Board #1

8'3" Hollow Fir / Cedar

 July '02 ... 

   

Description:

The deck and bottom are cedar/fir...

The fin is cedar/fir...

Rails are laminated mahogany plywood...

Epoxy/S-glass...

Weight-23#...

Built to ride...  

 

    

I had the maiden voyage this morning, August 13, 2002... The jetty/beachbreak was waist to chest high, offshore at 20k...No one in the water or on the beach...perfect...Paddles real good, low rocker 3.5"n-1.5"t...With the 23# it has momentum...OK, While waiting for the first wave I'm hoping that when I stand up I don't crush the deck, this is all new to me...So here comes a nice peak, paddle, early entry, stand, lean, trim, SMOOTHNESS!!!...The wave dies in channel...The board is real firm under foot, good...Then paddling back it hits me, foam boards 'chatter', this board is 'velvet'...  

I had a 9'6" chambered balsa and this isn't like it...This has less mass, but that's not the difference...The balsa was rigid, this is more like being on a drum...The tensioned deck...The rails are rigid, but the deck has a really cool 'resonance'...Think of a car inner tube blown really hard, tuned sort of...Anyway, the ride is velvet, if you see me in the water I'll let you ride a few so you know...

I had doubts about the performance...The finished thickness is 3.5"...and the rails carry a lot of that thickness, so I'm thinking " Gonna be corky,  gotta lean on the inside edges, don’t over surf it"...But Whoa Nelly, this baby likes the steeps, she comes from behind the peak and hangs in the pocket under the lip like she's not aware that she's primarily a looker, not a rider...It holds a line and the weight carries it well through the white water...I'm adjusting to the reduced rocker, particularly on frontside bottom turns, but by the end of the 2 hour session it was automatic...  

For me I had a preconception about how it would ride...I was gonna ride a few, strip the wax, high gloss polish it, and dust as necessary...But now I've got a new primary board, and I'm SO VERY STOKED!!!


Board 1was sold for $2,000 and is in a private collection in Olympia...

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