1. Your Name: Bob Johnson
2. Your Brand name: BOBSLEDS
3. How did you hear about us? The internet (Surf line)
4. How was your initial experience at Foam E-Z? Unreal! The people there are the best folks I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with.
5. Why did you want to build your own board? Design and build better surfboards.
6. Shape of finished board? Round pin Glider
7. Size of finished board: Length 9’7" Nose 17 3/8" Width 23 1/2" Tail 16" Thickness 3 5/16"
8. What blank did you use? Custom 9’9 B US Blanks Blue with triple Cedar stringers
9. How was your board building experience? Great and made all the better with the assistance of Foam E-Z for getting me whatever I need to build boards.
10. Did you use videos, books, web, other? Not recently, but there are some good ones that Foam E-Z sells that can show you some good stuff. The Master Shaper and Glasser series are probably the best.
11. What videos, books, web, other did you use? Always reading every Surf journal and book I can get my hands on. You see a lot of cool boards for ideas that way.
12. Do you recommend these resources? Absolutely.
13. What do you wish you knew going into this project? How quickly this board would sell. It really was A LOT of work to build and having someone grab it up so quick was gratifying and a relief.
14. What would you recommend to someone else for their first time? Be patient, never rush, don’t settle for good enough, do your absolute best.
15. What tools did you find most useful? My Clark planer and Milwaukee grinder are indispensable as well as my block planes, surforms and custom made sanding pads and well worn screen. And then there are my custom grinded squeeges for laminating and hand cut brushes for other glass work, buckets and hey…really good scissors! (All available at Foam E-Z)
16. Where did you run into trouble? Cold weather glossing is never boring, but it’s all good now!
17. What kind of fin system did you use and why? Fins Unlimited 10.5 inch single fin box. It is a solid set-up and allows for many different fins to be used in different positions. Also, the neutral feel of a single fin is the perfect compliment to a glider board like this.
18. Did you glass the board and what was that experience like? Yes, and those are RESIN panel inlays in red on the deck, NOT airbrush. It was challenging and fun !
19. Where did you shape and glass your board? In my Garage/Shop.
20. What type of board do you want to make next? I have an order for a 8’3 hybrid/egg for So Cal.
21. Thanks again to the Foam E-Z crew for all the help they have provided. Thanks to my top riders and best friends David Ferreira, Austin Ferreira, Adam Ferreira, Derek Bostleman, John and Shane Greer, and the amazing Mike Andreason : Thanks to my Fiance Anna, my little girl Marisa and my Mom.
