My story post 49

What’s happening with my life?…. The house my wife and I and family have lived in since 1974, except the 9 years we were in Hawaii, will soon no long be our home. We are moving just out side of town to the place we plan to make our family compound.

So, I will be off line for the time being and will talk story after we get set up in our new place.

Until then, happy surfing!

D.R.

My story post 48, surfer attire.

Huarache sandals, you got them in Mexico. White Levi’s, not the white like painters pants. The surfer wore more of an off white Levi’s jeans. Then after awhile there was the light blue Levi’s, not the regular Levi’s jeans color after they’ve been washed a hundred times, but a light blue color.

Converse tennis shoes were good, or Purcell’s. Both were the low cut type not high tops. You were good to go in deck shoes as well. To stay warm you had to have a Pea coat. That double buttoned heavy navy coat.

Plain white t-shirts with a pocket or maybe a white t-shirt that had a surfboard label on it. And over the t-shirt it was the Pendleton.

Honestly I don’t think I needed a surfboard but if I wore the right clothes I was a surfer. Actually I don’t think I had a surfboard when I first started wearing the attire. I was learning how to surf so… I wasn’t to much of a gremmie.... nah, I was the typical adolescent that wanted to be identified as a surfer.

The Pendleton was the shirt though. Not cheap either, so you had to really bug your parents for one or work hard and save some cash to get one. They were only available at certain stores too, so they weren’t to easy to come by. I still like those shirts… believe it or not I’ve got 11 of them. I’d have more but stopped wearing the plaid ones… at least for the past few years. I like the solid color ones, I’ve got two of them. It’s hard to catch my size on sale in the solid colors though.

Did you know that there was a band named The Pendletones? Yeah, they started as The Pendletones before they changed their name to the Beach Boys. That’s probably why they where wearing Pendleton’s when pictured on their first records. With white or light blue Levi’s and a white t-shirt. Don’t know if any of them were surfers, but they knew how to dress like one.

D.R.

Surfing with friends always makes surfing better…. Though there may be a limit to how many friends you may want in the water at any given time.

Friday I took off work at mid day. The first sun we’d had in almost two weeks showed itself late morning. I knew there was a little surf so I took off, got my tip tool (the waves were small) and spent almost 3 hours having some fun and spending some tip time.

After an hour or more my friend Donna came paddling out, said hello and introduce me to her friend Rob. The three of us were enjoying the sun and small surf with a small group of other surfers doing the same. Rob would be all smiles as Donna or I came riding a wave down the point while he was paddling back to the line up after a ride.

Rob asked me if I found a new friend when a person dropped in on me at the inside section. Then wondered if I’d just found a new best friend after seeing me hanging on the tip for a couple seconds then franticly back peddling and straightening out, though not fast enough, to avoid banging rails with the guy that blindly dropped in on me as I came flying along. After all, what are friends for?

This morning I went for a bike ride up the beach. I thought it was such a nice sunny morning, besides I wanted to check out how the demolition project was going in the Fair Grounds parking lot. So why not jump on a bike, get some exercise and see what’s up?

I peddled up the promenade through the 2 dollar lot, around the construction work via a detour lane and stopped at the Ventura River. I hung at the river for several minutes watching about 8 or 10 surfers play with the inconsistent but nice clean peaks along that stretch of beach from the back side of pipe maybe a hundred yards up to hobo jungle. I wouldn’t have minded at all to be one of those 8 or 10 surfers.

After day dreaming for awhile about days long past and un-crowded waves I headed back. Down past the 2 dollar lot I decided to see what the surf looked like on the back side of the point and up to pipe.

What’s left of the 2 dollar lot was full. There was a contest at pipe so that added to the amount of vehicles and bodies that wanted to use the short couple hundred yards of beach. And, the number of people in the water, hoping for a chance to catch one of the few waves that came through every 4 or 5 minutes? I tried counting, but stopped at 40.

That’s a lot of friends… I began wondering how many of them actually got out of the water after an hour and got a chance wave? The words survival of the fittest came to mind.

How curious later at home, what my wife called me in from the front yard to show me through the kitchen window. A hawk on the back neighbors garage roof eating what I think may have been a squirrel. Talk about survival of the fittest.

D.R.

Being motivated to surf, sometimes you don’t have it, sometimes you do.

What I remember of my younger years was that I was almost always motivated to surf. So why is it now that a lot of times I go to the beach when the surf is not great but surf able and I’m not that interested in going out?

When I was younger if there was anything in the water that would propel my surfboard I was on it. And in Hawaii, unless the winds were not favorable, which was seldom, or it was over my size limit, which could happen, I’d go surf. On the main land, I look and start thinking… nah, it’s not consistent enough, it’s small, it’s to cold, the wind is picking up so it will blow out by the time I reach the lineup, it’s a waste of time right now, I’ll come back later… but don’t, etc, etc.

Having a surf buddy helps with this type of problem. You get to the beach see something you could surf and say “what do you think?” Your buddy says “we’re here.” You say “yeah.” He says “we came to surf so.” You say “ok, let’s go out then.” Done deal.

After you surf you can make the assessment.. you say “ I saw you got a couple good ones”. He says “yeah, it was fun… you got some too”. You say “yeah, I’m hungry lets go get something to eat”.

When you’re alone you can’t do that. Well, you can talk to yourself, and end up either talking yourself into going out or not going out. But after a go out? Was it worth it or not. It’s almost always debatable, unless the surf was really good and you had a really good session.

So what happened yesterday? I went for a surf check, the conditions were really nice and I saw a couple good sets. Went home and got my stubbie…I’m so addicted to that board right now… but the surf just didn’t have the juice. I should have gone down with a tanker. I got a few nice ones but wished I had a tanker. My thinking stole the fun.

With a surf buddy, we would have debated first about what board would be best. He’d say “what board you gonna take?” You’d say “The stubbie.” He’d say “again? You always ride that board and then complain you should’ve taken a long board. I’m taking my long board, It’s not consistent enough for something short.” You say “yeah, I’ll take my quad long board then.” You both catch lots of waves and have fun…. Get out of the water, talk about your rides as you towel off and get in dry cloths. Then go get something to eat!

D.R.

These three guys have been surf buddies for over 40 years

The changing face of a beach area.

The beach access area in Ventura town is going through another change. If anyone has come into town this past week and gone into the Fair Grounds area you’d have seen the construction is starting… actually the demolition is what’s happening, construction comes later.

The 2 dollar fair grounds parking area and up to pipe is being rearranged. If I understand correctly the parking area is being relocated back to the street that currently runs between the parking area and the fair grounds. The current parking area will be removed and combed over with a more natural cobble and sand approach to the waters edge.

Sounds all reasonable.. we’ll see how it plays out with what the ocean wants to do over time.

There is another part to the changes which will take place below Figueroa st. along the promenade. If I understand this will change beach access by removing the inside point stairs and relocating them a couple hundred feet toward the pier from where they are now. As well, more large rocks will be added to the revetment in front of the promenade a couple hundred feet above the existing inside point beach access stairs.

The problem with the promenade is that the ocean wants the area where new rocks are going to be set. The ocean wants to remove the inside stairs… the ocean wants it’s space back… and then some maybe. But, a certain group of people wanted to take that space away from the ocean and they don’t want to ever give it back. In order to protect what the group of people did they must add to what they did so as to stop the ocean from doing what it wants to do. Lofty plans that over time have consequences.

Consequences from the first set of rocks for the revetment changed the way surf breaks along the point and, maybe more importantly, how sand is distributed below that particular stretch of coast line.

I remember how the surf at the point was before the current revetment…. It was better. I don’t think adding to the revetment will make it better than it is now, it will probably be a change for the worse… or is it another change for the worse?

D.R.

A flat seven foot high tide winter morning after some rain at the top of the point before the group of people started doing what they’ve done to the area.

