THE J.D. PRIVETT INTERVIEW

Are you ol’ skool? The Privett family goes about three generations deep in Swansboro and is one of the older names in this area. J.D. Privett has been an Emerald Isle/Bogue Banks surfing local for decades and recently started shaping (and glassing) his own surfboards under the “Bogue Inlet Products” label. If you haven’t seen J.D. plying the waters near Bogue Inlet Pier recently, then you couldn’t miss his two sons who frequent the pier waters all the time – Jamie and Cameron. J.D. also fixes dings for us here at EI Surf Shop – thank goodness because it is quality. So with all of this in mind, we sat down with J.D. last month at his shaping bay to discuss his surfing and shaping experiences.

EI Surf Shop (EI): Okay, you know we’re going to let loose here, so what does J.D. stand for?
JD: You had to ask (laughter) – James David.

EI: Touché - Tell me a little bit about when you started surfing.
JD: Well, Junior Poston and me were drug to the beach by his older brother Paul. No one would let us use their board so me and Junior saved enough money to buy one and we traded – three waves and switch. We were about 12 – summer between 7th and 8th grade – I knew right from that point I was hooked.

EI: Where were you surfing back then? Bogue Inlet Pier?
JD: We weren’t allowed to surf the pier back then (laughs) – it was regulated more heavily then by the locals. Junior’s Mom begun to drop us off along Coast Guard Road for the entire day and we learned to surf, and then started to slip into the pier line up. The localism was more heavy then obviously, which reflecting on it, was probably a good thing compared to now.

EI: So when did you start gravitating into ding repair and shaping?
JD: It was out necessity back then because we had to fix our own boards but Randy Hall (before he moved to Rodanthe and started Hatteras Glass surfboards) and Donald Stone (moved to Nicaragua a few years ago) were in the area and were fixing lots of dings. Randy would put me and Junior to work to help pay off our own ding repairs and it fascinated me. Junior really got me into it and before you know it, I had 5-10 boards at a time to fix. Finally I got the courage to ask Carl Heverly to show me how to shape, and he was so gracious – he showed me the ropes.

EI: Wow. You’re also that rare breed that now shapes and glass. What’s hardest aspect of shaping?
JD: Believe it or not, it’s the fear of taking too much foam off the board, especially with the electric planer because once you take it off – you can’t put it back on. I’m extra careful with sandpaper and fine-tuning the board. Actually though, the whole shaping process is fun – even the subtleties like putting in concaves and rockers.

EI: Okay – how about glassing? What’s the hardest aspect?
JD: Everything – my hats off to glassers. My first board was a great shape but looked like well……this is a family publication, but you know what I mean. Randy Hall as mentioned above is one of my mentors and I was fortunate enough to have him stop by my shaping/glassing shop behind the house and show me a lot of the tricks. My boards immediately improved. Chris Jones also gave me some very sage advice that has been put to use. It’s you’re classic “the more I glass – the more I improve” scenario.

EI: Last question (at least for this month) – what type of feedback do you look for?
JD: There’s a fine balance between float and maneuverability, and I want surfers to catch a lot of waves and rip. If they are having problems in either of these areas, then I want to know so we can improve the process. What waves they work better in, etc.

EI: Thanks bro - awesome.

See you in the water until next time – www.eisurfshop.com

JD fine tuning a fin box on a custom surfboard.