Another Plover

Here's another Plover.  This time for Blake.  He's going to kill it on this board.  Come get your board, Blake!  More Plovers coming in the next couple months.

Rip Curl Pro Search: San Francisco

Taylor Knox still rips.

Taj Burrow, launching...

...and getting slotted.

Another flight

Wilko ripping.

I'm not a competitive surfing fanatic, but it's not too often the worlds best surfers show up in your area to compete. So when the WCT decended upon San Francisco this past week and Kelly Slater was due to win his 11th world title, it makes for a pretty easy decision to go check out the circus.

I headed up this past Wednesday morning up the coast to SF and was greeted by dozens of unridden head high offshore peaks the entire drive, most with no one around.  It was all I could do to stay on the road.  It was clear this was going to be an epic day for the pros on Ocean Beach, SF.  You know you're at a big surfing event when the very first person you see sneaking out of the water from a free surf is Tom Curren.  Pretty cool to pass within a few feet of the retired former champ on the way to the main event.  Couldn't believe how perfect the conditions were.  Saw a few great heats, but missed Kelly's run at 11 because I had to get to work for the afternoon.  I guess the ASP miscalculated and he still technically has to win one more heat to be officially crowned the champ once again.  The contest has been on hold for a few days to let some weather pass through, but should be completed within the next couple days.  Snapped a few photos.  Nothing great, but you can see how good the conditions were.  Enjoy!

The Crane Model, Finished!

Officially introducing the Crane Model!  A modern pig/noserider.  Here's some pictures of the finished product.  This one is for one of our collaborators, Evan.  He gave a lot of insight into the design of the shape.  We finished it off with some nice color work.  9'6" x 23"x 3 5/16".  Join the Migration...

The Crane

Evan's newest longboard that we're calling the "Crane" model.  A modern pig of sorts...  Widepoint pushed back behind center gives the tail some nice hips.  The increased curve through the tail allows for better maneuverability from the tail, and can sit better in the sweet spot of the wave setting up killer noserides.  Modern teardrop concave and a bit of tail kick rounds this board into a smooth rider.  It's interesting to note that the modern shortboard took design concepts directly from the old school pig for these same reasons (minus the noseriding capabilities, of course).  This is what all the cool kids are riding.

New 5'1" Plover

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been extremely busy polishing surfboards this summer. In addition to working for Michel Junod at Almar Surf Works, I also started polishing at the Santa Cruz Board Builders Guild (a.k.a. "the Haut Shop") in May. Been inspired by some shapes I've worked on over there and these new inspirations will hopefully be making their way into my shapes in the near future.
Finally got back to shaping yesterday and will have a few to show over the next few weeks. Here's a new 5'1" custom Plover for Blake. This board barely fit on the racks!

New Handplane

I finished up this handplane way back in January or February and I just got it in the water several days ago. This little guy is 13.5" long and it is my first handplane that features a strap handle and a deep single to double concave. I really enjoyed how smooth it felt in the water and how the short length seemed to make it easier to position yourself in the face of the wave. Looking forward to more sessions on this new toy!

Break-side Breakfast

The waves were awful, but the post-surf beachside breakfast burritos were nothing short of epic! I recommend this to anyone. Pitch in, come prepared, and you will be rewarded. Oh, and bring enough to share the love! Thanks to Eric, Todd, and the rest of the crew for the fine morning!

Evan Parry:Migrating (vid)

Here's Evan migrating on some nice little peaks at Linda Mar Beach. Smoooooth!

Evan's new Logging Stick

Evan is a stoked out teenager (and a really great kid) who can more than hold his own on a longboard, so when he approached me about building him a noserider, I jumped at the chance. We discussed a lot about the design and here's what we came up with. This is a 9'6 1/2" x 23 1/4" x 3 1/16" noseriding machine. Evan called me after his first session on board today (a 5 hr. marathon session) and it sounded like he was perched out on the nose most of the session! We are both stoked and are both looking forward to collaborating on boards in the future. The color work is a blend of classic (deck) and modern (bottom), and it looks really great in person! Keep migrating, friends!

