hurrengoa
surf: boards and shapes javi amezaga   I  jakue andikoetxea. 3sesenta Surfing is one of the few sports where the equipment used, the surf board, is still actually handmade. The heart of the board is made of polyurethane foam which is reinforced by a wooden laths. The foam is covered by layers of fibreglass and polyester; two layers on the upper half and one on the lower. Two to four people are normally involved in the process of making a board at your typical surf factory. These are:
The shaper: this guy is responsible for shaping the foam. He's the artist. The quality of the board basically depends on how well he does his work.
The glasser: he puts on the layers of fibreglass and polyester.
Another person will normally take care of the paintwork and there may even be a fourth who does the smoothening and installs the quills (although this is normally looked after by the glasser).

Board types
Nowadays there is what you might call a standard board: the 6'3" to 6'9" "round square". Most of the boards you see at the beach fit into this category. Boards are normally defined by the shape of their tail and by their size, which obviously being influenced by foreign shapers, is measured in feet and inches. The above board is the most versatile and can basically be used for almost anything.
All the same, boards are chosen according to the size and characteristics of waves. "Guns", boards over seven feet long and called "pinchos" here, are used for waves over three meters high. These boards usually have a "pin-tail".
Some of the biggest waves in Europe can be found at spots in Euskal Herria like Meñakoz (Bizkaia), Deba (Gipuzkoa) and Gethary (Lapurdi). In very fast waves and tubes with long arm walls, like Mundaka - considered the best wave in Europe - slimmer boards are used. They also have a pin-tail and are longer to enable you to gain more speed.

The “longboard”:
Is another category of board in surfing. This board is based on the oldest wooden models.
In competition, the board must be at least 9 feet (3 meters) long. Current models are getting lighter and lighter and are being made of foam. There is a large variety as far as quill use goes ( you can have from one to three, in different shapes and sizes). The "nose" is very wide and, all in all, the present day board is quite a bit wider than the traditional model. This gives it more stability, but it also hinders manoeuvrability. It is an easy board for beginners, out-of-shape surfers and people a little overweight, to handle. It is also great for small waves. You see lot of these boards in the Summer.
The Minimalibu is a hybrid mixture of the standard board and the longboard. In shape it's similar to the longboard: wide and thick and floats well, but it's similar in size to a standard board. They are becoming more and more popular. They're good for any kind of wave (up to two metres in height) and allow you to surf more easily than normal boards without loosing manoeuvrability.