mold any of his boards and make a production model. I told him every one i've ever spoken to about his boards just raves about them, and he could make a ton of money with a production model or two. he said he had no interest in doing it and that that's not what he's about. he didnt seem to be against those that do it, it's just not his thing.

i guess the theory behind the channelled bottom is increased stability, especially in light chop, and is similar to the idea behind how a catamaran maintains it's stability; at least that's what i've been told. does it really work? i have no idea. this is my second Craig board. my first was a 9'6 Craig, and i loved it so much I wanted a shorter Craig so i had to sell it to pay for the new one. the old one was 9'6 and made with 1.5 lb foam and didn't have the channelled bottom, the new one is only 1 lb foam, and the 9'0 is narrower and even though it has the channelled bottom, it's obviously not going to be as stable as the 9'6. one thing i can say is i really liked the 9'6, and the 9'0 is even better in the surf! i had the 9'6 turned into a quad, and the new board is a thruster, so once i got used to that i can really whip this board around. it definitely isnt as stable as the 9'6 because it's shorter and lighter, and i'm still getting used to that since i haven't had the new board for that long, but it's a ton of fun in the surf on decent size waves. going shorter i lost some paddle power and notice it on small days when the surf sucks, but on bigger days this thing is amazing. i also had to switch paddles where previously i was using a werner spanker for the longer, heavier 9'6, but with the shorter, lighter 9'0 the spanker was too much paddle and i switched to a kialoa shaka pu'u and it seems to be the perfect combo (wish i could make my own paddle that had a blade the same size as the shaka pu'u with the dihedral the werner has and the siffness of the werner. the spanker blade is larger than the shaka pu'u, and the nitro blade is too small, but i digress.) bottom line is the Craig boards are really nice, and although you wait about 6 weeks give or take for a custom board from him, it's still going to be less than any naish, C4 or starboard. I also own a production board made in china that's from a well known shaper, and although i like the production board as well, and it's super fun to ride, if you look at the two boards side by side there is a noticable difference in quality. David's boards are just made meticulously and attention is paid to detail. He shapes his boards from blocks of foam, not blanks. I heard that he is resistant to using the computer to design his boards, but at the suggestion of others he tried having a board or two shaped with the computer and he got really pissed at the finished product and went to town on what the computer spit out and had to spend time 'fixing' it's mistakes. I have nothing against a mass produced production board, or a board shaped on a computer, but it's kind of cool to own a board like a David Craig where the guy really puts his heart and soul into every single board he makes. He will not let anything out the door unless its perfect. He's a true craftsman and a perfectionist and he really likes hearing feedback about his boards, be it good or bad. In all honesty, his boards are probably advanced for my ability, but given my previously stated opinions on the distaste for the logo-laden production boards and the fact that David's boards are less than some of the 'higher end' production boards, and are the same price, if not slightly cheaper than customs from other local shapers, it was a no brainer to get a board from him. My only regret was that I wasn't able to keep the old 9'6, but like i mentioned I had to sell that one to get the new one!

[Shaper1]

Everyone should read ODJ's last post. That is how it should be. These are the people you should support with your bussiness. He is a dying breed and is going to be put under by all the pop outs. Alot of you that don't have a background in surfing might not get it but this is how it used to be. The craft is getting lost so spend your money wisely.

[PonoBill]

Gorgeous board.

[Easy Rider]

I'm sorry but I can not believe how worked up some of you are getting over a crappy photo.

Is it wrong for that photo to have been "made" and put up on the Starboard site - Yes.
Is it a reason to hate on the brand - No.

Come on people - it is just a photo - most likely made up by some person who does some graphics work for SB and has no clue  (remember the company's head office is overseas).

Yes, SB should have "caught it" but really - to say you won't buy their (or anyone else's) board because of a photo on the intrawebz is pretty silly.

Personally I buy products (any products) based on their merits - not on a photo on the web.

just my 2¢

[finsider]

nothing is ever real in the advertising world.

take cereal commercials....the milk sitting in the perfect bowl of cereal is actually mostly white glue. 

While I do believe they should have used a real SUP photo, they just used the photo that they believed would intrigue their customers the most, and made it work with their product.

