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Carafino: Reply to my critics

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C A R A F I N O 2014
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Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby C A R A F I N O 2014 » Thu Jan 30, 2014 9:09 am

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, surrounded by the local talent, to ensure the quality of our products over China made goods. What was shown in our video is only a fraction of what is occurring inside.

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 dust.

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 Mr. 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
Last edited by C A R A F I N O 2014 on Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: C A R A F I N O; Reply to my critics-

Postby Toby » Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:36 pm

Thx for the insight...interesting story.

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby BWD » Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:19 pm

:thumb: That is a great story and it is good to hear the history from those who work behind the scenes.
One little thing though, I don't get the flammability concern with epoxy, since most are are classed nonflammable or self-extinguishing.
MEK on the other hand for your polyester projects (gloss coats?), is very flammable.
So are solvents in some epoxy surfacing agents, but they flash away very quickly and wouldn't sit on the floor. These solvents would make me want a respirator though.
The mess of a sticky epoxy floor, though, in a factory could be a real problem.
The ceiling would start to get lower. I use plastic sheets on the floor for my diy.
Anyway sorry for the ramble, best luck.

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby Rotule » Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:05 pm

BWD wrote::thumb: That is a great story and it is good to hear the history from those who work behind the scenes.
One little thing though, I don't get the flammability concern with epoxy, since most are are classed nonflammable or self-extinguishing.
MEK on the other hand for your polyester projects (gloss coats?), is very flammable.
So are solvents in some epoxy surfacing agents, but they flash away very quickly and wouldn't sit on the floor. These solvents would make me want a respirator though.
The mess of a sticky epoxy floor, though, in a factory could be a real problem.
The ceiling would start to get lower. I use plastic sheets on the floor for my diy.
Anyway sorry for the ramble, best luck.
i personally use epoxy for the gloss coat on a epoxy board, the reason is simple, when your epoxy is not completely cured, your new coat will be chemically lied to your previous coat wich is a lot stronger. On the other hand if your epoxy is cured no chemical link will be done ever in its life.

when using polyesther over epoxy, there is no chemical link between your coats.

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby BWD » Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:24 pm

RR all the way for wood/foam/Eglass.
Least irritating i have found.
CF, S2? depends....

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby tkettlepoint » Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:21 pm

I'm with BWD
I use RR for surfboards 100%. great to work with

Use Forrest Coatings for the snowboards and twins. ( heat cured) hard as a rock when it comes out of the press but is good for the cold and the flex

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby wdric » Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:37 pm

What is RR?

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby tkettlepoint » Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:55 pm

resin research

http://www.resinresearch.net/

depending were you are. depends on were to buy... shipping is always the killer with epoxy

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby C A R A F I N O 2014 » Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:15 am

Hello Guys:

I read through this thread and with regard to resins, this is a very important topic when creating products for US Defense. However, for surfing boards. 95% of all epoxy resins on boards in shops across the world are from China. The resins that is mostly used is non transparent, as all boards are painted. Surely, one could use the transparent resin but this is a bit higher in cost and Chinese pinch every penny they can.

The main use of clear resin is for PU boards such as normal surfboards with PU foam. Not Epoxy.

I personally use transparent epoxy as it saves us a step in the production as I have found the non transparent to sweat. All factories that I have visited just sand this sweat off of the board. However, we use the transparent and it fills the glass nicely leaving less finishing and going back to fill any pin holes.

I have been told and have witnessed most factories using PU resin when applying carbon as a finish. Not a good practice, though it dries fast if your in a hurry, which most China factories are in.

Fortunately, I have family that works for the Defense Department and create sensitive flying craft. Most of the knowledge I have garnered with respect to ensuring everything works, comes from the intelligence of that building background. However, there are many roads to Rome. So whatever works for you I suggest you to use it.

Catch up with you again shortly.

C A R A F I N O

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Re: Carafino: Reply to my critics

Postby james » Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:31 am

dude seriously, if yours so well connected as far as composites go why did you suffer catastrophic failures with your boards and foils when you were selling a few years back.

it left people well out of pocket, so maybe a bit more humidity might be a good thing as far as shouting how kick ass and amazing you are.


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