Here is what some of our customers had to say
about their kits and building experience.
Hello Jack and Brad,

II finished the 8' Mini Mal in just a few weeks from receipt of the kit.
This was working evenings and weekends.  As I previously said, the kit
went together amazingly easily and really made the build process quick.
This board is called the "Buen Camino" and is for my girlfriend Amy who
walked the Camino de Santiago, 800 km across Spain.  The shell and the
cross of St. James are the symbols of the Camino de Santiago and are
found often along the way.  The shell is used to mark waypoints on the
Camino and often has an arrow below it to show which way you are
supposed to go.  I wanted to build Amy a board that commemorated her
achievement.  The shell is inlaid in Sea Snail, and the cross in Pua
shell that is sprayed with red lacquer.  (The cross of St. James is
typically displayed in red.)  

The center stripe on the deck is a beautiful piece of pine that I
actually got at Home Depot.  The dark stripes on top, bottom, and edges
are all Mahogany.  The lighter wood is all Balsa.  The board tipped the
scale at 20.4 pounds, and that was actually with fin and leash attached.
I weighed it on a scale used in aircraft operations and the scale is
calibrated daily and absolutely accurate.  I can assure you it's not the
typical "bathroom scale" weight. I used 4 ounce cloth top and bottom and
West System 207 epoxy.  I precoated with epoxy and then sanded
considerably before glassing.  I used one fill-coat after glassing and
then topped it with three coats of UV safe varnish.  I was very careful
in the build process not to use too much glue, and the rails were glued
with a cyanocrylate fast curing glue.  This sped up the process of
laminating the rails and it also makes for a light board, as the
cyanocrylate goes on thinner and is much lighter than yellow wood glue.

The board planes quickly and is a pleasure to surf.  I am preparing to
buy my next kit- the 12' stand-up paddleboard.  Thanks for the
assistance and rapid shipping, and again this is the best kit for anyone
wanting to build a wood surfboard.  Every part fit perfectly with no
margin of error.

Regards,
Malcolm
Malcolm in St.Thomas Virgin Islands built
this Mini Mal for his girlfriend  The shell
inlay on the deck and cross of St. James
inlay on the back complement the
beautiful wood used.  Finished weight of
the board including fins and leash is 20.4
pounds
Hey Guys,

“I bought a Wood Surfboard Supply Kit with not
really doing my research but it seems like the
cheapest way to go. Anyway got the kit and
followed the instructions to a tee, took my time
and didn’t really have many troubles at all. And
the finished board is just amazing, everyone who
sees it wants to know all about it. If I go for a surf
at my local I have to leave ten minutes earlier to
get there at the same time and getting past the
car park without gathering a crowd is virtually
impossible. It gets better, the board rides like a
gem. It’s called fast Lucy for a reason, it flies and
some of the hardest cutbacks throw bucket loads
of water…..YEOOWWW!!!”

Justin, back out there…  Sweet guys, take care.

Justin Grover
Liquid Lifestyles
Justin knows surfing and surfboards too.  Check
out some of his amazing videos at  
www.liquidlifestyles.com.au
Brad  .  .  .

I have just completed the woodworking portion on your 9"-6" long board.  I haven't had so much
fun constructing a wood project in years!  Following are some random thoughts relating to my
experience.
  
  • I purchased your 9'-6" surfboard kit and all the wood necessary for construction, including
    the balsa wood, from Austin Hardwood Supply in Santa Ana.  All the planking was 1/4" and
    essentially 9'-0" long.  The kit and all the planking fit in my Lexus GS 350.

  • Construction time has been 17 1/2 days . . . not counting the fiber glassing which I will be
    contracting out.

  • The exotic woods for striping and  construction were all purchased from Austin Hardwood
    Supply.  The bottom of the long board is all 1/4" balsa wood planking.  there is a center
    stripe of Wenge, and several blood wood stripes along each side.  The stern of the board is
    with a wide blood wood piece and predominately African Mahogany.  The top of the board
    is planked with Curly Maple with a Wenge stripe in the center, and blood wood striping
    along each side near the rails.

  • Tools I regarded as essential  include a 16" sanding block, a power plainer, small size belt
    sander, hot melt glue gun, #2 hand plain, extension cords, random orbital sander,
    micrometer, both small and long clamps, CA glue in large container, and lots and lots of
    Titebond III glue.

It was extremely reassuring and confidence building to be able to call you for advise and counsel
as I progressed.  Understand, I had never surfed, had never even been in a surf shop or had no
idea what this was all about.  Further, woodworking experience was principally that of a wood
turner building segmented bowls and trophies for the Long Beach Yacht Club.

Visitors who would drop by which included woodworkers from the Orange County
Woodworkers Association, were frankly dazzled with the surfboard I had constructed!  

Thanks again for a project where I had so much fun and excellent results!

John Callos
Long Beach, CA