Old guys post 5

Something happened to me in the water several months ago that has stuck in my memory. Curious that the great rides are etched in our memory as well sometimes the bad experiences too.

I was paddling back to the line up when a set was coming through. A guy was coming down the line racing along on the nose hanging five. I saw the line he was taking and started to paddle to the left in an effort to stay out of his way. Just as I determined my path another guy… that looked like he didn’t know what he was doing, started to paddle for the wave and would have ultimately dropped in on the guy coming down the line at the same time blocking my path to get out of the way of the guy coming down the line.

The guy paddling for the wave sort of stood up and fell, I had to avoid him so paddled straight up the wave face. I guess the guy coming down the line hanging five didn’t want to let go of his position, even though he could have back peddled and turned around me, he instead came right at me. I slipped off my board and turned it side ways as the guy hanging five went by me within inches and then fell.

The three of us, me, the kook and the guy hanging five almost collided… but didn’t. After the wave pasted I climbed up on my board and looked over at the guy that had fell after just missing me while hanging five. He had some words for me, but couldn’t hear what he said. I smiled and asked if he was ok then heard what he had to say…. “ Why don’t you get out of the way… you should paddle to the left” With rude tone. I thought What? Then said “ don’t talk to me like that, I was paddling to the left” I was immediately pissed and told him off as he paddled away… honestly out of character for me.

A couple guys that had seen what happened confirmed that guy was being an ass. But still stuff like that can really mess the atmosphere in the water.

This past week there was this stand up paddle guy being aggressive in the water that had something to say to one of the local guys in the water after the local guy attempted to drop in at the inside section. But the stand up guy made it under the section then had words for the local guy.

The standup guy was older, I’d guess in his fifties. Well built and knew how to surf and what he was doing. He would not let up on the younger local guy, cussing him and telling him he’d kick his ass, and that riding a stand up was way harder than long boarding… yelling how he should get some respect… on and on for 3 or 4 minutes.

The casual after noon surf turned into a time of tension… for what? I may or may not have been justified in what I said to the guy that almost ran my over. I’m sure the stand up paddle guy thought he was justified in what he had to say. But to go on and on made the older guy look like a total jerk. And to threaten the younger guy made it even worse.

There’s no sense in older guys being aggressive. The older guys that get aggressive only look stupid. And may make the rest of us look stupid too.

D.R.

There is and interesting article in the September/October 2010 issue of Deep Magazine about surf wax. It got me to thinking how things were before surf wax.

First off you didn’t get wax for your surfboard at the local surf shop, you got it at the grocery store. It wasn’t called surf wax it was Paraffin wax. Actually you might have gotten it from your mom or grand mother if they did any canning of fruits and vegetables.

My wife’s grandma used to make jams and jellies…. Good stuff, but when you opened a jar of her jelly for the first time you had to pry and scrape off the wax that sealed the jelly to keep it from spoiling. The wax she used was the same thing we used on our surfboards before surf wax was available.

Paraffin is hard, and it didn’t go on a surfboard easy like the surf wax of today. Waxing your board for the first time was a big undertaking compared to now. It worked best if you got the bar of wax warm and soft. Then if you rubbed it on the board with just the right pressure you could slowly build up a base and get an OK layer of wax down.

If you lived and surfed in warm water and climates paraffin wasn’t to terrible but in colder conditions the stuff would get sum what slick and slippery. Nothing worse than being in the water and having your board get a little slippery, take off on a wave, slip and fall on your first turn. Then if you couldn’t catch your board when you fell you may be in for a swim to the beach. I hated that!

Problem was after retrieving your board rubbing some fresh wax on it wouldn't necessarily make things better. What I would usually do after retrieving my board is grab a hand full of wet sand and rub that into the wax. The sand would get imbedded into the wax and render the wax dirty but not so slippery any more.

There were no wax combs back then either but I did use a hair comb to scratch the stiff hard wax. That helped too but it wasn't to comfortable to lay on, but we mostly knee paddled.

It was nice when surf board specific wax came around. It wasn’t the easiest stuff to get a nice bead of wax on your board with at first. It would kind of spread down in an awkward way without really beading up nicely. You had to work with the stuff and rub with the right touch to get a good clean layer down.

According to the article in Deep it wasn’t until the early nineties that the surf wax guys found a formula that made the wax bead up nicely. Yeah, the wax of today is great. It goes down on your board quickly with a nice sticky bump to it. When it gets dirty you can scrap it off and put down a fresh coat without much effort.

We don’t think about it but the wax of today has helped us all surf better. We can do things on a surfboard now that would not be possible with the old slippery stiff grocery store stuff. So, to the guys that worked up the surf wax formulas… Thank you!

D.R.

Funny I still have a box of the old stuff.

My story post 47

There have been times when life went a direction that for one reason or another kept me out of the water for extended periods of time.

This year, junk surf and cold conditions has kept me out of the water for much of the summer… but that may not count. The time I spent in New England was one. But when spring came and I found a Surfer magazine at the local drug store news stand that was all it took to get me on a plane back to California and the surf. As soon as I got to Ventura it took little time for me to shape myself an 8’2 stringer less Vee bottom at the William Dennis shop, glass it and get in the water.

In the seventies I traveled a lot. Most of the time I wouldn’t be gone more than a week or two. Our route home on a longer two month trip brought us back via Hwy 126. I still remember reaching Santa Paula and feeling the ocean air in the wind coming up the river valley. What a rush, knowing within 20 minutes I’d see the ocean. As well, know that I could go surf.

In ’77 I went on a trip that lasted 4 months. I was gone from the first week in July to the first week in November. I did fly back home a couple times so there was some relief. One return visit was timed perfect for a nice south swell with great conditions. A few days surf fix and off I went again.

When you live close to the ocean it’s hard to be without it. The oceans lure, I don’t understand but it is real. When I haven’t been in the water for awhile and then get back it just feels right. Walking up to the waters edge, jumping on your board, seeing and feeling the water, the vantage point and look into the surf zone. When I get to that spot after being away I just feel better. I feel right.

My wife was born and raised in Ventura. She never lived more than a half mile from the ocean her whole life until we moved to Kauai. So she knows the feeling of living by the beach. The funny thing is… we lived on an island but were a good mile from the ocean.

D.R.

A mile from the ocean but the view from the lanai wasn’t terrible.

24 days left for the summer that wasn’t. Should we be happy about it?

I’ve said I like summer a number of times. I like the warm weather, the long day light hours and, when we get surf, I like the swell direction. We don’t get much in the way of surf here in Ventura during summer. What we do get is usually small and inconsistent, but the water is warmer so if you have to sit waiting for a set at least you don’t freeze to death… except for this summer.

I think most know that the Southern California coast has been unseasonably cool, because the water temperature has been unseasonably cold. Here in Ventura the water temperature has been an easy 10 degrees colder than it normally is during summer. About 2 weeks ago the water temp was as cold as the dead of winter… in the middle of August? Geez that sucks.

There hasn’t been much surf, which is typical but even when we’ve gotten some there has been to much wind. Of course the wind is what makes the water cool. The cool water makes the air close to the ocean cool. The wind off the water makes things cooler still.

Usually I turn the thermostat in our house off at least by June and leave it off until sometime in late September or early October. This year? We’ve been running the heat some in the morning and at night all summer long. Because we live about 3 block from the beach… it’s been cold.

I’m getting old and may not remember… but really I don’t remember a summer like this. Last year was a little cool but not like this year. I can remember summer when we hardly ever saw the sun because of the heavy marine layer, over cast days for ever. This year we’ve had the sun show up a fair amount but still the air is cool. Instead of over cast sky’s ever been getting fog. Fog in August? That’s odd. Maybe June, maybe October, but not August. Geez, that sucks too.

I was looking forward to riding my Tip Tool… I’ve ridden it twice since June. I could have gone out a couple of other times but because it was cold and foggy I passed. I don’t where shoes when I long board and I didn’t want to get numb feet!

