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Custom Board Reviews

Some reviews on fully Custom Boards

KA Boards Project

Ridden by: Martin Love — KA Designer

Earlier this year I approached James to see if he were interested in building some boards for us to be sold under the KA brand. I was extremely happy that he was excited to work with us.  I sent him some CAD files of my designs and after a few email conversations with James where it was blatantly clear that he was completely on the same page and I could just let him get on with it, we were up and running.

I have had the first prototype for a couple of months now and all I can say is wow!!! what a great board.  The build quality and finish is brilliant, James is a superb craftsman and I could not be happier.  I am a very fussy customer being a professional Industrial Designer and even I have difficulty finding anything that does not meet my expectations.  Awesome job!
There are 2 more boards coming and I have complete confidance they will be everything I anticipate and more.
If you are looking for something unique and special I would highly recommend having a chat to James about a custom board, whether it be one of your own designs or a variation on one of his Carbon Art boards.  He really knows his trade and you will end up with a very, very special board.
Martin Love
KA Designer

Custom 225 litre slalom/speed board

Ridden by: Dave — New Zealand

 

Just wanted to give James and the Carbon Art Team a rap for my Custom Carbon Art 225 litre slalom / speed board.
Yes a special board but under my 155 kgs it’s a dream!
So responsive and easy to use, I’m into GPS sailing and have been sailing for only 3 years, and last week cracked just over 30 Knot 2 second peak on 2 different days 1 Iv which was pretty light winds so super happy and hoping to keep improving, I’ll be getting a approx 190 litre made as soon as I save up!

Dave Rogers / Frothie

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Custom 155 litre Pro C0nstruction

Ridden by: Nikolaj Mathiesen

 

As a beginner/intermediate i looked for a board that was build strong enough to cope with my catapults. Mast and boom clamps smashing the board on a daily basis is just the nature of the level i’m currently at and CA has super reinforced the board for me. I wanted a wide board, but not formula. I wanted a light board, but not small and fragile.
I looked everywhere and more and more it made sense to ask CA to simply custom build to exactly what my requirements were. I now own the board I believe all beginner/intermediate, even pro sailers should own. It’s strong and light, it’s early planning, easy in the footstraps and what really surprised me is the fact that it’s better, cheaper and even faster to get your hands on than what the competition has to offer! It will be the board you will see me on in my late 90’s!

 

Nikolaj Mathiesen

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Compact Wave 57

Ridden by: Yoann Ladroit — New Zealand

 

Board:Carbon Art Wave Compact 57
Dimension: 215x57X87l, Thruster, recommended 16+2x12cm
Rider: 187cm, 90-95kg
Sail used: from 4.0 to 5.0
I bought this custom board from James a few months ago and have been using it in various Wellington conditions since then. Construction is very solid and I am wondering if I’ll be able to break it somehow…. Also, very surprisingly because it looks so short, the board is very floaty (compared to my Tabou DaCurve 85), and I happily sail it none planning with 5.0 when it is a bit light. The board gets planning very easily bearing way a bit more than a more classical board,, and has this very “skaty” feeling that makes it very easy to handle when jumping on your way out. I found that I prefer using it with slightly bigger central fin than recommended (especially in onshore conditions), but this could be because I am not using the CA fins. I use mainly a custom made G10 18cm central and 2x12cm Stubby Kfins. This configuration make it great upwind with sail between 4.0 and 5.0, and the board keeps planning very well between gusts.
This is when you catch your first wave with it that you realize what sort of board you have under your feet. It does most of the work for you, taking off easily, keeping the speed during bottom or tight top turns without any effort and giving the right amount of grip on the face. I have used on waves from knee high to logo high, in inshore to offshore conditions and have loved it every time. It works very well for our well-powered Wellington conditions for someone my weight, but could be a great light wind wave board for a lighter rider. Definitely a great modern wave board that I will be keeping for a long time!

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