Sandbanks 9-Nov-08

thewitt — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:05:54 +0000

This past weekend we took one last trip to sandbanks for some kiteboarding. It was super cold out, and even snowed for a short time, but I was warm and toasty in my new level six drysuit! I’m the guy in the bright red, if you couldn’t tell:) Thanks to mike for shooting some great video. I think we had 9 riders total from ottawa (the majority on iTOMCO boards!!). Enjoy.

Whats going on with iTOMCO? Update 31-OCT-08

thewitt — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:54:43 +0000

Hi everyone,
As most people have noticed, I haven’t updated the website in ages, so I thought it was about time. Alot of people have been asking me about if iTOMCO is still up and running.

The short answer is yes. I am still building boats, but in a much different way.

After building many boats over the last 2 years, I have come to the realization that building slalom boats in general is not profitable. This is a combination of factors: no cheap quality labor is available in north america, the market for slalom boats in north america is very small, and boats must be redesigned every year or two adding huge capital costs every year.

That being said, I enjoy building boats and get great satisfaction seeing them compete all over the world. As such, I will continue to design and build boats as long as there are great athletes like Benn Fraker and Nathan Davis that enjoy pushing the limits of slalom boat design as much as I do. I will however be cutting back on the number of boats, and concentrating on achieving the highest quality in every boat, as well as pushing the limits on boat manufacturing methods.

Thank you to everyone who has supported iTOMCO the last few years. Paddle hard, train smart, and see you on the water!

Tom