I Miss You

Dear Old Purple Hull, 

I miss "us".

I'm sorry that I sold you...you were magic, and the single best board I have ever owned.  I hope you have a good family, and are getting the waves you deserve.

-Ryan

Going Home

My Dad, from a PBS special in 1982.

Heading back to Seattle soon, for some past due family time...beyond excited.

Burly

Burly Maple keels for the 5'5 velosim a few posts below...this stuff was pretty resistant to foiling....but with enough love and a few choice caresses with a 36 grit disc @ 3,000 rpm, things have a way of falling into place...one slip with that same grinder, and my fingernail has a way of getting sanded off :(

Flex Spoon Offer

Okay, let's get right into it.

After building and riding my first spoon (and after years of waiting), I am way too excited to build another...but, therein lies my problem, I don't personally need another. 

These guys cost a lot in materials, and the labor involved is tremendous (I think that why I like it so much...I'm a glutton for board-building punishment), which is why the very few people that do make them charge upwards of $2,000.00.

Heres the deal, if a couple people want to fund another few spoons, I want to make them.  I won't charge full price, since they are experiments and learning opportunities for all involved.  I've been bitten by the spoon bug, and I want the poison to spread.  These are not easy to surf, or even paddle in flat water, they are not for the faint of heart...but with that warning, it up to you as to how far you're willing to push yourself to expand your surfing spirituality.

If you're SERIOUSLY interested in doing this with me, send me an email and I'll talk price and details with you from there.  

Novohull

Keith Novosel's new stick, measuing out at 6'9, it's got a tad more rail curve than the hullibut or she hull. the tail is a soft diamond a-la Murray, rocker is extra flat as per usual, rails are bladed for ridiculous trim-time as usual.

Keith is a talented photographer and will be taking the board on a tour of Australia in a few weeks as a water-time companion. Here are a few sweet photos he has sent me of Albers on his Vampire:

@ Work

Morg and Brandon playing tag friday morning.

5'5 Sim

5'5" Velo Tailed Sim.

Of All Sizes

Trevor Gordon, saturday morning at Secrets (top; from Brandon D.), and friday morning at Zommers (bottom; from Morgan).  

Too Many Ways to Be Immature

Albers' 6'6" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/2" oldschool 3 fin bonzer mini gun for Bali.

Shouldn't you be surfing?

Brandon Smith, from this morning's session.  

photo: Jon Shafer

Be careful...there are Mimmons afoot.

5'7 For Josh.

Belly to tri-plane w/light double ahead of the back foot to vee off the tail...pictures never tell the whole story :(

Wish I Wasn't A Loner

Custom fins from the last few days at the shop; 

The problem with making odd/'different' designs is that nobody makes fins for them...therefore...custom fins end up getting designed and foiled regularly.

Top to bottom, Murray fins for Morgan, and double foiled twin/keel fins for Josh's Mimmons.

Twin Hull For Sale

Selling a used 6' stringerless hull/fish hybrid.  Volume rich, about 21" wide and 2 7/8" thick; flat rocker, hulled entry/belly and a light single out the tail.  

Very very fun for staying on rail and carving up a face!

no open dings (ever) and light pressures, asking $280.

Wayback Machine

Hiten riding a 6'4 carbon flextail hull...summertime fun last year.  

After the sun set that evening, the moon lit up the wave's faces like I've never seen, we surfed well into the night in silence with only a general idea of which peak the other was surfing.

I'll never forget the howl and hiss that board made as I caught a moonlit right into the inside section...pure, blind, oily glass bliss.

Mysteries From the Deep

Knee candy to consider.....left to right; 5'6 wilderness triplane, 5' Hollow Railed carbon velo, my 5' newbie, edgeboard, real hollow molded standup velo:

from a quick visit to an old friend yesterday afternoon...

Much knowledge to acquire, and many projects to ponder...

Who Do I Talk To About Purchasing Property?

You're Next.

On my days off I fly around and steal Labrador retrievers from small children.

photoMo

I Ate It All :(

70's Parrish sunset gun re-fin jobber...

 and jonny's Othello got a tail ding that turned into a flex-panel...

Oh the magic of ding repair...its a love/hate relationship...

Flex Spoon Finished

Here she is, 10+ layers of 6oz glass, and a wee bit of foam...all for the purpose of carving the f* out of a solid wave.

photos: Mo.Maassen

I Don't Recall

Spoon Worky Spoon Worky Worky

Fin base-tuneage.

Plenty of this goin' on...

Tuning the flex a tad, just ahead of the fin is a soft area known to create a hinge kinda effect, this idea is to stiffen that particular area with different glass layups and get the hinge to turn into a working part in the gradual flex towards the tip of the tail.

