13/10/2026
Another great weekend at The Boardroom in Del Mar. Few places bring together so many passionate board builders and surfers, all sharing a common respect for the craft and culture of surfboard making. It’s a rare opportunity to get hands-on with so many different designs, exchange ideas, and connect with the people who care about how boards are made. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us.
We also brought something special for this year’s Best in Show, which challenged shapers to create an innovative El Niño Gun.
8’6” CI PERFORMANCE GUN
Dual Spine-Tek | ECT | EPS/Epoxy
Developed by Britt Merrick and , this 8’6” Performance Gun explores a more progressive approach to surfing triple-overhead waves. Peter wanted a board that would allow him to surf more top to bottom, engage the rail through powerful turns, and attack critical sections with greater confidence.
Britt responded with a refined single-to-double concave, a swallowtail, and a fixed quad setup using Peter’s custom fin template. Under Peter’s request, its construction takes things further with two engineered Spine-Tek spines that diverge toward the tail, designed to increase torsional flex and responsiveness through turns.
The board also features our ECT (Eco Carbon Tech) bottom, which incorporates upcycled carbon fiber into the resin to help reduce chatter while maintaining the lively feel of EPS/epoxy construction.
A lot of thought, testing, and hands-on work at our Carpinteria factory went into this one. Thanks to the The Boardroom crew for giving builders a place to share their work and continue pushing surfboard design forward.
