Today is a significant day. But, at the same time it seems the same as any other day. I worked on a surfboard just like other days.

So it’s the last day of the second decade of the 21^st century. Tomorrow is a special day as well… the first day of the third decade of the 21^st century. You know half a century ago we were in the swinging beginnings of the short board revolution? Or maybe I should say I was in the beginnings of the short board revolution. Had the T-shirt and the Hat… but those things got so old and thread bare they got tossed. Wonder what surfboards will be like when the 21^st century is half over? 3 more decades to go.

Happy New Year!

D.R.

Below is some of what went on in 2019.

I find it amazing that our bodies are capable of sensing the most intricate details of physical activities.

As related to surfing… developing the ability with a surfboard to actually catch an ocean wave moving at whatever speed toward the beach getting to your feet on that surfboard and not fall off, let alone maneuver on the wave and move along just in front of the curling breaking wave. It’s absolutely amazing to me.

Sure it can and does take years to get really good at doing it. But all along over time you develop such acute senses. I think of riding a long board and  even the simpler things like learning how after you turn in the direction of the breaking wave sensing how much rail line of your board is in the wave face and if you need to make changes to stay at a certain speed and at a certain level on the wave face to maximize your riding experience.

Of course you don’t think about it really. You’ve just developed your abilities to do what you know to do, sense what to do and react accordingly.

How about on a short board? You take off get to your feet in a snap, drop to the bottom of the wave and sense the exact time to set your edge and weight into a turn that sends you in a blink of an eye to the top of the wave and while you’re climbing to the top of the wave in a split second you are able to weight your board going from your inside rail to your outside rail and in one continuous flow move with a sweeping arc back down the wave face…. It’s amazing we can do that.

It all started years and years ago but over time surfer after surfer has progressed to the point that now launching off the wave face 3 or 4 feet in the air above the wave and reentering with out falling happens regularly with some surfers.

So you think you want to learn to surf. You see pictures or movies of surfing or you’re at the beach and see people surfing and  say I’m going to do that and set out on your journey. It is a journey and because you want to learn you do. As you keep at it you get better and better. It becomes more and more enjoyable as you get more advanced in you abilities. Over time you’ve developed your senses beyond imagination.

Surfing… It’s truly amazing.

D.R.

Recently I was asked what the rails were like on one of my boards.

I can explain what they are like but to really know what rails are like on any given surfboard it’s pretty mandatory to see, feel and handle the board.

I know what my rails are like. I can see them in my head. It’s like someone you know in a crowd. They are easy to spot…. ‘cause you know what they look like. 

When you’re shaping a surfboard after you’ve got the outline cut and milled the blank for foil and rocker you band the rails. Then you turn the rails… shape the rails using sand paper and screen. Dial in the rail apex, where and how the apex line moves from nose to tail, blend in edges etc.

If you shape lots of boards each and every day your routine will pretty much get you the same results on each board you shape. It’s not a bad idea to have a few rail profile patterns to check consistency. If you don’t shape lots of boards and or have several board models having different rail profiles, patterns make dialing in consistent rail shapes a proficient exercise.

I can’t imagine working without them.

D.R. 

Well there’s a first time for everything. Can I categorize this under “the guy is just getting grump in his old age”?  I can’t stand people yelling at others taking off in front of them. Not dropping in on them but taking off in front of them.

There is a difference… dropping in on someone = there is a surfer on a wave, on their feet and maneuvering along the wave face and someone takes off on that wave and drops down the wave face getting in the other persons line. Taking off in front of someone = a wave is approaching a lineup and 2 people start paddling for that wave and catch it at the same time.

In a crowded line up 2 people paddling for the same wave happens all the time. Does the person in front yield and stop paddling or if they both catch the wave does the person in front yield or keep surfing?

It comes down to manners. Do you have good manners or not so good manners? Well, yelling at someone that is paddling for the same wave as you in my book is just bad manners. And… it happened to me last week. Normally if I paddle for a wave in front of someone and see they will catch the wave I back off. Or, when I catch a wave and someone is behind me I pull out.

Anyway, last week I started to paddle for a wave and a guy was above me paddling too. But, before I even could stop paddling the guy yelled at me “HEY”. That was it… I kept paddling and got to my feet in front of him. We had words… or I had words for him and I think he tried to explain himself, which didn’t matter to me. I can’t stand being yelled at and I’m sure what I said to the guy didn’t make any sense but, cause and affect. It happened.

I paddled back to the line up and said to a friend as I did “I’m getting to old for this” And maybe I am but, I’m not going to stop surfing and if I get grumpy in the line up it will most likely be because someone is being rude. What happens after that will be cause and affect or cause but no affect. We shall see…

I’m not getting old; I’m getting older but surfing anyway grumpy or not.

D.R.

It is said that making surfboards is a messy business.

It is, but so are a number of other trades.  The first that comes to mind is a house painter or any kind of painting for that matter… If it’s something you do messiness is just part of the job.

