At TheBigQuiver, we had one goal for this summer: to get the most out of the small season. To achieve this, we had the brillant idea to build from start to finish a 9’2 Longboard. In our view, longboarding has a culture and a lifestyle of its own, one that share our vision and philosophy. That’s why, it is undeniably a must-have board to add to our quiver for gliding with grace, smoothness and style on summer days.
The summer waves are calling us more than ever, but don’t worry, our new babe is almost ready to get in the water. The shaping process has been mastered quickly and flawlessly, we’ve picked up the color that suits her best and we found one hell of a name!
As you can understand, the family continues to grow and we will soon welcome home our newborn. There is still some steps ahead before our finest Summer Weapon sees the light of day.
Step FOUR: Picking the right name
As expected, Oliver has been defeated hands down. {Rewind} Just a little recap of what happen: we were doubtful about the color we should choose for our new babe. So, we’ve decided go gamble it by playing our favorite game, Backgammon. Does this ring any bells? THE ultimate question was: purple or red. If you follow what I’m saying, you’ve already guessed that purple it will be my dear friends.
Now that we’ve decided on the color, the right name for our new born has to be found. At first, that wasn’t an easy task.. We were barely coming out of lockdown. The bright light, the others crossing our path on the same sidewalk, the sounds of cars in the street. That was too much for us, we were like cats discovering the outside world for the first time after being trapped in a golden house for a lifetime. More seriously, after three months inside, it was already May when we first step outside, and a new world opened up to us. The Jacaranda trees were blooming everywhere in Lisbon, Mother Ocean was calling us, the summer vibes have started to be felt. In short, we wanted something fresh, new and local.
It appeared clear for us that the right name for her would be ‘Jacaranda Fever’ because this time of year is our favorite and because we wanted a sweet and local nickname.
The last thing we had to decide before starting the real thing: the coat-of-arms (son blaze as we like to say in France). After a couple of days thinking about it, we came up with a funny idea (see above). We thought that this badass but chill monkey would fit perfectly our vibe.
Now, the real work can begin. And, once again, we leave that part to THE professionals. We really let ourselves go with the flow on this one.
Step FIVE: Fiberglass. Resin Tint. Hot-Coat. Sanding.
So.. Let the fun part start! Now that Carlos knows the color we picked, he could begin the “hard processing”: fiberglassing – resin tint glassing – and sanding.
Juste a little tiny note on the color (we swear, you’ll soon enjoy the pictures quietly). We wanted the resin tint to be very light on the deck and bottom to give the shape a specific look. A some point, we wanted it totally raw, but Carlos insisted (and he did well) to move a bit forward and push a bit more on the finishing touches. The result is exactly what we were expecting: transparent on the deck and bottom; a bit more darker on the rails. And, we had a little extra! They offered us to make a 10.5″ fin in keeping with the board’s look and feel. We’re still a bit afraid of killing someone at the peak, but, at least it will be with a lot of style (we’re joking! no worries, we do not have any intention on killing anyone. Scout’s honor 🤚).
We let you go through the process step by step (share your thoughts on the comments if you feel like it).
FIBERGLASSING
RESIN TINT
FIN BOX & SANDING
In the meantime, we were exploring the potential of new surf spot around Lisbon in order to find the perfect spot for her first bath. We found a pretty nice spot near Comporta; a long walk through the sand dunes ending up to a white sandy beach offering pretty good longboard waves. As you imagine, we’re dying to try it!
Step SIX: Surf. Surf. Surf.
Wednesday afternoon, it was time for us to pick up ‘Jacaranda Fever’ from the nursery. We don’t know if you’ve ever had that chance to become a board mom/dad, but it is very moving (only the real ones know). Have we talk about the necessary preparations yet? Well, as you can imagine, we had to get some essentials to welcome her properly. First, shopping cradle, then dummies! Ok, let’s be serious for a moment, we just got her a comfortable bag to let her dry in peace in our living room, and a classy leash to make sure she’ll not escape every time we turn around. The good news is that we finally sleep with her at night, but the bad news is that she’s not quite ready for her first bath.. For those who have been through this, you hear and feel our cry of desperation. THIS IS THE WORST PART OF THE PROCESS. The wait.
‘Jacaranda Fever’ will be soon more than ready to reach the open sea! Good times and fun is around the corner folks, we are bursting with desire to dance with her to the rhythm of Mother Ocean. It is only a question of hours. Self control is the key into such a situation. We will soon give you some feedback, so stay tuned.
We were so amped to see the making process all the way, from the shaping to sanding to fiberglassing and everything in between. It was and is an unforgettable experience.
One last world: Thank you so much Carlos and Filipe for your kindness, your good vibes and, of course, your amazing work! We were more than excited to share this adventure with you, and we hope that other adventures are ahead of us! For those who don’t know them, check out their page ATM surfboards ’cause you might be tempted for a new babe to join your tribe. Also, for those looking for a good doc, they also take care of your beauties in case of broken nose or any injuries they might be suffering from 😉
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