Hello all,

I had heard on a post here a long time ago that some guy (Japanese) was making surfboards somewhere in Batangas!  There was a special on it in TFC (The Filipino Channel) here in the States!   Anyone know where and who?   A contact phone number, email address, webpage? or even physical address?   I'd like to contact him!   Was thinking of just buying a couple boards while over there, if possible!    anyone actually shape and glass boards over In PI to sell them?

cheers,
TanduayGuy

tanduayGuy,
there are a lot of shapers  that i have heard of,but i have never seen any of them yet!me being in the Phils.i could easily travel to their shop if it exist!its starting to be an urban legend-cause if there really is a shaper,their products should have reach our home break!!keep on searching bro,pls inform us if you find them!thanks and good luck!!

Thanks Knefut!

  Yeah..   I have heard too about shapers there in PI, but when i am there, they disappear!  ha ha ha..   I have been to La Union, Iba - Zambales, and cantanduanes... and have yet to meet a shaper!   I was in an LBC shipping center here in San Diego, and I spoke to this philipino guy who said there was a japanese guy who lived in Hawaii who brought over a bunch of shapers.. taught a few locals in Batangas..   and now manufactures them there! There was even a special on The filipino chanel here which plays filippine news, shows, etc etc...  

I just figure that if they are made locally, i could purchase them there in PI on my vacations.. so family can still have all their pasalubong in the balikbayan i end up bringing...     I always have to pay extra to the airlines for baggage...  So.. might as well spend the money on just buying the board there!  right?   and if the price was right...  might even buy a few to take home!  

So.. if i ever get a contact to this infamous japanese shaper/ manufacturer of boards in Batangas...  I'll let ya know!    I'd actually be interested in any small businesses over there that makes them!  I'd custom order one in advance so it would be ready!

cheers,
Tanduayguy

Good luck on your quest. If they are not being made around the Cloud Nine area then the materials required must be too expensive to acquire so I doubt whether anyone would be making them for a living in the PI. Remember Siargo is the capital of surfing in the PI (sorry to you guys in La Union)so if they are not making them you are probably correct about it being an urban myth.
Batangas would be a good spot for manufacturing boards considering it is so close to the PI's best surf breaks (brand me a cynic) dont you think. Maybe they are making them somewhere near the hidden Marcos gold, find that and you will find the board manufacturers. Good luck.

..good luck TanduayGuy in your search for the mythical shapers here in P.I. ,im crossing my fingers that you wont buy "balisong" in Batangas in frustration..

why don't you guys abroad, help the locals look for cheap but durable materials for board making? ..some of us here has the potential skills to make a nycie board. ..let's surf the talk... cheers y'all!!

tanduayguy,
 see i told you!there aint no shaper around here!!FILIPINO,PHILIPPINES get it rite bro, i take you as a filipino too!!

Thanks Sponjah, Knefut, and MarkLucas for the responses!  

I guess it really is a legend that surfboards are being made in PI!  ha ha ha. (Or they dont want to be known!!!)

I have even sent a sample Blank (the core of the surfboard) over to relatives in PI to take to a foam manufacturer to see if they can copy it!   But... as with anything over in PI, you really have to "BE THERE" to supervise and Follow up with the whole process!  I enjoy shaping, so thought it might be fun to do while on my vacations over there.. when it is flat!  ;-(   The Foam company did get my sample, but i never heard back from their Research and Development team on if they could copy it and the costs involved!

Well, if anyone ever does find this Shaper/ manufacturer of Surfboards in batangus (Daet area!!!)  please shoot me a message!  Or anyone who actually makes surfboards in PI I'd like contact info for!!  I really want to talk to them about some possible business opportunities!  

Cheers,
TanduayGuy!!!

I wouldnt say that Batangas is in the Daet area. It could be plausible that someone was attempting to make boards around the Bicol region considering it possibly has some of the best surf in the country. Some of you guys from Daet maybe can enlighten everyone here. There was talk of it happening in the Daet region but I dont know if this is true.
Hey Sponj get Millie to teach you when she's over there in December and you can be the one.
Before considering buying a locally made board think about this. Anyone can make a board but only a select crew can make a board that works. You will usually find the best and most experienced board shapers in the countries that have established surfing communities. Surfing is relatively new to the Philippines in the sense that it has only been the last 5 or 6 years that there have been a growing number of Filipino surfers. Unfortunately the experience has not yet matured in the Philippines to the extent that is required for board shaping. Remember the best board shapers are usually (not always) very good surfers and their experience comes out in their design. What I am trying to say is that if you want to invest 15-20000 pesos on a stick then wouldnt it be better to buy one from someone who has the experience vision and expertise to manufacture something that will work. I am not condeming Pinoy shapers as only through trial and error will they achieve that experience. The best option would be for someone with talent to be sponsored by a board shaper in Australia or the States so they can learn the trade as was done with a few Balinese surfers during the 80's and 90's. Someone with the talent should beg Millie for help. She has the contacts the energy and the lust to help out Pinoy surfers. (sorry to drop you into it Millie)  
Surf report 1 foot crap great conditions but no swell. Saw on the tele the Gold coast pumping that sandbank stretching from Greenmount to Kirra looks insane. Hows the swell in you neck of the woods Millie hope its better than ours.