The first surfboard process after the foam blank is manufactured ( the core of the surfboard and a whole other messiness) you start with shaping.  The foam dust from shaping is an irritant. It’s course on you skin and hard on your lungs, and can be hectic when it gets in your eyes. Yes I’ve had to go to the doctor to get a chunk of foam out of my eye. With compress air you can blow the dust off but you don’t really get clean of the stuff until you shower.

After a surfboard is shaped it gets wrapped in fiberglass fabric and resin. Fiberglass fabric particles are hazardous… you don’t want that stuff in your eyes or lungs either. Once the fiberglass is put on the board and cut resin is applied to the fiberglass. You’ve got to mix chemicals to resin to activate the resin curing process. Those chemicals are very hazardous as well. One thing you don’t want to ever happen is to get even a small drop of catalyst in your eye, should not get on your skin either. And the emissions of polyester resin is bad, respirator mandatory. Clean up for Polyester resin is acetone… highly flammable, bad for your shin and lungs. Epoxy resins though touted as not that harmful emission has pretty much the same hazards as polyester resins. If you don’t think so ask my son what it was like getting a drop on the stuff in his eye.

After the board is laminated you’ve got to sand it. Sanding dust… bad stuff. Respirator mandatory. As well, sanding dust is flammable and an explosive in the right environment.

Man reading back over what I just wrote… I’ve gatta be nuts to make surfboards. In context, precautions taken, it’s all part of a days work. Think about it… do you pump you own gas for your car? That stuff is really hazardous. Do you have natural gas in your home for hot water, heat and cooking?  How about electricity… can’t see it but don’t touch it right? Really, we’re around messy stuff every day and live with it.

Anyway, my question is when should a guy get a new work apron and a new pair of laminating shoes?

D.R.

I had a brief conversation with a guy in the water last week about surfing. The guy asked how long I'd been surfing. After I told him he said … something like you must really like to surf… and that got me to say… “surfing is a lot more than just surfing.”

It was early morning about 6:30 and one of my favorite weather set ups…. Cloudy along the horizon  but not the overcast marine layer like we get at the coast here in California so much of the summer mornings.

What’s nice about that kind of morning is as the sun rises the clouds block the sun from reflecting on the water as it rises making very blinding conditions riding a wave into the direction of the suns reflection. The same thing happens on overcast mornings as well but with the horizon clouds as the sun rises the clouds and reflecting light can  be very picturesque. So I pointed that out to the guy I was conversing with, the surroundings and environment we are in when we surf is all part of the experience.

And really when you think about it… which I do… just being in the ocean and looking back at the beach is pretty unique. At the point in Ventura when you’re in the water there can be dozens of people on the Promenade looking or watching the surfers and never know what it’s like to look at the beach from the water. Seeing the land scape, the mountain back drop and all.

How ‘bout surfing in the winter up in the Fairgrounds and looking at the Topa Topas covered in snow. It’s cold but can be very beautiful.

Just watching perfectly formed waves while in the water is in itself pretty amazing. Seeing and feeling that energy that has traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles across the ocean to be presented right at the very spot you are sitting on your board.

Seeing phenomenal sunrises and or sunsets while in the water surfing adds so much to the surfing experience that only the surfer knows about and that most people will never know.

It’s all part of surfing, and surfing goes far beyond just riding waves. And riding waves in it self is pretty amazing.

D.R.   

surfing and the surroundings 

Summer is here…. My favorite time of the year. How many times have I said that now?

Yeah, not much for surf and usually on the small side. But, the long warm days and warmer ocean temps where you can spend time enjoying the beach… and not freeze. Surfing can be really fun on the right equipment.

For California summer surfing The Tip Tool is the right equipment. I look forward to getting on mine when the conditions are clean and surf is running waist high or so. Got mine in the van at the ready.

Isn’t it interesting, having a surfboard that you really like being motivation to go surf? I think that’s a good reason to have a couple boards for the varying conditions so you don’t struggle with a board that doesn’t fit the waves and conditions you find at any given time.

You might expect me to say something like that… I make surfboards. Can’t help saying it though, because it’s true.

D.R.

The Tip Tool

I heard a great line in a movie the other day that really hit home for me. A couple hours later it was still with me so I asked my wife if she caught the line…. We were watching the movie together. She asked  “what line was that” ? I repeated the line and she said “no didn’t hear or remember that one”.

Interesting how these things happen. The seen was set in an art class and was spoken by the instructor who wasn’t the lead.. the lead was in the class. It went by in just a few seconds but it hit on something I’ve thought about for years, the difference between art and craft.

So often said… ‘shaping and making surfboards is an art’. Or the person that is making a surfboard is an artist. I’ve never thought that, but rather that I am a craftsman. So then the question… is a craft art? Answer = yes.

So if crafting is art what is the difference between an art and a craft? It comes from the individual working their art or craft… and the line in the movie. “An artist strives for expression… a craftsman strives for perfection”.

