Tiny Tree, originally uploaded by Form<->Function.

Today is Blog Action Day where bloggers post on environmental issues; the idea being to get as many people talking about this as we can.

Mike over at the surfmtl blog had asked me some questions regarding his post on sustainable surfing, discussing the things that surfers can do to minimize their environmental impact.

As far as what the choices I have made are; as a surfboard maker; I have decided to use EPS foam and Epoxy resins so that the manufacture and use of my materials is less harmful than others and so that the finished boards I produce are more durable than the standard issue boards out there so that they will end up in landfill much later(and provide more fun to the user). As a surfer I always carpool to get to surf spots and the vehicles I choose to use tend to be fuel efficient ones. (If I don’t need an SUV, I don’t want one)

I also thought that I would post a link as well. The University of British Columbia has published a paper detailing the findings of 2 scientists as to how the health of Canadians is impacted by pollution.

It would seem that pollution is killing us off in greater numbers than some of the ‘hot’ issues that the government and media would have us focus on. It has always struck me as silly that our society has prioritised the support/protection of big business and jobs, even when those things are slowly poisoning us.
Doesn’t our health and prosperity mean more than some dollar/market figures?
Maybe we can all become more aware and make more responsible choices, and maybe get our government and business to care less about money, and we can become a little more …civilized. ……..maybe

I mean, it really is like the little tree in the photo, life is in a precarious balance clinging on above a precipice.

This weekend is the SacredCraft surfboard show in Del Mar California.

There will, of course, be tons of sweet boards and fins and things to peruse, but there will also be several talks on surfboard shaping and technology.

There is also going to be some talks about the industry, specifically there will be folks speaking out against the outsourcing of the sacred craft by many of the big industry players. It would be very interesting to see the debate between JP St. Pierre ,of Moonlight Glassing, or Jim Robertson of Lokbox fin system and reps from Lost, Channel Islands, Boardworks and 9Fish(who are all making boards overseas).

Long Board design, originally uploaded by Form<->Function.

Had this outline printed up the other day. I should be working on the actual templates very shortly.

Both my friend Steve and I want to have a longboard for those small days, and my next batch I will be getting a long block of foam and making at least 2 of them.

Making templates now, and next season cruisin’ and hopefully walkin’ the nose.

Shaped, originally uploaded by Form<->Function.

Just shaped this potato chip style thruster on Thursday.

6′ x 19″ x 2″

All of my EPS/epoxy boards are noticably lighter than the run of the mill PU/PE boards, but this shaped blank is sooooo light. I’ll be glassing it shortly and even after it’s done, I’m betting that this is going to be one super light board.