School’s out and summer is officially in! And here in Wisconsin it’s time for cookouts, beach days and surfing – wait, surfing in WISCONSIN??
That’s right! Sheboygan County is settled on the shores of Lake Michigan and (surprising to most) offers some amazing surfing opportunities. So amazing in fact, that Sheboygan has been nicknamed “Malibu of the Midwest” and every Labor Day there is a surfing competition here called “Corona Dairyland Surf Classic”.
Recently an opportunity arose in Sheboygan County for Plymouth Foam to support a local school and the local surfing community. Several students at Oostburg High School took an elective course called Composites and Polymers; to learn the characteristics and properties of the materials. After getting the background knowledge needed, they applied what they learned to physically building a project of their choice which included a canoe, bamboo bike, wake board, water skis, furniture or a remote control model plane or boat. Most of the students, however, chose to build surf boards.
These surf boards did come at a price though, because there were plenty of materials needed. That’s where we stepped in, along with other local businesses Daane Ace Hardware and EOS Surf Shop, to donate products towards the project. The students still had to pay a price to build their surf boards, but other various donations brought that cost down significantly.
All and all, it was a great learning experience for the students, who began the project cutting a template for the boards. Then they cut the foam, shape and applied products to maintain buoyancy, apply fiberglass and eventually epoxy the board. It was an educational project which Plymouth Foam was happy to support. And who knows… maybe after riding waves all summer, one of these students will be competing in the Corona Dairyland Surf Classic come Labor Day. Surfs Up!