Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Stretch Stand Up Boards: Looked hot THEN, look hot NOW

Last year at the Sacred Craft show in Del Mar (was it cooler then?) I spotted a hot looking stando board being hurried across the convention floor. The thing looked good- carbon fiber layup, quad fin, battail... I grabbed the guy just as he was heading out the door and was stoked to see that it was built by Santa Cruz's Stretch. Here's the shot from a year ago:


Stretch is an innovator, he shapes unreal shortboards, kiteboards... basically anything meant to float. When it comes to surfcraft, Stretch has done it all- and he's kicked down some doors in the process. He was one of the first guys to dabble in epoxies and exotic layups. I'd known about his work from my surfing and kiting days so I was super curious to check out where he was taking stand up boards.  But, unfortunately, it'd be a long time before I'd hear anything from the crew up north.

Until a couple of days ago when Dave, the Stretch shop manager contacted me. Turns out, a lot has been going on. Stretch has been refining his surf shapes and cranking out race boards as well. Here's a few shots straight out of the factory, check 'em out:


Photo: Rumor has it that these boards may be coming down this way- raceboards and surfing standos... sounds good to me- bring 'em on.


Photo: A new take on a stand up racer... here it is freshly mowed out of a billet of foam. The boys make 'em custom, one at a time. 


Photo: Here's the same board all dressed out in carbon fiber- war paint applied and ready to kick some ass.

Check back for more info (ride and race reports) about Stretch's creations- they've definitely piqued my curiousity.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The unfinished board in the next to last picture looks a lot like the last 12 meters that were used in the America's Cup
Spiders Brother