So.. what do I write as I’m sitting at my computer thinking back on the year…. 2020.  Who would have ever thought while celebrating 2019 at the end of last year that this year would be anything like it’s been? 

Sickness, protests, riots, shootings, lockdowns, shutdowns…. What else?? For the surfer, beach closures.

An interesting thing for the year is the number of people that were buying new surfboards. The 2 stores here in Ventura that carry my boards both notified me at one point about the middle of summer that they had sold through the inventory of my boards they had. So I went to work getting boards made to replenish supply… which can take weeks. I get a couple boards complete take them to the store and get back to making more. And every time I take more boards to the stores they sold through the last batch already. I could never get caught up.

I’m guessing maybe because Foot Ball, Base Ball, Basket Ball, Soccer, Tennis, Ping Pong… you name it, were all off limits. The one thing people along the coast could do was go to the beach. Well, after people were permitted to go to the beach. So what better time to get into surfing…. After all don’t most people wish they could surf?

I’m also guessing that’s the reason surf spots were so crowded. Sometimes finding a place to park so you could go for a surf was difficult. At least frustrating anyway.

All that and I don’t remember any real memorable swells to write about the whole year. Though the last week or 2 have been pretty good. I will admit with the water temps being in the mid 50’s and air temps in the upper 50’s this old guy can’t handle. Shoot…. The temp this morning at my place was 32. Yeah, maybe 12 degrees warmer down at the beach but that’s just not enough to get me motivated.  Maybe if my son came in and said let’s go it’s good! Nah, doesn’t happen.

So here’s something that happened this year…. I introduced a new board model. The DR Wing Nose. As well, even though I did a reissue of a V-Bottom a couple years ago 2020  got me started putting them in the store.

Speaking of models. With the new Wing Nose I now have The Imperial, The Tip Tool, The ’67, The Dreamsicle ,  The Machine, The Penetrator, The Model 50, an HPLB and HPNR,  The PSQ and The T&G. That’s a dozen long boards.

I also do mid lengths in the Gadget, The 70’s Single Fin and The Long Hull. Then there’s The Retro Hull and New Hull models, The Stubby Quad and H2 board that we call the alternatives. Ok  for 2020 lets round this off to 20 boards… The 7’0 Pro. One of my old favs.

2020 has not been to good. To make 2021 better I hope to have myself a new Wing Nose a T& G and  a new Gadget. Those are my picks.

You can take your pick too, and have a Happy New Year!

D.R

 

There are plenty of discussions about how a certain surfboard works. When talking surfboards with people about surfboards, during the process of deciding what surfboard they might like me to make them I often hear “ I like a surfboard that does this …. And doesn’t do this…”  ( fill in the blank ).  So the question is what makes a surfboard work?

Answer is…. You do!

What??? Wait a minute… you mean to tell me that board I got from so and so that was a total dog in the water that didn’t work at all was my fault?  Yeah, that board that you got from so and so that you gave back to so and so? They in turn gave that same board to someone else. That someone else started surfing it and it became their favorite board. Yeah, that board worked quite well.

It’s always said that every wave is different. You can be standing on the beach looking at the most perfect surf when every wave looks the same, so perfect you can’t get in the water fast enough. Even then each and every wave is different. And every surfer is different as well. Like your finger print is unique to only you so is your surfing unique to only you.

That means that what you feel under your feet and all the time you’ve spent in the water developing your abilities is personal to you. What works well for you may not work as well for someone else. And what works well for someone else may not work that well for you.

Just like people, surfboards come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and they all surf differently.  Simple examples… Single Fins surf different from Twin Fins, Twin Fins surf different from Tri Fins and they all surf different from Quads.  What about all the asymmetric stuff out there? Like the 3 fin board that has 2 fins on one side and 1 fin on the other?

It takes a lot of time and effort to learn to surf. When your abilities have progressed and you’ve gotten some proficiency what you like and don’t like starts to surface. What conditions you favor, what surf spots you favor, what time of day you like to surf and of course what kind of surfboards you like to surf. Or, work for you.

