Appletree

Appletree Surfboards — a foil-board maker run by brothers Wieger Buurma and Jorrit Buurma, praised on the show for its vacuum-infusion production and the best-selling Appleslice model.

• Founder/head-shaper Wieger Buurma on board design and production methodology (Ep 19), and the Appleslice V3 (Ep 66).
• Jorrit Buurma, the “lesser-known brother”, runs the Portugal factory (Ep 135).
• The hosts meet Wieger again overlooking the spot at Hood River (Ep 78).
• Portugal factory (Ep 135): ~33 people, based near “Silviere” (likely Silveira, transcription uncertain); the move there (over Eastern Europe) was driven by labour cost/availability plus both brothers’ love of surfing. Team was recently trimmed slightly to focus on efficiency and in-house training over new hires; production management now handled day-to-day by “Mark,” freeing Jorrit Buurma for R&D. Appletree also runs OEM production, building boards for other brands.
• Hollow board project (Ep 135): Jorrit’s current big personal project — hollow-construction boards aimed at cutting weight/swing-weight in the 80–90L+ range where Appletree’s non-EPS foam has historically been heavier than competitors. Benefits cited: stiffness concentrated at the deck-to-foil-box connection, lower swing weight; downsides so far: leash noise on the shell (addressed with a soft-tip leash) and an early prototype leak. Standard construction expected to continue for boards up to ~70–80L, hollow above that “crossing point” if pricing allows.
• “Zeppel”/trench boards (Ep 135, name uncertain): Appletree’s foil-drive battery-trench board line, with a thinner-trench performance version (“Zeppel S”). Sanding the trench was the hardest production problem, solved with custom smaller sanders and improved coating steps. Wider trenches for battery-clip removal are made on request.
• Radix (Ep 135): an early-stage, not-yet-released adjustable mast-connection project — goals “total slideable, less drag, easy to mount” — begun with intern “Bart” and developed in partnership with “Jan” (brand transcribed “Gore,” uncertain, possibly CODE Foils). Shown at a trade show pre-launch, deliberately unfinished, to gauge interest (likened to a concept car); feedback was strong. Appletree is separately partnering with Cedrus (contact “Gal”) on an aluminium tapered mast, and hopes for a future welded-mount, backward-compatible version.
• Sustainability/finishing (Ep 135): holds Eco-board Level One certification “almost from the start” (no gold label, tied to US recycling/packaging requirements). New “C25” finish coat is VOC-free and applies thinner/lighter, cited at roughly 5–10% weight saving depending on the board.
• Signature clear-coat/exposed-carbon “tail-dip” look wasn’t originally a deliberate branding choice but has become synonymous with the brand (Ep 135, per Jorrit Buurma).

Ripple additions (batch 2, 2026-07-20)

• Ep 142 (Dave Kalama): his Apple Tree Factory production was limited by their 8ft foam blank (shorter boards than he wanted, around the Barracuda’s emergence); flags their Radix single-track system as closest to solving the Tuttle-vs-plate adjustability gap.