Monday 19 November 2012

NEW MODE LONGBOARD FOR SALE




I HAVE A SHINY NEW MODE FOR SALE

9'2" x 22 5/16 x 2 13/16

Magenta resin tint with black stripes on the deck.
Black resin pigment on the bottom.

Brand new and fresh from the workshop.
Usual price £645

Selling for £580 with the fin
(Cat not included)

SOLD

Please share this with anyone that you think might be interested.
Thanks

Sunday 18 November 2012

Van is fixed


After the scraped forearms, blooded knuckles and a couple of hours rummaging around in the engine the new alternator is fitted. 

Wednesday 14 November 2012

A Shoal of Fish



The genesis for all three of these boards is Steve's own Magic fish,  a MR style modern twinzer fish. The middle board came first, which was made as a good allrounder and last March I took it to Indonesia. The board goes great in all kinds of condtions, but I felt I wanted something extra for fat small weak waves and something else for bigger more challenging waves. Yet, still retain the feel of the original board to ease transition between the boards. So, Steve recently shaped for me shorter, flatter and fatter version for little waves and a longer, slimmer and drivier version for bigger waves. All three boards have the glide of a fish but with modern performance intergrated into the design.

Left: 5ft 8" x 20.75 x 2.75" small wave quad. The bottom shape is a subtle flat - single concave - double concave - vee between the fins. I asked Steve to incorporate some of what he has learned from making his Lumus model. The rocker is very flat and rails boxy helping the board to get up and plane quickly. This lift seems to keep the board loose and lively even in the smallest of waves. The fin setup is a Neal Purchase Junior style Quartet.  Which seems to give the board lots of speed and drive, but still be loose.

Middle: 6ft x 20" x 2.65" all round performance fish with five fcs fusion plugs. Single concave - double concave - vee quad concave through the fins. Works well as a quad, twin with trailer fin or in powerfull and hollow surf as a quad with a knubster fin. Thinner railed and curvy where it needs it to perform turns in the steeper part of a wave but straight enough to be fast down the line or generate speed in small waves. 

Right: 6ft 4" x 19.75 x 2.65" Step up Bonzer fish. This is a stretched out version of the 6ft fish. So, when the surf is bigger and, or very hollow I have a board that will the familar feel  of a fish but with more control and extra paddle power. With the nose/tail pulled in and the curvier rocker this board is starting to look more like a conventional shortboard but it is still part of the modern fish evolution. The Bonzer bottom shape, thinner rails and Bonzer5 fin system make the board fast, drivey and responsive.

All three boards function different but have a similar feel which allows me to swop between the boards smoothly. There is also an amount of overlap between the functionality of each board, which means if it turns out bigger, smaller or slower etc. It does not matter as much as if I was transitioning between widely different boards. Each to there own and this is just what works for me. Thanks for the great boards Steve.


Thursday 8 November 2012

Dress Making


My Mum has been teaching me how to make dresses for the girls.
Here is number one.


Monday 5 November 2012

Boards for sale!

Please help spread the word to anyone that might be interested.
Thanks



i need to raise a little cash so i am reluctantly parting with my 6'6" Spectro
Bargain price of £300
SOLD
would be £550 to buy new
6'6" x 21 x 3
opaque white pigment top and bottom.
geometric spray on the bottom.
removable rear fins.
super strong glassing, looks almost new. 
one or two very light compressions in the deck.
if you are interested or would like more info please e-mail


Also for sale is a Lumus
5'10" x 20" x 2 7/8
Blue resin tint with blue spot.
removable rear fins.
second hand but as new.
£400
would be £550 to buy new
if you are interested in the Lumus please contact Simon directly

more info on the shape here:


Sunday 4 November 2012

Universal Report


having given the Universal a thorough testing I now feel ready to report back.

Built at the beginning of August, since then it has been my everyday board. I've ridden it in knee high peelers, a wide range of beach breaks, a lumpy double over head reef and a couple of very hollow and challenging, backhand, head and a half reef breaks. The Universal has proved to be a reliable and easy to ride board. with plenty of glide, speed and wave catching ability. It feels similar to a full traditional hull but is much easier to ride and doesn't require the usual adjustment that you would expect with a hull. It projects well off the bottom and will draw a beautiful line on a wave allowing you to put yourself in positions on the face that other boards would struggle with. It carves some great arcs and at 7'9” it's even long enough for me to cross step to a cheater five. I've been pleasantly surprised by how well it handles powerful surf. As soon as the rail engages the board feels locked in and stable but still carves smoothly off the rail.

In smaller, weaker waves it cruises along, rolling turns from rail to rail. It feels Lively, natural and intuitive and it's planing speed matches the wave speed well. As the waves steepens or speeds up the board will accelerate to match it. It sounds obvious but not many boards do it well.

The only time that it has felt a bit of a handful, but not unmanageable was in lumpy double overhead waves with flat faces. I found that I had a lot of speed but no wall to engage the rail in. the board did feel a little unstable until I ran it out on to the flats and lost a little speed. I was then able to get an edge in and start carving turns.

In hollow powerful waves up to head and a half the board feels great. surprisingly solid for a single fin and because of the long flex fin, when it does slide it's very controlled and regains it's hold gently rather than grabbing as some boards do. It feels really comfortable in the barrel and has a very fine response to small changes in line or weight distribution. The take off feels surprisingly comfortable despite the length and low nose rocker.

I recently lent it to a friend for a couple of waves, when he paddle back out to return it I could see his grin from 50m away, there wasn't much more that needed to be said. 

what has really surprised me is how well this board has performed in such a wide range of conditions. The Universal is proving to be one of the best single fins that I have ridden and probably the most useful, versatile and fun mid-length.  

Friday 2 November 2012

Lumus




Lumus with cloth inlay 
built for Kass and Sarah's wedding
All the best to you both