September can be a real good month for surfing… I hope so. And while I’m hoping I’ll hope the water warms up some too.

D.R.

When the weather is junk, I long for the tropics... even if the surf would be small.

I was asked a question this week…

How serious is the threat of shaping machines?

There may have been a threat 30 years ago but it’s over now because the machine is everywhere. They are affordable, every major label uses them or has their own. And, many of the small guys use cutting houses for a large portion of their orders if not all of their orders.

Sure there are guys that hand shape most or all of their boards but I think it may be the exception rather than the rule now.

This is a little of what I’ve seen…

Six years ago there was this young guy that really was interested in getting into the surfboard business. He really didn’t have any experience but he was determined and landed a job laminating part time for a busy label. Within a month or so he had enough know how to laminate ok.

His shaping was another story. His first boards were pretty crude. That’s fine, everyone’s first shapes are crude. But, he kept at it. Then he went to the local cutting house and suddenly his shapes were really nice. Within a year and a half of getting his part time job laminating he found a place to set his own place up making his own boards. The machine was a major factor in that happening.

Another guy used to have his own designed boards made to order through another builder. He’d never really shaped any boards before but he had some nice designs going. So he connected with the local cutting house, got his boards cut, set up a little shaping bay, cleans up the machined blanks and takes the finished shapes to the local lam shop. His boards came out fine right out of the gate with no real shaping experience at all.

Then there is the avid surfer type. He has gotten a connection with someone that can get blanks cut at one of the machine shops. He wants a new board so he gets a machined blank through his connection. Finds a place to finish sand the cut blank and takes the finished shape to the local lam shop. Three weeks later he has a new board that looks as good as most other boards you might see… at least from a distance. Because of the machine.

There’s this old blues song, “The Thrill is Gone”. Well, we could change the words a little and say “The Threat is Gone”.

D.R.

Doing it the old fashioned way.

Is there a difference in what goes on in a shaping room different today than 40 years ago?

In some ways definitely.

One day this week I got to talking with one of the shapers that bring us boards at the lam. shop about the process of board shaping. He’s been making boards for close to forty years so knows what’s happened and the evolution process in surfboards. His name is Malcolm Campbell.

The conversation developed around this weekends Sacred Craft Expo that took place in San Deigo. One of the events was a thing they called The Young Guns of Shaping. The write up went like this….

===
Four shapers, each 25-years-old or younger, are given two hours each to shape a surfboard out of a massive 10’10” stringerless chunk of foam. They can shape anything they want. The shapers use their own tools. The finished blanks will then be judged Saturday afternoon by legendary San Diego shaper Rusty Preisendorfer.
===

Shaping a surfboard from a big chunk of foam is no easy task. So the four guys really had their work cut out for them. Probably the best approach would be to shape something you were really familiar with, of course, something you knew really well.

The boards you do over and over again are in your head. You should be able to see it in your minds eye from the get go. Look a that piece of foam you’re given, see where the board in your head fits into that piece of foam and hack away until what you’ve seen in your head is cut out of the that piece of foam and right there in front of you.

Simple enough. But, what if the board you wanted to shape you had never seen before? You had an idea of what the board should look like, because it is in your head but in reality it has never been made before. And, since it has never been made before that shape or design in your head has never been ridden before.

Well, about forty years ago that’s exactly what Malcolm did. As well, so did many of the guys that shaped surfboards back in the early evolution days including myself. We saw stuff in our head that we wanted to ride that we thought may allow us to move in places on a wave face that we’d not been able to get to before.

Some of those boards were pretty crude. But, after a couple refinements they came around. We had never seen the stuff we made, we didn’t know for sure what would work well and what we needed to refine. The young guns of shaping in the past had nothing to go on but intuition. The young guns of shaping in the past had not seen anything like what they were making.

The young guns of today? They’ve pretty much seen it all before they ever get started.

D.R.

What exactly is considered a nose ride? What does it take to get on the nose of a surfboard? What kind of board do you get nose rides on? Can you nose ride a short board? How long should a surfboard be made for nose riding?

Traditionally surfboards that are called nose riders would fall into the long board category. But lately I’ve been hearing people talking about getting nose rides on small boards. Just this past week I watched one of the Riley boys get a nice cheater five on one of my H2 mini boards…. The board is 5’6”! Sure I’ve seen guys get cheater fives on regular tri fin short boards. It’s not something you would set out to do as far as maneuvers go but, sometimes it does happen.

I think for the most part a cheater five on a small board though a nose ride is only a little like a nose ride that you would do on a long board. Why do we call cheater fives cheater fives anyway?

The common nose ride on a long board takes place on the forward third of the board… from the tip of the nose to not more than 36 inches back from the tip. And, you should be standing upright in that area. Meaning you have your board fully weighted. Getting in that area is not as critical as getting right at the tip of the nose, curling your toes over the tip with one foot or both feet.

There are two ways to get to the nose area of a long board. The shuffle and the cross step. The shuffle is done by sliding your back foot forward to your front foot then sliding your front foot forward repeating until you’ve reached the nose area of your board. The cross step is executed by actually stepping one foot over the other, also called “walking”. Shuffling is easier. “Walking” is considered the more advanced method, as well, when done in smooth fashion is more graceful.

If you shuffle or cross step getting to the nose and staying there without falling is not easy. Getting all the way to the tip and standing there for a couple seconds is about as close as anyone gets to standing on water. Cross stepping in the last 36 inch area of a surfboard is about as close as you will get to walking on water for that matter. It’s difficult to do, takes wave knowledge, timing and a high degree of wave riding ability to do it well.

Now the cheater five is the easiest nose ride. If done on a short board that is not much over 6 ft or shorter all you need to do is trim in the middle of the board, squat down with your weight on your back foot, extend your front foot forward to the nose. The same can be done on a long board… after reaching the forward third of a 9 ft board squatting down and reaching your front foot forward to the tip of the nose.

When you squat down you have a low weight center, it’s easier to balance as compared to a full standing position, so we’ve always called it cheating. But even still, the cheater five is not that easy to execute.

Sure there are short surfboards that you can get a nose ride on. But I’m the traditional type. The graceful stepping to the nose, with the effortless look of ease. Perched on the tip.

D.R.

The 'Tip Tool' gets the job done.

There was an interesting thread on one of the forums this week about shaping. The main question was ‘how long does it take?’ to shape a board. The response was straight forward at first but then like most threads that get attention it began to develop its own direction. It went from how long it may take someone to how many boards could be shaped by hand in a day.

Of course production shaping is not done any more. My last production shaping job doing hand shaping and cleaning up machined blanks both ended in 2005. I think production shaping now days is mainly thought of cleaning up machined blanks, which is in no way the same as shaping as many boards as you can in a day by hand.

Production shaping is really hard work. It takes a lot of physical stamina as well as strong focused mental attention. It’s one thing to do hard physical work and another to work on something that is mentally demanding. But, doing something that requires both?

Basically what happens in the production environment is you focus in on all your moves… a hand and motion thing. At the same time you concentrate on what moves to make, how much or how little of a move you need to make at a certain stage of your process with what tool and or abrasive. But, you can’t just go hacking away. You have to have the completed picture of what you want to make in your head before your first move. And know when, how and where to make any move you make.

After shaping hundreds and hundreds of boards you begin to develop a procedure that you follow, continually getting more efficient. Eventually almost everything you do in the process becomes second nature… you literally don’t think about what you’re doing, you just do it. The ultimate robot… arms and legs the mechanism controlled by your brain, the computer. The interesting thing is you get very good at repetition, as good as any machine.

There is no demand for the production shaper now, and never will be again. So where does that leave me? With the knowledge, experience and ability to shape any kind of surfboard I’d like. All be it in a much more relaxed mode.

D.R.

