I just want say thank you so much for making my magic board. I have to say my surfing has bumped up a lot, the board is exactly how I wanted it as far as shape, size, and to improve my surfing.

I knew from my 1st conversation over the phone with Todd that he had a passion to help surfers with their surfing

because he took a lot of time to list and explain the science of surfboard making.

This is the best investment I have made on surf boards. I look forward to ordering more magic boards from Proctor Surfboards.

Jason Ponteres
Mission Viejo, CA
Proxy Epoxy construction with Titanium Series Upgrade
Option 2.0: Carbon-Hinged Flex Tail
Groveler IV.p [performance]
6′1″ x 18 5/8″ x 2 1/4″ rounded squash tail

Well this email is horribly late but I blame that solely on the board you made me.  The lime green 5′9″ x 19″ 7/8 x 2″ 3/4 Rascal II you built for me is in a word…. “insane”.  I have literally ridden it for 4 weeks straight every single day of the week and am continually impressed with how it performs.

It has turned around what would normally be a boring surf sessions in gutless surf into killer sessions.

The board just kind of lifts up underneath your feet giving you a gliding/ skimming feeling that I have not experienced before.

My surfing has never looked or felt better and I can’t thank you enough for that!

I know that this board is reported as a “small wave / gutless surf” board, but I have to say

it is one of the most versatile boards
I have ever ridden.

With the 5 fin setup, I can make adjustments for when faces start jacking up to give the board more bite into the wave (It ripped right through pumping head high to HH+ waves).  The waves have gotten quite a bit bigger the last two days and I moved back to my standard shortboard……

I lasted for all of 4 rides before I pulled the Rascal II out again.

That would be my only complaint about this board,

I want to ride it in everything!!

I will definitely be calling upon you in the future for another board.

Thanks again to both of you!  Todd for making the board I always wanted and Charissa for being hands down the coolest person to do business with.

Regards,
Matthew Glaspey (customer for life), San Diego, CA
Custom Surfboard: Proxy Epoxy construction: Rascal II
5′8″ x 19 7/8″ x 2 3/8″ moontail
4 parabolic channels, FCS 5 fin install, GAM with GX rears for quad or thruster setup

Hey Todd + Charissa,

Just thought I’d drop a line just to let you know that this board has changed my surfing completely.

When I got on it, it just felt so light and smooth and it goes like a rocket. I love it and everyone who’s seen it is really impressed by it so don’t be surprised if the orders start flyin’ in from the west side!. We were down on Ballyliffen beach last week , this is where this photo was taken. You will have to come over some time, if you do, just give me a shout.

Thanks again Todd for a mindbender of a board, gonna order a groveler in the near future so I’ll be in touch.

Thanks+take care, Slainte, Niall.

Blackbird squash tail 6′6″ x 19″ x 2 1/2″, Proxy custom epoxy Titanium Series 1.0 & 2.
Kevlar compression patch, and Carbon-Hinged Flex Tail

Proctor Custom Flexible Epoxy version 2.0

click here to zoom in

- Stronger than before, lighter than before, with an even more responsive/ longer lasting flex memory -

Made from materials designed for the highest performance surfing possible – utilizes specific flex patterns to increase the board’s torque through turns.
Stronger than the molded boards (i.e. Boardworks, Surftech, etc…)
Lighter than traditional p/u boards (polyurethane)
Custom designed…no pop-outs.
Now with unlimited custom graphics options.

The Proxy….definition. – Custom epoxy surfboard that matches the flex and performance advantages of a polyester board with strength that surpasses the molded pop-out boards.

This is our latest development in the flexible epoxy series.
We begin with an ultra-lightweight epoxy “fusion Core” for the shaped blank – a uniquely formulated eps that has been fused under higher pressures to achieve greater compression strength and less ‘worm holes’ (i.e open pores typical with standard eps foams. These open pores, or worm holes add unnecessary weight due to water or resin absorption into the blank.) The “Fusion Core” does not suck in water, or bubble or delaminate over time like other custom epoxy core materials are prone to do.

I custom shape and design each board on the DSD surfboard cad design program.

This allows me to use my most proven shapes to further customize the perfect board for each surfer. Through personal discussion and interaction, I am able to determine each surfers’ height, weight, experience, the type of waves they surf, and the direction they want to take their surfing. I have always believed that plain old communication is an integral part of the design process.

