Fast Look Inside Carafino Factory Lamination Room

[Arcsrule]

I think it was a good video. I like that a mfg shows you how it's made. good for him! I saw two ventilation pipes on each wall--6 for the three wall that I saw. there may have also been over head exhaust too but I did not see that. I see no need for respirators during the filming. I've used west systems epoxy many times and I never even used a mask. maybe I should have but no problems yet. that was a very nice facility I think. better than I would have thought. I can't wait for TONE to finish his little project. then I can rank on him for using florist foam that absorbs water like a sponge...or his failure to stream line his design to reduce drag...or after he finally learns to get up and ride, the foil breaks in the middle. TONE, I'm tired of your negative comments. start your own negative thread and tell us how great you are. GET OVER YOURSELF!

[Hawaiis]

Epoxy is set using two parts with chemical reaction, there is no solvent or fumes.
Sorry, I just read the label, and it said "Vapor Harmful"

[BWD]

right, ignorance is bliss.
It doesn't look bad for the region it's in.
Except the floor. It too, could use a layer of epoxy.

[DrLightWind]

right, ignorance is bliss.

Exactly
Sounds like some of these amateurs are jury rigging in their kitchen
and using compressor for vacuum from their refrigerator
Coming from their own flawed cheep pee-losophy,
so they smell their fart of polyEsther what they try to share

DrLW

[longwhitecloud]

i like these kind of vids - real interesting

i would strongly advise anyone working with epoxy (not polyester not vinylester) to take inhalation of the fumes very seriously. It is a suspect carcinogen, no human studies. Talking to my friends is yacht building industry enforces taking care.

Doesnt make it right but reality is your board..whatever it is was probably wet out by someone without a fume mask (particle mask only good for particles).

[C A R A F I N O 2014]

HI Guys:

Thank you for replying on my video. I would like to take the opportunity to expand on the factory.
As you can see from my face, I am over worked. But happily doing what I want to do. We have been pulling 16 hour shifts in the factory and I personally near 20.

In the early 2000 years, Bali was producing the best surfing boards for the local market and Australian market. The talent at that time was trained by Australian staff. During the 2005 Bali bombing 60% of the local builders where killed at the Club Sari.

Bali took a tremendous blow, both economically and emotionally. A new generation of local board building craftsmen have emerged since that time. With some of the original talent still in the business, Carafino has created it's own manufacturing facility to ensure the quality of our products over China made goods.

What China does have over Bali is that materials are easily available. However, the recent high cost of labor in China is a downer for manufacturing there. I have read that the company which manufactures all Apple products, FOXXCON, is building a new factory in Indonesia. See link below this paragraph. So there are many benefits from manufacturing in this country.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 3141.story

With regard to the floor in the glassing room. Having floors with caked dried epoxy resin is an extremely flammable situation waiting to ignite. The floors in my lamination room are filled with saw dust which is then sprayed with flame retardant. In this scenario, the epoxy is absorbed by the dust and easily shoveled out and back filled with fresh treated dusk.

Those of you who called my staff amateurs, thank you. To me, they are doing an outstanding job at manufacturing 20+ boards a day for the sport of hydrofoil kite boarding. I cannot ask anything more than that from them.

As I mentioned in the video, no company in the world will take you inside their lamination room with a camera. I have and thank you for all your comments pro and con.

Carafino, Maui to China, China to Bali; the hydrofoil board was developed on Maui in my back yard, that is to say, the hydrofoil for kitesurfing in 1999. It evolved from hydrofoil surfing. As the demand increased for the foilboard, the production moved from my back yard to the Haiku Cannery. Mr. Maurico Ulbaldi created the boards at that time for me. From there our orders increased and we moved the production to China. Maurico Ulbaldi is a hidden legend.Having been an engineer in China for windsurf board construction. He created the manufacturing facility, tooling and production process for building the first and to this day, SURF TEC, surfing boards. The owner of Surf Tec, Richard Novak, founder of INDEPENDENT SKATEBOARDS and SANTA CRUISE surfboards, was the first company to finance the epoxy board revolution after CLARK FOAM,USA closed it's doors in Southern California. Stymying the surfing world of the material needed to create surfing boards.

The race for foam caused the big names in the industry to go overseas and create boards in mass volume. Thus, the China surfing board, outrigger one man canoe, SUP paddle of every brand found in surf shops in the world is coming from China.

Technically, those products aforementioned, are referred to as FRP, fiber glassed reinforced plastic.