The ultimate test for me as a production shaper was shaping a Yater spoon in 2 hours. I got going at such a good clip that I was tossing my block plane from hand to hand. When I saw this short video I laughed out loud!

My story post 46

Finding something to surf in summer can be difficult. When all surf boards were long I think it was a little easier to be happy with small slow junky surf… the kind we see a lot during summer months in Ventura. But as boards got shorter the week or 2 weeks or 3 weeks that could be pretty small around my home break would be frustrating.

We do get some wind swell stuff so you’d have to make yourself happy with that. And actually you could have some fun when the wind swells would get about waist high.

There was Stanley’s, but that went away. There was Oil Piers, but that went away. But what’s still around is Over Head beach break. I don’t surf there now but plenty guys do. In 1969 not many guys would go there looking for surf. It became a regular spot to check when looking for surf in the summer… any time really, but it was the summer months of ’69 that the spot really started getting noticed.

One of the other places I used to surf during the summer was the north side of Ventura pier. The first guy I remember surfing there was my friend and work mate Richie West. We worked on Front street and he lived in a small cottage around the corner from the shop on Kalarama st. He didn’t have a car so was unable to go hunt surf after work. Being hungry for surf he noticed some ride able waves at the pier… even if they were small. I followed him there and often would have a good time on the small short period swells and short rides on that side of the pier.

The south side of the pier can get a nice peak working with the summer south swells, it well shut down for years at a time… then start working again. But the north side seemed to work good enough when ever we’d get those summer wind swells.

For a period there I didn’t have car either so going down to the pier was what I did. If there wasn’t a south swell running that I could surf the point on then the north side of the pier was the spot to get some surf. The nice thing was that if I didn’t go down there with Richie, I’d go by my self. No body surfed there so you’d have the place to yourself. I liked that.

Sometimes people would gather on the pier and watch…. ‘Oh, look at the surfer’. Usually though I was by myself. Back then I didn’t really have any responsibilities so after work that’s what I did. Go look for surf, and in the summer months the north side of the pier was one of the spots you could find me at.

D.R.

Rights, wrongs and weights. What a surfboard weights post 2.

This past week I got into a discussion about board weights with one of our lam. shop customers. It all started when the customer was saying the fresh batch of shaped blanks he’d just brought in were to be laminated in epoxy.

The boards were shaped polyurethane blanks, usually laminated with polyester resin. So I asked why he wanted them laminated that way. His response “ because they would be lighter.” I asked “ how much lighter…. Compared to what?” He didn’t have an answer… well actually I think he said something like “you could tell by lifting them”. Maybe, Maybe not. But in reality if you don’t actually weight a board you really can’t know for sure if one surfboard is lighter than another.

So we started talking about the variables that may make one board weight more than another which lead us to two of the four blanks he’d brought in. He said, “ check this one blank”… as he picked it up… “it’s lighter than this other one.” I suggested we weight them, which we did. Sure enough one weighted 5 ounces more than the other. Funny thing, the one that was 5 ounces more was shorter. The lighter one was a 5’ 11” the other was 5’9”. Both made from the same foam and both had the same wood stringers.

So “see, I can tell by feeling what weights more”. He says. Ok good, but why would the shorter board weight more than the longer one? Reason? Foam volume. The shorter board was wider and thicker. The boards were machined so it was possible via the computer file to access the volume measurements of both blanks. Sure enough, the over all volume of the 5’9” was more than the 5’11”. With a little math we proved that the blanks were almost exactly the same weight per liter of foam. But, even though the one that weighted more was shorter it had more foam over all, as well has a wee bit more wood over all so that’s why it weighted more. I think it would be safe to say the over all girth of each board is different as well so the skin that is applied over the foam will add a corresponding weight increase. The finished weight of the 5’9 could end up being 10 or 12 ounces more than the 5’11”.

So what’s the point?

There is no mystery why one board weights more than another, there are reasons. If you want to know why one board weights more than another in your quiver you can find out. If you’d like your boards to have a certain weight pick the shape, core, shin and finish that would have the weight outcome you are interested in. And in the end, you need to weight the board to know the real weight of your board.

D.R.

The core and over all shape is where the weight thing starts.

To the surfer a well shaped wave is a thing of beauty.

We had a nice 4th of July here in Southern California. The forth is always a good day but when there’s surf it’s much better. The sun busted through the gray this afternoon in Ventura, as well we had light winds at the beach which means the surf was good all day.

I knew a swell was forecast but was busy at the house most of the day. Not until making a run to the beach around 4 this afternoon did I get a chance to see how nice the surf was. I watched for about 5 or 10 minutes then went straight back home and got my gear.

When you see nice looking waves it’s really hard not to want to surf. And surf I did. Even though I caught some nice set waves just being in the water and seeing these nice head high plus waves hitting the reef looking so good. Sure you want to ride them, but seeing them march toward the reef, standing up and spilling toward the beach with such a clean face peeling down the line…. The waves looked so good.

After a couple hours I took a wave down inside and called it good for the day. I climbed out of the water and up toward my car. Then just stood there with my board in my arm watching clean set waves breaking up and down the beach… many not ridden… though I knew I wasn’t going to go back out, I thought about it. The beauty of the waves stopped me in my tracks.

I really doesn’t matter what kind of wave you see… Clean peeling point waves, nice beach breaks with A-frame peaks popping up and down the beach, a wave standing up and bowling over a reef. Left hander, right hander, it just doesn’t matter, when the surfer sees a clean ride able wave it is a thing of beauty.

D.R.

Photo by David Pu'u

Maybe this should be a ‘lucky guy’ post…

So what happens on Fathers day at least for the past few years that I remember is my son comes and gets me for a trip to the beach. Just the two of us go surfing. I’m not sure if he does this because he can take off and go surfing on a Sunday with out questions… because it’s Fathers day or, he likes to surf with his dad and can on fathers day if he feels like it or, he knows it’s a treat for me to go surf with him?

So what happened today? We didn’t go surf. Robin called this morning and asked me about going surfing but said he wasn’t sure if he’d enjoy it that much because his ribs were still sore from getting whacked by his board on our camping trip a week ago.

He said “ I’d go if there was really some surf” but the surf was only about knee high and unorganized. So why aggravate the condition for no good reason.

So what did we do? Went to the movies and watched The A-Team. Robin loved the TV show as a kid. I’d watch it with him sometimes. So we watched the movie together… it was fun.

Because Robin was sore, and there wasn’t any real surf maybe we have an excuse to take off on a Sunday afternoon to surf some time in the next month or so when there is some surf to be had. Days at the beach surfing with my son… always a good thing for a dad.

D.R.

Two surfing days one of them rare. Volume 2

The State of California has many camp grounds along the coast. A number of them happen to be at good surf spots. Something I’ve taken advantage of many times over the past 40 years.

This past week was no exception. My son booked Monday through Thursday at one of our favorite camp grounds that is also at one of my favorite surf spots. The really nice thing about the place is it’s only about a 35 minute drive from my house.

The surf spot is a south swell spot and it just so happened that a small south swell was forecast to reach So.Cal. Monday and hang for a couple days. Sure enough the swell showed up Monday but, we ended up running late so getting in some surf before dark didn’t happen.

Knowing the surf would be good all day with the best tide in the after noon to evening we took things slow Tuesday morning getting down to the beach about mid day. The crowd was a little more than I was hoping for but we eventually paddled out and worked our way into the lineup. My son, Robin, was not doing to well with the crowd and was trying to pick up waves at the section down the beach but with not much luck. I hung inside the main line up and picked up a number of the insiders and a few set waves that were missed by the pack… lucky that.

After about a hour in the water I thought maybe we were going to score because the crowd started to thin out. The surf wasn’t real consistent but if the crowd thinned out a little there would be enough surf for every one not to have to hustle too much.

