Hover

7'0" hovercraft...





I fit the tailblock...now to do the inevitable.
Drink a bunch of paint, get sick and spew it all over the deck.
You guys know I do custom colors.
And thats as custom as it gets




One of these needs to look more like the other but not really.
Thats the Lightweight and the new Lightweight is in that piece of
virgin foam nest to it.
How do I know?




Because I found the outline in it so the rest of the board is in there some place.



See ya.

Sways...

I got the info I needed to make a 7'0" have the volume and still surf much shorter. While I had been eliminating tail rocker in the search for speed (and in keeping with Simmons' original ideas), the consensus is to add an inch of tail rocker for every 6" over 6' in length.
Makes sense.
But what about the speed I might lose to not having a flat bottom?
Not to worry, the extra float and volume will make up for it.
It also came up to increase the base of the fin for more drive.
Ok.
So 10" base should be 10 and 3/4" on a 7'0". No need to increase the height as the fins stick. I have only popped mine out backside and that was way on a rail.
Like folded over with 1/3rd of the board still in the water.

So Sways comes through again. Where else are you going to get some of the best shapers in the world discussing such things?

Now, if I could find Balsa cheaper than the local supply house...

I want to throw this out again, I am in need of a bike, will trade a custom board of your choosing for the right bike.
Your bike need not be perfect, just something I can set up to trailer a board down the Coast. My boards are worth 300.00, your bike should be worth about the same.

Thats it for me, much to do today but none of it involves surfing...
Thats ok, kind of tired anyway.
See ya.

.

Old.

Feeling it.
Did the SUP yesterday as everything else was tossed or too much work.
The bad thing about stand up paddle surfing is, while its a better workout than surfing, one may not notice just how long one has been out.
I surfed about 19 hours total in the last seven days.
Yesterday was 3 hours of SUP'ing.

And I surf a lot by myself or at my own peak (most here know I am a wave hog).
Surfing by yourself, I tend to grab anything rolling through, that means wave after wave after wave.
I will grovel after any thing rideable on the SUP, it does not care and neither do I.
So today, sore and tired.
And I busted my foot up again on the Stumps of Doom.

Stumps of Doom?
Our SUP spot has a series of old stumps that are under you when the tide gets over 4'.
They are leftovers from back in the day when the beach was bigger and much wider.
The tree's are long gone but those ten or so stumps live on.
They are barnacle encrusted, rooty.
They will snap your leg if you happen to fall in a hole.
Or destroy your instep if you happen to land that way.
Its a good thing they are only present going right because the old concrete BBQ pit/fire ring that you find going left would be jealous.
I have hit the fire ring.
I have landed on every one of those stumps.
But the stumps do have another purpose.

When we get 14' outside swells and a tide above 6'...
Those stumps form a reef that sets off a shorebreak zipper of a righthander that finishes off up the creek.
Over 2' showing and I grab the shortboard, its that fast and hollow.
Of course, its breaking in 1' of water over those stumps for the first 20 yards.
The rest of the wave peels along the sand a mere ten feet off of dry beach.

Keeps it interesting.

So I had trouble driving home yesterday, couldn't push the clutch in because I bashed my left instep on a stump root. The wife helped me get the bootie off and the rest of my suit. I expected the worst, bad bruising, maybe some blood...
But this morning, while the rest of me is feeling old and tired, my foot is alright.
And the forecast is...
14' and high tide in the afternoon.
And its the start of a new week.
So this morning I am finishing up Lorens' Simmons blank (Dude? Colors! Art!)
and then hitting it.
Its what I do.

And for the record, since any one can post anything here on the innertubes...
I can't play make believe here on the ol' Retro blog, I have three local guys who read here, know me and my habits, where I surf, how often I surf, etc.
I can't get it away with making it up...lol.
Trust me, I would catch more shit than a SE Ptown Hipster Alaia Rider at Seaside on a Sunday.

The dungeon of foam is calling me.
See ya.