[SoCalSupper]

thanks ODJ for the theory on the channel bottom on the DC-have seen this type of bottom on long and shortboards-its interesting-i whole-heartedly agree on the support your local shaper angle-when i first started back in 05-i got a 10-6 C4-looked great-surfs great-wasnt a lot around then-now i go local-If i lived in Hawaii i would go local like Kazuma or Naish- etc.. another really good guy in SoCal is Gary Mcnabb and Nectar-been around a long time-solid guy from what i hear-see him and Jeff Warner from Legends Surf in Carlsbad in latest stand up Magazine and their trip to Mex in Jan-10. Nectar has some really nice SUP's-think im gonna go with him for my next board.  And as far as Starboard-oh well-whatever-its just a pic-and i would take that guys hair in a second!

[paddlesurf.net]

Here in SD we're lucky to have lots of shapers with huge experience and open minds making stand up boards- so we've got lots of options. I'll never look down on somebody for the board they're riding (and I'm not accusing anybody of doing that here) if they're stoked, who am I to ruin it? And for some people it's all they've got available to them either for price or selection. Plus, lots of molded boards work great and for beginners they may be a lot more durable.

I support shapers who are making boards in little blue rooms with their own two hands because I feel like I'm helping to keep the heart of surfing alive. Nectar (Mcnab), Craig, Ron House, Dave Daum... all of these guys have huge amounts of surfing locked up in them- if you're fortunate to be able to walk into their shops, crack a freshy and talk to them about boards, surfing, waves.... anything, really- you'll feel like you just dipped yourself into the blood of our sport and you'll find that its a living thing. If you can, go order a custom board- it's part of what we are- it is surfing.

[stoneaxe]

I have to say I agree with easy...while it certainly was dumb to let that photo get through you can't fault Starboard for the quality of their gear and the great variety of shapes. Its certainly good to support smaller shops/shapers but its good to have competition...thats what drives innovation.

[SoCalSupper]

competition is great-no doubt-but pitting a local shaper against a pop-out factory in thailand is not healthy competition or innovation in my book-innovation is guys like House-C4 and some of the early SUP guys-who were almost all surf shapers and surfers-SUP basically grew from surfing and windsurfing (Naish) Guess im just a grumpy guy who wonders what is happening when i see Target and Nike buying their way into the surf industry-if i ever see a target SUP im gonna cry! However i really dont fault guys like House-Mcnabb-C4-making some money-youre right-theyve put in the time and the sweat and should make some cabbage-i guess theres a line somewhere.

[Strand Leper]

Well, we will see.  8'5" x 28 Tiki delivered.  Home from a rough day... Put the tail pad on... Put the MR Twins and the 6.5 inch trailer in.  Threw down some wax... And good to go.  Can I sneak in a sesh before work tomorrow?  I hope so! 

Only three boxes, so no quad setup.  Besides, the rails are WAY too soft to ride as a quad.  This bad boy will need to be turned from the tail not the rail. 

The thought behind the purchase is to use a shortish, larger volume board as a step up board (for the seven big days a year in So Cal or the bigger but blown afternoons) rather than just adding a few inches to my sub 100 liter Imagine Eco Cutback.

It will be interesting to compare this to the PSH 8'6 by 28.

Then I will be working with My LOCAL SHAPERS to translate what I learned into a couple of magic sticks.  Probably more than you wanted to know.

stay tuned.

[paddlesurf.net]

Hey Strando-

I've got a request for photos from the R.H. board you're having made... I let that cat out of the bag too!

[Easy Rider]

competition is great-no doubt-but pitting a local shaper against a pop-out factory in thailand is not healthy competition or innovation in my book-innovation is guys like House-C4 and some of the early SUP guys-who were almost all surf shapers and surfers-SUP basically grew from surfing and windsurfing (Naish) . . . .

Um . . . you do know that Starboard has been making Sailboards for several decades, right?
Svein and his "dream team" do know a thing or two about shapes and design as well.

Personally - I think for the sport to continue to grow and innovate we need both the "small" shaper making custom designed boards as well as the larger companies making "pop out" (I hate that term) boards for those of us that don't live on the coast and don't surf. 
The product range and diversity of the "large" companies is needed as much as the personal / custom aspect of the "small" shaper. 

(note - I put both small and large in quotes because BOTH types of businesses can be small and large)