It's been at least a couple years now that Blinky has been making his longboard fish, what he calls the Mega Fish.

I remember when he first started making these boards and how stocked he was.  There's nothing better than getting into something that gets you excited about surfing and that's what happened with his Mega Fish. He'd come into the glass shop with another one and start talking... "these boards are working so good"! Trying a different fin placement or coming in with a new fin set to try. He kept saying "you've got to try one... you've got to try one. " then one day he walked in with a cut Mega Fish Blank and said "Ok Dennis this one is for you. Finish shape this with your own touch and you'll see, the board just works". I said 'ok, I'll finish it up and see how it goes.'

Well, you know how it is, one thing leads to another and before you know it almost 2 years go by and that cut blank has been sitting in the corner and never touched.  Then just after Christmas I'm talking to Blinky down at the beach the same day I see Joe with the board I made that was his Christmas present from his friend Johnny.

I say to Blinky 'Some friend Joe has yeah? gives him a new custom surfboards for Christmas.... I never had a friend like that!'  Blinky says "I gave you a blank and you never even did anything with it...what?"

So my new years resolution.. finish Blinky's blank, glass it and have a go at his Mega fish.

D.R

 Blinky briefing me on the Mega fin layout

 

 

Seeing my friends old surf footage

 

Between the holidays I visited with some friends for a BBQ get together during which we watched some old surf movies of 4 or 5 guys I knew in high school. The footage was from '65-'66 mostly shot at Hobsons I think. 

 

The thing that I took away from the footage aside from how well my high school buddies surfed was how flat the rockers were on the boards they rode.  I knew that back in the day the old boards didn't carry much rocker, after all I made them back then too, but I didn't think it would be that noticeable watching guys surf those boards in the film.. at least it was to me.

 

Of course the boards were long boards....  those boards left us, and when they returned the long board had more rocker.   I'm not sure why, well actually I do know why. The new long board was about maneuvers, turning up the face, turn backs and tight turns in the pocket not the old trim and glide stuff from the old days.

 

You might wonder how long boards would have evolved had they not left surfing for a dozen years by the masses but instead followed a parallel path along side the evolution of what we call the short board. Would the  contemporary long board look the same as it does today?    

 

D.R.  



New with the old school curves