Oh, any other Simmons type craft surfers out there? Looking for some feedback on your boards.
I seem to run into a length limit for 'fun waves', is there a way to go longer while keeping the looseness of a pool skater?
I have pulled the tail outline curve in as far as possible I think, thoughts?
I am building one for a bigger guy at 200, 7'4" is out of the question as he wants it as loose as mine. The limit on my design for 'fun waves' seems to be 6'10". He needs the float so an inch wider (24) gets me the volume of a 7'2", not good enough, I need a bit more volume but not sure where to find it or put it.
Thanks!

Scored

Called it and while it was far from consistent, I had more than a few down the line fun runs.
Rode the sixten Midi and it absolutely flew, the board is so user friendly and so fast. Did have a few 'uh oh' moments in the tight, pitching bowl over the rocks but the board wasn't made for that kind of top to bottom wave anyway so no surprises.
The speed the design carries through cutbacks and transitions and especially pumping down the line.
Just insane.

but 6'10" is about the limit for the design if one wants to surf it and hit big carves in shoulder to head high waves. I dug in the backside rail twice today on the smaller, waist high tweeners, the 6'10" does not come around as fast as the 6'4" and 6'6"'s I have built and surfed. I dont know what shorter would be, let you know in a few days...
But on the shoulder high and up stuff, this sixten is just wow.

Right Gorgeous George?

Here is the board on day three...Wearing the grunge already.
And yes, in anticipation of the Mysto, I installed a leash plug this morning at the crack of dawn.
I like this board and I want to keep in in one piece.

See ya.

Oh, solo at the Mysto for the first hour....

Thursday

Hoping to catch the Mysto today, big tide, some swell, should be...happening.
Have this Gerry SUP in.
Lets talk about embodied energy.
First, ship blank to Bend.
Shape blank.
Box blank, send to LA.
Glass blank.
Bag and send back to Bend.
Bend to Coos Bay.
It hasn't hit the water yet and it has 2000 miles on it.
Lots of energy.
And it was expensive.
And it was damaged while doing all of this traveling.
Thats why its here.


I aint whining, just saying that this much energy into one board is crazy.

Nico, who is the cutest little grom...got to shape and color a blank...well, you know how parents are, very competitive...
Here is Stella and her blank and art....
It started when I brought a blank up to show a friend, left it in the living room much too close to both Stella and her art supplies....
Ya got yer SpongeBob Crew, ya got some manta Ray and some fishies, some odd phonetic writing and of course, the Sea.
Hmmm, do I see a union in the future?
And of course, no logo....

Well, thats it for me.
The Mini 5'8" gets its skin today, gray bottom, red deck.
I think.

See ya.

Floating.

But I had a few to the beach.
Rode the sixten, dug a few rails in the 3' windslop but
I did manage to drive down the stairsteps, seeing the next
bowl form and then projecting to it and the drop back into the double up.
Whoosh but not like whoo hoo whoosh.
But it was something.
Played in the rocks.

No shaping stuff.
Doing thoughtful things.
There is a Lopez SUP here for
a repair.
Brand spanking new.
Yeah, I have copied the template, dialed the dims.
Hi Gerry.

See ya.

I like emails

like this...
"hey bro, I came across your blog when a friend sent me a link about the Simmons inspired boards you have been shaping. I too have been doing these types of retro-craft for the last two years. I wanted to ask where you got your templates and dimensions from? I have looked at your boards and it seems from the pictures that you are very close to what the Swift guys are doing but you go longer. Why do you shape them out longer? Can you share your rail profiles at 12 inch increments? The other inspired boards I see have regular rails like you would find on any other board but I know they are supposed to be bladed? I have some templates and fin outlines to trade. Thanks, Marcus"
Thanks Marcus...
I am no where near the original shapes except for outline and rails, maybe the hull.
I don't think you can shape one of these and have it work without the hull/rail/outline being related. The design looks simple but its quite complicated to tie it all together and not end up with a so-so board.

