It seems that the days of talking to a shaper about your new board are truly numbered . Well at least if the board you are after is ridden by anyone in the top 5 on the circuit.
Trying to get access to the shaper to talk about your ideas, is like trying to get an audience with the Pope.
It seems as if because boards are sold by models , and there is a supply chain in place, shapers don't need to speak to punters anymore . You have to order online , or go to a surf shop and get your order taken .
Anyone had any similar experiences , or am I just a grumpy old c**t ?

Plenty of good shapers around that offer a great service to average punters. Are you really surprised that someone selling thousands of boards while trying to refine high performance equipment for pros doesn't return your call?

Any board in particular you were looking at from those shapers?

I got a board shaped by this guy for my misus, he spent almost two hours on skype talking with her and even requested a vid of her surfing, gave her a few tips about her surfing too. She loves this board and her surfing is improving.

www.geraghtyshapes.com/

Just got a siiick board shaped up by Ryan Von Dresselt - Von Surfboards.

Awesome bloke, super passionate and his boards rip.

Let me know if you want his details.

I'll post a photo up of the board when I have the chance

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photosbykarlo said...
I got a board shaped by this guy for my misus, he spent almost two hours on skype talking with her and even requested a vid of her surfing, gave her a few tips about her surfing too. She loves this board and her surfing is improving.

www.geraghtyshapes.com/

That's so good........


Now the reality is,ifyou are getting a board through any half sought after shaper how much time does one expect?

I will go on what I see and people I know.

The new shaper/semi retired shaper. They will give you all the time in the world,talk shop,gossip and share some cool stories. They will spend hours talking board design with you. Why? Because they have all the time in the world l,they have no deadlines and are either wanting to build their name and business, or because they are in the slow down period.

The middle shaper. Always busy,but is finding it hard to keep up.with orders. Wants to keep it old school and is not keen on a ghost shaper in the factory. if he gets a ghost shaper so he can deal more with customer service he is a sell out.

So he starts getting the regulars reordering boards and there is some chit chat,the punter is saying can I get this one sooner than the last..... Then the phone rings with tyre kickers,bored peeps,internet know it all's, car park experts and John who is new to surfing and needs some guidance..... Then there is the emails.

So old mate is spending how much time dealing with all that and not shaping? Heaps of time wasted. Any person that has spent any time near a shaping bay will understand. Yet they all still want their boards finished yesterday

Then crew are screaming at where are there boards.......others are crying because they have not had the attention they think that they deserve.... So it's hard on old mate to win that one,except to make quality product... Which got him in this situation...

Then the big boys,it's a conveyor belt and assembly line factory,as good comp.results and media have hyped a frenzy amongst the next mick and Joel, or just the knobs who think a hpsb will make them surf better.....

You have zero chance of speaking to them for obvious reasons.


So how does a shaper make everyone happy.

At first peeps.were fark machine shape pop out ****,I only want a hand shape,yet most boards they were riding had been like that for ages. Peeps.don't wanna have their boards ghost shaped. yet the shaper is being bombarded at all angles for not being fast enough.


So I guess I would love to know what everyone would expect from a board ordering process....

^^ pretty true what you say,although if the average punter can't find what he/she wants off the racks theres something wrong as the options are endless now for off the rack boards and I don't mean cheap imports. Although they are probably going to be machined boards, anyone thinking they are getting a fully hand shaped board these days is kidding themselves in the vast majority of cases with any big name shaper.
Id rather buy a board off the rack anyway as you can suss it out feel how it is under the arm and away you go,the number of people i see on sea breeze getting new customs every few weeks is the perfect example,if I find a good board Ill keep it and ride it to death,constantly changing and tweaking isn't going to do jack**** for the average punter but thats just my opinion but if you have the coin to throw around go for it, the shapers will love you for it.

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nofear said..
It seems that the days of talking to a shaper about your new board are truly numbered . Well at least if the board you are after is ridden by anyone in the top 5 on the circuit.

Top 5 in the Circuit? Well I certainly don't expect Darren Handley or Al Merrick to be taking my calls. Do you?

There are plenty of other shapers in this country who will be happy to talk boards.

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nofear said..
It seems that the days of talking to a shaper about your new board are truly numbered . Well at least if the board you are after is ridden by anyone in the top 5 on the circuit.
Trying to get access to the shaper to talk about your ideas, is like trying to get an audience with the Pope.
It seems as if because boards are sold by models , and there is a supply chain in place, shapers don't need to speak to punters anymore . You have to order online , or go to a surf shop and get your order taken .
Anyone had any similar experiences , or am I just a grumpy old c**t ?

Gotta say in that respect I've had two interactions with Simon Anderson..... Both time he's taken plenty of time to talk and/or email with me, have been really surprised that a guy with that much knowledge and who is still doing and selling lots of boards would take the time to talk me through what he thinks.... Awesome.

I rang DHD last year to talk to someone about which model would best be suited for me and my surfing. The girl said everyone was busy but she would try and get someone to ring me. I got a shock when Darren Handley rang me back about an hour later and we had a chat for about 15 mins. He rang me again the following week and spoke for half an hour. I got the board I wanted, and with the great service they gave me, would do it again.
On the other hand, went to a local shaper around the same time, and he showed very little interest, so why would you go back.