RAY FINLAY LOVES HIS JOB. IT'S NOT HARD TO SEE WHY. AFTER ALL, HE MAKES A LIVING SHAPING SURFBOARDS. JESKA INNES CORNERED THIS TALENTED GUY FOR A CHAT.

When he's not at the beach searching for the perfect wave, you'll find Ray Finlay in his Raglan workroom crafting surfboards. Ray is what's called a ‘shaper', and it is his job to sculpt blocks of plastic foam into stunning boards ready for glassing. This makes Ray a bit of a shape shifter and a talented one at that. Actually, he's one of the most well recognised and respected shapers in New Zealand. Ray's ‘Byrning Spears Surfboards' and ‘Raglan Surf Shapes' boards are hot commodities, and his showroom is a popular destination for surfers from here and overseas.

Ray has been shaping for about 25 years, so it's fair to say he knows a thing or two about it. You're probably wondering how he got involved with a craft this cool, and frankly so was I.

The sweet ride

Funnily enough, Ray actually did a panel beating apprenticeship straight out of school. Making boards was never part of his plans. However, fate has a way of stepping in and his love of surfing ended up nudging him in a different direction when he was offered the chance to start sanding and finishing boards. He jumped at the opportunity, even though he wasn't particularly keen on all the dust and chemicals he knew would be involved.

The neat thing was that Ray's skills as a panel beater were very transferrable, in fact they were a real foot-in-the-door. "They gave me a base for using electrical tools and hand tools, which carried through into making surfboards. I also had somewhat of an eye for seeing curves. You know, the hardest thing to learn is seeing curves properly", he says.

Fiberglass jungle

You may be surprised to learn that the art of surfboard making actually involves a range of different jobs, explains Ray. They are:

- Shapers who design and craft foam into surfboard shapes.

- Glassers who cover boards with fibreglass.

- Sanding Finishers who sand that glass and bring it to a complete finish.

- Sprayers who paint colours, pictures and murals on surfboards.

- Polishers who buff and shine high quality gloss boards to a beautiful finish.

Ray can do all of these jobs, but specialises as a shaper, which is at the top of the rung. Surfboards are actually distinguished by their shapers, a bit like a film is recognised by its director. "Any board, anywhere, it rides on the name of the shaper. Where it's from, who created it", says Ray.

Being a shaper isn't just about having practical skills with hand tools and machinery, it's about creativity too. Perhaps Ray put it best when he explained: "Making surfboards is a creative process, like any sort of art and artistry. You've got to be in the right frame of mind and feel inspired to do it. It's not like a factory situation, where you're just popping out numbers. For each surfboard there's an individual [surfer] and you've got to make that board fit the person who it's for".

Catch a job

How do you get a job as a surfboard maker? Well, first of all a good knowledge of surfing is necessary, which means you need surfing experience. It's as good a reason as any to hit the waves. All the skills for surfboard making can be learned on the job. Formalised apprenticeships don't actually exist, but if you're really keen, prepared to learn and willing to start at the bottom, informal apprenticeships are sometimes available with established surfboard makers. There are no specific secondary educational requirements for this occupation. However, Career Services New Zealand suggests useful subjects to take at school include:

- Art.

- Workshop technology and/or technical drawing.

The good and the bad

"The best part about my job is not having to work 9 to 5, and having the freedom to go surfing", Ray shared. And the worst? "It's probably winter time when it's really slow. It is hard to make money in the winter, so you've got to make enough in the summer to survive. Or if you learn enough, and you've come through the ranks as a young one, you can go overseas in the winter and work somewhere else, like America or Australia, and then come home again."

Surfer's delight

The surfboard making industry is quite small here and although opportunities are limited locally, they do exist. Overseas, however, there is much greater scope, simply because populations are larger and the surf industries are bigger. "If a kid can go through the ropes here, then there's a real opportunity to work overseas and with bigger factories, bigger names and world-class outfits. If you're young, being able to travel around the world and do this kind of job, make money and go surfing at the same time is a big thing". Although when it comes down to it, he says, "Do this job because you love it".