Tom’s Background with Durable Boards : When I was in 7th
grade, 1976, I bought my first early 60’s longboard for $11.00. It was a mint condition
Wardy that was my favourite board for years. The boards of the 1960’s were made to last.
In 1986 I became a team rider for Donald Takayama. He made me beautiful boards but I had
to give them back after 6 months because they were still in OK condition and could be
sold as used. I never gave them back it time and the deck would delaminate with a big
air bubble under the back foot and the board’s value plummeted. Donald would give me a
lecture. In my formative years that was the way it was. With California’s Clark foam a
board was designed to last 6 months of surfing and then fall apart. Those days never
really made it to Australia. The blank manufacturers like Burfords, South Coast and
Bennetts never strayed into the stupid consumptionism of the USA. But even in Australia
making a proper, super durable board makes the board last a lot longer with less
maintenance.