At first when I started surfing I had one surfboard. Whether that first surfboard worked or not, never entered my thoughts. I just got in the water and went after catching waves getting to my feet and trying not to fall. Just like everyone else. Of course you see someone that can surf like you wish you could. Look at the board they have thinking, if you had that board you could surf good too. Just like them. Funny, once you get good at surfing someone will see you and think the very same thing.  

I’ve made so many different types of surfboards, and surfed so many different types of surfboards. Yeah I have my favorites. Even favorites for certain types of conditions.  We’ve had surfboards we liked and surfboards we really liked. Or put another way, boards that worked better. Unfortunately the ones we really like we surf until they have just had it. Then we try to get another one just like it.

You may have a favorite board… even if it’s one that didn’t work well for someone else.

D.R.

 

From the sixties ‘til now besides surfboard design evolution there are a couple items that have really helped surfers abilities to advance. This may be a personal opinion… but think about it.

Surf wax…

Unless you were surfing before the introduction of surf wax you may not know this. Paraffin wax was what we used on the deck of surfboards before the brilliant idea of making a wax that actually was sticky… ‘cause Paraffin wax was not.

Paraffin was better than nothing ( we needed something non slippery ) and did keep you from slipping and losing control of you board a fair amount of time but it was nothing compared to the surf wax we use now.

Slipping and falling was a pretty common thing back in the day. Think about getting a nice point wave that you should be able to surf for several maneuvers but instead you fall after your first bottom turn because the wax was slippery on your board. I used to hate the feeling or lack of confidence you’d get from knowing the wax on your board was slippery and you where more likely than not to fall once you scored that nice set wave.

Sometimes I’d paddle inside and slip into the water reach down and grab a hand full of sand and rub it into the wax to help get the slippery out of the wax. Now if the water was pretty warm it helped but where I surfed most of the time ( Ventura ) the water was typically not warm.

Anyway, point being, the more you fell the less you were surfing. The less you fell the more you were working on developing you abilities and advance your surfing.  The more waves you get and rides you complete the more stoked you get and the better your surfing gets.

The other thing that would happen if you fell off your board… you had to swim to retrieve it. Sometimes your board would be close so there was not much of a swim… that’s when you were lucky. Other wise your board could end up all the way on the beach and you’d have to swim all that way to get the darn thing. Which could be 5 minutes or more.  That’s time your in the water but not catching waves.  Aside from the fact that your board may be going into some rocks on the beach. Can you say dings!

Well that all changed with the leash…

Leashes started coming on about when surf wax did. They took some time to actually develop and work well enough but when they did there was no more swimming for your board. If you fell your board was about 6 feet away. Not only that but if another wave came before you got back on your board? Not big deal because it was attached to your foot.

With good surf wax we weren’t slipping and falling off our board  and with a leash attaching the board to our foot and not needing to swim to retrieve it we all started catching more waves and getting better at it.

After all, surfing is a performance based activity. And you typically get better at a performance based activity by repetition.

D.R. 

 The DR Wing Nose with rustic rails.

The difference between long board surfing and short board surfing.

I think I've said this before... on a short board you basically stand on your board in one place and use your body weight to maneuver on the wave face. On a long board you move your body weight on the board (stepping forward and back) to maneuver on the wave face. A simplified description, there's more to it than that of course. 

Both have their own set of difficulties. Learning one or the other is pretty much a personal thing. Being able to do both is a noble endeavor... at least from my perspective.

If you're an advanced short boarder and that's all you've ever done moving to a long board may seem easy but fine tuning your moves and learning the ins and outs of trimming, moving up and back on the board, nose riding in smooth fashion will take practice.

Knowing long boarding and moving to short boards is pretty tricky. Best done in stages. Moving down to a mid length and stepping down from there is how it's done.

I learned to surf on a long board... that's all there was back then. As my surfing abilities advanced that big board seemed limiting so I went shorter. Note, there were no short boards so they had to be made and tested in the process. From 9'0 to 8'2. Then 7'6 and 7'2. Shorter still, 6'8 then 6'3... maybe 6'4, not sure on that one. Then stayed around 6'0 to 6'3 for a decade.

When I went out on a long board again after riding short boards for a dozen years it was like I'd never even stopped riding long boards. Jumped right up and hung 5....??  yeah that's an exaggeration.... at least not on the first wave anyway.