There is one on Sways from Simone, it has everything but the rails and hull so is it really a Simmons inspired board or a fat tailed twin fin?
(see attached pic and link)

I go longer because I feel we need a bit more paddle from our boards here in Oregon. I would rather add some thickness and width/length than have a board that struggles while paddling.
Also, most surfers up here are older and surf with a bit of old school power so the length has very little effect while riding.
I am currently shaping a true mini at 5'8" but its a 'for sale' board rather than to ride it myself.
I think the design is fun because...it looks so unlike what most guys ride. Its a 'new' thing and some older guys are digging the return to the cruising/soul style of surf culture. I also love the way they feel under foot.
Everything old is new again.
I will send you my file on the rails/dims/outlines, send me some fin templates in trade.
Thanks, Tony

Here is the one on sways. Its a nice looking board but the rails are fat not bladed or even hard, there is no hull and the S deck isn't there.
Fantastic glass job though.
I would add that maybe this board is exactly what the rider wanted.
The outlines and dims I have all use a thinned tail/rail foil. No bigger than a dime at the apex. My last board, I thinned the tail even more after watching water pour over the frontside rail on my 6'4". The rail, when presented to the wave face after say a bottom turn, needs to 'fit' into the face with as little turbulence as possible.
Remember, Simmons whole objective was...

"To catch the wave before any one else, go faster and further than any one else!"

What he didn't know then was when the design is applied to shorter boards, all that speed is translated in to more turns using that speed.
Thats what I have found when surfing this design, I am going faster and using that speed to make sections and boldly go where that speed lets me.
Oh, they do great floaters too.

See ya.

Oh, if any one is after a 5'8" mini, let me know, I am choosing colors and tints in the next day or so....

Ridden

Board works good, does exactly what I shaped it to do, glides with fits of spray.
Rode the beachie at 3-5 feet, tossed by the wind but you could find a peak to double up.
Paddles very well, this board.
Very well.On the way to the spot, I lit up some Sage to put me in the mood...apparently, the urchin bowl makes a great venturi...oops.

See ya, starting a 5'8" mini this evening.
I have the dims now.
Any one?
Dibs?
See ya.

Mas Fin

Over all, pretty happy. Still a bit of sanding and clean up to do.
First time doing a triple layer, first time doing a nose patch.
Saturating the cloth was easy, knowing not to apply too much pressure on the stringerless blank while glassing...I know now.
Fins came out great. A few blems in the bottom tint.
Pinlines suck but thats now my trademark I guess.
#14.
Of course, the point was to break it in at a point break but I might get it wet this afternoon.
Its a new board, forgive me.

Fin.

Well, not yet. Tomorrow.
Fin, as in finished.
Or finned.

Aircraft grade ply. No shit, made for the gas scale model guys. If its good enough to fly...

Finned.

Ah, the lovely smell of a fresh hotcoat....
And the painful dust of sanding it.
Actually, I dont do much to the deck as far as sanding. My hot coats are pretty flat anyway, I clean up the wax and any boogers, call it good.


Oh well.
I fucked the pinline again.
I might invest in a tattoo gun instead.
Going to try another product.
Apparently, I am not old enough.
See ya.
Oh, 6'10" by 23 1/2
19 1/2" nose
19 1/2" tail
Hull to flat.
4" nose rocker
0" tail rocker
Fins are 10" by 5 1/4", set 2" up, 1 1/4" off the rail, toed to 6 degrees.
Triple 4 deck, double 6 bottom with nose and tail patch.
No leash plug.
With any luck, its first waves will be 552 miles south of me.

One of these days.

Another re-creation and rather long by some guys in SoCal, I forget who but they are famous.

Wishes...

I grew up 8 miles from this spot.
I surfed the point just south of it
for 27 years.
I have not seen waves like this in months.
Its way past time.
Come on Summer.
Yeah, I know, its just the beginning of Spring but....
Credit the OG Dub with the good luck and pic.

Closer-est

Deck and side pics of the new one. Note I foiled the deck a bit more at the tail, this board is balanced just for me. I had been leaving a bit more foam back there at the S deck but after watching how the water comes up and over the deck line while in trim, I tried to leave a cleaner line of flow. The nose has 1/4" more hull to the rail flip than the shorter Stool board. I feel this really helps in entry onto the wave face as well as creating a break on the bottom onto the flat. This board has zero rocker from the 4' mark to the tail.
Zero.
I expect it to be faster that the others so I am increasing the fin area a bit, going with 5 1/4" by 10" in Bamboo.
I will get the hotcoat on this morning after doing the deck pinlines in blue to tie it in with the stripes.
Right now, its at 4 lbs. exactly.

