History of Surflight Hawaii's flex composite technology for surfing

ABOUT SURFLIGHT HAWAII AND FLEXIBLE SURFBOARDS:

Surflight Hawaii was formed in 1996 by Jim Richardson to develop and improve a technology for making an explosive and fast flexing surfboard. Along the way, we ventured into the variety of boards you will find on this web site. Our engineered flex technology dramatically improves the performance of all of these boards.

What we do is put controlled and engineered flex and spring into our boards. By controlled and engineered, we mean that our boards are specifically designed to flex just the right amount in the right place, spring quickly back, and resist twisting. The flexing qualities are matched to the weight of the rider and the size and type of board.

Our story, still unfolding, is that these qualities, while difficult to achieve, are well worth the effort.

Many surfers riding conventional boards already benefit from flex. The thin, lightly glassed conventional short board has a decent flex for smaller, weaker waves. A thicker or more strongly glassed board feels stiff and dead, in large part because it is more rigid. We have found that even a little more flex will improve performance in small weaker waves. We can tune that in with our composite core technology. When the waves get bigger, hollower, and more powerful, a conventional board is just too stiff.

So what is the deal with flex? Why is so it important to surfing really well, better than you ever have before? Think of flex as adjustable rocker.

Most shapers agree that rocker is crucial, and can make or break that magic board. But most would also agree that different wave conditions call for different rocker. So we should have several boards in our quiver, possibly the same size, but with different rocker for different breaks. In fact, each wave, each turn and cutback, would benefit from a slightly different rocker; it would be better to have less rocker for driving through a section or getting speed to launch into the air. So the shaper must compromise, settling on the best overall rocker for the waves and style of the surfer.

Fortunately, water is pretty squishy. The surfer can compensate for lack of rocker by pushing harder to make those tight turns. By contrast, on snow and ice, snow boarders and skiers must have a flexible rocker to make different turns and adjust to changes in the slope. Rigid snow boards restrict turning and would be dangerous.

IS FLEX GOOD?

Do surfboards benefit from more flex? We have learned working with some of the best surfers and shapers on the North Shore, that the answer is Yes. But the flex and spring have to be just right, or the performance is worse, not better. Remember water is squishy, and surfers need to generate speed in quick bursts to do vertical maneuvers. If the board has too rubbery a flex, bends in the wrong place, or worst of all, twists too much, it will slow down and feel dead.

But if the board has just enough flex in the right place with a very quick reflex, you will be blown away by the springy and lively feel, the explosive speed you can now generate, and the way your board remains glued to the wave and under control even in the most extreme situations. The larger and more powerful the wave, the greater the degree of flex that is beneficial.

We are not the first to work with flex in surfboards. We have built on the insights and innovations of others before us. Flexible surfboards have been around for decades. Many of the late 1960's long boards had stringer arrangements and scoops or bumps in the thickness flow to increase flex. George Greenough, Mike Tinkler, and Tom Morey worked with innovative flexible constructions in the 1960's and '70's.

Since that time, others have continued to experiment with flex. Jim Richardson, inventor and founder of Surflight, began experimenting with alternative materials in the 1970's, trying to put more flex into boards. The big problem was the materials. Today's thin, lightly glassed conventional boards have some flex which quickly deteriorates with use and age.

Many surfers are aware of the importance of that little bit of flex and understand that it is the lack of flex that makes thicker, more heavily glassed boards feel dead. But these lightly glassed boards tend to snap in half and the bond between the glass and the foam rapidly breaks down, causing the boards to lose their springy feel. Putting even a reasonable amount of flex in these boards stretches the conventional technology beyond its limits.

Jim's initial experiments convinced him that if you want the board to flex and not break or fall apart, you have to eliminate the brittle eggshell fiberglass skin on conventional boards. Tom Morey's flexible foam surfboards were inspirational, but lacked performance because of too much floppy bend, slow reflex, and way too much twist. They needed something inside to control the twist and give quicker reflex. Jim built a few prototypes in the mid 1980's in his garage and shaping room, but the materials available at that time were not quite right.

NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY - COMPOSITE STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION

Around 1992, we made some major improvements and decided we had a viable technology. We applied for and received a US patent and international patents in the major surf markets are pending.

What we did was make a "core" of composite materials that looks something like a large snow board; we then surrounded it with flexible foam, similar to body board foam but lighter and firmer. Think of the core as a large snow board or small surfboard inside of a custom shaped, flexible foam surfboard.

Surflight's composite cores are combinations of carbon graphite and specially woven glass fibers that are laminated with epoxy resin under pressure and cured with heat so that the materials meld, performing like they are one thing rather than a collection of separate materials, similar to the way snow boards, skis, tennis rackets and jet fighter airplane wings are made.

The composite carbon/glass fiber core gives the board a very snappy flex and is difficult to break. The "torsion box" shape of the core recommended by our aerospace engineer consultant reduces twist and allows the board to flex the right amount in the right places.

CUSTOM HAND SHAPED:

Once the blank is complete with the core inside, the boards are custom hand shaped and finished, similar to conventional surfboards, but without the outer fiberglassing step. Jeff Johnston, Sheena Ribeiro, Matt Yerxa, Mike Casey, Jeff Johnston and other North Shore, Oahu shapers are currently shaping our boards.

After shaping, our boards are coated with a tough, satin smooth urethane finish. FCS fin plugs or other compatible fin system boxes are sunk into the core. The result is a very smooth but resilient outer surface that resists dings and bounces off people and other boards. The boards are lighter than conventional fiberglass boards of similar strength.

FLEX = ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE

What's the bottom line? We think most surfers will want to have several engineered flex boards in their quiver. And many, our favorite people, will end up completely switching over. They are more than just fun to ride.

Their quickness, powerful bursts of speed and incredible control open up a universe of new possibilities. Just a few examples: the boards explode out of turns; the flex and spring make it easier to launch and land airs; if pulling into sick pits is your thing, especially Waimea shore break or the Wedge, these boards will hold in to the drop like radial tires and when you do eat it and get smacked by the board, you'll paddle out for more.

Flex also endows our boards with the control to ride a smaller board in larger waves; overall, flex can give a board a broader range of sizes and conditions. Our surfboards perform at an extremely high level. Guga Arruda, a Brazilian pro, is currently on the pro tour with a quiver of our boards.

Our tow-in boards were fluid and controlled yet explosive during the last Hawaiian winter season. Our tow-in riders find that they do not have to "husband" their turns and are able instead to turn anywhere on the face in quick succession and with confidence.

We are also making some very short and wide (4'6" x 22") hybrid fish designs that are very fast, surf great, are soft, moderately priced and should beat the Southern California and Australian black ball rules.

Our kite surfing boards outperform and are significantly safer than conventionally manufactured kite boards.

Unless otherwise noted, all surfing photos copyright John Jones