Going from short to long is easier than long to short. Long to short you've got to work your way down. Short to long you can jump right in. But dealing with all that foam?? Can take awhile to figure out.

If you do both moving from one long boarding one day or a few days then getting on a short board can take a little adjustment. Just seeing the radically different board in front of you while paddling and the over all feel may take a few waves to settle in. And the reverse. Short board to long board… suddenly there is this long rail line and foam in front of you. But the ease of paddling can put a smile on your face.    

Now days with the alternative smaller boards transitioning from a shorter board to a longer boards can be pretty effortless, and a lot of fun. When the waves call for a shorter board you do that. When the waves call for a long board you take out the tanker. Never missing a beat.

If you can do both then the question is what about a mid length? They are for days that call for the board that paddles well and has plenty of maneuverability.

Don’t forget the mid length.

D.R.

7'6 Gadget

 

Sometimes you are at the beach and don’t have time to surf so you watch for a few minutes. There may be people surfing or not. But you stare at the waves… just stare at the waves.

Surfers do it all the time. It’s called mind surfing. Watching the surf and thinking of how the wave you’re watching could be surfed. Imagining how you would maneuver around a breaking section, come off a bottom turn or drive down the line and pull a big turn back and redirect.

Then the time between sets you absorb the elements, the sun and cool breeze. Watching how the water moves while it washes up on the sand then back out. Thinking of the feeling of walking into the water for a go out with you board under your arm.

Then another set shows up. The first wave of the set the guy sitting on the out side picks it off. Then the other guy on the out side misses the second wave… oh to bad. But, you’re there on the beach and are now mind surfing that one. It’s easy to see that a quick turn at the top to get a little distance on the wave face is in order. Then dropping to the bottom for a solid turn but you’ve got to draw your turn out to get under and past the fast moving section. But the section is not make able so you’ve got to either straighten out or maybe pull out over the top. So you see 3 more waves in the set and you will now need to push through all 3 if you straighten out or, maybe if you were able, pull out off the top. You might be able to paddle fast enough to get over the 3 waves without getting picked off.  

Yeah, all that and you haven’t even gotten wet.

Mind surfing. I don’t do any other sports stuff so, don’t know if you can play tennis in your head by staring at a tennis court? Or. how ‘bout staring at a snow covered mountain and ski in your head down the slopes?

There is just something in surfing that isn’t really in other activities, like mind surfing. Even when the surf isn’t very good I can sit and watch the waves rolling in to the beach and attempt to visually pick the ride able waves. Thinking if I was in the water it would be possible to get a couple waves out of the junk surf.

Yeah, we’ve all surfed plenty junk surf and the number of half way decent rides that were gotten was probably not worth the effort. But mind surfing…doesn’t take much effort, you are always on your game. Pull off some good moves and really never fall off your board.

How can you not like that? But, it’s not as good as the real thing is it?

D.R.

 

The Gadget 8'0 and 7'10

You know what happens to surfers when there are no waves for days on end?  They get grumpy.

When the seasons first nice south swells started to show the beaches were closed. Now that we can go to the beach without being rousted by the authorities the surf has gone into hiding. I think it’s been going from micro waves to flat for 3 weeks now. I may have short term memory loss, I can’t remember the last time I was in the water, maybe at least 3 weeks.

What’s a guy to do? Well….

I’m working on a new board model right now but it’s hard to get really excited about it because inspiration kind of dries up without surf. Actually the new model has been in my head for awhile. Now Proto 1 is shaped and getting glassed.

The new model was inspired from one day a couple months ago surfing inside point on a Dream Cycle. The Dream Cycle has a design element I call the Double E. An elevated edge in the tail for edge control. Because the edge is elevated not tucked the board surfs more like an old school log but doesn’t skip or spin out on a larger wave face.

So, at the point that day I got lucky and scooped up a nice head high plus set wave and without hesitation buried my inside rail into a hard bottom turn. The move was so solid it stuck in my mind for a couple days. Then a light came on and the idea of putting the elevated edge on a wing nose reverse rocker board formed in my head. 

