Last Friday I got a message that the beach was surfable and JZ has a window to surf. I grabbed the 6' Pacheco and the 6'8" Moraga thinking I could decide which one and lock the other I the cab of the truck. Well, after I got to the beach I realized that I couldn't get the Moraga locked I the cab. I turned out to be the better board for the day, but I was frustrated by the lack of choice. The session turned out to be not so good. Waves were 6-8' and jumbled. I caught three and fell on all three takeoffs.
But today I finally finished building the box. It's 8' long and 2'x2'. It will easily hold three boards and I'm happy with the locking setup I used. I painted it with grey garage floor paint which came out of the "oops" paint pile at the orange box store.
Next time I head to the beach I'll be able to choose from three boards and decide which is the best for that day. I expect this will lead to some extra stoke out of each surf session!
I have plans tomorrow, so I will head south before dawn Wednesday. I hope to see some of a new swell before I have to come home Thursday evening for a Friday morning job interview.
A few days back I took out the Dave Hahn custom (first attempt) surf mat. It's smaller than my smallest mat which made it easy to duckdive but hard to stay will sort waves. The waves weren't good enough to judge the mat any more than that one observation. Well, it also has a small leak, but leaky mats are part of the history of mat surfing, kinda like longboards without leashes.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Mixed Bag
As my chosen internet handle implies, I enjoy having a variety of surf craft to choose from. My ideal is to be able to choose which one based on my mood and the conditions. I gathered a respectable collection of surfboards, each with a range of optimum wave conditions and just enough overlap to feel like I've got all conditions covered. The sticking point, however, is that I can't bring them all to the beach with me at the same time.
Lately I've been stuck with the truck. While I though that this would allow me more room to shuttle boards around, I later learned it allowed me less "lockable" space. I can't lock up a board longer than about 6'6", and getting two in the cab an locked is the limit. My little Sentra could comfortably lock three boards, with the biggest my 7'4".
And speaking of the truck, it gets about 1/2 the mpg that the Sentra gets. So, doing the math, I figure I can only drive it to surf if I'm going to surf twice as much. This is pretty cool though, because I've been driving down south and sleeping in Santa Cruz, getting at least one surf in before and after. While I only bring one surfboard at a time, I also bring my mats and lately my new paipo. This last Mon-Tues is a good example of the "mixed bag" of surfing I've been enjoying lately.
I started around 7am Monday (Labor Day) meeting JB and JA at Waddell Lot. I stopped to use the toilet and they were checking the waves. We decided to surf where we were and I rode the QQ in chest high closeouts. It became fun once I accepted the fact that makeable waves were few and far between and instead searched for waves I could pull into the barrel cleanly on. I worked on riding the closeout for as long as possible.
The tide was rising after that and I did some recon hiking around at 3 and mi4le. 3 was just rolly polly high tide and 4 was doing it's higher tide point thing with 20 guys out. I headed into town for a shower and a nap.
As the tide topped and turned I noticed sewer had waves and only a few guys. As I sat and watched a few turned into a few more, and more. So I turned my attention to the Rocks. It looked like it would be fun enough in a few hours, which added up to 6pm. It did get good enough and I took the paipo out for a dusk session. Rocks gets all ledgey and steppy which takes some technique to deal with. On the mat I can just slip down the face, on a surfboard I can steer my way through things, on the paipo, I had to learn something new. Because the paipo has more edge hold than a mat, but less maneuverability than a surfboard, I had to find a way to deal with sudden steps in the wave face. I found that if I pushed down on the beachside rail then the inside rail would slip and I could quickly drop off the lip into the flats, then pull up the beachside rail, re-engaging the inside rail and keep my speed going down the line. I also used the body drag technique to stall into the narrell that occasionally cruised along the inside. This all worked great until the sun went down and it was too dark to read the face of the wave. After getting caught off-guard and smashed by the steps and lip, I decided it was no longer safe, time to give it up.