The glassing is done with premium grade S-glass (the best fiberglass for yielding the highest strength-to-weight surfboards). Strategically placed flex points, or hinges are added at this stage as well. We are offering two performance enhancing upgrades to the new PROXY line….I’m calling this the Titanium Series. Upgrades include: (1) reinforced carbon-hinge flex tail and/ or (2) Kevlar deck compression patch.

The epoxy resin used in the process is also uniquely formulated to have more elongation, or flex than is typically characteristic of most epoxies. This is very important to how a board rides.

The best surfboards flex and recoil back out of turns…..

they flex lengthwise as well as side-to-side along the board….this is the “spring”, the “life” that you feel in a magic board. No matter how great the shape of a board may be, you kill it if you build it so it rides stiff and rigid.

Each board is made from start to finish here in our Ventura factory.

This allows me and the Proctor Surfboards crew to ensure that the highest level of attention and quality is put into every board.

Titanium Series Performance Upgrade Options:

1.0: Reinforced Carbon-Hinged Flex Tail

Gives the board a whip effect out of turns…a thinner tail reinforced with highest grade flex memory composites acts to slingshot the board through maneuvers.

2.0: Kevlar Compression Patch

Kevlar is an incredible composite material. It is five times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis. And the real beauty of this material is that it increases the board’s compression strength while maintaining the positive flex characteristics.

Sorry I lost touch…Been surfing your board..

Best board ever totally awesome.

I have some video and pictures..When I get them put together I’ll pick a few and send them….

Brian McCarthy, 42, Newport Beach, CA

Proxy Epoxy construction withTitanium Series Upgrade
Option 1.0: Kevlar Compression Patch
Option 2.0: Carbon-Hinged Flex Tail

SR71 rounded squash tail 6′4″ x 18 7/8″ x 2 3/8″

Once I started to figure the board out I was blown away by how sensitive it is rail to rail, and how I could use the extra manuverablity to generate even more speed.

My old boards have always been fast, But turning them at top speed was always the issue. They required full force which made the turn hard to control. This board however banks turns at full speed easily and the turns are positive. Plenty of projection. Not the type the tail starts to drift and with it goes all your speed for the next turn.

Also the board catches waves like a dream, I barely have to paddle.

With this being my first board from you I can only imagine what the next one will be like. For now I’m going to ride this one into the ground and try to find something about it that we can improve on for the next one. Thanks for giving me a board that is going to help me improve my surfing.

P.S. I bought some future compatable trulite fins from true ames. They work great on this board. Feels like glass ons.

Thanks, Mike Julian, 27, Southern California
Custom Surfboard: Proxy Epoxy construction: SR71 rounded squash tail
6′2″ x 18 3/4″ x 2 5/16″ Nose: 11 1/4″ Tail: 14 1/8″

Surfboard Reviews & Surfer Feedback

I’ve found the board is flying on the quad mode

•

Todd,

 

I’ve found the board is flying on the quad mode

which is good for when it’s either really small or else ledgy and barreling. You were right though, it doesn’t hook straight up and down like a tri. Used as a tri it is a little slower than the quad, but goes top to bottom easier for good rail to rail surfing. Your flexible epoxy is noticably livelier than the Surftechs and a good deal lighter, too. I am absolutely stoked on your boardline and can’t wait to work on another couple.
Thanks for everything Todd and Charissa.

Take care and God Bless!

Paul Pence, 38, San Diego, CA
Custom 5′11″ X 18 1/2″ x 2 3/16″ PROXY 5-fin
SF4 QUADS, AM2 Tri

surfboard review: custom epoxy performance shortboards, san diego surf
Custom Quad Fin Surfboards – Detail your Board with the Shaper

Hey Todd,

I hope all is going well and you guys are getting tons of waves from this swell!!

 

I wanted to give you some feedback on the Blackbird, the best board I have EVER ridden.

This board is everything you said it would be and more. Since picking it up last weekend, I have ridden it at head high Trestles, head high Swami’s and 10-12 foot closed out Mission Beach (for a contest – not by choice). First off, this board is so fast right from the take off, I find myself confidently freefalling into waves five feet behind the peak and zipping right into position. When coming off the top, it releases like no other, actually pushing your lips higher and projecting you through the turns down the line. The tail will bust out insanely at times, especially on the backside, totally breaking free and reengaging for some pretty solid comments from people watching. I found moving the back foot up off the fins helps it go through the high tide mushy spots with no loss of speed and keeps it really manueverable. This may be the board of all boards, if you can think it, you can do it! It truly goes where you want it to. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to take their surfing to the next level! I’ll give you some feedback on the Greased Pig soon, but fortunately the waves haven’t been small enough for it yet! HA!