Silkworm Screenprinting

Wanted to give a shout out to Silkworm Screenprinting down in Ventura, CA for doing such a great job on my new batch of rice paper surfboard laminates. These guys were friendly, professional, speedy (less than a week turnaround!), affordable, and the product was high quality. Couldn't be more stoked. If you're a fellow shaper in need of rice paper laminates, give Rich at Silkworm a call. You won't be disappointed!

Free Handplane!

Just dropped off a brand new handplane at Third Coast Surf Shop to add to their prize bin for their grand opening celebration next weekend. This handplane is 19.5" long featuring a through handle. It is made out of recycled fence board found in a scrap pile, and glassed for added strength using leftover fiberglass and resin from the factory I work at. Custom handplanes available anytime! Nothing better than saving the planet and getting a new surf toy in the process! We also dropped off some t-shirts and stickers to be given away. Go check them out if you're in the Great Lakes region!

5'10" Custom Plover

Oh yeah! 5'10" Plover migrating to the waves on the South End of Lake Michigan!

Todd's Board

Finally finished. Good ride reports so far. 6'2" x 21 3/4" x 2 13/16". Fishy outline quad diamondtail = fun!

New Plover

The spring migration is upon us! Need to take a lot more pictures, but here's a custom 5'10" Plover for a Great Lakes surfer in Chicago that started being glassed up today. Very cool fiberglass work on an incredibly functional shape. Perfect board for smaller mushier surf. The cool thing is that this board can actually handle surf up to a foot or two overhead and still maintain solid performance. A speed machine, order the Plover a 3-4" SHORTER than your standard fish for maximum performance and fun. Comes stock w/ Future Controller fins.

A few more boards are coming down the pipe as soon as the next batch of blanks arrive! Keep your eyes peeled.

Custom Board Guide (Part 2)

Alright, I was able to finish out my new board last week and surfed it a couple times this weekend. I'm still working on dialing the board in completely, but I'm really pleased with how the board is performing thus far.

In the second part of the Custom Board Guide, we're going to discuss dimensions, fin setups and glassing options. There is a lot of info and opinions on these topics and it will vary greatly depending on the shaper you are working with and who is glassing your board. One thing to keep in mind is that both the fins and the glassing can each play major roles in how a board performs, so it's important to talk to your shaper about these aspects.

Dimensions: The dimensions of a surfboard are extremely important to provide the right balance of volume and performance and this will vary greatly from rider to rider. Common surfboard dimensions are length, wide point, and thickness of the board. There are other dimensions that shapers will measure, but these three are most important for the customer. As a general rule, the bigger you are, the more volume you need to maximize your performance and fun. I'm a pretty big guy and the dimensions of my board are 6'10" long x 21 1/4" wide x 3" thick. I arrived at these dimensions based on some of the other boards I ride and how I wanted the board to perform in the waves I am hoping to surf this board with. As I stated before, the dimensions of a board will vary greatly based on experience level, style of board you order, and even fitness level to some degree. Once again... talk to your shaper!

Fin Options: As you're probably aware, fins setups vary greatly from board to board. You have consider how you want your board to perform, what conditions you'll be surfing the board, and what type of board you're getting made. Some fin setups don't work for all boards. Think how weird a single fin setup would work for a wide tailed retro fish... For my board, I wanted a wide variety of fin options to play and experiment with, so I decided to go with a 2+1 setup, which means I have a center fin box and two side Future boxes. I set the boxes in such a way that would accommodate a set of thruster fins, but could swap in a single fin, or a medium sized center fin with two small side fins depending on how I wanted the board to surf. So far, I've only surfed it as a thruster, but look forward to seeing how the board will ride differently with different fins.