The next morning the swell had dropped so I headed to mi4le to find some mellow crowd. The tide was mid- at dawn and the crowd was mellow having surfed the past few days of swell. Mid-tide means the point is better and the inside is weaker, so I tried to make it work on the QQ. I got a few but mostly got caught behind on waves and in general wasn't enjoying things. I went to the beach and swapped for the 5thGF. Right away I was having more fun and was glad I switched. I got a good one from the point but noticed the inside was starting to work with only Stacey trying to catch them. I moved into my usual mat spot and got a few. The tide or swell angle wasn't right for longer barrel runs, but I got some short fun sections on the mat. I surfed until I was satisfied and left just as a new group of guys were coming down the beach.
So, I had three fun sessions on three different surf vehicles. I expected different conditions from what I got (grabbed the QQ hoping for hollow Waddell Reefs) but was able to have fun by swapping out for different equipment. While my belly ridding is considered less cool by some, I'm having more fun and feeling less frustration, which I think is the whole point! I know that winter is coming and that's the time that the surfboards work best. I know that I need to keep my strength and skills up so that I can take advantage of those epic days. But for summer type conditions, I'll be keeping my options open and trying my best to have fun.
Lately I've been stuck with the truck. While I though that this would allow me more room to shuttle boards around, I later learned it allowed me less "lockable" space. I can't lock up a board longer than about 6'6", and getting two in the cab an locked is the limit. My little Sentra could comfortably lock three boards, with the biggest my 7'4".
And speaking of the truck, it gets about 1/2 the mpg that the Sentra gets. So, doing the math, I figure I can only drive it to surf if I'm going to surf twice as much. This is pretty cool though, because I've been driving down south and sleeping in Santa Cruz, getting at least one surf in before and after. While I only bring one surfboard at a time, I also bring my mats and lately my new paipo. This last Mon-Tues is a good example of the "mixed bag" of surfing I've been enjoying lately.
I started around 7am Monday (Labor Day) meeting JB and JA at Waddell Lot. I stopped to use the toilet and they were checking the waves. We decided to surf where we were and I rode the QQ in chest high closeouts. It became fun once I accepted the fact that makeable waves were few and far between and instead searched for waves I could pull into the barrel cleanly on. I worked on riding the closeout for as long as possible.
The tide was rising after that and I did some recon hiking around at 3 and mi4le. 3 was just rolly polly high tide and 4 was doing it's higher tide point thing with 20 guys out. I headed into town for a shower and a nap.
As the tide topped and turned I noticed sewer had waves and only a few guys. As I sat and watched a few turned into a few more, and more. So I turned my attention to the Rocks. It looked like it would be fun enough in a few hours, which added up to 6pm. It did get good enough and I took the paipo out for a dusk session. Rocks gets all ledgey and steppy which takes some technique to deal with. On the mat I can just slip down the face, on a surfboard I can steer my way through things, on the paipo, I had to learn something new. Because the paipo has more edge hold than a mat, but less maneuverability than a surfboard, I had to find a way to deal with sudden steps in the wave face. I found that if I pushed down on the beachside rail then the inside rail would slip and I could quickly drop off the lip into the flats, then pull up the beachside rail, re-engaging the inside rail and keep my speed going down the line. I also used the body drag technique to stall into the narrell that occasionally cruised along the inside. This all worked great until the sun went down and it was too dark to read the face of the wave. After getting caught off-guard and smashed by the steps and lip, I decided it was no longer safe, time to give it up.
The next morning the swell had dropped so I headed to mi4le to find some mellow crowd. The tide was mid- at dawn and the crowd was mellow having surfed the past few days of swell. Mid-tide means the point is better and the inside is weaker, so I tried to make it work on the QQ. I got a few but mostly got caught behind on waves and in general wasn't enjoying things. I went to the beach and swapped for the 5thGF. Right away I was having more fun and was glad I switched. I got a good one from the point but noticed the inside was starting to work with only Stacey trying to catch them. I moved into my usual mat spot and got a few. The tide or swell angle wasn't right for longer barrel runs, but I got some short fun sections on the mat. I surfed until I was satisfied and left just as a new group of guys were coming down the beach.
