Leading Paddlesports Company Enters Joint Venture To Build New FeatherCore Composite™ Line

Honolulu, Hawaii September 29, 2011

C4 Waterman, Inc. is excited to announce that it has completed negotiations to have all its SUP models manufactured at a new factory in Asia. Three weeks after  canceling its exclusive licensing agreement with Boardworks Surf, C4 has entered into a joint venture with the factory, an innovative, molded-composite builder that will be the exclusive manufacturer of the company’s 12 radical new SUP models as well as its substantial legacy line.

C4 Waterman CEO Todd Bradley and shaper/designer Dave Parmenter have collaborated with the technicians at the new factory to develop C4′s newFeatherCore Composite™ fabrication technique, an advanced form of composite sandwich construction based on the engineering principles related to the unique core-to-skin ratio of stand-up paddleboards. The FeatherCore Composite™ process achieves lighter, friskier SUPs, possesses enhanced molecular and mechanical bonds of all the laminants/facings to the lightweight core, and delivers it all inexpensively and with ‘greener’ materials than the norm.

“I am very pleased with our new factory and partners,” said C4 CEO Todd Bradley after his recent visit to the new factory. “They’re young, eager, highly-educated individuals, and they are all VERY talented in composite technology systems. They’ve already got most of our molds on the floor and will begin to ship product immediately, allowing us to be ready for full global distribution by Spring 2012 season, and at a very competitive price.”

C4 designer/VP Dave Parmenter agrees: “After spending the last two years designing and testing a whole quiver of new models from 8’4″ to 12’6″, this is refreshing news for us, as there have been rumors floating around that we were not ready to take on the task of servicing the C4 brand after leaving Boardworks.  On the contrary, we are loaded for bear now. The new SUB9 line, and the expanded, renovated C4 line of SUPs are going to surprise a lot of people. We have a 9’2″ Mark Richards Model that MR and I collaborated on, and I guarantee that it’s gonna be a bombshell; it’ll even have MR’s famous logo and colorways! We are in complete control of our production and distribution now, we have a radical new inflatable technology, patent-pending paddle designs, and a new sport-specific accessory and apparel line.  And best of all, we have Ty Zulim, recently hired to be of Global Sales Manager of C4. With Ty and his new sales rep network, I am confident we are finally going to be able to satisfy all our loyal customers who have been waiting the last few years for our brand to stop hanging fire. ”

C4 Waterman, Inc. was founded in 2007 on the four core disciplines that apply to the ocean as much as they do to life: balance, endurance, strength and tradition. C4 is a waterman-owned and operated paddlesports company based in Hawaii, and the employee roster includes some the world’s most respected watermen – Todd Bradley, Brian Keaulana, Dave Parmenter and Archie Kalepa. Honolulu’s C4 Waterman Inc. continues to forge ground as a worldwide leader and pioneer in the action water sports industry.  For more information, please visit: www.c4waterman.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/c4watermanFan, on YouTube at www.youtube.com/c4waterman or email info@c4waterman.com.
For sales inquiries contact Ty Zulim at  ty@c4waterman.com.

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More on the new FeatherCore Composite™ construction:

C4 Waterman’s new FeatherCore Composite™ line of SUPs is based on the rigorous refinement of the foam sandwich/composite structures to find the construction that best suits the unique needs of the next generation of high-performance stand-up paddleboards.

“Our testing has found that deck and bottom bamboo veneer laminates provide the lightest, strongest, least expensive ‘skin’ to complement our featherlight EPS-cored SUPs” said Dave Parmenter. “These very thin sheets of bamboo are sandwiched between successive layers of fiberglass and epoxy resin and then pressure molded around the EPS core. In effect this creates a monocoque fuselage, much like an aircraft, in which the skin of the surfboard acts as the stringer or stiffener.  We’ve also changed the finish on our new range of boards to a classic gloss resin surfboard-style look and feel. No more chipping!”