We had the fourth contest at solid 10 – 12′ Mission Beach yesterday and I had a near drowning incident involving EMT, lifeguards etc. It wasn’t the board, but instead the little string on the leash broke leaving me in a rip tide with no board, a filled wetsuit and a 6 wave set on the head. Despite my near tragedy, the Blackbird made it out of the carnage fine and I still made it to the finals even with the one wave I had in the semis.

 

I can’t believe the Blackbird sustained no damage – that foam must be kriptonite,

because I took the one that broke my brand new leash right on the back. The whole contest crew was on their feet watching and just in awe that the board didn’t break (not a scratch!). It was one of those scenes where everyone went, ‘Ohhhhhhh!’.

I am thinking of backing it up with an SR71 and maybe an Ante Up / SR71. Here are some thoughts / questions:

1) Would you recommend making any adjustments from the Blackbird to SR71 (length, width, etc) based on the differences between the two boards?
2) Would you recommend decreasing the widepoint of 18.5 if I went up by an inch to 6.1 for the SR71 or can I leave it alone?
3) On the Ante Up, if I get into a Big Rock / Point Mugu situation w/ a lot of water moving and offshores, do I want a PU w/ heavier glass or a Proxy?

Thanks Todd and Charissa for all the support! Check the shots of Braeden practicing his pig dog on the Greased Pig!

God Bless,

Paul

Hey Todd and Charissa,

I’m stoked you guys got some juice from the last swell. Yeah, I’m alright, but did have to go to the ER for a bacterial infection in my lungs that didn’t crop up for several days.

 

I was able to paddle out today on the Greased Pig and I’ve got to tell you, you’ve hit another HOMER, man!

You are batting 1000 with my quiver so far, bro. That Greased Pig model just flies in the small stuff and even some sneaker overhead bowls that were making it through. I was getting 4 – 5 hits on waves and flying past sections others had no chance of making. It’s weird, but I feel like I’m looking at the waves a little differently on your boards. I’m feeling way more confident. If you take the high line on the Greased Pig, there aren’t many waves it won’t fly past!

 

It’s just a really fun board that makes surfing less than ideal waves amazing!

I can’t stop thinking about the SR71 and am thinking of backing up the Blackbird with a couple.

What do you think of these dimensions?

Board 1
SR71, 6′ 0.5″, 11.25, 18 7/16, 14, 2 3/16 FCS, PROXY, standard squash, safety nose (blunt 1/2″ like you did on the Greased Pig)

Board 2
SR71, 6′1″ , 11.25, 18.5, 14, 2 3/16, FCS, PROXY, rounded squash, safety nose

Let me know on these 2. I’m firing to try them.

Paul

Kenny Asahino, 34, Kahului, HI

Custom Proctor Epoxy “PROXY” Surfboard: 6′0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 1/8″ Tail Caves II

Order a custom Proxy epoxy surfboard and detail your board with the shaper 

Harnessing the New Order of Flex – “Proxy” Custom Flexible Epoxy, version 2

Titanium Series Performance Upgrade Series

Proctor Surfboards Worldwide Custom

• Fusion Core –

Premium grade eps foam fused under higher pressure yields greater compression strength. This core is slightly more buoyant than polyurethane foam, so the boards can be ridden smaller and fit in the pocket of the wave better.

• High impact rails

drive through turns and hold up to a beating.

• Instead of just using standard fiberglass cloth in the glassing process, a combination of S-glass, inter-woven

composite fabrics and Kevlar

(a product that’s five times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis) are employed.

• Kevlar compression patch –

this is a sheet of Kevlar, not a green airbrush. The beauty of this material is that it increases a board’s compression strength (the deck from crushin in), while maintaining the positive flex characteristics.

• Reinforced carbon-hinged flextail –

A thinner tail makes for better flex and a more lively feeling board by reducing rigidity and increasing torque. Interwoven carbon-kevlar composite has a rapid recoil flex memory that acts as a hinge to slingshot the board out of turns, as well as protecting the toe and heel areas of the rails from crushing in over time.

• Single-to-inset-double concaves –

I feel this is one of the most versatile bottom contours you can run in the modern performance shortboard. It has a wide-open sweet spot, is really drivey and predictable in waves small to large; and it allows you to break the tail free when you want to.

• Flatter deck –

I typically go ½” to one inch shorter, 1/8” narrower, and 1/16” thinner than your poly board. By using more buoyant materials, you don’t need to hide foam in the center of the board. The less-domey deck that’s achieved increases the flex characteristics of the board.