So, I had three fun sessions on three different surf vehicles. I expected different conditions from what I got (grabbed the QQ hoping for hollow Waddell Reefs) but was able to have fun by swapping out for different equipment. While my belly ridding is considered less cool by some, I'm having more fun and feeling less frustration, which I think is the whole point! I know that winter is coming and that's the time that the surfboards work best. I know that I need to keep my strength and skills up so that I can take advantage of those epic days. But for summer type conditions, I'll be keeping my options open and trying my best to have fun.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Deafening Silence
There was new attention paid to the flexspoon concept around 2006. A few people (Bob McTavish, Ryan Lovelace) have posted bits of info in the last few years. However, in the ~10 years since a fresh look was given to these types of boards, I've seen only sparse evidence that they are being ridden. The most well know proof (to me) of actual riding of these boards revolves around a person who made a few of his own and rode them. He goes by Man O' War, lives in Florida, and is no longer pursuing the craft. He visited in California branch of his family years back and I managed a few waves on one of his boards. For me, the board had obvious merits and I decided I wanted one.
They were and are expensive, but through patience I tracked one down for a reasonable price. My first session on it I got my barrel, but also broke a rail. I decided to overbuild the board with many layers of glass so that it wouldn't break again. In retrospect, I feel that was an overreaction. I also think the reason I never rode the board much was because of the lack of flotation. I never gave the board a try in softer waves, and the one time I tried it mid-winter my session was shorter than usual due to full body exhaustion from swimming around the surf pushing a neutrally buoyant spoon, and being cold from setting up to my chin in the water. These feelings were relived recently when I took the HPD out for it's first surf. The flexspoon and the HPD have very similar rocker profiles and, with the exception of foam nose-rails, are very similar for the first 1/2 or so. The HPD continues the rail template line and has a wide point very near the tail, the flexspoon has a more surfboard styled template.
The first two sessions on the HPD have been in summer surf. Warm, easy, but also somewhat soft. If the HPD works in these conditions, maybe the flexspoon would also. It's time to give it another try. I think my best bet is to do what I did with the HPD and bring it down to mi4le.
They were and are expensive, but through patience I tracked one down for a reasonable price. My first session on it I got my barrel, but also broke a rail. I decided to overbuild the board with many layers of glass so that it wouldn't break again. In retrospect, I feel that was an overreaction. I also think the reason I never rode the board much was because of the lack of flotation. I never gave the board a try in softer waves, and the one time I tried it mid-winter my session was shorter than usual due to full body exhaustion from swimming around the surf pushing a neutrally buoyant spoon, and being cold from setting up to my chin in the water. These feelings were relived recently when I took the HPD out for it's first surf. The flexspoon and the HPD have very similar rocker profiles and, with the exception of foam nose-rails, are very similar for the first 1/2 or so. The HPD continues the rail template line and has a wide point very near the tail, the flexspoon has a more surfboard styled template.
The first two sessions on the HPD have been in summer surf. Warm, easy, but also somewhat soft. If the HPD works in these conditions, maybe the flexspoon would also. It's time to give it another try. I think my best bet is to do what I did with the HPD and bring it down to mi4le.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
A Good Day
Last week I left home before dawn to arrive at mi4le at dawn. There were three small swells, south, west, north, in the forecast and an early morning low tide. I figured it was a good combination for that spot and to try out the HPD paipo on a wave that I am familiar with. It was a beautiful morning and only a few other guys out. There weren't a ton of waves, but there were enough, and of good quality so that everyone stayed stoked. Onto a review of the paipo.
As expected the paipo took a few waves to get used to. The issue remains that I need to orient my body off center, legs more onto the inside rail. Once I got into that groove, I started playing with other riding technique. I rode the board way forward, hanging way off the back, dragging legs off the side. I tried pushing, pulling, and letting the paipo do all the work. The wave I was surfing does a steep bowl take-off that goes into a section that often throws a small barrel, then either fades away, or sometimes lines up for more of the same through the inside as the wave shrinks. I'm going to compare the paipo to the surf mat, which is the other prone riding vehicle I like to ride at this spot. Because the paipo is a hard board (as opposed to a bag of air), pulling on the outside rail results in a major change in velocity. Mostly I used this to stall into the pocket as I have not yet figured out how to move my body across the board for a cut back.
