Making surfboards over the years gives one the vantage point of seeing some of the various design applications that developed and became popular, coming in and out of vogue at various times.

One of those features is the Tail Block. An application to the tail of a long board that could add strength to the vulnerable corners of the square tail designed surfboard. As well, add not only strength but be an attractive element.

For the most part the first application of the tail block was wood. After shaping the board, we would cut back a small section of the tail and apply a piece of wood to the foam that replaced the part that was cut off and shape that wood piece feathering it seamlessly into the exact shape of the board. 

It could be a simple one piece of wood or layered pieces glued together. The sky was the limit on creativity.  All dependant on wherever the shaper/craftsman’s ideas and abilities took them.

I worked for a surfboard company that used High Density colored foam to add some strength and an eye-catching element to not only the tail but the nose. The tip of a nose is another area vulnerable to damage and the high-density foam was some added strength there.

A number of years ago I got the brainy idea of pouring a little colored resin left over from a colored board lamination into a small tray that was close to the size of a tail block. The tray would get a layered accumulation of the various colors over time. When the tray was full, I’d use the then solid piece of layered colored resin for a tail block. 

The Tail Block, it takes extra time to put a tail block on a board. You can’t be in a rush. It definitely adds an element of creative interest. A good reason to do it…. If you can.

D.R. 

What is it about shaping surfboards that you can’t see but want to?

The job is done behind closed doors. When someone asks if they could watch a guy shape a board why is the answer typically “no”? Is it because us shaper types don’t want people to see our secrets? “No”.  Couldn’t say there are any secrets to shaping a surfboard. After all you can be taught. There are private classes available. Not many but some.

Shaping is hard work physically and takes real concentration. Getting distracted is not what you want. Someone watching can be distracting….. so there it is.

There have been a few times when I said, “OK you can watch”. And then there is this….I Shaped a board at the Sacred Craft Show, now called The Board Room Show. My son used his phone to record a little of the process and posted it on You Tube. I guess you could say from the video hundreds of people have watched me shape at least for a couple minutes, aside from the folks at the event that could watch from start to finish. Possibly a fatiguing exercise.

Before shaping a surfboard it’s best to know the design aspects of the surfboard. Like deck, bottom, outline or plan shape, bottom rocker, deck curve, rail and rail profile, rail apex. board profile or foam distribution.

The finished surfboard you’d like to shape must be cut from a surfboard blank that is basically an oversized surfboard. And you’ve got to be able to get the board you want to shape cut from that blank…. Or you could say the board you want to shape must fit inside that oversized surfboard blank.

The above graphic is the cut view of a blank. The lower graphics are cut views of a few surfboard profiles.  A shaper needs to know if the surfboard profile they want to shape will fit inside the area of the blank.

Question… which board profile might fit inside the blank profile? Best to know before you get started otherwise you will have to modify design aspects of the board being shaped. And, will end up with something you didn’t intend…. Which of course sucks.

It doesn’t matter what size or kind of board you want to shape. Short, long, fish, mid length, alternative. The process and procedures are the same.

The saying “Know before you go” that applies to surfing applies to this as well I’d say.

Knowing where to start in the shaping process is not known to the beginner. Should you start milling the blank? Or maybe you should draw the outline and cut it first. Maybe mill the bottom and then draw the outline…. Does it matter?

Over time you can settle into a process routine and become comfortable with the craft. If shaping is something you’d like to do best to know that it will take plenty of time sweating through several boards.

Then again, if you can have a board cut by one of the cnc machine shops it would make your life in shaping a lot easier. Honestly, I don’t think going that route is anywhere near as fulfilling.

D.R. 

 

We are one month into winter where I am in the northern hemisphere. That means the ocean temperature is a bit cold in my neck of the woods. How cold you might ask?

Well, lets just say after living in the tropics where the water temps could be easily 80 degrees, maybe a couple ticks to a few ticks lower in the winter months…. That’s translates to a 20 to close to a 25 degree difference for where I’m surfing now. Depending on the time of year.

Do I need to say surfing in the warmer waters is way better? This may have been said before but, it’s been 14 years now since I left our Ventura in town home where the daytime temperatures don’t fluctuate too much. Winter months can and do get chilly. Maybe down to the upper 40’s at night and early morning at the peak of winter. Day time temps will typically be 60 + - or better. With the warmer months being 60’s 70’s and even 80 or so at times.

Now… I’m about 7 miles from the beach. The last couple of days there has been snow on the mountains inland and visible from here. Even visible from the beach in town. Right now as I’m writing it’s 52 at the beach and 7 miles inland it’s 56. At 7a.m. this morning it was 35 degrees where I am and about 48 the same time at the beach.

Did I say I don’t like cold water??? Well, I don’t like cold weather either. A few days ago, I was thinking I’d really like to get down to the beach in the morning and surf….. maybe. I’ll beef up the wet suit and it will be doable. When I got up and checked the temperature outside before I was to head out it was 32 degrees. Sure, it was warmer at the beach by maybe 8, 10 degrees but, at 32 I was not interested in even going outside let alone go surf.