Right when I was starting to feel like things were looking up I glanced at the beach and saw at least a half dozen guys standing at waters edge with boards ready to jump in the water and paddle out. How ‘not fun’ things were going to be was immediate. When Robin found himself in perfect position for one of the smaller set waves and as the wave scooped him up one the many guys that had just entered the water and was actually still paddling out turned around and back doored him. I saw the sleight move and immediately thought “that’s it, we’re done surfing for the day” Robin thought the same thing. We hung a little longer getting a couple left overs but that was it.

What happened Wednesday was a completely different story. We walked down to the beach and checked the surf around 7 or 7:30 a.m. There was still some nice sets showing and maybe 10 or 12 guys in the water. With the tide not changing much all day we decided to skip breakfast, go get our boards and surf for 2 or 3 hours.

When we got back to the beach there were 5 guys still in the water 3 of which got out just as Robin and I started to paddle out. So Robin and I had the place with two other guys. Over the next 45 minutes or so two more guys came out to surf. So at that point there were a total of 6 guys at the break. With 3 and some times 4 waves sets the 6 of us were really enjoying the situation. Talking amongst ourselves, sharing waves…. ‘You goin?...’ nah, go ahead I’ll get the next one’. Total round robin.

One of the guys asked “when was the last time you surfed this place with just a few guys?” “It’s been a long time… maybe the sixties. Yeah, this is rare” I said. We were all so stoked, wave after wave for a good two and a half hours.

Just as I started to wonder how long it would last I notice about four guys heading for the water with their boards. I was getting a little tired and hungry, so was Robin who said “I’m going in”. Knowing we had really scored and the lineup was going to change I said “me too”.

I can still see some of the rides I got in my head. That mental instant replay thing is going to last a long time. How could it not on such a rare day?

D.R.

Most of the time surfing for me is something that gets worked into whatever is going on during the day.

For instance, I check the surf in the morning during the week and if there is enough decent surf I’ll try to get a surf in by taking a break from work at some point during the day. Hopefully when the tide is optimum and the wind hasn’t blown the surf out. Of course from April through September it’s easier to get some surf in because the days are longer.

On week ends I’ll stop what ever I’m doing… usually something around the house, and sometimes sneak off to surf. But for a weekend surf it needs to be pretty decent surf and or a really nice day because I’ll be one more guy in the crowded lineup. How needs that?

Rarely do I ever have a good ole fashioned surf day. Where all you do is go to the beach to hang and surf. I used to do that all the time when I was young… now I’ve got other things to do. But that doesn’t mean I wish I could spend a day at the beach surfing or go on a day surf trip. It does happen from time to time. Last year I went on an Island trip. And next week I’ll spend a few days on a camping/surf trip with my son.

A couple months ago I lent some boards to three guys that went on a trip to Baja. With my boards and their boards between the them they had about a dozen boards. All they did was find a spot to surf set up camp and surf until they headed off to another spot…. To surf some more. I’m sure after some time doing that it would get tiring… at some point you’ve got to come home.

But still, having nothing to do but surf… How could you not like that!

D.R.

Matt Riley in Baja on his DR fish.

How important is the weight of a surfboard to its design?

What do you consider to be a good surfboard weight?

How much should your surfboard weight? Well…. It does depend on what kind of board you have. Like, if you have a PCB.. ( Pro Circuit Board … not to be confused with something electronic )… that is between 5’10” and 6’2” then you will most likely want your board to weight not more than 5lbs 6ozs. Or, if you have a traditional long board you’d be happy if the thing weighted about 22lbs or more.

Then of course there are all the other surfboards. From Fish to Fun Shapes, Eggs and Hulls to Speed Shapes, Mini Tankers to Performance Long Boards, and everything else out there.

Most guys don’t know what the weights are of their boards. It’s mainly a ‘pick the board up and see what it feels like’ type of deal. If it feels light then it’s light or if it feels heavy then it’s heavy. You may be surprised to find out the board that you think feels light is not the actual weight you think it might be. In other words… boards that you think are light when you actually weight them they may be heavier than you thought.

For instance…. A guy may think his 7’0 fun shape probably weights around 7 and half pounds. Then when the board is weighted it’s 9 pounds… and all along the guy was thinking the board felt light. And, loved the way it surfed because it was nice and light. So what happens to the way the board surfs after he found out the board was heavier than he thought?

I wonder what would happen if you had 2 boards, same size, same shape but, one was a little heavier than the other. Surf the heavier one until you get used to how the board surfed. Then after say at least a dozen go outs you switch to the lighter board. If one board was a pound and a half more in weight how much would you notice the weight difference in the water? Would you be able to tell at all? It would be fun to experiment.

So what makes up the weight of a surfboard?

First is the foam. EPS or Polyurethane. Each comes in different weights.

Second is the stringer. What width and what kind of wood. Also how much a certain stringer weights will depend on the make up of the wood itself… like 2 stringers of the same species of wood and the same width may be different in weight because one piece of wood might have more sap in it which could make that particular piece of wood heavier. We’re talking ounces here.

Third is the glassing schedule. What weight fiberglass cloth is used for laminating. 4, 6, or eight ounce cloth. How many plies and patches. Each fabric weight will use a corresponding amount of resin to saturate. 4oz cloth needs less resin to saturate than 6 etc.

Then at the end of it all is the fin system and fins. Some fins weight more than others and can add a few ounces to your board. If you’ve got a PCB the fin weight may be important to you.

The end result is a board will weight what ever it weights. I find it interesting that we know what we are riding in length and width and over all shape but seldom if ever know what weight our boards really are.

D.R.

5'6" Perimeter stringer stubbie quad weighting in at 5lbs 14 ounces with fins.

It has been said that nose riding is one of the hardest things to do.

Since summer is almost here… even though today here in Ventura the water is about 53 degrees and the air temp didn’t get over about 63 all day… the long boards will be coming out and with them time spent working on tip time.

I started thinking about this a few weeks ago after reading one of the forums and a thread about nose riding and surfboard weights. Mainly it was stated that lighter weight long boards are better for nose riding, as well there was mention that in the 60’s during the nose riding craze that boards were getting lighter maybe reasoning that the lighter boards rode the nose better.

Well, actually boards were being made lighter because we were after better maneuverability not necessarily nose riding characteristics. I know I was interested in getting some of the weight off boards back then for maneuverability. The story of why Renny Yater made his spoon model was for swing weight not nose riding.

So basically there are two types of nose riding. Or, two different ways nose rides are executed. The stalling in the pocket type and the skimming down the wave face type. Honestly I don’t think either one is meant for a certain weight board, but more for a certain board design… that being traditional single fins and modern multi fin boards. Though the stalling type and the skimming type can be done on either single fins or multi fins.

The stalling type is where you set up your ride after turning and hold back or stall on the wave for the curl to stand up in front of you while you step up to the nose. As you step up to the nose and the wave stands up at the same time the wave breaks on the back portion of your board holding your board in place while you stand on the nose. You get stuck in the pocket standing on the nose until either the wave breaks in front of you or you get released and out run the section. This may be a simplified explanation but, the stalling type nose ride is usually the type worked on traditional single fins.

The skimming type is done after a quick top turn or after climbing to the top of the wave post bottom turn. At the top of the wave with a nice standing wall in front of you a few steps to the nose with your board placed in the wave face skimming along. With water raping the rails of your board for balance or simply the speed generated from sliding down the wave face this type of nose riding is generally done with multi finned boards.

Multi finned boards are made lighter than the traditional single fins. You may find one type of nose riding easier than the other. Both are difficult to execute regardless…

The small waves of summer are good to develop nose riding techniques.

D.R.

The stalling type nose ride.

The skimming type nose ride.

The skimming type nose ride.

The stalling type nose ride.

Among the company of friends.

I think it’s pretty cool that the guys at least in my area that make or shape surfboards are a good bunch. Being apart of them gives me a great sense of belonging. A couple weeks ago one of these guys referred to us all as a tribe.

