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.

Eggy R&D...

Photo courtesy Jay of Slider Magazine

Today I lucked into this little nugget at my local break. I'm surfing my 7-11 Nomad with the quad-fin set up. I'm using the T.Patterson Quad front fins 4.35"x4.3" and the new 3.25"x3.25" TA Side-bites for the rear fins. The smaller fins really help to keep the handling loose and speedy in the small stuff. I've been surfing the Nomad pretty regularly, both as a tri and and as a quad, and find that it paddles really fast, catches waves easy and is quite responsive. It makes a perfect transition board for someone wanting to step-down from a longboard.

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.

A Red Stripe for Summer....

This “Classic” model is a great summer board, built for gliding and noseriding in knee- to waist-high waves. Dimensions are 9’4”  18-3/4” x 23-1/2” x 16”  3-1/8”. While only 9-4, the board has a very full outline to maximize planing surface. It has all the features of a classic noserider; wide tip with half-length nose concave, 50/50 egg rails, and moderate tail “V” for smooth turns and flowing cutbacks. Traditionalists will love the low nose rocker and the kicked tail rocker. The reduced area of the crescent tail, aka “moon tail”, functions a lot like a swallow tail, allowing the tail to be sunk more easily.

 The blank was ordered with a 3/8” basswood stringer and two “glue” cuts, with red glue.

Colored glue is an inexpensive way to add a little custom detail to any board. Most of the basic colors are available and there’s no extra charge. With glue cuts, the blank is cut as specified by the shaper and then glued back together. The end result is a very thin pinline in the color of choice. Glue cuts are $15 per cut.

I ordered this board with the tougher, but more expensive Silane cloth, double 6-oz deck and single 6-oz bottom. Finished with gloss and polish, and my favorite noseriding fin, a 9.5” Velzy NR by True Ames. Glass work by Lucke Glassing.   
Retail price = $760 including fin

Water temps are starting to warm up and south-west swells have started to make their way up the coast. Current delivery time is only 3 weeks. Time to order that new summer board before the June rush.

Room with a view...

Wife and I just got back from an 18-day trip to Italy. What a beautiful country! Here's one of the places we stayed...

And here's the view from that room...

Locals say that  waves sometimes break over the jetty and into the harbor, but not in springtime. Just my luck...Wife called it a great surf vacation, as in "vacation from surf-related activities". Good to be back in the good ol' USA.

9-0 Classic

Here's a 9-0 Classic with a wide-body design. The fuller outline increases planing surface for easier wave catching in small-wave conditions. Dimensions are 19" x 24" x 16-1/2" 3". Board has all the Classic model features like pinched 50/50 rails, noserider rocker, tail V and blended, half-length nose concave. The outline has a decided "hip" in the outline located at the same place that tail rocker begins to accelerate and tail V is at max depth. On a longboard, the integration of these three features is critical for effortless turns and amazingly smooth cut-backs.

9-0 Classic with proud new owner

I added a crescent (aka "Moon") tail with flow-through deck scoop. A variation of the square-tail design and much like a swallow-tail, the crescent or moon tail shortens the turning radius and allows slightly greater tail penetration. The tail scoop directs water flow over the tail-block, helping to weigh the tail for improved noseriding.

Photos courtesy of  SliderMagazine.com

I just finished shaping a 9-4 version for the shop which will be available in early May. With the small waves of summer just around the corner, now is the time for you to order a custom Classic.

Nueva Huevo...

I'm really excted about this new egg. Just picked it up today from the shop.

It's 7'11"  17" x 23" x 15-1/2" x 2-7/8", EPS/Epoxy 3 layers orf 4-oz S-Glass deck and 2 layers 4-oz S-Glass bottom. Sanded gloss coat finish with red and blue pinline.

 This is a 5-fin, convertible board and I'll be using the T.Patterson template with 80/20 foil on rear fins when going quad and the CI template when going tri. Both fin sets are FCS-based from True Ames Fins.

Full outline and low rocker should make wave-catching easy. Bottom features single-to-double concaves with some "V" out the tail for speedy carves and smooth cutbacks.

Swap-Meetin' it...

Reef and I set up shop today at the local Ventura swap meet. Surfboards and surf photography for the discerning buyer. Met some folks, handed out some flyers and ate burritos...good times.

Next up...

Here's the last two boards I shaped sitting on the glassing racks. In the background is a 9-0 Neo with blue resin stripe and moon flow tail. This is a wider version of the Neo model, offering maximum planing area in a shorter length. The board in the foreground is a 7-11 Egg 5-fin convertible, done in EPS/epoxy construction. This board was designed as a California travel board, with a wave-range to match most anything you'll find in the Golden State.

Coming to a bulletin board near you...



New shop flyer created by Graphic Artist J. Golien Pretty cool, huh?