Millie,
im begging you!!!mmmmmmmmmuuusssstttt lllllearn tooo shhaape ppplllsss!!!teach me to shape,pls master millie!!!

hahaha!

this again, my friends, is the reason why SURFING in the Philippines is a sport/ hobby ONLY for the elite.  

......... boards are really expensive here............ reaaly sad!

Thanks Mark for the info.   Yeah.. shaping is not that easy to pick up.  Need all the tools..   Special lighting...    And most crucial is that Rocker!  you screw that up.. and the board wont surf well.. or surf at all!  ha ha ha..   My second board i surfed was like a plank!  I called it the plank.  I didn't put enough rocker in it.. and well sure it was a fast board to surf... but.. you had to really take off on the tail and at an angle as not to pearl!  ha ha ha..  I sold it to a Marine down here in San Deigo was learning for 200 bucks only used once!  ha haha..  Anyway...   I'm just searching out any local talent that actually knows how to shape boards!  and trying to find out if there is anyone out there who has a small shaping / glassing shop for the production of boards!   If there was.. i would check them out...  when i'm over there.  and if they are any good.. i'd buy a board or two!      Mark.. i wrote you off this board.. check ur hotmail acct!  

Waves here in San Diego... about waist high.  blown out.. we are expecting rain tomorrow with choppy conditions!!

Cheers,
TanduayGuy

..

Hi everone,try looking at Burgos which is on Siargao.Maybe Richard is still there,he used to make boards  keep searching.

all i need are blanks,everything is set up-tools,templates,design of the rockers,glassing materials,etc etc!!!!!BLANKS where are you?help!!!

Yup, knefut and I really need the blanks!.... or else we'd be sedentary forever! hehehe!

sponjah, you may  be "the one" sounds like neo from the matrix haha. but hey, it would be cool if you... or knefut   learned to shape boards!  

just wondering...is it the same material (blanks) they use for the windsurfer boards?

shaping is a no problem deal,i just need the blanks!blanks,blanks,ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Ocean, didn't you know sponjah's been shaping boards.... plancha boards!  

yeah, i also heard he sells em really cheap!

yup... 50 bucks! i also have rashguards pla! brand new!

knefut....MAN!don't call me "master"....it scares me!

no worries mark

I will be back def. in December and you guys know that I'm more then happy to help you out in anyway as humanly possible.

I've been in contact with the guys who are shaping on Mindanao and we've been talking about going into "business" together.They're producing their own blanks at the moment,but we're going to try and figure something out so I can export blanks and other materials from Oz.The guys learnt to shape from an aussie shaper and they're all surfers..so they've got their fair share of experience..it's just the materials arent too high quality.

If you want to contact Dale his email is:

d_franco@eudoramail.com


What Mark said about anybody making a board,but making a board that works is a different thing...is true.The guy I'm learning from is an old bastard..haha he's been surfing since....surfing started and he's been shaping since he started surfing.He's got the experience and insight into everything about boards.The other guys I'm working with have all learnt under him for the past 4/5 years and they're all top shapers in their own right too.They're all amazing surfers and they know from the very moment a surfer walks into the bay,what kind of board they need.That kind of direct knowledge doesnt happen unless you really know how your board responds to you and the conditions.

I'm telling youse now that learning to shape quality boards isnt dead easy....I've been in the bay all day long,with dead arms and just whinging because it would have been so much easier if I did something a more simpler way,but my boss won't let me because he doesnt want to be sending one of his "kids" out into the shaping world producing crap boards.He tells me to shut the hell up and listen to him and we have fights because I'm stubborn sometimes ,but I really appreciate that he doesnt let me cut corners or take short cuts with learning because I know it'll be worth it in the long run.Just that kind of thing helps you really appreciate shaping good boards....it does help if you surf,but it helps a hell of a lot too if you're super keen to actually LEARN to shape and there's a few of you around who are genuinely keen to learn.