• Uniquely formulated epoxy resins

that have more elongation, or elasticity allow flex lengthwise as well as laterally throughout the board. This increases the performance of the board as well as its flex life/ longevity.

• All fin systems are available including glass-ons

(shown here) which are rare on epoxy boards.

• Environmentally friendly –

when a traditional p/u board’s life is over, there’s only one place it can go….to a landfill where it sits for 100 years before it starts to decompose. “Proxy” technology is recyclable.

• Made custom in the free world from concept to construction.

It’s your board….talk to the shaper.

Todd Proctor

Shaper’s notes:

I‘ve been working on alternative surfboard materials for 10 years with the commitment to improve technology while enhancing performance. I believe surfboard building is a unique hands-on process that will always be done best by the innovators who love the sport. The unique construction detailed here is done in our factory in Ventura, California. I custom design every board using cutting edge computer assisted design software. This allows me to detail every board keeping the quality, consistency and custom aspects of my shaping always at the forefront.

Surfer’s Feedback:

…the board I’ve been so ravin’ about lately is that Blackbird, the Proxy one. That thing’s incredible. Thanks mate. Jay Phillips, Gold Coast, Australia

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.proctorsurf.com/boards/proxyboard.swf" height="640" width="502" /]

Order a Custom Proxy ………………. Check Stock Boards

Currently Available Proxy Custom Epoxy Surfboard Constructions:

$715 – standard PROXY Custom Epoxy, includes one color airbrush fade, S-glass premium cloth, elite epoxy resins

$785 – standard PROXY plus one of the two Titanium Series Performance Upgrade Options
1.0 – Kevlar Compression Patch
2.0 – Carbon-Hinged Flex Tail

$850 – standard PROXY plus both of the Titanium Series Performance Upgrade Options

(Prices listed above are for shortboards, to see full price list, click here) we require 50% down payment to begin a custom surfboard with final balance due upon completion – standard 8 week turnaround

…

The Quest For Flex

By Casey Koteen

Posted 08.11.2005

It’s been a long journey for Todd Proctor. Not in his bold pursuit to develop surfboard technology that rides just like a polyester board but lasts longer. No, that he’s well down the road on. After leaving his home in Ventura at 3:30 this morning, he’s hit a wall of traffic on the 405 south, heading down to San Diego with a truck full of boards for the TransWorld crew to test ride.

By 7:30 though, he’s in the parking lot at D-Street in Encinitas, screwing in fins and looping in leash strings on five brand-new surfboards. The boards are the culmination of five years of R&D, inspired by the dream of developing a surfboard that would replicate the subtle riding characteristics of a polyester board, but would live a longer, happier life–meaning, a board that would flex like a polyester, but that would be more resistant to damage as well the aging process that seems to sap the “spring” out of polyester boards.

“I want these boards to do what you’re feeling in an ultra light polyester,” says Proctor. “Those boards are flexing torsionally and from nose to tail, but they’re killing themselves while they’re doing it. So I want to harness that flex, but make it so it’s not going to fall apart so fast. That’s where I’d like to see it go.”

The first step, says Proctor, was to research materials, including ones currently used in the surf industry and beyond. “I started going to plastics, polymers, and composite trade shows, and I’d talk to chemists. I’d bring surfboards, and man, I got some funny looks–like, ‘Eh, a surfer? What are you doing out here in Chicago?’”

After years of research and testing out myriad combinations of foams, resins, and cloths–with both surf and non-surf-industry materials–Proctor has found what he believes is the winning formula. And he’s confident enough of the results that he’s applied for a U.S. patent for the process. While he won’t divulge the entire production technique, he says the construction is comparable to that of the wing of a Stealth fighter, even down to some of the same materials. “Same kind of foam, same kind of sandwich structure, and they use Kevlar, even the same grain and density that I use.” Kevlar in a surfboard? While it sounds ultra high tech, the process is relatively similar to traditional surfboard construction. The foam core is shaped, then laminated with a couple different materials, including fiberglass, using epoxy resin. “I use e-glass, s-glass, and Kevlar in different combinations,” he says. “How you set up those combinations determines the flex.” In addition, there are variations on stringers, as well as a flex agent added to the resin that gives the boards a gunmetal gray tint.

Proctor stresses that although the boards are glassed with epoxy resin, they’re custom shaped in the U.S. Some in the industry feel that uneducated consumers equate the word epoxy with a mass-produced product or a foreign-made one. “Epoxy in itself is just a word that defines a family of resins,” he reminds.

