Surfblanks Australia’s physical home is in Brookvale, right by the beaches of Dee Why, Curl Curl and Freshwater, thirty minutes north of Sydney. Freshwater Beach is the birthplace of Australian surfboard riding triggered by the visit of Duke Kahanamoku, the board he made, and the waves he rode at Freshie in 1914. Brookvale is the 1960’s birthplace of the modern Australian surfboard manufacturing industry.
Stop here, now, if you want to get into what really counts – the blank drawings – and the rest of the site!
You can always come back later, if your attention span allows!
Midget Farrelly created Surfblanks Australia in order to break a local monopoly that was strangling the surfboard industry by offering unlimited credit (on blanks and materials) while at the same time competing against its customers by retailing finished surfboards at wholesale prices.
Midget’s first passion was surfboard making (from age 14) but he recognised the reality of having to become a foam maker in 1968 as he watched long established brands go out of the industry with huge blank and material bills they could not support.
Surfboard makers are creative people. Their product is more like art than consumer product. They inspire other surfers with new design, shape and colour. Their joy comes from what they make with their hands. Being business minded is near to last on their priority list.
To this day Midget encourages shapers/makers to avoid debt (blanks and materials), look at their bottom line and be profitable so that they might stay in the industry they love.
Today Surfblanks Australia ships foam blanks to shapers all over the world.
Surfblanks Australia also ships foam system (for making blanks) to South Africa, Brazil and Mexico. Surfblanks Australia’s sister foam making companies are shown in the Links section.
Over the years Max Wetteland in Durban and Fernando Camara in Brazil have contributed greatly to what is now the current Surfblanks Superwhite formula. Max is directly responsible for encouraging Midget to develop the unique foam glue that bonds the foam to the stringer so that no glue line is visible (unless coloured).
This foam glue makes a triple cedar stringer blank look sensational as there is no gapping along the glue lines next to the cedar, so only the white of the foam butts up against the red of the cedar. This is very hard to achieve with resin glue ups and even MDI glue can be unsightly.
Surfblanks Australia, Africa and Brazil produce blanks made from the Superwhite formula.
Surfblanks America has its own special formula. This foam cuts faster than Superwhite and is more user friendly for slow revving planers and blunt tools.
Surfblanks Brazil has a secondary formula know as Pacific Foam. This is a cheaper, faster cutting foam designed for budget minded Brazilian shapers. While Pacific Foam whiteness does not match Superwhite Foam, the cell is very fine and the blank weights are identical to Superwhite.
Surfblanks Australia is now producing Pacific Foam in blank form for those surfboard manufacturers who need to make a substantial saving on their material costs.
Take the time to read the foam and wood products introductions to better understand what we do.
Our policy and guarantee outline what you might expect from our products.
The Quick Reference Chart for blanks may lead you straight to what you want size and shape wise.
Our blanks are separated into four families. These families are growing all the time, so expect to see regular additions.
Surfblanks Australia holds about 7000 blanks at any one time ready for shipment.
We offer most all the accessories needed to make a surfboard. We specialise in surfboard fibreglass fabrics and Australian Polyester Surfboard Resin. The formulation for this resin was created in our Brookvale lab and is bulk manufactured by larger processors.