Chris' Nova Speedster...

Customer Chris drove all day from San Francisco/Ocean Beach to pick up his new Nova Speedster.

The Nova Speedster is what some would call a longboard semi-gun. It features a pulled-in nose (17") and pulled-in tail (13-1/2"). Width at wide-point is 22-3/4". The board is 3-1/4" thick along the stringer, but the deck is crowned to maintain thinner rails. The bottom has a tucked rail edge, with low rocker throughout, slight belly in the nose, flat in the middle and moderate tail-V peaking in front of the 2+1 fin array. All the essential ingredients for pure speed in waves of consequence.

YIKES! SF Ocean Beach Winter - Photo N. Lawrence

A longboard semi-gun is not a board you'd find on the rack at your local surf shop. Contact me if you feel "the need for speed".

New Nova for Winter 2013-14...

This is my next Nova Speedster winter demo board. At this stage it has been hot-coated and sanded, and is waiting for red pinline and gloss coat.

The Nova Speedster model is designed to be surfed off the tail, in larger, more powerful surf. Overall rocker is flatter than the standard Nova for speed and faster paddling. I borrowed the rockers from the old Clark Foam 9-8S blank, and had them applied to a US Blanks 9-9B. I also used a double 1/8" basswood T-Band stringer for added strength. I've chosen a 7" Parrish center fin from True Ames, with the new 4" TA Side-bites, all in red (of course!). The 4" SB will provide plenty of drive and hold. Dimensions are 17" x 23" x 14" 3-1/4" thick with medium, tucked rails. I kept the bottom very straightforward, with slight convex in nose, flat middle and V through the tail. No concaves to slow water flow.

A slightly more narrow version, which is headed for the wintertime waves at San Francisico's Ocean Beach, is being picked up tomorrow. I'll post some photos in a couple of days.

 Its December 5th, is your winter longboard ready?

Another happy customer...

This board has been on the market for quite a while. Not sure why. I rode it more than a half-dozen times and always found it to be a great, all-around longboard. Finally Dan, who has owned a few of my mid-size shapes over the past couple of years, snatched it up over the weekend. This was his feedback on the board: "Took the new Nova out at County Line this morning.  Had a blast!  Thanks for the board!" That's pretty much the typical response I get from Nova owner's. I've refined the Nova model over the past 8 yrs. It catches waves easy, turns easy, and noserides whenever you feel like it. What more can you ask for in a longboard?  I always have one in my quiver, and you should too!!

9-1 Speedster....

Here's the latest 9-1 x 22-3/4" x 3-1/8" Nova Speedster, finished in tri-color resin tint.

The Nova Speedster is built for surfing off the tail in quality waves, shoulder-high or better. The design features slight nose concave, flat mid-section and double concaves in the generous tail V. Wide-point is just behind center.

 Notice that  the thin brown stripe marks the spot where tail-V is at max depth and where the outline curve begins to pull into the pintail. A rocker photo would show the tail rocker starting to accelerate at this spot as well. This is also the spot where the tail concaves start. It is this combination of compound curves that creates ball-bearing-like turns and high-speed carves.

Don't be left out when the next big swell hits. Order yours today!

Ready for glassing...

Finished the 9-1 yesterday and placed it in the glassing rack.

 Board features shallow nose concave with double concave through moderate tail-V. Dimensions are 9-1, 18x22-3/4"x14-1/2"  3-1/8". Board will be finished with a tri-tone rootbeer resin tint tail, topped with beige opaque band, and then clear in the forward 2/3 of the board. fin set-up will 2+1 with Future boxes.

Back to SUPs....

'nuther Nova...

The Nova is my most popular longboard model, and for good reason. It has a wide wave range and can be ridden as a single-fin, 2+1 or twin-with-trailer (a la Infinity Cluster-V). I build this model from 9'0" to 10'6", with thickness depending upon rider weight and experience. Here's the latest in the popular "Ice Blue" Tint finish.

In an earlier post I mentioned the option of choosing stringer glue color on custom boards. This board was ordered with a 3/8" basswood stringer and dark blue pinline. Blue stringer glue was a no brainer...








No extra charge for the fancy pinline corners and the  "through-the-box" leash loop.

Board's dimensions are 9-6, 17-7/8" x 23-1/8" x 13-3/4"  3-1/8" thick.

This board was finished last week. Next up is a 5-stringer 7-6 Nomad and a 5-4 Mini-Widget Quad. Photos coming soon....

Sneak peek at Scott's new Nova...

Ray is working his magic on this new 9-6 Nova for Scott in Ojai. In addition to the Ice Blue resin tint bottom and rails, board will have a dark blue pinline on the lap and blue glue lines on the custom 3/8" bass stringer. Those are the kind of details you can't get off-the-rack. Why buy what's left off-of-the rack when you can get exactly what you want for less from Thomas Patrick Surfboards?? New boards currently delivered in 4 weeks, but Summer is just around the corner. Don't wait, beat the rush and order now.

New Nova...

Here's the round pin-tail Nova 2+1 I've been dying to ride. This round pin is a little spike-y, making it a good choice for bigger/better waves.