So, is Proctor’s epoxy/Kevlar invention another tolling of the death knell of polyester surfboards? Not likely. Instead, Proctor foresees people using polyester boards to refine their boards so that when they do get a “magic board,” they can replicate it with his epoxy technology.

Price-wise, the boards are more expensive than their polyester counterparts, but not prohibitively. They’ll wholesale for 500 dollars and retail for 645 dollars, and will be at retail in mid-May.

…

PUSHING THE LIMITS:

TODD PROCTOR WANTS TO MAKE A SMALLER, LIGHTER, STRONGER SURFBOARD, AND HE’S USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO DO IT.
• Instead of just using standard fiberglass cloth in the glassing process, Proctor employs a combination of S-Glass and Kevlar (a product made by DuPont that’s five times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis), which is used widely for military equipment, helmets, and bulletproof body armor because of its lightweight strength. Todd chooses Kevlar over materials like carbon fiber because Kevlar has better flex.
• A semi-closed-cell polystyrene foam core replaces the typical polyester foam that’s been used for decades to make surfboards. It’s more buoyant, so boards can be smaller and fit in the pocket of the wave better.
• Special epoxy resins formulated with flex agents allow the board to bend in all directions and increase the flex life of the board by five times.
• A flatter deck is a product of using more buyant materials and thus not needing to hide foam volume in the center of the board. The less-domey deck that’s achieved increases the flex characteristics of the board.
• Accelerated single concave on the bottom starts under the front foot and gradually deepens through the front fins. “When you push on the tail,” Todd says, “water accelerates through the fin cluster, producing drive.”
• A thinner tail makes for better flex and a more lively feeling board by reducing the rigidity and increasing torque.
• All fin systems are available including glass-ons, which are rare on epoxy boards.

Shaper’s Notes:
“Theres no such thing as the indestructible board,” says Todd. “Everything eventually breaks. Even the space shuttle breaks, but you can make something that lasts longer and retains its original traits.” Using new innovations in surfboard technology, like unique polystyrene foam instead of polyurethane, epoxy resin, Kevlar, and the DSD system, Todd hopes to make his boards smaller, lighter, and stronger, and by doing this, he hopes to help push modern surfing forward.
These aren’t pop-out boards; they’re custom shaped using a cutting edge computer-aided-design program invented by Luciano Leao that allows a shaper to modify his designs dow to the slightest detail.
All Proctor surfboards are custom made in Ventura, California.

Transworld Surf Magazine
Surf Science
Page 080

FLEXIBLE EPOXY SURFBOARD SERIES, VERSION 1

Shaper’s Description

Picture how a dolphin moves through the water; its body in a constant state of torque and acceleration – This same concept drives the “Flexible Epoxy” technology. The boards flex when you lay into ‘em and spring-back through turns, creating a sling shot effect.

In development for the last five years, this unique patent-pending process yields a super light, significantly stronger board with increased buoyancy. This is not a molded board;

a 100% custom designed and shaped creation made in the land of the free; built around the surfer

i.e. type of waves, experience, height, weight, surfing style, etc …

We begin with a semi-closed cell core that has proven not to bubble or de-lam.

The pre-shape is precision designed to the surfer on the DSD System (Digital Surfboard Design) and fine-tuned at the Ventura factory.

The lamination is done with high grade Kevlar and S-glass (the premium glass for board building) and a specialized epoxy that is formulated with flex agents. It has been my experience that, although traditional epoxies make for boards that are up to four times stronger than standard polyester/ polyurethane boards, they tend to be very rigid and ride stiff in the water…this is where the flex agents are key.

A major part of a board’s design and functionality comes from it being not only light weight, but also having that lively spring through turns;

this is flex or torque – and it is important not only lengthwise along the board, but also from side-to-side throughout the board.

My favorite boards in the past have always been the ones made from the traditional low density polyurethane foam with a superlight polyester lamination … they ride insane, but they are far more fragile than the standard “stock” poly board construction. The “Flexible Epoxy” materials are significantly stronger, ultra light-weight and they

maintain that sought after positive flex characteristic… the life that brings the magic.

The gunmetal grey color is a result of the glassing process, and resists even the slightest yellowing for the duration of the life of the board. The color will not sand off or chip off over time. Since all the boards are made from start to finish in-house at the Ventura factory, orders can be quickly turned around in a matter of weeks rather than months; specialized custom orders as well as shop account boards…exciting times!

U.S.A. built.