Working through the rocker and foil details, bottom transitions from nose to tail. It’s now becoming a reality. 

If you’d had a video of the guy working trough the various design elements of the process it would be pretty boring…. ‘cause the guy would mostly be staring at the wall. But, what was going though his head???

Then you spend a few hours cutting and massaging foam and there it is. The mental process becomes tangible. Something you can hold in your hands. Can’t wait to get it in the water and under my feet.

OK, I’m excited now.

D.R. 

I came across a box of old magazines and picked one of them up for a look.

It happened to be a Long Board magazine Fall 1993 issue. I’m not sure how long the magazine was in print… like from what year started to last year published. I always thought it was a really nice and well done magazine… and thought it was sad when it shut down.

Anyway, there was an article in that issue titled “Nose Riding Models….An-All Time Collection”. The opening page of the article had comments from big time surfboard guys. One was Dick Brewer where he mentioned the Peck Penetrator as one of the “excellent nose riders."

That got me thinking about the time I met up with John Peck at a surf meet when he wanted to introduce me to Dick Brewer....this, back in the 60's. When we were walking around the beach and found him and a couple other big time guys in surfing I got cold feet and ducked out never to be introduced. Me the shy guy…. Funny how some 30 years later I meet Dick Brewer while living on Kauai and end up shaping boards for him for a couple years.

I can’t remember ever talking to him about shaping the Penetrator back then. Not that we sat around and talked story. For the most part I’d either get blanks delivered to my shaping bay in Lihue or go out to his place on the north side and burn through a stack of blanks there. It was, get my work done and run… I think I left my circular saw at his place the last time I was there, darn it. I really like that saw, it cut a lot of outlines for me.

There was a picture of a Penetrator in the article, one of the dozen boards in the
”Collection.” The dimensions were listed as 9’4, 17.5 nose, 23.25 wide, 14.5 tail, and 3.5 thick.

So how does that play out in today’s reissues?  9’4, 17.5 nose 22 .75 or 23 wide 14.5 to 15 tail and 3 thick.  Not really much different.  Dick Brewer was quoted in the article saying “ The state of the art of nose rider design in the 60’s is still 100% valid today.

I’ve always said… If it works  don’t fix it.

D.R.

I put what I know about nose riding into this board… The Tip Tool

A line from my last post..

“Seeing really good surf and being told “no you can’t surf that” is really hard for the surfer…”

It may even be impossible.

This Pic of Malibu nicked from a Surfline article about the beach openings in L.A. County this month, shows exactly the above line. As it was taken before the beaches were open. I’m counting maybe a 6 wave head to over head set on a minus tide with around 20 surfers in the water and, seeing only 1 guy or gal on the waves peeling around the point.

Also in the pic are 3 life guard tucks on the beach. A life guard boat in the water and a police car in the parking lot. The question for the authorities is do the surfers even care? If I was in the water the answer would be no. As well, I’d be in the water going after those waves until I was completely worn out. Rubber legs noodle arms kind.

You look at the photo and think what’s running through the surfers heads. Things like… I can’t believe I’m getting these waves… man that was a good one… I’m never getting out of the water I don’t care how tired I get… not a thought of what’s on the beach. When you’re in surf like that all you see is the waves.

And the authorities, what’s in there heads? What kind of effort did they put together to even be there. What is going to be accomplished with whatever they are going to do. Of course they are just doing there job and following a chain of command and all. But Really?

Looks to me from the photo the surfers are practicing social distancing. What more could they ask for?

D.R.  

Caution, post may be controversial....

First there was this.

Then we got this.

As well as this at the stairs to the beach at the point

Make sure you don’t sit down.

Surfers have always been  pretty independent, and felt pretty free to go surf even if it meant going to great lengths to get to where the surf is. And when told you couldn’t surf a particular place it seemed there were always those that did it anyway even if there were consequences. In the sixties Trestles was off limits but guys would find there way there and sometimes get caught, have their boards confiscated and face the military.

