I’ve seen another conversation going on one of the forums about the dying art of hand shaping.

The craft of shaping a surfboard with power tools and hand tools has faded from the production of surfboards for sure but crafting a shape “by hand” will always be done most likely.  And really, the guys that have any complaint about “The Machine” should be guys that were once production shapers and have been replaced by “The Machine”. Of which I am one.

Now days a production shaper is a person that finishes a cut blank.. hardly much skill involved for that.  Evidenced by a help wanted ad for a shaper at CI a half dozen years ago, they wanted someone with one year experience.

But here is the question.  Is hand shaping 10 surfboards a day five days a week art any more than a CNC machine milling a blank in 15 minutes?  What’s more graceful, a guy running around a blank with a planer or the magical moves of the cutting head on a CNC machine? 

Duplicating the same shape over and over again, all be it in different sizes, never seemed very artful to me. It seemed like work… and hard work at that.  Making all the same cuts… sort of like a machine… was the strategy for consistency, as well a necessity for being consistent.  Believe me, when you walk into a surf shop and see a model in sizes ranging for 10’2 to 8’0 or a couple dozen 6’0 to 6’6 boards they are all supposed to look and feel the same and just vary in size. Same rocker, same nose and tail details, same rail shape and bottom contours… just as if a machine had done the work. Doing that never felt like art to me.

Now taking your time and scribing an outline on a blank, making cuts to clean up inconsistencies in a blank, carefully making passes with your planer and hand tools to dial in a shape, and screening it down to a nice clean detail is artful.  The end result being an eye pleasing foil… yeah, that could be called art.

D.R.

Happiness and surfing you’d think go hand in hand. I watched a documentary this past week called Happy. It’s a study that some sociologist types did about what makes people happy, and the effects happiness has on our lives.

Since surfing makes people happy I wondered if there would be someone interviewed in the movie that surfed. Sure enough a guy from Brazil was interviewed about how surfing makes and keeps him happy. 

What is it about surfing that makes you Happy?  I really don’t know what it is.  But I do know that when I’m feeling down, or stressed a good surf will rinse those bad feelings away.  Had a bad day? Go surf and feel better. Stressed out with the kids? Go surf (if you can ) and feel better.  Someone got you irritated? Go surf and be un-irritated.  

Amazing how that works.

I got to thinking about bad vibes in the water, and how out of place tension in the lineup is. Really tension in the lineup is counter to what surfing is.  And to me it gives off the  feeling like there is some kind of pollutant in the water. When someone is not nice or unpleasant in the water it’s like a pollutant. The best thing to do if the water is polluted is go to a spot that isn't polluted…. Surfing should be a happy thing.

Also got me to thinking that maybe the reason my wife doesn't mind me going off for a surf. She knows I’ll come home happy…. I’d best not talk about what a great time I had too much though… it’s not good to be too happy.

D.R.

Tip Time

Scott Beckley

Matt Riley

The model I make for nose riding... the Tip Tool.  Both Scott and Matt finding tip time with the tool for the trade.

D.R.