If you ever wondered why you had to wait for your custom ski ... I've been following the Kingy around the factory from start to finish and now I can show you how it's made.....

Did you know your ski was entirely handmade...it's very labour intensive and very time consuming... we start with spray:

This is not exactly the most exciting spray but very nice when the ski is finished... Unlike with surfboard sprays Ski's are sprayed first and then fibreglassed the paint contains a gel-coat/or release agent and ski's are moulded whereas surfboards are shaped out of a solid blank, once shaped the foam is then sprayed and then glassed....

Fibreglass is then applied to the painted surface...ski's are moulded in two halves top deck and the hull.The mould:

The mould is where all the ideas become reality and it is in here that the desired shape is formed.... the mould is built around the original plug... the two halves top and bottom are joined here with the hatches and already fitted to the top deck. The mould is sealed with a series of nuts and bolts and the fibreglass shape is left to cure for at least 24hrs often longer if the drying conditions aren't right.........

The mould reveals:

The ski comes out the mould pretty rough but joined, the edges as you can see have excess resin and fibreglass and the ski goes from here into the sanding booth where the guy's take the edges off and prepare the seam for an epoxy resin trim.

Sanding booth:

This is a place of masks and extractor fans... sanding resin and fibreglass is a dusty but vital job in the process of preparing the new ski....

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The seam: 

This shows our ski with its excess resin and fibreglass removed and the seam prepared for sealing with an epoxy resin...

Not the same ski... but you can see here how the seam has been sealed with a hand painted epoxy resin, in this case with a black trim.... you can also see nicely how the hatches are moulded into the top deck... thats our next stop, cutting out the hatches on the top deck.

 The Top Deck:

What another new ski... yes, there are quite a few around the factory and this one shows how the hatches have been cut out... fantastic job if I do say so myself. (I actually cut this one out if the boss is reading)

From here the ski is sanded back again by hand with a fine water paper and then polished.

Final fitting:

The final fitting and customising now takes place, here you can see Gary clarke fitting the adjustable foot peddles. Rod holders, netting, hatch covers, self draining foot wells, fish finder and the rest.... you won't believe what guys will add when customising their skis.

The Kingy...!!!

The Final product... well almost, the guy's are just taking out the last rivets that are left in the ski after it's been fitted out.... it's amazing how they do it, I'd love to tell but we have to leave them with at least one secret ...........

Tight lines

Anton