My other life long endeavor is playing guitar… a performing art. So when I heard that line I saw exactly what the line meant… in life application. Because when you’re playing music you are expressing yourself. When I’m making a surfboard I am constantly in every stage of the process, from shaping through to the final detail I’m working on or trying to perfect what I’m making… a very nice surfboard.

D.R.  

Photography is an art.. A photographer I'm not.  

I had a conversation with long time local Ventura board builder Stan Fuji this past week. We usually talk surfboards when we see each other and this time was no different.

Stan put out the question.. “What aspect of a surfboard shape do you feel is the most important?”  We hit on rail apex, outlines, rocker etc. Stan mentioned rocker as being critical over rail shapes and outline. I agreed and suggested as far as outline is concerned that bumps and lumps didn’t matter because we’ve been putting bumps, wings in outlines for decades. As well there is a surfboard outline that is the shape of a peanut.

As far as bumps and lumps… once a surfboard gets ridden enough the decks get foot wells and dents from regular use and the boards still ride fine. Stan mentioned bottom contours would effect a boards performance and I said yes but to me foam distribution may play the biggest over all part of a boards ultimate behavior.

How much foam and where / how it is all placed throughout the board is pretty critical to how a board will perform.  Starting there adding rocker curve and how that moves along the length of the board. Outline will have an impact on how the board fits in the wave face. Rail apex impacts how the board will behave on the wave face. Bottom contours for where water flow is released along with the rail lines.

One more critical element… the fin, or fins. Once you have the complete package, the fin or fins, shape, placement can literally make or break how your favorite surfboard performs. So if a board is not working right for you don’t toss it until you’ve gone through a few fin sets ups.

D.R.

I went down to the point yesterday to hang and watch a surf event. It had to be one of the most refreshing surf events I’ve known about for a long time.

The event “1 fin 1 win” was promoted by Ventuckyco, Ventucky.com. @ventuckyco. And ran by my friend Vince Felix.  It was an invitational event so the entrants were selected and limited to 16 men,  16 women and 8 groms. Ok, that’s nothing real different, and that it was a longboard event, nothing different, only single fin longboards, a bit different, no leash… also different.

The heats were 20 min. so with out a leash if you fell and lost your board, had to swim to retrieve it then of course you loose some heat time. Also, the heats started on the beach, which meant that the paddle out took up part of your heat time.  How about this one.. speaking of no leash and falling, one of the rules was if you did fall and lost your board that particular ride was a no score. Imagine finding the best wave of your heat, pulling of great turns and cutbacks, long down the line nose ride and toward the end on the inside you turn back dig a rail fall and loose your board… no score.  

This was a total throw back event. Using your complete board with transition and flow,

style, power and complete rides including the kick out. Yeah, the kick out was once apart of your ride. In the old days never falling off your board… wipe out… was what you tried hard not to do. The good surfer just didn’t fall. And.. the good surfer passed on riding in the white water. If you determine that the wave you’re on is not make able or the section you’re coming to is not make able you’d kick out, always part of the ride. 

On a sunny spring day there were some good surfing in this event and there was some pretty clean surf. Nice longboarding waves at inside point. Happy and fun.

D.R.

Hulls were a product of the short board revolution and many of the boards that came from the beginning years of transition had “S” decks. Having survived through the ever changing years of surfboard design from the late sixties through the 70’s the Hull is really the only board that incorporates “S” deck these days.

The “S” deck is part and parcel to the design function of a hull. Put another way.. a hull is not a hull without an “S” deck. And because of that, the process of shaping one is different than shaping any other design.

Why is that? Foil design consists of a bottom curve and a deck curve. And those to curves bend at differing degrees but the same basic direction. If you place a board on it’s bottom the bottom curve ( rocker ) bends up at both ends, and the deck curve bends up as well. The Hull foil curves don’t do that.

Except for the first 12 to 18 inches of the nose area of a hull where the bottom and deck curves follow each other all the rest of the deck curve moves in a different direction than the bottom. That’s because of the “S” deck. They also have a large crown from rail to rail on the deck as well. All these deck curves make for a very different over all foil design. And, all those curves need to blend together.  It’s tricky business.

I really like shaping Hulls. Putting all the curves together is an effort worth taking. It’s been 50 years since I shaped my first hull… after all that time I’ve never tired of it.

D.R

A 6'3 New Hull

I like to work up different applications when making my boards. One application I’ve been doing for some time now is what I call a compound color lam.

So what’s that? If you laminate one color on the bottom and a tint or translucent color on the deck you get a third color where the deck lam overlays the bottom lam along the rails. A little tricky to do but the results can be pretty cool… at least I think.

A couple months ago I did one in colors I’d not done before. Black and white. White over black can will make gray if done right. By making the white on the deck a translucent see through color I was able to get gray rails where the white over lapped the black along the deck and bottom rail laps.

White labels on the bottom, black labels on the deck and black deck lines to complement the three colors created from the two.

D.R.