Seeing really good surf and being told “no you can’t surf that” is really hard for the surfer to work though. I saw a short video of the standup paddle guy that got in trouble for surfing Malibu recently when the beaches of L.A. were closed. He was going down the line on a racy shoulder high wave with not another person in the water and what looked like 3 or 4 waves stacked behind the one he was riding. Only a surfer knows the feeling of seeing good surf and not being able to surf it. From my perspective no one else even understands.

Also from my perspective… surfing is a very healthy activity on a numbers of fronts aside from being outside in the sun and the exercise. Wanting to pursue a health activity that is an individual activity in a city like Ventura having a population of 109,000 with 37 confirmed cases of a particular sickness and being told not to? BTW that's .033%, a very small number. I don’t understand, but that’s me, the independent surfer.

I guess I was lucky, I went surfing the last 2 mornings. The beaches were opened in Ventura a week or so ago. But, not sure yet, they may be closed again.

D.R.

Our world is in a strange place these days with closed businesses, schools, quarantines, and stay at home orders because of Covid 19. So… stay safe.

With all that, who ever thought there would be a day when your friend gave you a call and said “ Lets go for a surf” and your replied “ can we do that, can we go to the beach? Some of them are closed ya know?

Currently we have this…Residents of the County of Ventura are required to stay inside their homes unless they are engaged in certain “essential activities.” On those occasions when you are out of your home for necessary tasks, stay at least six feet away from others.

And this…01. Is this order mandatory? What happens if I don’t comply?

Yes. This is a legally enforceable order. It is against the law to violate this Order, and you may be punished by a fine or imprisonment for doing so.

But then there is this…. 25. Can I leave home to exercise?

If you will be both outdoors and not in close contact with people, yes. Otherwise, no, because fitness and exercise gyms and similar facilities will be closed.

So,  looks like we can go surfing, at least at a beach that is open. There are a number of beaches in California that are closed, all the government ones like State and County beaches are off limits.  When looking at the “C” Street cam you will see at least a few people in the water… but my son told me today that some guy got fined $1000 for surfing some where in the south bay, like Hermosa or ?? He also said someone he knows was standing on the beach looking at the surf at Zuma and was told to either go surf or leave.

So that’s the status of thing in California for now. It would be nice to be in some remote place in Baja where the only people around are the few people you’re with… like the pic below of Matt surfing the H2 somewhere south of the border. Question is how much food and water would you need? It may not be doable but, a guy can dream right?

D.R.

I got a call from my friend David Puu Sunday morning  Feb. 16. We hadn’t talked for awhile so was immediately interested to know what was up. He said “Just thought I’d let you know that Bob Cooper has passed away”

Even though I hadn’t seen Cooper in decades and the only time I remember talking with him in those decades was sometime in 2007 when I got him on the phone to talk about his surfboard The Blue Machine.  But, He has always been a big part of my history. That’s because he was responsible for giving me my first full time shaping job. Meeting Cooper post 1  Cooper post 2

During the ’67 season I worked under him he and the MP crew would go find surf after work almost every day. We spent time together working and surfing and talking surf and life stuff. Cooper was a large influence in my life and has been from those days ‘til now. Very Thankful to have known him and sad to know he has passed. 

R.I.P Bob Cooper

D.R.

Sometimes I get the opportunity to do repairs on a customers board. I like the challenge to do as close to seamless repairs as possible. As well, I like to see the boards I’ve made for people after they’ve been surfed. 

So when I got asked to fix the busted fin box on a gals, Cori, board I of course said “ bring her out".

I’ve always said that if you take care of your board it will last many years, and give you plenty of good  times in the water. When Cori brought her board out to get fixed I saw right away that she did take great care of “her baby”.

She custom ordered her board 9 years ago and has surfed it constantly all 9 years. Sure there are knee wells from knee paddling and dents up and down the deck, though wax pretty much covers that. Really the board looks so good.

Cori was so nice and very happy to have her board fixed. When she came out to pick her up she brought me some Corona. Each bottle had a ribbon tag with the name of a surf spot she has surfed with the board… though she's surfed more than 12 spots on her board. But, how cool is that? Malibu, of course, San O, Rincon… but how ‘bout El Anclote or Seven Sisters? Matanchen Bay?

Matanchen Bay, man would like to be surfing that place right now. So happy Cori and her board did.

D.R.