Colorful Mid-Sized Simmons...

Most of the "mini-Simmons" shapes are built in the sub-6' range. Simmons himself built boards with similar outlines from 9' to 6'.  This board is a good example of what I would call a "mid-sized " Simmons shape. The board has the the low-aspect-ratio outline, flat rocker and tail concave that is Simmons-inspired. The extra length provides the volume desired by the customer, and the quad-fin set-up maintains the desired performance level. A great longboard alternative for the smaller waves of summer.

It hard not to notice the unique color design of this board. All of the color work was done with resin-tints by master craftsman Ray Lucke. This is a labor-intensive, four-stage process that yields a radical, one-of-a-kind look.

This close-up shows some of the color variations obtained by the process.

The dimensions are 6'10" x 23" x 3" 60L. As stated above, this is a great summer and/or small-wave board. Multiply your weight by 0.316 to get an estimate of the volume you might need.

May is here and the time is right to order your summer board!

Mini-Widget deja vu...

Customer Jordan liked the butterscotch 5-4 MW so much that he ordered one just like it...well, almost. He asked me to reduce the length to 5-2 and went with FCS Fusion boxes instead of Futures.
Here's the "pick-up day" photo

Mini-Widget II for Gordon...

Here's Gordon wth his new 5-6 Mini-Widget II

The Mini-Widget II has all the Mini-Simmons characteristics of the original Mini-Widget, but has the nose pulled in making it a little more user-friendly in larger, steeper waves. 

Dimensions are 5-6, 17-1/2" x 22-3/8" x 18-3/8"  2-5/8" Deck has plenty of crown which keeps the rails standard shortboard thickness. Five FCS Fusion boxes give Gordon plenty of opportunities to experiment with fin configurations. 

The Mini-Widget II is an excellent choice for the better waves of winter, and gives the rider quite an edge in paddling power when competing for waves with weekend crowds. Give me a call and let's start talking about your new Mini-Widget. 

Mini-Widget for Justin...

Just finished a 5-1 Mini-Widget for Customer Justin. Justin noticed the 5-4 MW I have for sale and asked for one just a bit smaller.





Board will glassed with two layers of S-cloth on deck to help combat those dreaded heel-dents. Fin setup will be quad Futures with FCS plugs in center fin position. Justin will have multiple fin config options!

Three to get ready...

Here are the three mini-Simmons shapes I did a few weeks back, drying on the racks after hot-coating.

The board in the foreground is a notch tail. the middle board is a diamond tail and the board in the background is a square tail. The popularity of these boards has spread up the coast from San Diego, and is now catching on in Ventura county. The M-S is a great shape for the slopey waves at the point, especially during those high-tide sessions. Shaped under the "R. Lucke" label, two of the boards above have already sold. We just received a shipment of four more blanks. Orders yours today!

More mini's...

I just finished another mini-Simmons (MS) shape with a little different tail design. The typical MS tailblock is quite wide, which helps to get this short shape up and planing, but makes it a little difficult to turn. The idea behind the “notch tail” is to lessen the resistance to water flow in the tail as the board rolls over on the rail for turning. Same basic idea as swallow tails and fish tails. For those interested, the dims on this shape are 5’8” 19-3/4” x 22-3/4” x 19-3/4”  2-3/4".  Fin set up is twin Futures boxes for traditional keels, mod keels or standard twins.

We have a couple of these mini-Simmons shapes as demos at the shop. Contact me if you’d like to take one for a test drive.  

Mini-Simmons Collaboration...

Several months ago, Ray began researching the mini-Simmons shape with the intention of building a couple. He knew that I had been exposed to this new shape while surfing and shaping in the San Diego area, so he would ask me for feedback as he went through the process of building a template, ordering the blank. selecting the fins and setting the fins. By early summer, he had shaped a couple and placed them in the capable hands of Shawn Tracht, who's rider's review can be found in the Sep/Oct issue of Deep Magazine.

After finish-shaping 3 of Ray’s mini-Simmons boards, Ray ask me to ghost-shape one for him. I agreed and watched intently while he shaped one, asking questions and taking notes. I was taught by master shaper Tim Phares that, when ghost-shaping for another shaper, it is just as important to duplicate the “process” as it is to duplicate the template and dimensions. Differences in process have subtle impacts on the final outcome. So after watching and studying his process, I set about shaping a 5'10" mini-sims. 

Now, with the shape complete it was time to set the fins. A set of glass-on True Ames Hobie Fish fins in “smoke” was chosen. After some discussion, fin location was determined and marked. The shape was glassed and the fins were placed as discussed.

Next the board was hot-coated, sanded, gloss-coated and sanded smooth with 600g.

Its this collaboration, this give-and-take between shapers and glassers and surfers that is at the very heart of surfcaft building.  All photos courtesy of Jay Golien, SliderMagazine.

Mini-Sims, Part 2....

I wrote in an earlier post about finish-shaping a few mini-simmons shapes for my buddy Ray. Here's one of those boards in action, under the feet of expert surfer Shawn Tracht captured by Photographer Brent Lieberman. This board and others are now on demo at Esteem Surf Shop in Pismo Beach.

Keepin' busy...

One of the advantages of sharing space in a surfboard factory is that there's always something surfboard-related that needs to be done. Today I finish-sanded a couple of mini-simmons shapes for my buddy Ray. Last week I finished a 10-6 SUP and another mini-sims for him. Its a cool arrangement; he can keep up with his glassing and ding repair orders, and I get to finish-shape a few boards while waiting for new orders. Plus, I'll bank some glassing IOUs.

The mini-sim in the photo is a 5-11, and after my experience with the 5-6, I think I could actually surf this one.

All three mini-sims are for sale, or at least will be once they've been glassed and finned. If you're interested, contact Ray at raylucke@gmail.com for pricing.