West Indies Surfboards: The Beginning to Present

Scott Hustins, owner and board builder at West Indies Surfboards says that building surfboards was not at all the plan. Becoming a surfboard builder was never on Scott’s radar, but he admits that he has always had admiration for anybody that builds things with their hands.

Scott has a background in yacht repair and wood working and has never shied away from doing dirty work. He doesn’t mind spending the day being covered head to toe in dust in a sweaty mess.

Scott moved to the British Virgin Islands over 22 years ago, and owns Island Surf and Sail Water sports with his wife Deborah. They have been building the rental business from the ground up since 2007. Surfboard rentals is a big asset to Island Surf and Sail’s business model.

Many surfboard rentals around the world are well known for being beat up so bad, that you are not really sure if they will float. The couple wanted to create a business that would allow charter guests, and villa guests alike to visit the British Virgin Islands and not need to bring such bulky/expensive items such as surfboards.

Surfboard rentals is an inherently risky business, which ever way you look at it. Scott and Deborah set out to provide not only hand made surfboards, but surfboards that were handcrafted in the BVI.

Bob Carson of Cane Garden Bay Surfboards was building all of Island Surf and Sail’s rentals for many years. Scott would send Bob a list of boards that he needed, and Bob would build them with the Island Surf and Sail logo. Not many rental businesses around the world can say they offer this type of service. This was the way it worked until 2017.

Hurricane Irma changed everybody’s lives in the BVI. Many lost all they had, and it will be a time that nobody will forget. Bob Carson’s house and surfboard building business were destroyed. Bob decided to no longer build surfboards.

Scott and Deborah’s shop in Soper’s Hole Marina was also not spared the wrath of Irma. They were lucky to be able to save most of their equipment, but the surfboards were not so lucky. Now, they had to ask themselves how they could afford to replace over 25 boards at the price they charge on the mainland, all before shipping and duty.

Scott had an acquaintance (Brian Gagliana) who he had met in the BVI on several occasions, and knew he shaped boards and owned a surfboard supply company. So Scott hatched a hair brain idea to contact Brian, owner of Greenlight Surf Supply, and surfboard shaper to see if Brian would teach him how to build surfboards.

This was a way for Scott and Deborah to get their boards at the cost of materials, but Scott had to first learn how to make a surfboard. Brian accepted his offer to travel to New Jersey, and Brian would spend a week teaching him the ins and outs of board building. Scott would need to learn every step of building a surfboard in a week, which was a daunting task. After many hours, and many more beers, Scott and Brian made 5 surfboards from start to finish.

The couple made a big order of surfboard blanks, epoxy resins, fibreglass, shaping tools, and many phone calls to ask Brian questions … and Scott set off to build their business all new surfboards. The boards were simply labeled with an Island Surf and Sail logo, the board size and shapers name written in pencil on the bottom of the board.

It was a huge learning curve to apply the knowledge from a crammed week of foam dust, resin fumes and beer. But, after a few months, quiting board building several times, and a few objects smashed on the floor or wall, 28 rental boards were finished and they were ready for the BVI to open back up for business after Irma.

The last few years have been a big learning curve (and blessing) for Scott and now he is not just shaping custom made, hand crafted with love, surfboards, but he is also putting all his creative juices to work making colorful works of art.

THE BOARD BUILDING PROCESS:
The first step of the process is to discuss with the client what type of board they are looking for? You need to consider the surfers weight, height, and ability to help you begin to narrow down a size and shape. Scott has a slogan “We build boards the way you like them”. This means that every board is custom made for that surfer’s needs. When you buy a surfboard from a manufacturer, they mass produce board models, and you are left to hope that the model you are buying is what you are going to need not only for that time, but also to allow for each surfer’s personal progression. There are several steps in the board building process. First you must shape the board, set fin boxes, art work, fiberglass, sand and not make any (BIG) mistakes along the way! Ya, that is not possible with anything that is made by hand. Humans are not perfect, and mistakes happen.

This is what makes a handcrafted surfboard so special over a board that was made by a computer and a shaping machine. Sometimes several people work on one surfboard, but in this case, there are only two hands that touch these surfboards from start to finish. Scott says the hardest part of building surfboards is mastering all the steps of the build to end up with a beautiful, strong, well made surfboard.

