Ride the wave: How their search for cheaper surfboards made two Virar men make their own board

After completing his course in graphic art, Devdatt Manjrekar wanted to be a sculptor but somehow that never came to fruition. Little did the Mumbaikar know that many years later he would become the first-known surfboard maker on the west coast in Mumbai. "Sculpting a surfboard is fulfilling that dream," expresses the Virar-based graphic designer, with a child-like innocence. Such is his enthusiasm for making surfboards that while he was making his first one, he was simultaneously shaping another one.

"When I started, I said I will make two at a time so whatever goes wrong with the first board, I can rectify that with the second board," explains Manjrekar. While the first one has taken him a good seven long months, he is confident that the second one will get done in about 12 days if he burns the midnight oil. Interestingly, he is only one of the two people in Mumbai currently known to have started making surfboards, though in the nascent stage, in the community.

As a Mumbaikar, if you have been keeping your ear to the ground, you may have heard the waves - not only by the beach but of surfers in the city riding the waves at the north end of the city on the quite laid-back Rajodi beach, popular among Vasai-Virar region dwellers. Over the last few years, surfing has developed into a unique sub-culture among various other offbeat sports in Mumbai. With one of the only known surf clubs, Mumbai Surf Club, situated at the beach in Virar, surfing enthusiasts gather very often to meet and enjoy their time with the waves.

Over the course of time, several of them have taken up seriously, and the artist in Manjrekar is one of them who has taken it to the next level as he now not only enjoys surfing but also making his own surfboards. The other one like him is Manoj Kumbhar, another Virar native, who works with the surf club and has also been simultaneously making his own surfboard. Just like that, Mumbai has two of its own surfboard makers, who have only just started but are loving every minute of the process.

Surfs up!
Interestingly, the seed for Manjrekar was sown during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was frequenting Goa due to his work-from-home arrangement, following which he returned to his home in Virar and chanced upon surfing at Rajodi beach. He shares, "I live close to the beach and when I went there and saw the surf club, I thought to myself 'where did this come from?'" So, I decided to go there and got to know that it is run by Preeti and Suyash, who I know since 2012. I had never thought of surfing at any of the Vasai-Virar beaches because we have never gone into the water thinking it is dirty." After that, it did not take long for Manjrekar to fall in love with the sea and surfing, and he started surfing there every weekend. After surfing for long enough, the 37-year-old feeling confident enough wanted to invest in his own board instead of borrowing or having to rent one out frequently.

He explains, "I wanted to buy my own surfboards and didn't want to rent one out. It's expensive in a way because you are paying on an hourly basis. But, more than anything else, I wanted to take advantage of living in Virar, since I was born here and live in the Vasai-Virar region. I thought to myself, ‘why not own a surf board and go and surf any time I want?'."

Soon after, he embarked on researching about how to make a surfboard by watching videos on the Internet, as that ignited the flame of the artist and aspiring sculptor in him, to create one on his own. "I realised riding my own surfboard will give me a different kind of high and joy in life," shares the designer, who is also an illustrator and filmmaker.

"With that, I also realised that there was not a single shaper on the west coast, while there are many on the East coast. I spoke to co-surfers at the club and they encouraged me to make my own after watching the videos, but you need some human to talk to share things and learn more."

Becoming a student back again, the Mumbaikar messaged some of them like France-based @zeuglodon_surfboards and India-based Nico Erni's @erni_surfboards on Instagram and soaked in everything; they shared their knowledge and tips and told him what it takes to make a surfboard, while also taking help from Kumbhar too. "This Ganeshotsav, I rode it for the first time and I was really happy,' expresses an elated Manjrekar.

However, it wasn't all easy, especially for a first-timer like the Virar-based artist. He explains, "It took me around seven months to make it just because the raw materials were not easily available here; even the tools, I had to make on my own." Right from sourcing the plywood for his rocker (the curve of the surfboard) to hunting for the foam - he sourced every single material and made it on his own, so it is no surprise that he calls it his ‘Labour of love'.

"After I found the plywood for the rocker, the next hunt was to get the EPS foam required for the rocker. I found that in the Vasai East industrial area but you don't get a small part and instead get a big block of it. So, I had to go multiple times to the person I found to ask if there was any wastage I could use," shares Manjrekar.

From there, he took it step-by-step and was learning what he needed to make the surfboard on-the-go. "I had to import fibreglass from Ahmedabad because it has a lot of factories there and finally, I ordered the resin online," adds the Mumbaikar, indicating how tedious it was at the start. But now that he has got the hang of it, the second one is going to be a breeze, and only be better than the last, he promises.

