I got to writing a little about the surfboard design process I would go through I believe last February. Thinking of that, a story came to mind… about riding a new designed board for the first time.

I’ve written about test riding the board back in 2k7. But one part of the story I’ve never told here. The board? My quad long board, The PSQ.

So, the quad thing was coming on strong and I wanted to put together a quad long board. Had an outline from some long boards I made while living in Hawaii and decided it would be good. As well, what rocker line would be good. Perimeter stringers were starting to come out too. So, I thought that could be incorporated to add a different flex pattern. So, I put that into the board.

The Fins took a fair amount of time to ice down. I should say fin placement. I consulted a couple sources for input, sat with the board after it was shaped and held fins in different locations for some visual confirmation etc. I must have spent a couple weeks thinking about what would be best, came to a decision and moved forward getting the boards finished.

Then it was time to take the board to the beach for a surf. I was excited and apprehensive all at the same time. Nothing like having a new board to surf but what if I have a hard time figuring the thing out? The fins may be poorly positioned, or the stringer set up may give the board to soft a flex…. What if???

Detour…. Some time ago I made a rule for myself about surfing in foggy conditions. If I can’t see the surf from the beach because the fog is too thick, then I don’t go out. The rule came about from surfing in some pretty good-sized surf in thick fog. Fog so thick you couldn’t see the waves while sitting in the lineup… or where you thought the lineup was. Then hear braking waves you know are outside but can’t see them. Or paddling over a wave and a guy rides out of the fog and almost runs you over. You can’t see him, and he can’t see you. End detour.

So, the day I take my new quad long board to the beach for the first time it’s foggy and you can’t see the surf from the beach. My thought? Cool I’ll take the board out and if I have trouble trying to figure the board out and look like a kook…. No one will know because I can’t be seen from the beach. After all, there was a lot going on with this new board. Perimeter stringers, High density foam rails and a quad fin set up that had slightly different positioning.

The thing about that board. It worked really well right out the gate.

I was stoked!

D.R.