With any luck, done by tomorrow and then I am off with this board on a little trip to the south.
See ya.

Closer

Had a great weekend, lots of shaping, lots of glassing, a bit of surf.
Rode some fun ones yesterday on the Bloody Stool and while the board is still cursed and doomed to burst into flames any day now, I had fun shooting the rocks at Hippies and then doing 20 foot fly away kick outs. No matter the dimpled bottom, its still a fun ride.
Today had the wind and funk but I rode the SUP for a bit (a bit being four hours), wind was so bad at one point I got blown off the board and it went airborne as well.
Had a lot of fives but mostly surfed switch for the fun of it.
Some tourist types showed up with 4500.00 worth of straight from Thailand C4's and Lairds...I bit my tongue, they left anyway.
Then they came back in an hour, three strong, paddled right out to where I was burning my lefts.
Oops.
I was the only one out, plenty of beach to my north and south.
Needless to say, the Blatant Local in me kicked in.
They suffered the wrath of Local Knowledge.
I have the place wired up, period.
They do not.
I know they had fun watching anyway.


Here is my latest in process, I have the deck done but its too fresh to go back in the shop for pictures without the smell getting to me.
I went with a pale opaque yellow on the bottom, fitting patches to the nose and tail.
I went stringerless so the deck is getting triple 4 oz, the bottom has double 6 oz with the aforementioned patches making triple 6 oz nose and tail.
Looks pretty good so far, the deck is clear but for two light blue stripes on a diagonal at the 20 inch mark.
I know, boring but I didn't want to do much else to it. I am saving flames for the 7'4" and frankly, something simple this time sounded appealing.
I grind the tailblock clean before the next glass, it gets its own wrap at the end of it all.
Note the nose and tail patches. Nothing scientific, just reinforcement where I think it needs it. The tailblock stiffens the tail, the nose is scooped so....its getting 5 layers total. Overkill perhaps but who needs a broken nose?
Its a nice even tint, yellow with two drops of white. I like it, been a while since I have done anything in yellow.
So, I will flip it in an hour or so and do the fill on the bottom. I had hope to have it done by tomorrow but its all good, shit takes time.

Hope ya'll had a good weekend.
See ya.

Yep.

These are boottie prints.This is what I rode.
2-4 foot beachbreak peaks in dead glass.
The design works, period. In early with time to
plot the line. First pump and wooosh, see ya.
By the second pump, I have enough speed to do any line I choose.
Thats freedom.
I can get it up on plane knee paddling.
Its 6'4".

I am sticking with the layout/rail/hull/s deck/fins and most dims,
only the length will change for future
builds.

He was on to something.

See ya.

I got yer funboard right here...

I masked off the longboard last night, might be glassing today if it warms up and I decide on colors.
Had a look at building a board for another local guy but we couldn't come to terms on the shape.
He is an ok surfer, has a funboard and a fish.
Misses waves on the fish and the funboard is such a compromise, whats the point?
I asked him to think about where he surfs, think honestly about how well he surfs and think about where he wants his surfing to progress to.
Then get the board thats going to cover those bases without too much compromise.

I think one is better off on a late 70's RPT than a tri-finned compromise that does not do one thing well.
I think a midi-Simmons is a better go to than a funboard, say around 7'4".
But thats me, what do I know?

I admit to bias here, I only shape what I ride, right now my quiver is the 9'4" SUP, the 10'0" log, the 6'4" Simmons and the 8'0" retro I use for the points and bigger beach break. Not a thruster in the bunch.
The log and the Simmons would cover almost any surf I come across here.
But it stands to reason that if you are surfing the same waves as I do, with all things being relative and you like the way I surf my boards, get something like what I ride but with the volume/length you need.
If it works for me then it will work for you.

Oh well, I won't bend just to sell a board.

See ya with a ride report on the Simmons later.
And if any one is interested in these Simmons type shapes, this board is available for loan.
I even put a leash loop on it for you sissies.

Paddle dragger...

