shroomy Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Clark Foam, the company that makes 95% of the stuff that surfboards are made of has been shut down by the EPA.Overnight, every surfboard has gone up by $50 and everyone is scrambling like mad.http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/2005_12_05_clark.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinjohnson Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Oh man, that blows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 I wonder if this has to do with The Surfrider Foundation going after the oil rigs off the coast of California, I mean...what's more harmful to the environment...a surfboard or an oil spill??? Moral of the story...don't mess with Texas!!! The story is all over the web...As of 5 December 2005 Clark Foam has ceased production and sales of surfboard blanks. We have put our remaining on allocation to protect our current customers that make their lively hoods building surfboards. Please contact us for current availablility. Please go here to see the letter explaining allocation.We have sourced alternative vendors for materials and will be introducing those over the next few months. Please contact us with your contact information so that we can contact you as we get more information.Prices Subject to change without notice.it's all crazy source:http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Blanks/blanks.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fostech Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 fuckin' radical dude... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippio Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 They will eat their sexwax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 people that don't surf can't realize the cultural impact that this event has all over the world...this is really fucked up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippio Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 people that don't surf can't realize the cultural impact that this event has all over the world...this is really fucked up!Do you need a lollipop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orisha Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 *buys up stocks of boards* duuuuuuuuuude. EPA is Any alternatives? and what is the other 5%? Boards will now be manufactured abroad? It's not an ending, it's an adjustment, so don't worry too much just yet. I'm sure as fuck not down with paying more for a board tho. But...I'd rather be able to buy one than not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 someone failed to pay hush money...a multimillion dollar industry doesn't go down just like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caneseric Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Isocynate is a really nasty chemical if you ask a HazMat or evironmental person who is familiar with it. It is of concern locally because there are several businesses in Miami-Dade that use the material and have considerable stockpiles and an accident at one of the sites could cause the evacuation of a large area. If I recall, it is the chemical that killed like 1200 ppl in that release in Bapal (sp?) India like 20 years ago or so. I am sure another foam manufacturer in the US or internationally will pick up the slack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Isocynate is a really nasty chemical if you ask a HazMat or evironmental person who is familiar with it. It is of concern locally because there are several businesses in Miami-Dade that use the material and have considerable stockpiles and an accident at one of the sites could cause the evacuation of a large area. If I recall, it is the chemical that killed like 1200 ppl in that release in Bapal (sp?) India like 20 years ago or so. I am sure another foam manufacturer in the US or internationally will pick up the slack.where are you foam and what do you want foam us??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughanz Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Thank God I just bought a new board about a month ago...Those new carbon-fiber boards are starting to sell... can't quite do it... $1000-$1250 is steep... it will eaither revolutionize the industry or fade out real quick!Clark Foam getting shut down is horrible news... like you said, they are IT when it comes to what they do. Bad news...Good news is that I was surfing the outside at Palmetto this morning and had a blast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughanz Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 New Carbon Fiber Surfboards Hit RetailBy Casey KoteenPosted 10.06.2005It seems like new surfboard technologies are popping up more often than boardsports companies on the Nasdaq, especially in the last five to ten years. From Surftech and Salomon to XTR and a gaggle of emerging combinations of epoxy resins and lesser-known foams, surfboard manufacturers are bringing to market a wider variety of constructions than perhaps ever before.While surf shop goers may be getting slightly jaded with this barrage of new technology, there’s a new board technology that’s just hit retail that will likely give them a little shock--sticker shock. The boards are made by a manufacturing company called Aviso, and the price tag for a shortboard rings in at 1,100 dollars.Using a shaper/manufacturer relationship that’s similar to Surftech’s, Aviso makes the boards from molds created from plugs designed by a variety of shapers. As of now, the brand has twenty different models from shapers like Jeff “Doc” Lausch of Surf Prescriptions, Lost, Velzy, Cordell, and Don and Jeff Johnston. Great names, no doubt, and Aviso Owner and creator John Omohundro says more shapers are coming on board--but back to that price-tag issue.Many of the newer technologies have been steadily pushing the pricepoint envelope, but this one has blown the lid off. “I want them to be the highest-price boards around,” says Omohundro, who hopes they’ll set a new pricing standard. The shortboard models wholesale for 800 to 850 dollars--more than any other shortboard retails for. The costly construction isn’t entirely surprising given that the boards are made in the U.S.