Just lemme see what I can do for you guys ok

Everyones trying to make to the most of that bank at the Goldy cos it's starting to fade away.But it WAS madness there for about a week or so....here on this end of the coast it's been tiny 1ft with a couple of odd fun 2/3ft days,still keeping me sane,so thats ok

happy surfing

Hi Millie,

Wow... nice post.   I've been on and off this board for some time.  Mostly lurking...  I too have been trying to set up a manufacturing facility in the philippines!  It is possible to make the foam yourself.. although the "quality" is the issue here!   You have to mix component A with Component B 50/ 50 and put in a mold! I have never seen it done in person...  but have been told there are some tricks to avoid the airbubbles....   and certain processes to increase or decrease the density!   I have done much research on it.  I know where to get the ingredients.. and how much they cost per litre, but have had no luck with the molds!  Have you seen the boards that they are producing in Mindanao area?   How they come out?  

Do these guys producing boards have a webpage??

cheers,
TanduayGuy

good luck!

when anybody has info, let us all know!

Has anyone thought about making Soft Tops?  These would be great in the P.I. no wax needed.  If anyone has connections with the people who makes "Sinilas"(sp) like rubberworld this material can be coated with a good resin or plastic.  I dunno, im just brain storming here.

We've done it. So I was in the Philippines for a study abroad program and I spent the whole year trying to figure this board problem out.FIVEFORTY SURF co. is what we call it I got together few of my friends and we invested a whole lot of money and began shaping in the philippines. All it took was a little research, some consulting from Mystics surfboards in Huntngton Beach, Mat Yerxa in Hawaii, Ehiku, and Hawaiian Longboard Mafia based in Long Beach, California and we got this off the ground. We make two types right now since we are just getting started, using clark blanks which are imported and thus cost a pretty penny but for all you who are looking for custom made boards in the Philippine for less expensive we have begun the process of making out own materials. Its still not perfected but were gettin there. Im in the Philippines right now as a matter of fact for a two week trip to get a bunch of stuff straitened and to get some people trained. Anyone want some pasalubong? I just finished a 10' shaped from a clark blank today and Im gonna sell it to the first person who is willing to buy a brand spanking new board in the Philippines. Just email me at ltortuya@ucla.edu. Were also looking to start producing for some local shops. Presently we make board bags and board shorts too. Hit me up, lets do business.
Lui

alvino obusan tried to shape some boards..i saw it myself.and i saw it break in half..pretty ok board but not of best quality,..

on March 15th, 2003, 9:46am, marklucas wrote:I wouldnt say that Batangas is in the Daet area. It could be plausible that someone was attempting to make boards around the Bicol region considering it possibly has some of the best surf in the country. Some of you guys from Daet maybe can enlighten everyone here. There was talk of it happening in the Daet region but I dont know if this is true.
Hey Sponj get Millie to teach you when she's over there in December and you can be the one.
Before considering buying a locally made board think about this. Anyone can make a board but only a select crew can make a board that works. You will usually find the best and most experienced board shapers in the countries that have established surfing communities. Surfing is relatively new to the Philippines in the sense that it has only been the last 5 or 6 years that there have been a growing number of Filipino surfers. Unfortunately the experience has not yet matured in the Philippines to the extent that is required for board shaping. Remember the best board shapers are usually (not always) very good surfers and their experience comes out in their design. What I am trying to say is that if you want to invest 15-20000 pesos on a stick then wouldnt it be better to buy one from someone who has the experience vision and expertise to manufacture something that will work. I am not condeming Pinoy shapers as only through trial and error will they achieve that experience. The best option would be for someone with talent to be sponsored by a board shaper in Australia or the States so they can learn the trade as was done with a few Balinese surfers during the 80's and 90's. Someone with the talent should beg Millie for help. She has the contacts the energy and the lust to help out Pinoy surfers. (sorry to drop you into it Millie)  
Surf report 1 foot crap great conditions but no swell. Saw on the tele the Gold coast pumping that sandbank stretching from Greenmount to Kirra looks insane. Hows the swell in you neck of the woods Millie hope its better than ours.

yeah, i was in daet a couple of weeks ago, right after the storm. i actually tried the boards! they're alright man, lookd like   but it works   shape is weird, i guess alvin took into account a few things regarding the rocker and the nose and made some hybrid wide nose, thick rocker, weird shaped board.  they also made a 6'6 shortboard. really thin, sturdy, okay din. but i don't think they've actually produced one for sale or anything.

So thats the board! Its next best thing I saw manufactured in the Phils. Next to the bamboo by bsa and richard's with the hydrofoil fin. Saw it in daet before the storm amang. Stayed only 1 day. No good condition. Proceeded south. Man! there it was, pumping solid for 5 whole days. The whole holy week we had double overheads. The longest ride ever!
Happy surfing everyone! Wish you were there