The guys I’m talking about that I see on a regular basis include the likes of Craig Angell, Jim Allen, Steve Brom, Malcolm Campbell, Sammy Camack, Bill Hubina, Spencer Kellogg, Ray Moss, Wayne Rich, who else?... There are others that I don’t see often that would fit here as well.

I may be missing someone but, if we were all in the same room together we’d all be happy, talking shop or surf or what ever. Telling stories and having a good time with each other would be normal. Even though we all could be considered competitors, we all make surfboards under our own labels, sell boards in the same geographical area you would not ever think that by the camaraderie.

The fact that we are all friends, share ideas, talk to each other about problems that we have with what we do, help each other out. Like I asked Steve Brom about my planer adjustment lever freezing up and he told me how I could fix it. Or how often do Sammy and I exchange thoughts on laminating techniques? I’ll tell you… it’s a regular thing. I may be wrong, though doubtful, but for guys in an industry to be so close is rare.

This is part of what makes the local and or hand crafted surfboard such a unique item. The hand crafted surfboard guys for the most part are a tight group that are inter connected in ways that most people know nothing about or don’t realize at all. That’s ok, and for me? It’s a great thing to be a part of.

D.R.

Three guys that make surfboards beside myself, Steve Brom and Wayne Rich.


Three other guys that make surfboards beside myself, Reno Abellira and John Peck.

My story post 45, shaping a spoon 2

There was an article in Deep Magazine March/April issue on Renny Yater page 9. The last 2 paragraphs of the article in reference to the Sacred Craft shape off and the six guys that were to shape a spoon… “They are playing my music – in a different Key” says Renny, who notes that they only have two hours to do what usually takes four, due to the complex design. “It is not going to be easy and I will be impressed if somebody can do it in the time limit”

Well all of us finished the job… and it was impressive. When there were four completed shaped blanks in the display rack my friend Randy said to me “I know which one is yours” Because they all looked so similar I questioned him. He said “go look, it’s the one under the one at the top of the rack on the far side” … “well you know because you saw where it was placed after I shaped it” I told him.

Then I noticed a couple officials went to the display rack and rearranged the blanks around on the rack. So I told Randy “go look and tell me which one is mine now” So he went and spent 3 or 4 minuets looking at he shaped blanks then came to me and said “ I can’t tell which one is yours now!” Mine and the others, including Wayne Riches.. the winning pick, were not at all easy to tell apart.

I had a strategy, to complete the shape in 2 hours I figured I needed to get the thing roughed out in the first hour. If I could do that doing the finish work could be done in the remaining hour.

Since the outline was scribed on the blanks for us once I got set up in the shaping bay I grabbed my circular saw, cut the outline and cleaned it up with my planer and sanding block as fast as possible. Then measured the bottom rocker and started cutting away. You couldn’t stop to think about what you were doing… or really look at what you had done. My thinking was; I’ve shaped enough to know what to do and when, so just go… it was total auto pilot and motor memory.

After the bottom was skinned, rocker cut and bottom roll bands were in place I flipped the blank over and worked the deck… cutting for over all thickness and rail bands. Then I cut the spoon, and during that process the cutting adjustment on my planer froze up, which made the graduating cuts I needed to do impossible.

I stopped, tried to get the planer to work with out success. Fortunately I had also brought my Hitachi so I quickly retrieved it from my tool box, stepped outside of the shaping bay and called for Tim, the guy responsible for room set up. I needed to get my Skill planer off the vacuum hose and the Hitachi connected to it because the Hitachi only throws foam dust in your face if it’s not connected to a vacuum.

Tim wasn’t around so I asked my friend Dan to try and find him… as I went back into the bay and went after cutting the spoon in my blank, foam dust flying all over me and in my face. Tim comes to my rescue to pull the Skill out of the way and connect the Hitachi.
I finish cutting the spoon and made my final passes with the planer to clean up the deck.

I turned the blank back over and went after the bottom with my block plane to feather in the bottom shape. Then set the blank on edge and walked the rails with the surform, one side then the other. A final walk and scrub of the rails with sand paper and I picked up the blank and dropped it on the stand deck up.

There it was, I could finally see what I was after, the blank now looked like a spoon. I still had to do the finish work but the board I wanted was in front of me. It had been at least an hour of none stop motion but I knew at that point I could see the way home. What a relief!

I sanded out the blank, screened in the rails, did some touch up with enough time to step outside the booth and look at the spoon we were replicating just to see the final details.

Back in the booth I did a little final detail stuff, planed the stringers down flush and finish screened the board down in the final 2 or 3 minutes… I was done, stepped out of the shaping bay and let out a sigh of relief as Tim walked the finished shape to the display rack.

There were a couple things I should have done in the process that in the rush I missed… oh well. But the one thing I wished I’d done? Answer my phone when it rang in the middle of shaping.

I thought it would be good to have my phone in my pocket when I shaped the board because I usually have my phone in my pocket when I shape and would feel more comfortable if I did. Not thinking anyone would call… but at some point while shaping I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I thought ‘who’s calling me now?’ but didn’t stop to answer.

Later I checked to see who had called… it was John Peck. He left a message telling me he couldn’t get to the event in time because he couldn’t pass Malibu, with over head sets and a light crowd.

It would have been so classic to have stopped in the middle of the shape off to answer my phone and have John Peck tell me he had to stop to surf Malibu and “ sorry I’m late”

D.R.

A couple of the guys that got to do what I've never been able to do.... Watch me shape!

Short video below.

My story post 44 and shaping a spoon.

In 1967 if you would have said to me that in 43 years you will have your picture taken standing next to Renny Yater at a consumer surfboard expo after shaping a Yater Spoon in front of a bunch of people I probably would have said “you’re nuts”. But last weekend that’s exactly what happened.

I first met Renny in 1967 at Bob Coopers 29 birthday party. Cooper was the foreman of the Morey-Pope shop and hired me to shape surfboards that year… I was 18 years old. Renny Yater of course was very well thought of in the industry and really was an icon. Being in the same room let alone being introduced to him was a very big event for this then 18 year old kid. I remember it to this day!

Dale Herd, the guy that ran the show room at MP, wanted a spoon but instead of buying one the thinking was to have me shape one so He asked if I thought I could do it. “Who me? Sure I can do anything, after all I’m 18.”

So Dale got a Yater Spoon from a friend and I put it in my shaping bay with a surfboard blank and went at it. I don’t remember how long it took but I eventually finished the job and after the board was glassed and finished it was Dale’s baby. Dale was happy, he had a spoon. Not too sure Morey or Pope were that happy, their sales guy was riding a board that looked nothing like a Morey-Pope, but, that was that.

I’ve never looked closely at or attempted to replicate a spoon since that time. Then a couple months ago I was asked to be in the Sacred Craft Yater tribute shape off. My first question was “how long do we have to shape the board?” 2 hours I was told. “What? That’s a difficult board to shape let alone do it in 2 hours.” But, how could you pass up an opportunity to be in an event to honor such a good man, someone that is such a big part of our surfing history? It was an honor to be invited to participate and I’m thankful to have had the opportunity… really a once in a life time deal.

There were six guys in the event including myself, Michel Junod, Wayne Rich, Todd Proctor, Matt Moore and Nick Palandrani. All the guys put in their best and did a great job. Win, lose or draw, it was not about the competition. Fact of the matter, I didn’t look at it as a competition at all. To me it was a challenge, a challenge to shape a spoon in 2 hours for sure but it was really a way to honor Renny Yater, but as well to honor the traditions of the surfboard craft. Something that Renny helped cultivate starting back in the 1950’s. The tradition of hand shaping surfboards that has been passed down from men like Renny.