My buddy asked me why I was dragging my paddle in that vid grab...
I wasn't, the paddle was on its way.....
to going behind my back.
I see too many SUP guys with the paddle being some sort of wildly swinging appendage, not for me thanks. I put it behind my back, I sometimes sweep it in the same arc as my bottom turn, use it as a brace in tight sections, I use the paddle for more than just getting into waves.
If its just going to hang from one hand, go get your longboard...

The Bloody Stool

Thats a model name.
The Bloody Stool.
Here it is.
6'4" by 23" by 3 1/4", 20" nose, 19" tail. Double 6 deck, single 6 bottom with tail patch.
Ride report tomorrow, going by the feel of the foil, I expect good things.Note the rail line (click on the pic, its big), the foil spills up and onto the nose, the hull is a bit more pronounced than the last two.
That nose is more akin to what the Swift Movement guys are shaping.
I saw a picture and just copied what I saw. Its an easier nose than a true 'scoop' but as long as the rail foil gets to roll up with the hull, its works.
"Dad ?"

"You missed a spot!"
Overall, I am happy with the shape. I stayed true to the original designs while adding some proven updates.
I will probably use this as a demo for any one thinking about one of these Simmons influenced boards.

See ya.
Oh, I got waves today.
And no, I don't live in Pacific City but a guy can dream right?

Tuesday

I set the fins on the bloody stool Simmons-esque board finally, not before going through the options...
The bottom is still dimpled but relatively flat, I laid out 1/16th balsa over the entire bottom and considered laying it up. Sways tends to disagree, saying over all that the board may have cosmetic issues but covering them up would just add weight.
The float from the balsa would almost cover the added glass but I think they are right, good money just to hide cosmetic defects.
But laying out all that balsa...the next one is going to get a balsa deck I think. The bottom would be easier to do but you don't see the bottom.

I am laying up the fins this morning and maybe glassing up the new longboard, I plan on getting it out there ASAP so I can fund my trip south.
South.
Warm.
Points.
Friends.
Surf.
No surf.
No surf?
Maybe.
I might just do a bike trip instead.
Why?
Because I have been getting so much surf right here at home, maybe I need a vacation from surfing. (I live in Pacific City, where all the waves are above average)

Trouble might be...I am a surfer, I don't have a bike that will do a trip.
I have one of these....(1960's Schwinn Meridian)

Barter anyone?
Have a bike you hate because it doesn't surf well?
Want to do some trading?
My email is over there on the right.

Speaking of emails...
I was asked how I can sell boards so cheap.
Simple.
I bought my blanks for cheap, cutting material costs and then passing on that savings.
If I bought blanks at 140.00 each (thats FS price), it would cost me 260.00 to build a board. Plus shipping the blank.
It costs me 180.00 to build a 9'0" longboard.
Takes me 12 to 14 hours.
So if I get close to 300.00, I am happy.
250.00? The wife is happy.
Little boards are cheaper to build, say 160.00 for a Simmons type.
But I have to make the fins and the design itself is time consuming so it takes just as much time as a longboard.

Yeah, I could ask 400.00 but I won't get it.
My boards don't have logo's.
But I do put my daughters name somewhere on every one of them.
Thats worth something.
lol.
Oh, and not one of them would pass a drug test.

Anyway, time to get to work...or play.
See ya.

You know you

...had fun when you wake up as sore as I am this am...
I hit the SUP spot and stayed out till almost dark last night. As the tide dropped, more and more energy got in and 2' slop became 3' slop. Had a blast on the SUP, that board does some amazing speed line's in mere junk surf.

The Cranberry Growers Best Friend was out on his new board, surfing well and getting into the groove of the old school, traditional log. Its great to see a surfer on the right board for the conditions and out having fun. He was out quite a while and getting some fun sandbar peelers up the faux point.

I have the hotcoat sanded on the brown board, I was too tired to set the fins last night but I will get them on this morning. I used a bit of a different foil on these, more like the ones I saw in a picture of one of Bob's boards. Bulbous in the front to very thin in the back. If you look at the pic above, they are sitting on the shelf.
Give it a try.
I did notice that the board is starting to look like my 10'0" in colors....

No surf for me for most of the week, trip planned for going south soon so I need to cover some 'honey do's' before I go.
Alright, I will sneak out when I can....

See ya.