I was writting a thourgh review of the paipo, but I ran out of steam and didn't come back to it until now, a week later. Long story short is that the paipo is slower at this wave, which made me happy to swap it out and ride the mat. I was having so much fun that I started to mess around and do a high line slide. Bottom turn up the steep face and let things slide as my feet are down and my head is up. This is an awkward position to rcover from, but I think if I continue the rotation I can pull through the move functionally. Something to play with.
I surfed the Pacheco a bit the next day at Wadel reef corners. Not as much fun, but good to change things up and get some variety. Mi4le was looking crowded even in the predawn light, and I didn't want to sour the memory of the day before.
On my "to-do" list is:
keep playing with the paipo to find its sweet spot
Pull out the spoon and give it a go
Keep on matting!
As expected the paipo took a few waves to get used to. The issue remains that I need to orient my body off center, legs more onto the inside rail. Once I got into that groove, I started playing with other riding technique. I rode the board way forward, hanging way off the back, dragging legs off the side. I tried pushing, pulling, and letting the paipo do all the work. The wave I was surfing does a steep bowl take-off that goes into a section that often throws a small barrel, then either fades away, or sometimes lines up for more of the same through the inside as the wave shrinks. I'm going to compare the paipo to the surf mat, which is the other prone riding vehicle I like to ride at this spot. Because the paipo is a hard board (as opposed to a bag of air), pulling on the outside rail results in a major change in velocity. Mostly I used this to stall into the pocket as I have not yet figured out how to move my body across the board for a cut back.
I was writting a thourgh review of the paipo, but I ran out of steam and didn't come back to it until now, a week later. Long story short is that the paipo is slower at this wave, which made me happy to swap it out and ride the mat. I was having so much fun that I started to mess around and do a high line slide. Bottom turn up the steep face and let things slide as my feet are down and my head is up. This is an awkward position to rcover from, but I think if I continue the rotation I can pull through the move functionally. Something to play with.
I surfed the Pacheco a bit the next day at Wadel reef corners. Not as much fun, but good to change things up and get some variety. Mi4le was looking crowded even in the predawn light, and I didn't want to sour the memory of the day before.
On my "to-do" list is:
keep playing with the paipo to find its sweet spot
Pull out the spoon and give it a go
Keep on matting!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
New Stoke
I just had a really great day of surf. It started out with me arriving at dawn at the north end. Crappy onshore small mush with to many guys out. I drank a cup of coffee and ate a donut and that motivated me to give it a try anyway. I'm glad I did because over the hour I was out the crowd dwindled and so did the wind. I matted waves on my Neumattic and stayed warm in my new wetsuit (Sierra Trading Post score.) After an hour I headed to the beach to meet a guy. He was already coming down the sand with his mat. He and I and only a few other guys surfed fun 3-4' peaks for another hour as the surf glassed off. I was even considering swapping out for my Pacheco. Things started to deteriorate and we headed to the beach. He showed me his HPD XL that he was selling, which was the reason we were meeting today. It was clean, nearly perfect condition, and came with a padded bag for a great price. I gave him the cash with no haggling and told him to keep in touch if he wants to surf again.
After he left I continued talking with a guy we had been surfing with. He was riding a modern 8' Hansen 50/50, leash-less, and with much skill. We chatted about surf mats, San Diego, and weird boards. I got him stoked on the idea of a longboard Bonzer from Mike Eaton. I hope to see him again sometime because he was friendly, a good surfer, and is into "not thrusters."
