Turtle's Big Secret is a reference to the infamous flick, North Shore, in particular the subplot surrounding Turtle, who builds a clean looking gun under the nose of his mentor, Chandler. This site is about dissecting the past work of master shapers and using the information to build a better surfboard.
Buying a design file...
1. Click on the sales price in the "buy now" column to send an email to the webmaster requesting a file. The file number will appear in the email's subject line.
2. In the body of your email indicate the preferred file type, either ".s3d" or ".brd".
3. You will receive an email from the webmaster within 48 hours containing terms and conditions and payment information. The prefered payment method is PayPal. Personal checks and money orders are also an acceptable form of payment; however, the design file will not be released until payment has cleared.
4. You will receive a second email with the attached design file within 24 hours of payment.
Buying a full size paper template...
Follow the instructions for buying a design file except request a full scale paper template in the email body. Cost for a paper template only is $50.00. An additional charge of $25.00 applies if you would like the template scaled to a specific length and width.
Selling a design file...
Earn extra cash by posting your design files on Turtle's Big Secret for others to download. Simply email your design files to the webmaster for review. Be sure to include an adequate description of the design as well as your desired sales price. The webmaster will contact you with terms and conditions within 48 hours. Payments are made on a monthly basis via PayPal.
Finding a file...
1. All information on this site is text based. You can search the file descriptions and all other data using your browsers "find" feature in the "edit" menu.
2. Click on the file number to open a pdf blueprint of the board and confirm you are happy with the design.
Accuracy of design files...
Every file listed on this site by the webmaster has been meticulously mapped, cut, tested and refined to represent the original to the fullest extent possible; however, they are not supplied or endorsed by any of the named manufacturers. Nevertheless, we hope that manufacturers will soon post their original design files here and charge accordingly.
Ethics and legality...
Mapping a surfboard is a difficult, costly and time consuming process, commonly referred to in other industries as reverse engineering. The files on this site represent hundreds of hours of work, all created with respect and appreciation for the original designers. We do not accept or offer for sale any stolen or misrepresented files.
Download software to open the files...
Three competing surf board design programs exist: Shape3D, Aku Shaper (APS3000) and BoardCAD. Each offers freeware capable of opening, scaling and modifying the files sold here.
Having a board cut...
If there are surfers in your area, then there is a nearby machine to cut your board. Any skilled machine owner should be able to cut the file types sold here. The software sites listed above include a list of machine owners and locations. A google search will turn up several more. If you are a paying customer, then the webmaster can also help you identify a machine owner in your area.