In an old converted glass shop, tucked into a small LED-lit room, Dan Cobley has been shaping surfboards for the local scene’s upcoming talent and pro surfers for the last two decades.
Moving around the Barahona Surfboards workshop, one end to the other, a tango was taking place. Having cut the rough shape of the board, Cobley took away material with a shaper. Some here, some there, a lot of it isn’t intuition, it’s experience. He runs his hands along the rails, holding the board up to the light. He’s trying to find the balance – the hardest part of the process.
(Cobley shaping in his workshop. Photo by Mason Edwards)
Being that Cobley’s surfboard-shaping mentor and father were both engineers, his by-hand shaping philosophy rides its own wave, speaking to a much larger trend in sports equipment manufacturing. While some websites offer many customization options, knowing what you need is as important as what you are going to get. That’s where Cobley’s expertise comes in.
He will have a conversation with customers about style, preference, location they like to surf etc. It’s like commissioning an art piece.A collaboration between surfer and carver, yes, and at the same time, it’s clear Cobley’s experience guides his direction.
A surfer, heavy footed and all muscle, inspired by YouTube edits might come in looking for a board to emulate his favorite surfer’s style.
In the video, his favorite surfer is scrawny and dances along the wave.
In Cobley’s eyes “you have to own your style.” He would encourage the surfer to embrace the power in their footing, building a board fit to crush a wave in half.
(The front desk of Barahona surfboards)
