Blog author · Cross Design, Currumbin Waters
Joe Webb, head shaper
Born in England, raised in the French Alps, now shaping on the Gold Coast. Joe founded Cross Design in 2020 and shapes, glasses, colours and repairs every board himself in the family factory at 2/14 Nuban St, Currumbin Waters. Everything on this blog comes from that workshop.
- EnglandFormer alpine ski racer for the England National Ski Team
- Bond UniversityBachelor of Architecture
- 2026Opened the new family factory in Currumbin Waters
About the author
From race skis to surfboards
As an alpine ski racer for the England National Ski Team, Joe spent countless hours tuning his skis before training and races. Refining his equipment until he could trust it became a habit, and it is the same habit that goes into every rail, foil and fin he makes today.
He studied architecture at Bond University on the Gold Coast, and that background shows in every board: clean lines, considered curves, and a focus on why something works.
“When you contact Cross Design, you're dealing directly with the person doing the work. No middlemen, no shortcuts.”
The factory
Writing from the workshop
Joe started Cross Design in 2020 and moved into the new family factory in Currumbin Waters in June 2026. In September 2026 Junkyard Surf named Cross Design its Shaper of the Week. He writes the blog from the shaping bay and the repair stands, using real boards, real repairs and real customers' questions.
What Joe writes about
Areas of expertise
Custom surfboard designShaping boards around the surfer, from the Blade to the Nude | Longboard
Carbon and compositesCarbon, Innegra, hemp, basalt and flax
Fibreglass repairsDings, snaps, fin boxes, restorations and invisible colour matching
Boats and Jet SkisGelcoat, hull and structural work, including the full rebuild of Cove
Colour and respraysResin tints, swirls, sprays and colour matched resprays
Custom fins38-layer fibreglass panels, tinted to Pantone and foiled by hand
Custom surfboard design
Carbon and composites
Fibreglass repairs
Boats and Jet Skis
Colour and resprays
Custom finsFrom the workshop
Joe's work
Shaping the Duo | Mid Mk.6 
A custom spray 
A fin cut from his own panel 
In the shaping bay. Photo @layerofsalt 
The finished Duo | Mid Mk.6 
“Never would have known” 
Rebuilding Cove's deck 
Carbon across the range
On the blog
Posts by Joe Webb
Twin fin surfboards, explained
Two fins instead of three: what changes under your feet, who a twin suits, and how the Duo was drawn around it.
Surfboard ding repair: when to fix it and what it costs
Which dings need fixing today, which can wait, and what a repair costs in our workshop, from a single ding to a snapped board.
Fin box repairs, re-threads and a five-fin that became a single
A cracked box, a stripped grub screw, or a fin set-up you have gone off. Three fin box jobs from the workshop and what each involves.
Chips, cracks and soft floors: a plain guide to fibreglass boat repairs
What gelcoat is, which cracks matter, and what repairs cost, plus a trailer sailer job with a worn rudder fitting and a hidden hole.
What size surfboard should I get?
Volume calculators give you a number. A shaper gives you a board. Here is what the dimensions mean and what Joe needs to know to get yours right.
Fish, mid-length or longboard: choosing an outline for the Gold Coast
Three families of board cover most of what the Goldy throws up. Here is what each one is for, and how to pick honestly.
How much does a custom surfboard cost?
Every model has a starting price. Here is what that price includes, what costs extra, and why a custom is priced the way it is.
The Duo | Mid Mk.6: a mid length twin, six versions in
The 6'4" Mk.6 is the sixth version of our Duo | Mid. The published numbers show where the model went, and who it suited.
How the Blade took shape
Before the Blade had a launch post it had real boards under the surfers Joe works with. The dimensions show how the model was worked out.
Twenty hours on one longboard: Bec’s 8'6"
Barbie pink, orange rails, gold pin lines top and bottom, and a hand drawn crown. A look at where the time goes on a fully custom log.
EPS or PU: which foam should your board be made from?
We build in both and we repair both. Here is how the two foams differ in the water, on the scales and when they get dinged.
Surfboard colour: tints, pigments, swirls and sprays
A resin tint, an opaque pigment, a swirl and a spray are four different jobs with four different looks. Here is how to tell them apart.
How a surfboard is made at Cross Design
From a conversation at the counter to a finished board with your dimensions written on it: every stage of a custom, as it happens in our factory.
A new surfboard factory in Currumbin Waters
In June 2026 Joe picked up the keys to 2/14 Nuban St with his daughter Cove beside him. Here is what is inside, and why the door is open.
Case study: restoring Cove, a full fibreglass boat restoration
A boat restoration case study. Cove was stripped back and rebuilt: new floor, teak deck, new engine. The transom held the real lesson.
Follow and get in touch
Ask Joe a question
Got a question about a post, a board or a repair? Joe answers himself. You can also follow the work in progress on his socials.