Some advantages to bamboo veneer as a substrate in the foam-sandwich construction:

• Bamboo veneer, when laminated with epoxy resins, endures more flex cycles than traditional fiberglass/resin lay-ups.
• Bamboo veneer is a renewable resource that is cheaper than carbon fiber and less energy-consumptive to manufacture.
• Bamboo is the strongest natural material on Earth on a strength-to-weight ratio.
• Bamboo veneer as a laminate has incredible impact resistance, even when paper-thin, yet it is very permeable, allowing for an excellent mechanical bond to the core without excess resin absorption. The result is a very light SUP with unbeatable impact, tensile, and shear strengths.
• Bamboo veneer as a composite skin possesses superior ‘flex appeal’; the stiff, twangy ‘life’ in a composite structure that is most conducive to high-performance surfboards and surfing.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Honolulu, Hawaii, September 8, 2011

C4 Waterman, Inc. announces the re-launch of its C4 Waterman brand of boards and paddles with a streamlined list of refined models and color ways, which it will manufacture and distribute directly along with its recently released SUBNINE performance series.

“Due to the ever increasing demand for boards that perform well in a variety of conditions, we’ve revisited our legacy models and refined their designs,” said C4 Waterman founder/CEO Todd Bradley. “As always, stability, quality, performance and fun remain the cornerstones of any product we make.”

As the company that founded the sport of modern stand-up paddle surfing and distance racing with its innovative board and paddle designs, C4 is determined to push design and performance to the limit. To complement its extensive line of C4-branded epoxy SUP boards, the Honolulu-based company recently announced it was launching a skunkworks-based product line, SUBNINE (www.SUB9surf.com), helmed by C4 designer/shaper Dave Parmenter. This brand new collection of state-of-the-art high-performance SUP boards and paddles is capped off by a fleet of radical new Rigid AirCore inflatable models replete with a game-changing patent-pending removable-fin system. This system accommodates stiff, high-performance FCS surf fins to be used on any of the new air-cored C4/SUBNINE SUPs and conventional surfboards.

“The guiding principle behind all of my latest designs is ‘faster, looser, deeper,’” said Parmenter, a co-founder of C4 and the designer of all its surf and race boards. “I always want to remain progressive with my shapes. Now that we are distributing our own boards, offering those designs to the market ‘faster’ and at competitive prices ensures that our customers will be able to affordably ride the same equipment our team is surfing and racing in Hawaii that very season.”

With pent-up demand for fresh innovation from the world’s premium SUP brand at a fevered pitch, C4’s Global Sales Manager Ty Zulim is predicting a tornado in his Rolodex. “Now that C4 is manufacturing and distributing its own boards, we plan on being very competitive at the cash register. These new boards and paddles have been in R & D for a few years in Hawaii. They’re real game-changers, and the impact will be huge, maybe as significant as C4’s first line of production boards introduced in 2006. The new ‘X-WING’ paddle is a bombshell – it’s the biggest thing to hit paddles since Todd Bradley’s first all-carbon SUP paddle back in 2003.”

C4 Waterman, Inc. (www.C4Waterman.com) is a waterman-owned and operated paddle sports and rescue equipment company led by Todd Bradley, Dave Parmenter, Brian Keaulana, Bruce Raymond and Archie Kalepa. For more information about the new product lines and their availability please contact Ty Zulim, sales@c4waterman.com.

Media contact:  Liam Wilmott, liam@c4waterman.com, 808-739-2837.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

C4 Waterman and Boardworks Part Ways

Honolulu, Hawaii, September 7, 2011

C4 Waterman, Inc. and Boardworks Surf announce that they have agreed to terminate their licensing and distribution agreement effective September 1, 2011. Previously, the Honolulu, Hawaii-based water and paddle sports company licensed its standup paddle (SUP) designs to Boardworks Surf, an Encinitas, California-based manufacturer and distributor of surfboards and standup paddle boards.

For more information about C4 Waterman, please visit www.c4waterman.com or email info@c4waterman.com.

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C4 Waterman, Inc. is an Oahu, Hawaii-based lifestyle and adventure sports equipment company focused on providing the highest quality hard goods and soft goods to water sports athletes and enthusiasts around the world. C4 was the first company with a focus on SUP and continues to lead the pack when it comes to industry recognition, authenticity and product design. For more information, please visit: www.c4waterman.com, on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/c4watermanFan, on YouTube atwww.youtube.com/c4waterman or email info@c4waterman.com.