Glassing Options: Fiberglass formulas are simple... heavier glass=heavier, stronger board. Lighter glass=lighter, weaker board. Of course there is a difference when you're working with epoxy versus polyester resins, but the formula still holds true. Lighter boards are nice for performance, but typically don't last as long. The fiberglass cloth that we typically work with comes in two weights, either 4 oz. or 6 oz. What that means that if you cut a square foot of fiberglass off the roll, it would either weigh 4 or 6 ounces. A typical surfboard has one layer of cloth on the bottom and two layers on the deck. Most people who order boards from me like to find a balance of durability and performance, which usually translates into some combination of 4 and 6 oz. cloth. Personally, I like my boards to be bulletproof (all 6 oz.). I don't really care how much they weigh, and find the extra weight can sometimes help cut through the chop on less than perfect days. We can always do custom color work, as you can see from the bright red color of this board! I love to mess with crazy resin patterns, so if you can dream it up, we can usually make it happen!

If you're new to the custom board process, I hope these last couple posts have cleared up some confusion. The most important thing I can say is to talk to your shaper about these board features and other aspects of board design. Most shapers are happy to work through a board with you, and I'm more than willing to sit down with anyone wanting to get the right board under their feet! Thanks for reading!

Custom Board Guide (Part 1)

Before my family headed out on our two week family Christmas tour, I had the opportunity to shape a new board for myself. The board will finally be finished up early this week and I'm super excited to get it in the water. I wanted to write up a little explanation of how I arrived at shaping this board for myself to maybe help you understand some aspects of ordering a custom board. As a word of advice, whenever ordering any custom board, I encourage you to talk directly to your shaper!

I've had this board designed in my head for a couple years and finally got to make a reality. The board is a 6'10" x 21.25" x 3" 2+1 winged swallowtail shortboard (I'm a pretty big guy... 6'2", 215 lbs. without a wetsuit on).

Ideas and Goals: Whenever considering a new board, it is a good idea to have an idea or goal for this board and for your surfing. When I was designing this board, I wanted it to be a versatile shortboard that could handle waves up to double overhead. I also know that my surfing style is not well suited for "conventional" shortboarding, so the design clearly reflects a different style of shortboard.

Where Are You Going To Surf This Board? If you're like me, you surf a lot of different breaks in your area. But also like me, you probably have a few favorites. This board is definitely designed with my favorite point breaks around Santa Cruz in mind. Knowing where you're going to surf your new board can affect aspects like rocker, rails, tail shape, and length to name a few.

Plan Shape: I moved the wide point forward 1.5" to put the volume more under my chest for easier paddling into slightly bigger surf. I also like boards that have a beaked nose because of the increased volume up front (and I think it looks sweet!) and this board sports a nice little beak. The board definitely has a bit of a "retro" feel to it, but I'm okay with that. The wings allow the tail width to be stepped down while adding a touch of "bite" to the rail (and, like before, it looks cool!).

Bottom Contours: For the bottom contours, I referenced a few of my favorite boards. All my favorite boards feature a tri-plane hull bottom going into a double barrel "V" off the tail. These contours fit well w/ the type of waves I was hoping to surf, especially w/ a subtle "V" running through the nose of the board (that aspect works well in all surf, but especially when the waves get a bit bigger).

We'll address fin setup and glassing in Part 2. Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps!

Holland, MI New Years Day Paddle Out

As many folks know, I'm originally from Holland, MI and often return to visit family during the holiday season. Often I'm back in CA before the New Year, but this year I had the distinct privilege of joining the 6th annual New Years Day Paddle Out w/ the "Kook Squad". For the last several years, surfers from the Holland/Grand Haven area and elsewhere join on the shores of Lake Michigan w/in view of Big Red Lighthouse on January 1st to take a photo and paddle out together. This way no one can claim they were the first in the water in the new year. For 2011, the crew was blessed w/ southwest winds and mushy waves at Holland State Park. The air temp was 35 degrees and dropping, while the water was a balmy 34 degrees! Roughly 25 folks showed up to surf and we ended up having a great time w/ some fun waves to boot! Talk about dedication! A big thanks to Brian McDonald for setting this up and thanks to everyone who was there for reminding me how much fun surfing the Lakes can be!