In the News
IN STRIVING TO PROVIDE THE FINEST AND MOST ADVANCED SURFBOARDS POSSIBLE, CHANNEL ISLANDS WORKS WITH KAHUNA KALAI, LTD. (KKL). THE KKL MACHINE INCORPORATES STATE OF THE ART CAD DESIGN AND COMPUTER NUMERICAL CONTROL MACHINERY TO PRE-CUT FOAM BLANKS. AL USES THIS TOOL BY SHAPING A “MASTER BOARD” (WHAT HE FEELS IS HIS BEST BOARD), AND SENDS IT TO BE SCANNED AND INPUTTED INTO A COMPUTER PROGRAM WHICH INTERFACES WITH THE CUTTING MACHINE. ALL OF THE DESIGN FEATURES OF THIS PARTICULAR SHAPE (THICKNESS FLOW, ROCKER, OUTLINE, CONTOURS, ETC), ARE RECORDED BY THE COMPUTER. THE PROGRAM CAN THEN DIMENSIONALIZE THESE SHAPES TO THE SIZE ORDERED, WHILE PRESERVING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MASTER BOARD.
FROM THIS ORIGINAL MASTER BOARD, BLANKS ARE PRE-CUT BY KKL WHICH AL AND CHANNEL ISLAND’S SHAPERS FINE TUNE TO REPLICATE AL’S EXACT DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS. HE HAS MADE MASTER BOARDS FOR EACH OF HIS DESIGNS INCLUDING SHORTBOARDS, SEMI GUNS, GUNS, ETC. THE RESULT OF USING THIS SHAPING TOOL IS THAT NOT ONLY ARE “OFF THE RACK” BOARDS THE CLOSEST POSSIBLE TO AL’S SHAPES, BUT OUR TEAM RIDERS AND CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO ORDER CUSTOM MADE BOARDS TO THEIR OWN DIMENSIONS (AND ANY OTHER REQUESTS LIKE A SQUASH TAIL, ROUND PIN, CHANNELS, ETC), AND NOT ONLY GET A CUSTOM MADE BOARD, BUT ONE WHICH IS MADE WITH AL’S BEST DESIGNS.
re: Al Merrick , Channel Islands – SurfInfo.com.au
OF ALL THE CUTTING SERVICES AVAILABLE, KKL IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN REPRODUCE MY MASTERS EXACTLY AS I MADE THEM. FOR CONSISTENT ACCURACY, CLEANLINESS, SCALING AND REPRODUCTION OF MY DESIGNS, KKL IS THE UNDISPUTED LEADER.
Stretch
KKL IS MOVING INTO ITS FINEST ERA WHICH LIES AHEAD. AS IN THE PAST, THEY ARE CARRYING US INTO THE FUTURE. IN OVER 35 YEARS OF BOARD BUILDING, I’VE YET TO FIND A MORE PRECISE TOOL IN THE ARENA OF APPLIED SCIENCE FOR CONTROLLED REFINEMENT. KKL TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS THE MOST CONSISTENT, RELIABLE, AND PREDICTABLE PRE-SHAPES IN THE INDUSTRY WHILE STILL ALLOWING FOR CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION, AND SPONTANEITY OF DESIGN ADVANCE. IT PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION THAT ALLOWS ME TO DELIVER AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF INTIMACY TO THOSE OF YOU SEEKING SUCH A WAVE RIDING EXPERIENCE.
Rich Pavel, Master Designer
I’VE HAD A PASSION FOR SURFBOARDS SINCE I WAS 10 YEARS OLD AND I’M AS INTENSE AS IT GETS WHEN IT COMES TO SHAPING. I’VE TRIED A LOT OF DIFFERENT PRE-SHAPING MACHINES OVER THE YEARS, BUT KKL IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL OF THEM. THE BEAUTY OF CUTTING BOARDS ON KKL MACHINES IS THAT IT I GET BACK EXACTLY WHAT I GIVE TO THEM. NOBODY ELSE CAN DO IT AS WELL.
KKL TECHNOLOGY IS THE BEST AT CONSISTENTLY BEING ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE THINGS THAT DICTATE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF HOW A SURFBOARD RIDES – THINGS LIKE ROCKER, THICKNESS FLOW, OVERALL FOIL, RAIL VOLUME, AND BOTTOM CONTOURS. THE FINISH LEAVES ENOUGH ROOM TO PROGRESS A DESIGN AND STILL PUT FINE TUNE TOUCHES ON A SHAPE. SOMETIMES IT CAN TAKE 5 OR EVEN 10 YEARS TO GET A MASTER JUST RIGHT. THE KKL MACHINE AND SOFTWARE CAN SCALE A MASTER’S IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS IN PROPORTION BETTER THAN ANY SYSTEM IN THE WORLD. IT’S A SYSTEM THAT GIVES ME A FOUNDATION THAT I CAN GO BACK TO AGAIN AND AGAIN AND HELPS ME DO WHAT I LOVE TO DO.
Wayne Rich
“…FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS I WAS HAND SHAPING ALL MY OWN BOARDS SOMETIMES UP TO 30 A WEEK WITH NOTHING MORE THAN AN ELECTRIC PLANER AND GOOD OLD BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS. THE KKL IS TRULY A MAGIC SYSTEM TO USE BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS GET A FANTASTIC STARTING POINT FROM WHICH TO FINE-TUNE YOUR DESIGNS WITH A LOT LESS PHYSICAL EFFORT. TRYING TO REPRODUCE THOSE MAGIC TEAM BOARDS IS A BREEZE WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY, YOU CAN’T GO WRONG. AFTER SHAPING 20,000 BLANKS BY HAND I HAVE FOUND A NEW AND EXCITING WAY OF TRANSLATING MY IDEAS INTO FOAM. AS A DESIGNER I WILL STILL ALWAYS HAND-SHAPE TO PRODUCE NEW AND ORIGINAL SURFBOARD CONCEPTS. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT NOW I HAVE A TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO REPRODUCE THESE DESIGNS IMMACULATELY”
Ed Sinnott – http://www.edsinnott.com.au
Ed Sinnott Junior is a Australian surfer who lives Byron Bay, N.S.W. Since 1976 he has combined his knowledge of surfing with a passion for hard work, originality, and innovation within the field of surfboard manufacturing. Over the last 30 years he has shaped over 18,000 surfboards and shaped for surfers on the ASP World Tour as well as several World, State and Australian title holders.
“I’VE BEEN SHAPING BOARDS FOREVER, AND NOW I CAN USE KKL JUST LIKE AL MERRICK DOES. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE, LIKE THEY DO FOR KELLY, BOARD AFTER BOARD AFTER BOARD. THEY’RE ABLE TO PRODUCE THE MATCHING BOARDS TIME AND TIME AGAIN.”
Jeff Clark – NewYorkSurf.com
“CREATING THE RIGHT SIZE AND SHAPE FOR NEW PLUGS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO OUR SUCCESS. WE HAVE USED KKL TECHNOLOGY TO HELP US CREATE THE PLUG DIMENSIONS FOR THE LINDEN GUN SERIES AND THE VERY POPULAR MABEL/FRYE FISH SERIES. KKL’S PROPRIETARY SCALING TECHNIQUES ARE UNBEATABLE AND VERY PRECISE.”