“ It’ s hard work talking to customers, often we are on the phone for 30 minutes or so, this is a totally different selling experience to the click and buy of many internet sellers.”
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For Gary and then Emma, there has been a continual learning curve. They have visited the manufacturing plants in China, spent time with designers, manufacturers and brands providing direct customer feedback and‘ influence development’. Gary says,“ We in the UK are probably more technically advanced, our market and customer base is for longer, thinner boards or specialised boards. For much of Europe, the retailers are offering standard products, so I really feel we can help and advise brands and manufacturers with all our customer feedback over the years.”
A key finding for Gary has been the improved stability and reduced resistance of the thinner boards.“ This comes from my windsurfing. Red has great quality, and its 10-foot-6-inch was 4.7 inches deep. The thinner the board, the better the construction needs to be; the shape relies on higher pressure. Red uses better materials and construction, allowing for thinner boards. We are passionate about this and encourage other manufacturers to reduce the depth of their boards. Lower price point boards often twist or distort, so understanding the construction for us has been key.”
Discussing the construction, use and best board size and shape all take time.“ It’ s hard work talking to customers, often we are on the phone for 30 minutes or so, this is a totally different selling experience to the click and buy of many internet sellers, where even finding a telephone number can be a nightmare.”
Some wisdom about construction
Depth Gary discussed Shark, which has built identical length and width boards in both 5- inch and 6-inch thickness. The deeper boards are seen as for the heavier paddler maybe 100Kg or more but actually often when compared side by side on a trial even the heavier paddlers prefer thinner boards. One key point is that the rider’ s weight is over the centre of the board. Luggage( camping gear, bags and equipment) is stored fore and aft so doesn’ t lead to board bend and as such shouldn’ t prejudice board depth. If you want a board for adventures, you can still go with thinner profiles.
Dropstitch Dropstitch is a universal mesh that allows the inflatable structure inside a board to withstand pressure. The materials are bought in by manufacturers but there are some quality differences: the amount of fibre of course( creating the tiny dimples on the board structure). Align the two layers to match, preventing distortion. Gary explained that quality manufacturers tend to laser cut just two layers at a time to ensure the drop stitch lines up properly.“ If you are cutting multiple layers, it’ s cheaper, but the risk of misalignment and warping goes up.” Unfortunately, the material used for dropstitch is not recyclable, so even if a different, recyclable material is used for the outer layer, the boards are still not environmentally friendly.
Rails The rails( sides) of the board are where the upper and lower layers are joined. You can glue the rails, allowing a rounder shape.“ You don’ t need to get a welder in, so the seams are smaller and there is less gap in materials. The glue is also much easier to fix, so that a small leak can be reglued.” Welded rails rely on the layers of PVC being melted together in a welder. Failures are fewer if the process is well-executed, but repair is far more challenging. At the end of the day, as Gary says,“ whichever works well, so long as you have good quality manufacture.”
“ It’ s hard work talking to customers, often we are on the phone for 30 minutes or so, this is a totally different selling experience to the click and buy of many internet sellers.”