This isn't a one-off attempt for Manjrekar, as he has also rented a beachside place in Arnala when he started making his first surfboard, after it was causing quite a "mess" in his terrace flat, he jokes. Once he is in the zone of making the surfboard, he is relaxed and thrilled at the same time.

"Shaping is very therapeutic because you have to continuously rub the board. The latter process involves keeping it to dry for many hours," shares Manjrekar, who has spent many weekends getting better at making the board, and looks like he will continue to do so as many people have asked him to make boards for them, but none have confirmed it; the prices for the boards he intends to make are Rs 30,000 onwards . Till then, he intends to work on his second surfboard to fuel his passion, which he is now calling ‘Wavedutt'.

Making cost-effective boards
Not too far from him, Kumbhar is also taking baby steps into building his surfboard and actually informs us that he is close to finishing his first board. While it was the need to have his own board to freely surf the beaches of north Mumbai, and further his sculpting aspirations for Manjrekar, it was the expensive nature of the board that made 23-year-old Kumbhar choose to make his own surfboard. But for him, it has been more of a gradual progression of the time spent at the club, than anything else.

"My research started about two years ago because I wanted to get my own board and it was really costly for me as a surfboard usually costs Rs 30,000 - 40,000." Being a surfing instructor at the surf club, Kumbhar, who lives not too far away from the beach, says his job is also to repair the broken boards, and their different elements. "My board had once got damaged, and I had repaired it successfully at the time. I even wanted to make my own surfboard so that is how I started making my board."

With Kumbhar starting his day as early as 7 am and finishing late by 8 pm, he doesn't know when he will finish making his first surfboard, however, he is going to keep at it. "Whenever I get time after my work at the surf club during the day, I go and work on my surfboard. I have actually finished shaping one board, and only the fiberglass covering is left to be put on the board; and once I get my fin plug, I will be able to complete that board."

However, the surfing enthusiast isn't one to sit around. He has already started working on his second surfboard and is busy shaping it and has found a hack. Instead of waiting to get the fin plug like for his earlier board, he is thinking of directly attaching a fin. Kumbhar is excited to complete his first board because till now he has been using the board from the surf club, where he has been working at for the last three years. While making the surfboard has been in the works from some time, Kumbhar has seriously taken on the task only one month ago after he got back from a month-long visit to Covelong Surf Festival and Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu - where surfing competitions are held annually.

Closer home, being a surfing instructor, he has seen a lot of interest develop in Mumbai for surfing, as a lot of people visit the club every weekend, and especially during the season, which is currently underway. Now, that he has set his mind on it, he intends to make more surfboards, as he believes a lot more people will be interested in owning their own surfboards, and so while he does surfboard repairs, the Virar resident has called his surfboard enterprise, ‘Turtle Surfboards', distinctly identifiable with the turtle logo. With this initiative, he intends to not only repair and make surfboards but also make longboards.

"My regular students have been telling me to make boards for them," says the Mumbaikar, while highlighting that the price of these boards will differ, when he starts making them because there are different types. He explains, "It depends on the size. There are shortboards, longboards and mid-length - all of which start from 5 feet 6 inches, and go on till 9 feet 8 inches, and even 10 feet." Currently, the two boards that Kumbhar has made for himself are a 6 feet 3 inches, and an 8 feet mid-longboard, both of which are his favourites while surfing. The price range, though, he says is anywhere between Rs 27,000 to Rs 45,000 depending on the size of the board.

Interestingly, this is only the start for someone like Kumbhar, who never thought he would land up surfing, forget making surfboards. "While I was completing my graduation, since I am a local boy, I used to come to the beach to play cricket and that is when I spotted people surfing at the club about four years ago. So, we asked them to teach us how to surf, and then there were other instructors who came along, and they taught us too."

It was as if it was meant to be because just after the Virar resident completed his graduation, the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, and since there were no jobs available, the now-certified swimming instructor took to working at the surf club, and the rest as they say is history. "I never thought I would be surfing, teaching surfing or making my own surfboards one day. My interest to make them developed after I started repairing the different parts of the surfboard like small, big and rail dings, fin plugs and getting them replaced, changing the broken tail of the soft tops and other such things," says the surfing enthusiast, who has learned everything on the job, and through videos online and by interacting with surfboard makers, when he doesn't understand something.

"My intention isn't to build a brand but just work on making my own boards, if and when I get orders, I will make them, though," concludes Kumbhar, moments before he gets ready to visit his make-shift workshop to continue working on his surfboards as soon as he is done with our call.

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