ALTHOUGH the journey is far from over, the time has come for renowned Tasmanian surfboard maker Nick Stranger to shut up shop.
GLADYS BARRETA reports:
THE resin that has dripped from surfboard to surfboard and onto the workshop table over the last 20 years will no longer sit pretty as a work of art and reminder of hard work.
The rustic shed at Rokeby, in all its chaos and character, would not have changed much since opening in the 80s. Though the next phase for Nick Stranger brings a bittersweet feeling, he hopes that by closing one chapter another will open.
With a hand on his heart, Nick says his surfboard making will not slow down just because he has decided to shut the shop but will instead use the extra to time gained from working at home to get back in the water.
“I am excited but also a little bit worried,” Nick said.
“I am sure things will slow down and things will back off but I hope…by not much.”
With much of his energy spent running the business, making surfboards and being a family man above all, Nick simply did not have enough hours in the day.
“For a lot of years now, I just haven’t had time to surf – which is ok because I get pleasure from other people surfing with my boards,” he said.
“But hopefully the next part will give me a bit of time to get in the water.”
A board starts from a blank polyurethane foam that come in different shapes and lengths. From there they go into a shaping room, which has special lighting that casts shadows on the board so the humps and bumps can be identified on the foam.
The special light room shows up lumps and bumps in the foam blank that Nick will smooth out.
Once that’s evened out and the foil of the board is correct, then it’s on to shaping the rails of the board.
Once the shape is done, then it’s all about wrapping it into fiberglass resin then a lot of sanding.
Nick then smooths the board over with resin.
While it sounds simple, making surfboards is a difficult process to learn and to master.
“Pretty much anybody can make a board and a lot of people have a go at it these days but to make a decent board that’s going to perform and do what the customer wants it to do, that’s where the years of knowledge come into it,” Nick said.
Nick has always been a salt-water baby, with his dad instructing him from a very young age.
“Dad used to surf and back when we were very little – he’d push us on to waves and got the salt water in our blood. And that was it.”
When he was just 12 years old, Nick had a crack at fixing one of his boards. It was made from an old, stripped-down board and it needed resurrection, so he thought if he was going to surf with it, he might as well make it.
His 13th birthday was when it truly kickstarted: his parents got him the materials to finish the board, not knowing they had bought into what would be a lifetime career.
What makes Nick’s boards so popular is not only can they perform, but they’re built with care and passion.
“I fell in love with surfing, but I became obsessed with surfboards.”
“I love the form of them. I love all the old ones and I love all the new ones.
“They’re just something special and I guess the way I make them – hand-shaped boards are more of an art piece than the average surfboard that you run through a cutting machine.”
Being the only man on the job, Nick would be lucky to do 70 boards a year – and that’s a really good year. While most of his customers are from Tassie, Stranger boards have made it to the mainland and overseas as well.
“At the end of the day, it’s the satisfaction that you’re doing something that’s going to please people,” Nick said.
“You’re making people happy and that’s what makes me happy.” Inspired by his very own clientele, each surfboard is usually custom-made to suit each surfer.
“If they can’t find a board that suits them or they’re unsure about what’s going to suit them, I’ll work with them around their ideas.”
And for the last 15 years, it’s been more about Nick just wanting to make boards and less about the financial side of it all.
“Making boards is more for my own satisfaction than anyone else’s really.”