This boards dimensions are 9'6" 18" x 23" x 14-1/4" 3" thick. Tucked rail, 1/2-length nose concave and tail V make this board an outstanding performer. Ice Green resin tint, bottom and rails, with a dark green pin line and clear deck inlay. Gloss and polish finish.

I chose the True Ames Parrish Cutaway 7.25" center fin with the TA 3.7" side bites. True Ames now offers their side bites in a 3.25" depth as well as the standard 3.7" depth. The smaller SB allows you to use a larger center fin.

This board retails for $680 + tx without fins or $767 + tx with fins. The board is also available for demo. Contact me to arrange a test drive.

That's why we call it a custom...

Buying a custom surfboard is an unique opportunity to own a handcrafted, functional object that has been shaped and decorated to the owner's specification. Case in point is Ben's 9-0 Nova...

Ben was looking to replace a favored Takayama LB that was recently stolen. After much discussion via email, we settled on this outline and my standard Nova rocker, minus just a tad in the nose. Ben chose a Shamrock green, resin tint with brown competition stripes. He also wanted an anchor graphic on the deck and a ship propellor on the bottom representing his chosen vocation. Ben sent me the images, I printed them out to the dimension he specified and Ray did the rest (I haven't been able to stump Ray yet!). End result is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind surfboard. Are you ready to order your custom?

One in the oven....

For those of you wondering what happened to the 9-6 that customer Rick didn't want, here it is in the UV oven following hot-coat.

Ray often uses resin that is catalyzed by ultra-violet radiation. He built this nifty oven with UV bulbs, top and bottom, for this purpose. Place board in oven, close the hatch, turn on lights, and "presto" 20 min later you have one hardened glass job. This board should be ready to ride when I get back from Oregon on Saturday.

Third time's the charm....

This is Rick with his new 9-6 Nova. We spent weeks talking about this shape in the parking lot at C St and in the lineup. Most experienced surfers know how they want their board to look and feel, and Rick is no exception. The challenge for surfer and shaper is getting that vision communicated. In Rick's case it took us three attempts to translate Rick's vision into a reality. The other two boards were solid shapes, but just not what Rick had in mind. The second shape was close, but needed some small tweaks in thickness and nose rocker. With Rick in the shaping bay, we went over each dimension multiple times, adjusted tail-v and re-shaped the tail from mini-square to round-pin. Satisfied with the shaped blank, we put it in Ray's capable hands and here is the result.

I expect my customers to be heavily involved in the creation of their new shape. It takes time, effort, patience and, most of all, mutual trust in the process.

Back to work....

Holiday season was busy with visiting relatives and good waves. Now its back to building boards. Here's a 9-6 Nova Pintail getting fin boxes. Its has a sweet Ice Green resin tint on bottom and rails, with a green pinline.

Also at the glasser's is a 9-6 Nova for Rick and a 9-0 Nova Benjamin.

One for the shop...

In between all the recent board orders I've taken, I managed to slip in one for the "shop". This is a 9-6 Nova which is my all-around, go-to, modern longboard shape. It's a board you can take to the beach almost any day and have a great time. Chest-high or smaller, pop out the side-bites and add a 9.5" center-fin (Velzy NR by True Ames is my favorite) and "enjoy the glide, the slide and the occasional noseride". Shoulder-high or bigger, pop in the 3.7" side bites and your favorite 7"-7.5" narrow tip center-fin, and enjoy top-to-bottom turns and cheater-fives through speedy sections. A narrow tail and moderate tail V, make this board turn effortlessly, while the half-length, blended nose-concave and moderate nose width invite endless noserides. If you only have budget for one LB in your quiver, the Nova is your best choice. Dimensions: 9'6" 18" x 23" x 14-1/4"  3-1/8"

Foiled at both ends

Love this medium thick tucked rail!

This board was glassed with two layers of 6oz E-Cloth on the deck and one layer of 6oz E-Cloth on the bottom. Ray used just a "stick-dip or two" of yellow pigment in the resin, added a red pinline and finished with gloss and polish.

I love yellow surfboards!!

Finally finished...

Customer Kirt and some dude pose with his new stick

This is a true custom. It combines a modern longboard outline with some old school influences. Rails are eggy but not pinched until the last 12" where there's a firm tuck for water release. There's a shallow blended nose concave with rolled-panel V in tail. Dimensions are 18-1/2" x 22-3/4 x 15" 3" thick.

Winter swell dreamin'...

Late Fall is a time to put away the noserider and break out the “winter board”. In this case, a 9-6 blue tint, reverse-lap, pinlined Nova Speedster Pintail, sporting TA side-bites and a 7” Wayne Rich Classic center fin, all in red (of course!). Dimensions are: 17-1/2” x 22-3/4” x 13-3/4” 3”

What's unique about this board is that I used a “red” density USBlanks blank. This is the density that most PU shortboards use. To counteract the lower density (and to prevent excessive heel denting) I used the more expensive, but stronger Silane cloth, instead of E-cloth. End result is a relatively lightweight longboard, which will resist excessive denting (or so I hope)

I kept the rocker at just over 4” in the nose and just under 4” in the tail, and used more of a continuous curve throughout. There's slight concave in the nose and a fair amount of V in the tail.

Like all of my "Shop" boards (wink, wink, nod, nod) this one's for sale. Shoot me an email if interested.