Surf’s Up: N.S. craftsman creates rideable pieces of art
Nova Scotia has earned an international reputation as a destination for surfing enthusiasts.
Now a Maritime craftsman is also getting attention for helping riders catch a wave.
“As a surfer, you want your equipment to be dialed in and specific to not only your body type and size, but your skill as well,” says Christopher Mathers, founder of Black Tuna Surf Boards. “It’s constantly a quest for finding the right dimensions, the right type of surfboard, for the right day of surfing.”
Mathers’ love of surfing inspired him to start his own business, designing and constructing surfboards from scratch.
“Not being able to find something right off the rack, it was almost easier to make my own and see what ticked,” explains Mathers.
“I build them all, start to finish with one pair of hands, and they are a labour of love. I think you put a little bit of yourself into each part of rideable sculpture, a piece of art, it will become a totem for someone in their surfing life.”
Much like the sport itself, Mathers says creating the perfect surfboard is something that requires patience and dedication to the craft.
“Starting with raw materials and ending with a finished surfboard, you basically have a block of foam with a piece of wood glued down the centre, we call that the stringer, it’s for flex and strength characteristics. Then you also have some sort of reinforcement cloth, most cases fibreglass, and a hardening system, a polyester or epoxy resin,” says Mathers.
“You shape it kind of like a miniature sculpture, and once that is finished, it’s very delicate so we laminate it with fibreglass and resin, give it a rigid structure and make it waterproof, then you sand it smooth and you have a surfboard.”
You can check out Mathers’ creations in person at Lawrencetown Surf Co. or on the Black Tuna Surfboards website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Custom baseball card released of Blue Jays fan struck in the face with foul ball
Liz McGuire, the Blue Jays fan who was struck in the face with a 110 m.p.h. foul ball last week, has been pictured on a custom baseball trading card applauding her fandom to the game.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Why did the French Open cancel a farewell ceremony for Rafael Nadal? And why is he unseeded?
The French tennis federation put off holding a ceremony to celebrate Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros this year, because he has said this might not necessarily be his final appearance at the tournament he has won a record 14 times.
12 people injured after Qatar Airways plane hits turbulence on way to Dublin
Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin on Sunday hit turbulence, airport authorities said.
NEW 'Language is identity': Indigenous Ontario legislator to make history at Queen's Park
Decades after being punished in a residential school for speaking his own language, Sol Mamakwa will hold the powerful to account at Ontario's legislature in the very same language past governments tried to bury.