The intimacy of a hand crafted surfboard. Of having something that was made by someone that has put their heart into for a life time is extremely rare these days. To see, to witness what went down at the Ventura Sacred Craft show this past April 10 and 11 and to participate… was truly an honor.

D.R.

My story post 43

I’ve always liked summer, even though winter is when we get the most and biggest surf I’ve always liked summer. It maybe that when growing up summer meant no school and days spent at the beach… but the long lazy days of summer are my favorite.

Though I’ve got memories of good winter surf, good summer days are in there too. Like the summer of 1970. I had moved back to Ventura after loosening my job a Wilderness ended up shaping the summer months for a short lived label called Natural Motion.

I remember this one day, not sure of the month but, probably July. A day with light variable winds and the small residual waves from a south swell were still in the water. We probably hadn’t had much wind in days before this because the water was clean and clear… and a comfortable temp for short wetsuits.

There were a total of five of us. Mike the guy I shaped for, Bob, another guy I shaped for under the Pure Fun Fliers label, myself and a couple other guys. It was such a nice day we all didn’t want to waste it by working. So off to the beach we went.

There may have been a few guys surfing pipe but, honestly I don’t remember anyone but us around. We found this peak in front of the river that kept the five us busy for a good three hours. Nice clean shoulder to head high waves to play with all to our selves.

Two, three or four wave sets every three to five minutes. The warm sun on your back with fun playful waves the company of friends and not much else to care about. I mean, when you’re at the beach with the guys you work for and they are in no hurry to do anything but surf. What more could you want? Even at that if the wave that Bob just took I wished I’d gotten was a short lived thought because if not the next wave there was another one just like it within a few minutes anyway. Slide down the face, lay into a bottom turn, snap off the top….

We all had a blast, so much fun. The kind of days you wished would never end. But eventually you get tired and hungry, which we did and had to get out of the water to rest and replenish.

Funny how after surfing for hours when you get out of the water and start walking back to the car you keep looking back at the surf you’re leavening. You feel satisfied but you still look back, not wanting to leave but knowing you have to at some point anyway.

One more wave, one more look, you’ve left the water but you can still look at what you had. The good days live on in our memories.

D.R.

A big turn back on the H2 Mini

What are you looking for?

Is the grass greener on the other side of the hill?

Will the other board turn better?

Will the other board curiously make you a better surfer?

Do you wish you could do what you see the other guy do?

You can’t make the wave but with that other board you know you could.

You know which one of your boards you like the best, but the one you ride most is the cool one.

Sometimes we just think too much. For the most part if you think too much your surfing will suffer. Thinking that you need a different surfboard will not help you surfing. Thinking that you can over come the hardships you have with a particular surfboard will help your surfing.

When is a good time to think about your surfing? Not during but before or after your session….. Like why did I fall on that particular wave and what should I have done or not done in order to make the wave.

Case in point; Last week I took a bad fall and hurt myself. Maybe a slightly over head wave. Late, late take off and didn’t make the drop. Fell back flat on the water and suffered whip lash to my neck. It took about 7 days to get back to normal. I have replayed that fall in my head many times.

Why did I fall? I didn’t get my feet positioned correctly.

Why? Because for the most part I free fell for a split second on take off.

Why? Because I took off so picking late.

Why? I didn’t want the wave to pass me by.

My thinking? If I made It great, if I didn’t at least I tried.

I never thought about the possibility of getting hurt. I should have thought about the possibility of getting hurt by doing something ill planned like taking too late a take off before I got in the water.

So what’s the big deal about late take offs? Nothing, I do it all the time. But, at my age I could take a bad fall and hurt myself…. So I should plan a little better before I go.

D.R.

I've made a few fish in the past several months. Matt Riley on his 5'8

The surfboards I ride post 2 or, the surfboards you ride.

Did anybody that surfed in the sixties ever hear the words ‘the board doesn’t work‘? I don’t remember hearing anyone say that. Actually, I don’t remember ever hearing anyone say that until maybe the eighties.

What I do remember is getting a new board and surfing it until you figured it out. Sometimes you’d get it down in short order. Sometimes it would take a number of trips to the beach. But, you always worked at it until you knew what you could or couldn’t do with the thing, and then lived with it until you got a new board.

Sure, as we all progressed and wanted to do quicker turns and maneuver more on the wave we ditched the old “D” fins and found smaller aspect fins helped with maneuverability but, did the old “D” not work? Maybe its semantics, “D” fins worked fine until we found out that they limited maneuverability…. Then they didn’t work anymore. But before that they worked fine.

I remember once making a board for someone… like a team rider type… when the guy saw the board for the first time said ‘the board won’t work, the tail is too thick’. How thick or thin the tail was supposed to be for the board to “work” he couldn’t say, but what he saw wouldn’t work. Since surfing is 98% mental guess what? There was no way the board was going to work after the guy said ‘the board won’t work’. I later mentioned what the guy said to another board builder friend, his comment?... “ He said it wouldn’t work before he rode it? Well, it sure won’t work now will it”?

I made a board for one of the pro guys I’ve done boards for in the past. I’d made him plenty boards, but one in particular as soon as he saw it he rejected it flat out. He never said it wouldn’t work though. Of course good surfers can ride anything and look good but, this particular board was not what he was wanting, he could tell by looking at it, so that was that.

Personally, of all the boards I’ve had over the years there have been none that I could ever say “didn’t work” First off, a surfboard has no moving parts…. Unless the fins are loose…. So how could they not work? Each board may ride a bit different than another but reality… they all work. That said, I had one board that was seriously moody. When I first started riding it finding my feet was none to easy. Seems more times than not I’d plant my feet down in the wrong spot on take off spaz through the first turn until I could relocate my foot position for the next maneuver. After a few go outs I even decided to put some markers on the deck for my foot positions…. It helped a little. But even with the board the way it was there were go outs that I had the best time surfing it. So… did the board work or not?

Are there boards you can get that are as close to perfect as possible? Are there boards that “work” great starting with the first wave and every wave after? Is there such a thing as love at first sight?

Surfing... and love.... is a very individual thing. The questions asked in this post; you may have to answer them yourself. What do you think?

Geez, I even ended with a question...

D.R.

What happened in the 70’s ?

At the turn on the 60’s decade surfing seemed to be over it’s first commercial stage…. If you consider the sixties surfing thing as commercial. There were a couple clothing companies like Hang Ten and wet suit companies, nothing like today though. But, there was the Hollywood surf thing in the sixties like Beach Blanket…. something and the TV show Gidget in the sixties.

By the turn of the decade the big surfboard labels had lost their appeal in the industry and small local builders became the place to buy surfboards. Starting in the early seventies surfing seemed to be much more a grass roots or underground type of pursuit. The contest thing had no real traction as surfers became more interested in a non establishment going your own way thing.

The art of making surfboards may have gotten it’s start in the 70’s as the whole mass produced make as many surfboards as you can thing of the big labels in the sixties was replaced with the small board builder. Builders had more time to focus on design and crafting something their heart was into. If you find an old 70’s board you will see some of that craftsmanship. Color laminations and swirls or abstracts, as well as some pretty amazing resin pin line work.

Surfing certainly continued to advance. Surfers every where were still pushing performance boundaries but it was pretty much kept at the local level. There was the localism factor too. Certain places were known to have a local contingent of hard core locals only types that would make things unpleasant for unfamiliar faces in their lineup. I knew of one spot I wouldn’t surf in my home town even though I was a local.

Surfing was a quiet thing during the 70’s. But in the last couple years of the decade things began to change. Surfboard design was moving sum what slow with no real significant notice through most of the seventies. Sure there was the twin fin but it didn’t take over that much, there were still more single fins in the water than twins.

But at the end of the decade surfboard design changed radically and to this day has never looked back… well maybe just a little. What happened? The three fin Thruster.

D.R.

For the longest time tri fins were it. Now….how about a quad?

Growth of an industry.

