Mid-length Hull

8'4" Hull for Ivan

Mode

9'2" Mode for Simon

Cassette

9'4" Cassette V2

My new long for spring

Spectro Ride Report

Hi Steve, 

Today I had what was probably as good a session as it gets up here on the Spectro. Solid head high, not a breath of wind so mirror-glass conditions, spring low tide, shallow, punchy, hollow beach break surf.

I felt instantly at home on the board. Paddles well (possibly a touch better than the Lumus) and can pick up waves with ease. Not much adjustment needed in the takeoff other than an extra split-second to be sure I'm moving down the face before popping up. 

I actually suprised myself with a few late drops, one of them a bit of an air-drop going front side as the lip pitched early. Felt amazing as the fins connected on the steep face. Couple of pretty late backside drops too, definitely assisted by the narrower nose. 

Up and riding it's got all of the good bits about the Lumus, projection, flow and speed, but a little more refined overall and a slightly more lively/agile feel. The fins seem to offer the perfect mix of drive, control and looseness and I think the smaller size works really well. 

Duck diving is also a touch easier than the Lumus, which I wasn't expecting as it's got slightly more volume. Makes sense I guess as there is less nose to sink. Anyway was grateful for it today and made the paddle out that little bit easier. 

Overall I think we got the sizing spot on and it's the perfect compliment to the Lumus for exactly the sort of surf we had today. I feel like I can jump on either board with minimal adjustment needed. Super-stoked.....again! 

Many thanks Steve,

Paul

Vulcan

10' Vulcan for Matt

Teapot

Hand built stoneware teapot

Handle made from a Cornish hedgerow and reclaimed electrical wire

Free to a good home

Olympus OM10

Tamron Tele Macro Lense

other lenses and filters

all free to anyone that can make use of them

GONE

Jar

Stoneware Jar with Tenmoku glaze

Jekyll

6'2" Jeykll for Jonathan

green resin stripes

wedding rings?

anyone know anybody that makes wedding rings?
would much rather give my cash to a craftsman.

Hull

7'0" 2+1 Hull

some elements of the Universal for Chris

Twin

Tyler Warren inspired 5'4" for Alex

hand made stained ply keels

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

Van is fixed

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

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.

Dress Making

My Mum has been teaching me how to make dresses for the girls.

Here is number one.

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

http://empiresurfboards.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/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

info@empiresurfboards.com

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

info@simonlown.com

more info on the shape here:

http://empiresurfboards.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Lumus

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.  

more info to follow here: http://empiresurfboards.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/universal

Lumus

Lumus with cloth inlay 

built for Kass and Sarah's wedding

All the best to you both

Fox Mask

Halloween Mask 

Recycled Card and Masking tape