Finley on Corky #1: This board is 7’2 and slides with the elegance and speed of an alaia but is very buoyant.
The Corky Surfboard: A long journey to custom flex and floatation
It took one wave on the first alaia on March 5, 2005 to realise that there was another way of surfing. The flex of the wood board along with a super slick oiled surface made for a new surfing experience. This led to the alaia revolution and then the finless movement, however, the difficulty of paddling the alaia led me to creating more buoyant finless boards. I tried numerous methods and eventually made the Seaglass Project boards, the Tuna and the Albacore, with GSI in 2010. These boards surf very well and are easily accessible to surfers around the world. Many thousands of them have sold and have turned on surfers to the finless surfing. They are made from EPS foam which has a positive flex and lets the board bounce in and out of turns. However, I still missed the flex of wood and the slide from oil.
Corky #1: My first experience with vacuum bagging
The conundrum to making this board was how to have wood on the bottom yet let the board flex without creasing on the deck. Also, the deck had to be soft enough to flex but not smash in when surfed. I needed to find a material that would stretch and then compress into itself as the board flexed, yet be firm enough to add strength to the deck. I saw that many surfers were using cork in their board construction and thought that had better give it a try. It worked! Once I began working with sheet cork I found that it is amazing and gives a unique feel to a surfboard. I really enjoy working with cork and it seems to complement the paulownia.
With my new method for making surfboards (paulownia on the bottom, EPS foam in the middle and cork on the top and rails) I can experiment will all sorts of new shapes. I can now move forward with new designs and flex patterns. I can finally listen to customers and make great custom finless boards. I have desperately wanted to do this for a long time!
Cork #3: I finally created the floatation and flex that is perfect for me. It is like a perfectly tailored suit. It fits just right. It has got me so stoked to carry on with this project! I would like to make a finless board custom fit for you.
To Order:
6' and below $990 plus $50 freight. Australia only
6' to 7'6 $1200 plus $100 freight in Australia