49 North - Passing the Stoke

There are an exuberant number of folk equipped with the necessary gubbins, whits and ticktocks on a clock face to construct functional wave sliding vehicles. Questioning why then, that a greater number don't choose this endeavour as their primary employ, is not an unwise course.

Let us delve into what it takes to get yourself there to start with . The desired goal. When you are selling your own creations to a primed, pre-stoked human that is tripping at the thought of articulating YOUR craft on the magical slide down a wave face.

The obvious observation would be one of 'commitment'. Other words would include 'drive', 'confidence' and an universal empathy for surfers and stoke on a global level. If I might daintily extrapolate from my ramblings to conclude that, above all else, it would be desire to please and share in the stoke of others that is the essential attribute to hold on to.

I came across 49 North on a warm summer's day. There were no waves and my frustrated self was trawling the internet to find out how to get some English beer delivered to Portugal (yes the warm flat kind). It was a fat fingered keyboard mash that ended up being a '47northe' and Google suggesting 49 North. I am a fan of random things so I hit the 'suggestion'.

As it turns out 49 North is just such a 'company' or entity as I have described above, at least that is how I see it. I contacted Andrew (the boss at 49 North) who has the necessary attributes to start his own little piece of stoke giving via surfboard design.

Andrew agreed to give us some time and this is what was said.

SB: Hey Andrew, thanks for your time.  Can you explain how the process from design to finish product works with 49 North?

Andrew: Absolutely! The process starts when you, the customer, first contact us. We have a conversation about the kind of board you have in mind, the waves you intend to surf and your own level of ability and fitness. This stage is vital because the information gained here will shape the direction of the rest of the design process. I will then go away and design something, usually starting from one of our known good models, and take that back to the client for review. If any changes are required this process can be repeated as many times as necessary. The models shown on the website are basically just starting points for a custom design based on the individual requirements of the customer. Once a final design is agreed a deposit is taken and the order is placed at UWL. When the board is complete the balance is taken and the board is shipped direct from the factory.

SB: Check out this little clip showing you the immense diversity of the UWL book and the quality of finish.

SB: Why the name 49 North?

Andrew: I wanted a name that reflected where we are and the maritime nature of the islands and surfing in general. 49 North is the latitude of the Channel Islands.

SB: How did the whole 49 North thing come into being, when did you make the jump mentally?

Andrew: I decided to start 49 North after several years of constantly changing equipment, trying to find boards that were right for me. I've been surfing 20 years stand up and 30 years in total (my grandfather surfed wooden belly boards - probably one of the first to do so in Jersey but I cant be sure of that, he started me on those when I was 3).

I have been generally a longboarder and am much better at that than shortboarding but I got a little bored so thought I would try to get good at shortboarding.

That's when the equipment swapping started. I've been through so many different boards and I started to ask why they performed the way they did and learnt like that. I read all I could find on board design (and there is a lot of it on the internet - half of it is rubbish!). Once I realised I could design my own boards I went straight back to my first love of longboarding and to the style of the old 50's and 60's boards and that is what I now personally ride (my Brisket model). None of the boards are copies, but most are inspired by the boards of the past.

I only really decided to start a company and offer boards for sale because it seems like a shame to keep them all to myself. I genuinely have more fun on these designs than I have for years, and if I make a few quid out of it then that covers my cost to design some more boards to play with.

SB: How did you come to be working with UWL?

Andrew: I contacted several workshops / factories throughout Europe looking for someone who would be able to produce my boards for a reasonable price but in the low volumes that a start up custom order business would provide. Thomas at UWL was by far the most enthusiastic and actively pursued my business. After viewing some of their previous work and the quality of the glassing and artwork it was a no-brainer to work with them.

SB: Are you able to personalize boards for people, say if they wanted a different tail or fin setup on one of your boards?

Andrew: Of course, I will do whatever the customer would like. I will however try to steer them towards the best design features for the performance they want - not all tail shapes work on any board and fins have an even bigger impact on the overall package.

SB: Where do you get your inspiration from as regard design. Who out there is making the best stuff at the moment do you think?

Andrew: My influences in the shaping world are the old 50's and 60's California shapers in general and you can see that some of the standard model "starting points" listed on the website are totally traditional - no modernization at all. For example the Brisket model uses the same design philosophy of the old balsa board or very first foam boards - think Endless Summer 1 style. These boards really work in a certain classic style and adding modern "features" like nose concave for example just spoils the ride. For current shapers, although I don't agree with all their designs, I love the work of Ryan Lovelace and Mandala Shapes they use traditional and modern design elements in creative ways.

SB: What's the average time and cost for a Brisket model with all the bells and whistles?

Andrew: The Brisket starts at 790 euro, clear with a sanded finish. The board pictured on the website (my personal board) has red resin panels, a one inch balsa stringer, a glass on leash loop and a balsa tail block with a gloss and polish finish. That board would be approx 1200 euro depending on exact spec.

SB: Do you post your boards to anywhere? Who can order one?

Andrew: All the boards are sent direct from the factory, so anywhere UWL ship to can be done. The cost varies depending on many factors so email us for a quote! If we can ship it to you, you can order a board :)

SB: (tricky question) Can you explain how it made you feel the first time you caught a wave or got barreled?

Andrew: I still remember when I was first learning to surf stand up, after belly boarding and body boarding for many years before, catching my first green faced wave and going across the face. That was nearly 20 years ago. Its that same feeling that I design boards for, looking for the joy of surfing.

SB: In conclusion then my dear readers, we can summarize that indeed the most important thing is the willingness to pass in the stoke. As we said at the very beginning of this ramble, many have the skills and the time but few have the above and the kind of energy that makes their products stand out. In essence, the willingness to pass the stoke.

Get hold of Andrew here and get your custom board.