I said to myself…. ‘I’m too old for this’.

Ok, I know… you’re only as old as you feel. Well, I know another thing. If I was in the tropics looking to go surf in the morning, I wouldn’t be feeling old at all. Even if it was the end of January. Now maybe too old if the surf was on the very large size. So, then you just go to another spot that’s not taking the swell as strong and surf there.

Got to love the tropics.

D.R.

 Four of a kind. Delivered to Core Surf in Florida some time ago.

Image nicked from. 

https://www.instagram.com/maclarensstories/

Thank you!

Last month on the 27^th the day before Thanksgiving the sale of our home and property was finalized.  We were given until 11:59 pm Monday December 2 to be completely moved out.

During the process I pulled the outline patterns from my destroyed shop. Then got in the garage rafters and pulled down the outlines stored there. The below picture is the pile I gathered. 

These have come from 57 years of shaping for 11 different surfboard labels or you could say a dozen if you include my own label as well.  I counted them, which I’d never done before. Had no reason to but when I looked at the pile I got curious.

There are 62 hard copy surfboard outlines in that pile. That seems like a lot. With out knowing what might be normal for 57 years of history or what anyone else with a long history in surfboards has…. How would you know what is normal.

I sometimes have customers come to me with a favorite board and ask if I will make them a board like it. My answer is ‘I don’t copy surfboards but, let me grab a couple outlines and lay over your board. Most likely I’ve got something that will match’.  It may take a couple curves to get the same lines but it seems to always happen.

Kind of nice having some nice curves….

Happy New Year!

D.R.

A few customers with their new boards

 This one is a Classic Penetrator

Bradon with his new Classic Machine

Ryan with one DR V and one Imperial

Vince at Rincon driving a bottom turn on The 67

Meg smiling with here new Gadget.

Besides seeing some customers at the beach, which is always nice. Because my workshop is still not usable, I've really been missing seeing and talking surfboards with my customers. 

D.R.

 

 Summer is officially over. And what a summer it wasn’t.

Here in Ventura we received one decent summer swell. And it was during the Ventura County Fair. Getting a nice south swell during the Fair is predictable. It last for 10 days so getting something during those 10 days is likely.

Thing about the fair is that parking gets shut down. The formally free lot gets closed and the pay lot up into pipe is also closed. So the only place to park close to the beach is at inside point. That gets filled up during the Fair before sun up if there is a swell. And that’s what happened the day of the only decent south swell this now past summer.

Fortunately when I got down at the point, when it was still dark, I found a parking space so I could park and go for a walk up the point as the day was just getting light. Check the conditions, see where the swell was focused and of course see all the guys that would have parked up in the upper lot, that was closed, walk all the way up to Pipe. Some guys even running. Not that the surf was that great but it takes several minutes to get up there and then several minutes to get back to you vehicle after you surf. When you’ve got to get to work every minute is crucial.

Not everyone will make the trek up to Pipe so they just go out at the point or surf inside point. Which makes for very crowed conditions. Even though the swell produce pretty consistent sets unless you were really aggressive getting a set wave was though. This ole guy wasn’t feeling very aggressive that day so I got a whopping 4 waves during the hour plus I was in the water.

Days like that have me longing for my younger days when there where fewer surfers and you could surf for a hour or two and get worn out. Getting plenty waves and lots of paddling to get back in the lineup for another go at it.

The other thing about this now past summer was the water temperature…. call it cold. Wearing a winter suit into June is a bit much. But if you didn’t want to shiver for an hour…. Well that’s what if did. It did finally warm up but didn’t stay that that way. Even now the water is just above 60 degrees. The water temps last winter got pretty cold so looks like there could be repeat of cold water  this winter.

With no real summer surf maybe we’ll get some nice fall surf. In my neck of the woods fall can offer up some nice consistent surf.

Hoping for the best.

D.R.

 My wife and I have been going through some stuff we’ve had in storage. In a box of board games this surfaced….

                                                 

Anyone ever seen this. I can’t say I tried playing the game and honestly don’t remember anything about it.

It looks to be laid out like the game of Monopoly. There are 2 sets of cards that a player gets to draw from similar to Monopoly that are labeled Trivia and Challenge. 

So what the heck… lets look at what these cards say.

Challenge Question: What was the first surf magazine called?

The answer says, The Surfer

I don’t think that’s right. I believe it’s just Surfer, or Surfer Magazine.

Ok, another one: What does ASP stand for?

The answer says, Association of Surfing Professionals.

Kind of dated since the ASP is no longer. I’m pretty sure we have the WSL. World Surf League. The games was made in 1996… we’ve moved on from then.

How ‘bout a Trivia card.

Is there really a famous surfer known as “Da Bull”?

Answer says, Yes. But the card doesn’t say his name. Sad that one, The late Greg Knoll may he rest in peace.

One more: When 2 people surf together on the same board, what kind of surfing is that?

Answer, Tandem. Not sure Tandem surfing is much of a thing these days. But there it is.

Maybe I’ll post some more surf trivia question another time.

D.R