While we had been talking the surf got good again and since I still hadn't taken off my wetsuit, I decided to give the HPD a dip. It's a bit odd to ride because the tail is really wide. This makes it so you have to put your whole body on the inside rail to get it to hold a line. I did it right a few times and got the feel, but also got a good feeling of the wrong way to do it.
Before today I've surfed here and there. A Sunday at bad LMar with my kayak buddy, a few weekday mornings with my little buddy at LMar. It's nice to see him getting more comfortable, strong, and skilled at surfing. "In my day" we learned to surf by someone taking us out and we just had to deal with it alone for the most part. Now we pull our young ones out through the waves and push them into the right ones. Follow them to shore to make sure everything is okay and pull them back out again. It gives people a more fun experience for their first time, but is less fun for me! He was getting the hang of things last time and I had more time to catch waves on my own.
I did get a day at the north end a few weeks ago that was similar to today. It started out crummy but got pretty good! I was out with JZ and he got a look at my wave that is the closest I've gotten to a tube ride in years. He couldn't verify it from his angle, but I saw the lip over my head. I'll say I was under the lip but not behind the curtain.
I'm out of shape for the coming winter waves, but I have the free time to fix that before the first swell of fall arrives.
After he left I continued talking with a guy we had been surfing with. He was riding a modern 8' Hansen 50/50, leash-less, and with much skill. We chatted about surf mats, San Diego, and weird boards. I got him stoked on the idea of a longboard Bonzer from Mike Eaton. I hope to see him again sometime because he was friendly, a good surfer, and is into "not thrusters."
While we had been talking the surf got good again and since I still hadn't taken off my wetsuit, I decided to give the HPD a dip. It's a bit odd to ride because the tail is really wide. This makes it so you have to put your whole body on the inside rail to get it to hold a line. I did it right a few times and got the feel, but also got a good feeling of the wrong way to do it.
Before today I've surfed here and there. A Sunday at bad LMar with my kayak buddy, a few weekday mornings with my little buddy at LMar. It's nice to see him getting more comfortable, strong, and skilled at surfing. "In my day" we learned to surf by someone taking us out and we just had to deal with it alone for the most part. Now we pull our young ones out through the waves and push them into the right ones. Follow them to shore to make sure everything is okay and pull them back out again. It gives people a more fun experience for their first time, but is less fun for me! He was getting the hang of things last time and I had more time to catch waves on my own.
I did get a day at the north end a few weeks ago that was similar to today. It started out crummy but got pretty good! I was out with JZ and he got a look at my wave that is the closest I've gotten to a tube ride in years. He couldn't verify it from his angle, but I saw the lip over my head. I'll say I was under the lip but not behind the curtain.
I'm out of shape for the coming winter waves, but I have the free time to fix that before the first swell of fall arrives.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Some surf mat talk
Another situation at mi4le when the waves were "good enough to surf" but I opted for the surf mat. I have recently repaired the crushed valve stem on my Neumatic, so I was amped to get it back in the water. I broke it right around the time I got my 4GF mat, so I switched to riding the new mat and therefore have little experience to compare the two. So, back on the Neumatic out in the waves that work best on the mat.
One thing is that the Neumatic is larger and therefore gets into waves easier. The flip side of this is that it's a bit harder to duck under waves. This became an issue when I went to the point and got caught (more than once) by 7' set waves. Going from the right spot to way inside in the course of three set waves is a bummer. I got pushed out of position for any more set waves and had a struggle to get back to the outside. But, when I got one, it felt good. The one thing that was most noticeable was that the Neumatic feels like it's easier to turn. Like it was more rocker and rolls from rail to rail better. Using surfboard language to describe surf mat riding and design doesn't translate well, but that's the best I can do. I also think the Neumatic is faster, but I can't say for sure without more testing. MORE TESTING!
As a fun comparison between surfboards and mats, I'll describe what happens when the lip hits. On a surfboard if you are in the tube and the tube pinches shut and hits the nose of your board you are suddenly launched up and forward. The lever action of the nose going down lifts the tail, and when the nose goes down the forward momentum of the board stops and your body continues. But since you're inside the tube you quickly hit the twisting lip and get sent to the bottom of the ocean.