--a fact that Omohundro is proud of. They’re made in Minden, Nevada to be exact, where the family business has been engineering and manufacturing various parts for the aerospace and defense industries, and more recently has moved into making high-end sailboat masts out of carbon fiber.Both John and his dad also have backgrounds in making surfboards, so it was only a matter of time before they started mixing their passion for boards with their knowledge of carbon fiber, which is a main component of the Avisos. The outer layer of the boards is a cloth weave that you can actually see on the unpainted boards. Beneath that, depending on the board, is a variety of layers and orientations of uni-directional carbon fiber. And beneath that is, well, air. The boards have no core or stringer, they’re basically a carbon fiber shell held together with epoxy resin. The mix of carbon fiber and epoxy, says Omohundro, makes the boards much more durable than traditional boards, but not indestructible.Controlling flex seems to be on a lot of manufacturers’ minds these days and it’s a clear goal for the Aviso construction, too. The boards are engineered with different orientations and placements of the carbon fiber so that the designers have greater control over the flex characteristics. “There’s all sorts of dynamics going on when you don’t have a core,” says Omohundro, “there’s nothing tying the top to the bottom. The Avisos flex from nose to tail but the bottom, the actual rocker line, isn’t curving with the deck of the board. The bottom isn’t flexing and bending like the deck is, where on a poly board the top and bottom are tied together and when it flexes it can slow you down.”So, are consumers ready to shell out over a grand for a new technology? If sales of other new and expensive board constructions are any indication, it seems like people are at least open to the idea. “People are way more open-minded about molded boards and different construction techniques than ever before,” says “Doc” Lausch, who works with as many alternative board constructions as anyone. “People want a board that’s going to last and they’re willing to spend a little more money to have that.”“Surfing is really behind in its understanding of advanced materials,” says Omohundro. “I’m not saying I’ve got the Holy Grail, it’s just that the materials we’re using are further ahead and more expensive than materials previously used.” While the traditional polyurethane/polyester combination still makes up the majority of boards made and sold, for good or bad it’s clear that alternative constructions and materials are getting more R&D than ever before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b-side Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 Thank God I just bought a new board about a month ago...Those new carbon-fiber boards are starting to sell... can't quite do it... $1000-$1250 is steep... it will eaither revolutionize the industry or fade out real quick!Clark Foam getting shut down is horrible news... like you said, they are IT when it comes to what they do. Bad news...Good news is that I was surfing the outside at Palmetto this morning and had a blast! So that explains the wet hair and flip flops at the office today Don't sweat it guys btwn new technology and sweatshops in asia the surf scene ain't goin nowhere... just a mere turn in the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 And if that wasn't enough, Godzila has just been spotted in Tokyo bay!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughanz Posted December 9 Report Share Posted December 9 So that explains the wet hair and flip flops at the office today Don't sweat it guys btwn new technology and sweatshops in asia the surf scene ain't goin nowhere... just a mere turn in the road.Actually that's pretty funny... I went surfing after lunch on Wednesday and returned with wet hair and flip-flops... but thats not how I left for lunch. Definitely didn't slip by too many people! HA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howienewport Posted December 9 Report Share Posted December 9 I'm pretty sure Dick Cheney and Halliburton are behind this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted December 9 Report Share Posted December 9 Clark Foam, the company that makes 95% of the stuff that surfboards are made of has been shut down by the EPA.Overnight, every surfboard has gone up by $50 and everyone is scrambling like mad.http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/2005_12_05_clark.cfmthats just wack... holy... i sold my board at the end of the summer, i was going to buy a new one in the spring/summer... fuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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