After over a decade in China, learning to speak Chinese, understanding their customs and belief's, meeting many people who have known nothing more than spending their existence in a factory working. I have realized the best production is the one you do yourself.

When I write about do it yourself, I am reminded of my old neighbor Alex Aguera. He spend all his days working in his shop on his property and creating the best windsurfing boards on Maui and abroad. It is craftsmen such as him that inspire me to create a factory that I am confident will produce high quality products and affordable end user pricing.

The engineering experience I have learned over the last 12 years provide me the confidence to achieve the results I have planned for the sport of kite surfing.

For Carafino, the hydrofoil is nothing new, we have been making foils way before anyone in the game now. What is to come from Carafino for the future will again change the venue of kite surfing historically. The question is, how long will it take for those in the sport to accept futuristic designs that we are so fortunate to embrace now?

Pricing: Our pricing is based on the formula of the team required to create and deliver the product. Many companies such as Naish, North, F 1, have huge staff and overhead. Fortunately for Carafino, I manage most of everything with a precision team of quality people I trust and have confidence in. It is only for this reason that we are able to do a 2 4 1 deal on a complete hydrofoil unit and shortly on our Race boards with tuttle box.

For those in this forum and elsewhere that have serious negative issues with Carafino, I embrace your critics and will work smarter to achieve the results I see best for the sport and If I am lucky, perhaps I will win a few people over as well.

Thanks for reading this post.

C A R A F I N O

[Tone]

I think it was a good video. I like that a mfg shows you how it's made. good for him! I saw two ventilation pipes on each wall--6 for the three wall that I saw. there may have also been over head exhaust too but I did not see that. I see no need for respirators during the filming. I've used west systems epoxy many times and I never even used a mask. maybe I should have but no problems yet. that was a very nice facility I think. better than I would have thought. I can't wait for TONE to finish his little project. then I can rank on him for using florist foam that absorbs water like a sponge...or his failure to stream line his design to reduce drag...or after he finally learns to get up and ride, the foil breaks in the middle. TONE, I'm tired of your negative comments. start your own negative thread and tell us how great you are. GET OVER YOURSELF!

If we are going to move onto personal attacks, can we please get a few things straight.

First, I haven't addressed you so I don't see why you need to address me and please stop spelling my forum name in caps.

Second, I do sincerely hope you get your foils and that you get many years of use out of them so don't wish failure on me, bad karma man.

Third, the foam is corecell, its a standard material for surfboards, kiteboards, boats etc. It is exactly what I should be using. I never had any intention of using a flat piece for a wing, I asked the question to cause debate.

Lastly, if you're going to move onto personal attacks against me, you should do your research. The reasons I have addressed Carafino in such a way is that I have looked into his history. How about you do the same and then see how comfortable you are sending your money to someone who hasn't even showed you the full product yet.

It beggars belief that someone can come on a forum, act like he is the second coming of Christ, insult other manufacturers, claim they have stolen his idea then steal theirs (Taaora speed wing, Carafino stickers) and yet, people are waiting, ney, queuing up in line to blow smoke up his ass and send him money.

I just don't get that. Maybe it's just a case of the blinkers as your money is elsewhere now.

It is quite possible that I have got it completely wrong and I will fully eat my hat when it does work out but where I come from, we practice humility and don't fabricate history for personal gain. The more you read about this person the more it scares me that someone can act this way and run a business.

For the record, here are a couple of vids of other manufacturers producing foils and showing the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX4vw2wJ7SA - Alpinefoil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdfgNbM- ... sKz7VLfAlw - Taaroa

Enjoy!

Tone

[Arcsrule]

tone. I'm glad i got your attention. others have been nice to you and very politely requested you keep your negative comments to yourself. Obviously, you have a personal agenda. so take it personal if you want, i don't care. I just want you to quit ruining threads.

[SalmonSlayer]

... and please stop spelling my forum name in caps.

This cracked me up.

Tone does not like the tone of TONE. LOL

Congratulations on having a life sooooo good that this is an issue.

For those in this forum and elsewhere that have serious negative issues with Carafino, I embrace your critics and will work smarter to achieve the results I see best for the sport and If I am lucky, perhaps I will win a few people over as well.

Nice post Carafino

[lezo]

Tone is completely right to share with us his thoughts on this DISCUSSION forum. If you think that he is wrong, present your arguments, but do not blame him for being skeptical towards a professional who (ab?)uses a public forum to push his business.