In contrast, when I am in the tube riding a mat and the lip comes down on me, the process is slower. The lip hits the front of the mat and the mat deforms sending air to other parts of the mat. I can feel the mat bending down and I try to pull it upwards. Inevitably the mat sinks front first and I'm flung into the twisting lip and to the bottom of the ocean. The difference is only a fraction of a second, but that time is spent fighting the inevitable with the hope and belief that maybe this time I can save myself! So far it's just a hope, never proven to be true.
And:
Daniel Thomson is a crazy good mat rider and makes me want to invest in a Krypt mat.
Greame is making cool looking mats for a pretty penny (or pound actually) in the UK.
Dale Solomonson is still missing. (Sad face, no link, ITS GONE!)
Paul Gross is giving a wonderful "History of Surf Mat Design" over on his blog.
Plus many other low end sub $100 mats out there for the curious.
And a new friend, http://californiasurfcraft.com/, who makes handplanes, paipos, and mat(s).
Stacy down at Sawyer carries mats (and other alt surf) and rides them as well.
One thing is that the Neumatic is larger and therefore gets into waves easier. The flip side of this is that it's a bit harder to duck under waves. This became an issue when I went to the point and got caught (more than once) by 7' set waves. Going from the right spot to way inside in the course of three set waves is a bummer. I got pushed out of position for any more set waves and had a struggle to get back to the outside. But, when I got one, it felt good. The one thing that was most noticeable was that the Neumatic feels like it's easier to turn. Like it was more rocker and rolls from rail to rail better. Using surfboard language to describe surf mat riding and design doesn't translate well, but that's the best I can do. I also think the Neumatic is faster, but I can't say for sure without more testing. MORE TESTING!
As a fun comparison between surfboards and mats, I'll describe what happens when the lip hits. On a surfboard if you are in the tube and the tube pinches shut and hits the nose of your board you are suddenly launched up and forward. The lever action of the nose going down lifts the tail, and when the nose goes down the forward momentum of the board stops and your body continues. But since you're inside the tube you quickly hit the twisting lip and get sent to the bottom of the ocean.
In contrast, when I am in the tube riding a mat and the lip comes down on me, the process is slower. The lip hits the front of the mat and the mat deforms sending air to other parts of the mat. I can feel the mat bending down and I try to pull it upwards. Inevitably the mat sinks front first and I'm flung into the twisting lip and to the bottom of the ocean. The difference is only a fraction of a second, but that time is spent fighting the inevitable with the hope and belief that maybe this time I can save myself! So far it's just a hope, never proven to be true.
And:
Daniel Thomson is a crazy good mat rider and makes me want to invest in a Krypt mat.
Greame is making cool looking mats for a pretty penny (or pound actually) in the UK.
Dale Solomonson is still missing. (Sad face, no link, ITS GONE!)
Paul Gross is giving a wonderful "History of Surf Mat Design" over on his blog.
Plus many other low end sub $100 mats out there for the curious.
And a new friend, http://californiasurfcraft.com/, who makes handplanes, paipos, and mat(s).
Stacy down at Sawyer carries mats (and other alt surf) and rides them as well.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Circle Back
I have free time lately. I have less disposable income lately. I have wanted to get a 7' hull. I have wanted to try the VeeBee. I am intrigued by the MGB Bonzer. Not having the money to invest in any of these interests I have instead circled back on my existing quiver. I'm lucky enough that I haven't had to sell any boards, and to have put away quite a little stock for myself to play with. A few days ago I brought my 10'2" "JOneill out to OB. The waves were small and clean, just right for getting the feel of the board again. I've ridden two of my fathers longboards recently and my success on them gave me confidence to give the JOneill another try. First, a bit of explanation.
