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.

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