Behind a very dusty garage door size mosquito screen, is where the process of building a surfboard begins. Scott has a shaping room with a shaping stand, lights placed at strategic heights on the walls, and shelves that are lined with power tools and sanding pads. The back wall is lined with templates that he uses to get the symmetrical shape and size. All of these tools are used at specific stages of the board build. The lights cast shadows from the side to show any imperfections, the walls are dark blue in color to also enhance the contours of the bright white surfboard blank in the foreground. It’s hot, dusty, dirty work, but Scott says that he wouldn’t want it any other way.

FOAM BLANK SHAPING:
Once you have laid out the template on the blank, and marked the shape on the foam with a pencil, you must then hand cut the blank to size, and begin the process of shaping the board. The boards must stay symmetrical, and not have any flat spots in the fluid shape of the board. Scott says you can take more foam off, but you cannot add it back on.

This is why it is very important to work in steps, and count all movements so you can duplicate those numbers when working on the other side. The blanks are made of a high density foam with a wood stringer that runs from the tip to tail. The wood gives the surfboard rigidity and strength that the foam does not have on its own.

As you remove foam, you also need to remove wood to make them both flush. The board is shaped in steps, and all board builders have their own techniques that they use to get a board shaped. Boards have different rails shapes and bottom contours based on what type of board it is, and what it’s used for. Surfboards are all different lengths, and shapes. Some are fat, some are skinny, some have a point nose, others have fat ones.

Some are thick and some are thin, Every surfboard has its purpose, and it is the shapers job to bring the shape that best suits that surfers need from a giant block of foam.

FIN BOX INSTALATION:
When the shaping process is complete, the “fin boxes” must be installed. The fin boxes are what holds the fins in place at a specific angle for that shape and size of board. There are many types of fins and configurations that can be used on a surfboard.

Some longboards have only one fin, while some performance short boards have 5. Rulers along with shapers squares are used to align the fins at certain distances from the tail and rail, along with fins being angled in so the board surfs in a straight line with minimal resistance. “Shapers dots” mark the final spots where you need to align the cutting tools. You use a fin box jig to cut out the shape of the box in the foam.

Once you have the holes routed out, you then epoxy them in place. If the fin boxes are not installed straight or in the right place, this will not allow the surfboard to surf as it was intended.

COLOR WORK:
The next step in the build is artwork. The artwork is when the board really shows the character of the person who the board is made for. But, not everybody wants artwork, and a classic look is to just have a clear board. Most artwork is done by either airbrush and acrylic paints or resin tints. Scott does all of his own artwork, and really enjoys the old school process of fabric inlays.

This is where he epoxies cotton fabric on the board and fibreglass laminates over it. He also does quite a bit of “airbrush” designs and uses a traditional airbrush or turbine spraying system. He uses acrylic art paint to do a design which is usually a design that the client has come up with.

They are usually bright and really make a custom board stand out. Another way to bring color to the board is by tinting resins different colors and either do foam stains, or color laminations. Resin does not fade over time like paint does, so many builders are using resins for their color work.

FIBERGLASS LAMINATION:
After the color work is complete, it is now time to fibreglass the board. The process of fibreglassing is to ensure the board is waterproof, and the fibreglass makes the board strong and protects it from damage should it hit a solid surface. Boards can be laminated for strength where stronger/heavier fibreglass is used, or glass it light for performance, and less weight.

This is the time that Scott signs the board and puts the board dimensions on the bottom. But the coolest part is that the client also gets their name on the bottom as well! The board also gets the company logo on top and bottom of the board during this process.

EPOXY FILLER COAT:
After applying the fibreglass, it dries very rough, and needs a smooth coat of epoxy. This epoxy will fill the weave of the fibreglass, and allows Scott to finish sanding the board to a smooth surface.

LEASH PLUG INSTALATION:
The next step is to install the leash plug before the final sand. Scott uses leash plugs that have a mesh in the bottom to allow the foam to breath with the extreme heat.

THE FINAL SAND:
Scott said this is the worst part of building surfboards, and believes that 99% of all surfboard builders would agree that sanding the finished board sucks! This step is where you get the board super smooth, and either wet sand and polish, or leave a matt finish.

The board is ready to go to the customer at this point, but is recommended that it not be used for 1 week to allow for further curing of resin.

CONCLUSION:
There are many steps that are part of building a surfboard from start to finish. It is extremely difficult to get everything perfect, but over time Scott says you become more confident with the whole process. Fewer and fewer people build surfboards from start to finish alone. Many will shape the board, and send it to a glasser for art and lamination.

Building surfboards is an art form in itself, and you can see the love that Scott puts into all of his boards. You can see Scotts work at: www.westindiessurfboards.com