The JOneill is a remake of an early 60's board my dad owns. The original board rode well for me and I wanted a railbanger longboard. My dad had an exact replica made as my M.S. graduation gift. It's 10'2", tri-band stringer. Big round and fairly parallel rails, big ole skeg, lotsa belly and flat rocker. Not quite a D fin, but nearly. Most notable is that it's made with classic Clark foam and a heavy glass job. It weighs in somewhere in the upper 20lbs I guess. The original board was branded Oneill, but Junod did the remake. So, JOneill.
The board worked fairly well for me. It has weight to help it punch through waves at OB when there's no way around them. When I get a wave with some energy I can turn the board and handle it fairly well. When I get a wave with even More energy, I get into trouble. I can handle most situations if they don't require a big change in direction. I made a mistake of fading into the peak too far and not being able to swing the board around quick enough to change direction and not go face first into the pit at the peak. Lesson learned. It also doesn't whip around and drop in when I decide at the last minute that I want the wave right in front of me. Most of the waves that day were short rides going to nothing after passing over the sandbar. I got many waves in an hour and a half, and was more able than most to paddle against the current. The current was ridiculous for how small the waves were.
After surfing that big board I stopped in at Mollusk to check out the Liddle boards. Surprisingly, I was not too impressed with them and credit my sudden lack of interest (ending a 6-month streak) to ridding the JOneill. It doesn't travel as well as a 7' board would because I can only carry the JOneill in my truck while a 7' board could squeeze into my sedan. That right there is enough reason to still invest in a mid-length board for small waves. But, for now, I can ride the JOneill when the waves are small.
Or, OR, or I can use the mat. I continue to put the 4GF (5GF model) to use. I had a small surf at Rockaway on the mat. Nothing special except I wouldn't have enjoyed surfing very much on any other board. I've also been meeting up with a guy in SF who is interested in mats, and also makes handplanes. I let him try the mat and he liked it. He's made one attempt at making a mat and will try again with the gained knowledge of seeing my mat. It got me motivated just enough to try to repair the valve on my Neumatic. I think I messed up the repair, but I'll keep working on it until it's good enough to use.
The JOneill is a remake of an early 60's board my dad owns. The original board rode well for me and I wanted a railbanger longboard. My dad had an exact replica made as my M.S. graduation gift. It's 10'2", tri-band stringer. Big round and fairly parallel rails, big ole skeg, lotsa belly and flat rocker. Not quite a D fin, but nearly. Most notable is that it's made with classic Clark foam and a heavy glass job. It weighs in somewhere in the upper 20lbs I guess. The original board was branded Oneill, but Junod did the remake. So, JOneill.
The board worked fairly well for me. It has weight to help it punch through waves at OB when there's no way around them. When I get a wave with some energy I can turn the board and handle it fairly well. When I get a wave with even More energy, I get into trouble. I can handle most situations if they don't require a big change in direction. I made a mistake of fading into the peak too far and not being able to swing the board around quick enough to change direction and not go face first into the pit at the peak. Lesson learned. It also doesn't whip around and drop in when I decide at the last minute that I want the wave right in front of me. Most of the waves that day were short rides going to nothing after passing over the sandbar. I got many waves in an hour and a half, and was more able than most to paddle against the current. The current was ridiculous for how small the waves were.
After surfing that big board I stopped in at Mollusk to check out the Liddle boards. Surprisingly, I was not too impressed with them and credit my sudden lack of interest (ending a 6-month streak) to ridding the JOneill. It doesn't travel as well as a 7' board would because I can only carry the JOneill in my truck while a 7' board could squeeze into my sedan. That right there is enough reason to still invest in a mid-length board for small waves. But, for now, I can ride the JOneill when the waves are small.
Or, OR, or I can use the mat. I continue to put the 4GF (5GF model) to use. I had a small surf at Rockaway on the mat. Nothing special except I wouldn't have enjoyed surfing very much on any other board. I've also been meeting up with a guy in SF who is interested in mats, and also makes handplanes. I let him try the mat and he liked it. He's made one attempt at making a mat and will try again with the gained knowledge of seeing my mat. It got me motivated just enough to try to repair the valve on my Neumatic. I think I messed up the repair, but I'll keep working on it until it's good enough to use.
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