Last weekend I went to an event that was held at the Fender Guitar Museum. For a guitar guy like myself it’s a pretty cool place. As well, every surf music band that was, is or has been played Fender guitars… from the Beach Boys to Dick Dale.

As I was taking in all that was there, reading the various stories and captions on so many of the photos in the exhibit I was struck by the thought that in the beginning Leo Fender really had no idea where his little company was going to take Him. That most likely there where people that belittled the notion that his amplifiers and guitars would amount to much. After all how far and how long could this crazy teenage music go?

At the same time I saw how the surf board industry had similarities. Who knew that making surfboards would ever amount to anything? As guys like Dale Velzy and Hap Jacobs, in their twenties, started surfboard businesses did they ever think that surfboards would grow to what we see now? Can you hear the words…? “Yeah, do you really think your little surfboard business is really going to last? Surfing is just a fad fuelled by this crazy music with electric guitars"…. Fenders no less!

As we stand back and look at the history it’s really amazing to think that Fender having started in such humble beginnings grew to a multi million dollar business. And similarly we can see how what was started in the late fifties on the beaches of California making surfboards has grown to an international industry. Leo Fender sold his company to CBS for a rather large sum of money. Similarly Channel Islands Surfboards was sold to Burton for no small amount I’m sure.

I certainly never thought that making surfboards could or would be sustainable over decades. Something that could put food on the table, something that would help provide the resources to raise a family. Something that would over time be looked at with some respect instead of “ Oh, it’s just a passing fad. “ Or, for that matter, be passed on to new generations.

My wife found the below drawing today. I’m not sure what age my son was when he drew it… maybe 6 or 7. But I am sure he never thought while drawing a picture of his dad surfing, wave curling behind and a flock of seagulls over head… note the M’s in the sky, some 25 years later he’d be pictured below (third from left) with his coworkers at FCD doing what his dad taught him, making surfboards.

D.R.

The evolution of a surfboard.

Today for the most part when you go to a surf shop and look at the different boards in the racks you will see models. What people have come to expect is a certain surfboard shaped a certain way. It has a specific name and sometimes even specific color schemes.

If you have a certain model board you particularly like that has gotten well worn from use you can go buy another board of the same model and find it will surf pretty much like your last one.

It’s really pretty easy to replicate a certain shape via the various CNC shaping machines now days but to replicate a shape by hand is not that easy. It takes a lot of hand shaping for a guy to get to that repeat ability factor that so many surfers have come to expect.

Short boards have continued to evolve so that usually what is the hot item this year won’t be next year. Something will replace lasts years models and last years model may not be available anymore. But long board and alt board models once introduced may stay available for multiple years. Actually there are some long board models that have been around for decades.

I make a few boards that were first introduced in the mid sixties. Have they changed? Yes, though the right term would be evolved. These boards, or models, are still identifiable as the same board from the sixties but on close examination they are different. That’s a good thing. Small incremental changes in a design are what should happen over time to get the design to its optimum.

In the Sixties boards where going through rapid changes. Because surfing was advancing at a rapid pace the boards were going through changes continually. Even the models. You may see a certain model made in ’66 then see that same model made in ’67 and it may be noticeably different. Then of course that same model was not made at all from ’68 to ’82 and the ’82 make is different from the ’67 make. If you wanted the same exact board in the old days you may have gotten disappointed because your old board was not replicated well or the model went through some change.

Change was what happened in times past. Change is not what you see these days. Is the way we do things with surfboards today better than the way we did it in the past? Because models evolved in the past bad and now they don’t better?

Well you tell me… does riding a different surfboard, one that you will need to figure out better for your surfing? Does it help you advance? Or riding the same model over and over do that?

D.R.

My Story post 42

It was spring time in So Cal, sunny days and a nice warming trend in the air. My friend and work mate Richard had some how gotten a pass to the ranch. Which meant that he could drive into the lower ranch during the day. How and where the pass came from I have no idea but was sure glad Richard had it.

Having a pass meant you could drive into the ranch to surf, at the time few could. Without a pass if you wanted to surf the ranch you had to launch a boat at Gaviota and motor up. Driving in was much easier… and faster.

Sinse Richard and I worked together shaping for Morey-Pope we could plan a day trip for a certain day during the work week. Get some extra work done the day before the trip so as not to get behind with our work load. Or, find ourselves a little ahead of schedule and take off around noon for a run up to the ranch and an after noon surf.

Not sure how many trips we took, maybe 5 or 6 but what I do remember is that we never saw another soul on the beach or in the water… we were always by our selves.

I still remember one day in particular at Rights and Lefts. A good 4 or 5 hours of perfect head high plus waves with not a creature in site but us guys. Richard myself and our other work mate Donny. Other than the water being a little cool it was sunny and warm with no wind and that beautiful A-frame peak. Take off, bottom turn, climb and drop, maybe a small turn back and ride the wave almost to the beach as it tapered down from over head at the peak to waist high on the inside. Pull out and paddle back for another.

When we got tired we’d sit on the beach and watch that perfect peak while warming up and having something to eat… for me it was trail mix. Then when you couldn’t watch anymore paddle back out and surf again until you were too tired. We could surf until there was just enough light left for the drive off the ranch. Once on the high way if it was dark it didn’t matter.

I went back to the ranch one day 1985, the day after Thanksgiving that year. Got a boat ride with a friend of one the of the guys that worked for me back then. We surfed a few different spots and the last being Rights and Lefts. The whole day there were boats and surfers at all the different spots. Rights and Lefts must have had at least a half dozen guys in the line up. A couple guys that lived in the ranch were among them and weren’t too happy to be sharing the spot with boaters.

I had a good time and got some good surf that day but it was nothing like what my memories hold from earlier times.

D.R.

The essence of foil.

I’ve looked up the word foil in the dictionary but don’t find a definition that comes close at all to what in surfboard lingo we call foil. Unless you think a blunt sword is close.

Once you get bit by the surfing bug and develop your abilities surfing and have handled a few different surfboards the chances of realizing the beauty of a fine foiled surfboard and getting hooked on the look is pretty strong. To the discriminating surfer a surfboard can become a piece of art. Short board, long board and anything in between can be a sculpted thing of beauty.

Simple lines, simple curves and how they are formed and fit together when done well can be something very pleasing to look at. It can take years to acquire the ability to sculpt a piece of art. Taking what you see in your head and using imagination and your hands to make what you see, be pleased with what you see and have others enjoy what has been crafted.

So what is foil? To me it’s the complete package of curves that make a surfboard. From how the deck curve relates to the bottom rocker curve which in turn dictates how the foam volume is distributed nose to tail. How the rail line and rail shape moves along the length of the board, as well the way the deck and bottom is crafted from rail to rail.

It starts with a profile. Cutting a surfboard in half from nose to tail at the center and seeing how the bottom and deck curves relate to each other. The look of a profile will depend on the surfboard itself and the boards intended use. It may have more thickness a little forward or a little more aft or have an even taper. How the volume graduates into the nose as the deck and bottom curves converge, how the tail lines flow. It’s all in the profile.

Deck crown may blend it’s way from rail to rail down the length of the board with more curve forward and flatten out the back as the profile tapers through the tail section. And as the profile tapers the rails turn with crisp edges sharpened for a positive cut on the wave face.

There really is no formula for a nice clean foil. We may have some what standard bottom rockers or typical bottom curves but how the deck lines work with bottom lines? It can be very personal to a shapers hand. CAD programs may make seeing a given profile easy. But, seeing something on paper and then seeing the same thing full scale with all the other elements can be a completely different thing. There is no easy way to a nice foil.

Once you get the look of a nice foil in your head it just doesn’t go away… a picture impression. If you have a finely foiled surfboard you can look at it for hours and never tire it's look.

The beauty of a finely foiled machine, you see it with your eyes, feel it with you hands and almost instantly know it will feel good under your feet.

D.R.