Nelson Factory Custom Boards

[KayakDoc]

Anyone have any experience with Nelson Factory Custom Boards. I suspect there is a better chance that some of the windsurfers have encountered these boards. I am just about to get two of my kite board designs cut on their CNC board cutting machine. I am curious if anyone has comments regarding the boards coming out of their factory in Haiku.

[downwind dave]

heres one, not sure who owns it

[winddoctor]

'Doc,

I have a Nelson Factory wave board. Top notch service, materials, and R and D. Mark Nelson has built boards for the best sailors on the planet, but he happily made one for a kook like me too. The cost of buying custom vs production is very close now. Highly recommended!

[KayakDoc]

Hey Windoc,
Thanks for easing some of my concerns. Mark seems a bit of a character. I agree with all your points. It seems possible to get all you want in a custom board for a little more than the cost of a production board. Kite board design is just getting going so I thought I might spread my wings a little with some shapes cut with computer and CNC precision (still cannot resist building them myself though). Kudos for the great Pistol River Wave Bash results. Might be the board designers start coming to your door soon.

[Geoffy]

Seen their techniques, first class, you won't go wrong! Check your CNC files for hidden lines and planes with a dry run if possible, that's where most CNC mistakes come in, especially if you've switched between design programs such as Solidworks and Catia/Autodesk and are just handing over a solid model to him. The construction planes and hidden features are sometimes picked up by the CNC code (Mastercam, etc.) while being invisible in the on-screen visual model.

[KayakDoc]

Thanks for the heads up Geoffy. Do you have the capabilities to cut/shape full size blanks at your facility? Economically? Or the interest? I know you have made some fairly large composite components.

[Geoffy]

How much does NF charge for the service? Our limit is a 12-inch blank rocker, should be no problem for a kiteboard, and the CNC is 12-foot by 6-foot so certainly no size issue unless you are into polygamy-kiting with all 4 wives along for the ride. And are they cutting a rocker table or a blank?

[KayakDoc]

NF charges $90.00 for the first board and $60.00 for each copy. I supply the blanks of course. This is for a 6’ x 18.5" board. They are cutting blanks. They will cut SUPS, but they must hot wire the foam block down to usable size first.