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.