1/2" thick fin glassed on with some hefty layering.

I've waited 4 years to build this board for myself

Continued work from yesterday.

Came up on a 1/2" thick fin panel at the True Ames warehouse, Chuck let me take it off his hands for my kneelo fin...so I got to grinding this afternoon for a bit...the panel is a friggin BEAST compared to a normal one!

The foil is pushed up towards the leading edge quite a bit more than a 'normal' fin, the flex is more of a downward sweep from the center than a wagging tip like most flex fins...if that makes any sense.

More to come.

A Divinely Strange Refrain

Lady on the water, make me rich or make me poor; 

Lay your flowers at my door.

Share my bread and share my drink; pay no mind what others think.

Place your thumb upon my tongue; weave a song no one has sung.

My lady on the water, whip this wind into a flame; with your grapes and bottled rain, make your wine of my worship a divinely strange refrain.

.5' to fit.

Glassing/Sanding in super8

herbie stole the show again.

from : Bogus

De-Tails

Two finished up this morning, 5' kneelo for Alexandra, 7' Hullibut for Chris...I attempted to get some shots that show a bit more detail in the foil then normal.  

Hope it gives a bit more insight into what the crap is going on with these things.

The Office

Another day at the office goes by...a cool little kneeboard is finishing up tomorrow along with a new hullibut for Chris; next week is a 5'6 nugget, 7' hullibut for Nick and Josh's Mimmons...it's getting pretty interesting!

photos:Morgaasen

One Fine Day

Randoms from the week past...

And Mimmons he is.

Josh and I met up at shelter surf shop to chat about a project for him...i find it hard to vocalize details without some kind of visual aide...so we started drawing:

One thing leads to another...

Video Time

Morgan's latest super8 project involves a bit of face time w/Trevor and the 5'3 nugget....a bit of alaia stuff afterwards w/chad and nole also:

Blues

Miles cruisin' around on the honest to god original gull..........later known as the OG.

Mimmons?

The name is up in the air, but heres the skinny:

5'7 x 22" x 2 3/4", Murray-esque nose, widened a tad.  simmons-like (wide and straight) tail w/a big wing and a trashcanny tail a-la the Gull.

The bottom is heavy tri-plane like murray, but instead of a single concave, Josh and I opted for a Vee off the tail section (from the wing back).  Just ahead of the back foot is a light and wide double concave to bring back a little rail to rail drive/skate that is lost with a tri-plane or hull bottom.

Shaped for changing up the flow on average+ beachbreaks and daily type waves, skate off the back foot and pure rail drive off the front foot from the hull rail line and thinner rails.  I have very little doubt that this thing will change some perceptions on a chest high day...

The truly custom board will never be lost.

Your Uncle Bob's Kneeboard

This one is for Alexander, I'm gonna write her an email thanking her for the opportunity to shape such an awesome little board...THIS is the type of thing that makes me tick, i haven't been able to get it out of my head all day:

This isn't your pop's old kneeboard...its more like your weird uncle bob's...5' x 22" x something"

hull to heavy triplane bottom, the deck is heavily concaved, with funky little rail channels a-la-my old 5'6 (the one that has made me WILDLY rich and famous through surfer magazine) kneeboard. 

This one will get a sleeker flex panel on the tail than my 5'6 has, but that doesn't come 'till i glass it...basically this is a sexed out version of my favorite surf craft ever.

6'10 | 6'0 | 6'3 | 7'0

Insta-hull-quiver.

photo:Maassen

Rush Hour Traffic

10" Volan magic^             

 6'10 Roundtail and 6'0 Gull ^

photos:MM

For Sale - Hullibut

Brand spankin' new 7' x 22 3/4" x 2 3/4" Hullibut in olive green for sale down at Shelter Surfshop in Longbeach...Go give 'er a visual molestation and see if your feet might be able to give it a run for it's money...

Hulltastic Voyage

4 n3wbs for the 4th.

TSJ / Kenvin / Simmons

TJS | POV - Richard Kenvin from The Surfer's Journal on Vimeo.

Approved by the G.

Sunny Garcia, Vampire Hull, 'nuff said.

Shape for the Cure

We can all do our part.

Miles/Murray

Miles wrote a few words on Murray in a comment he left a few posts below big-M is the owner of the first and original incarnation of the Gull and has ridden that little hull in more waves than I could imagine...thought I would re-post his words about Murray:

"murray goes kids, know this. its an odd combination of glide, drive and flex, if i didnt know better i would have thought i dropped in on a hull, pumped down the line on a skatey fish, and cut back on a nice single fin. It duck dives like a dream, and late drops are were made with confidence unfamiliar to a traditional hull. i cant wait to surf with murray again."