A CLASS ACT(ion)

General Discussion
1

ok after twenty five years of the odd near miss, i finally copped one in the eye socket

the nose of my board at full stretched leggy velocity.

lucky some clever aussie shaper that built it,rounded the nose to a width that wouldnt penetrate

have a look at the pic you can see bruising around both sides of the eye

i thought it was a gone and couldnt see for a bit and was dazed as there seemed to be a fair bit of blood

i felt it push my eyeball back into the socket

the rounded nose 100% saved my eye

i guarantee it

so after a few years arguing it

this proves my point

pointy nose boards are stupid and irresponsible

looking at the stats on injuries caused by the noses of surfboards leads me to one thing

manufacturers negligence and liability

i can see a class action in the making

surely theres a surfing lawyer out there who can see this one commin

2

im not touching the letigious theme here for the bad taste it would give me (and others).

however thats the fakest looking real blood I ever saw!!!

3

Paul,

glad you are ok, got a shot of the nose of the board? Just to see what you call “rounded” nose?

4

Glad your’re eye came out OK Paul. My neighbor lost an eye from a pointy nose. It even had a rubber nose guard on it. He got me to put a rounded nose on my last board. All of em are going to be this way in the future. I work in an eye clinic now and see lots of bad stuff people do to their eyes. Such an easy precaution to take.

5

Paul,

Some years ago I studied a Govt. subsidised small-business course prior to going out on my own as Speedneedle.

One of the prerequisites for getting approved was sucessfully attaining public liability insurance. It was a killer…I could have done a whole lot more if I had not had this expense. I worked hard to catch up with that one and I dropped the policy the following year.

There will be dozens…or probably all…small outfits that just weigh it up and go…

Nup.

Yes, there will be a Range-Rover driving litigation Lawyer at a beach near you.

Fake blood or otherwise bro, you make a good point on the round nose thingy…

Josh

6

maybe theres someone like alan gibbons who nows the full story but im sure i remember when i worked for Nev many years ago that Al Merrick was sued by someone who lost an eye… that resulted in his noses not being narrower than 1cm on the tip for a while…

7

totally agree with ya Paul.

Stoked you didn’t lose an eye.

Greenough considers pointy-nosed surfboards “lethal weapons”.

In his view the major court case/ liability deal is just a ticking time bomb .

Steve

8

hey its real blood :slight_smile:

hurts like bloody hell now and swollen up heaps

the price you pay for 2ft barrels

surerdave, the nose is a little narrower then jongs board he pictured

but thats basically the idea

they need to be wide enough not to penetrate the eye socket

so about and inch

same as swallow tails as well

josh, nzed has ACC

most would make the claim through acc

keeps the court system freed up for sure

but an eye is worth more then a few months wages

id be going through the courts for at least 100K :slight_smile:

it would be the biggest manufactures that would get hit

a company like surftech in a class action

anyone ever permenently maimed by the pointy end of a surftech?

seems like the folks riding surftechs around here are more likely to let go of there boards in crowds

so i guess they would be a likely target for a class action

anyway it would be the deepest pocket

the last thing a company wants with a downturn in the industry

its a stupid trend

i wonder how hard it would be to change the plugs in a popout style manufacturer

or i supose they could just cut and round off the noses after the skins are on

who knows

although i imagine it will cost alot?

steve im so stoked i didnt loose my eye

and i felt like shaper of the year driving back to work LOL! :wink:

9

Chtch. I’ve cut myself worse than that shaving! Cowboy up, dude. Kidding. Seriously, glad the eye is alright,Paul, and the 6-11 rounded pin in my shop waiting to be glassed has a ‘Gannon’ nose based on previous discussions of yours regarding this subject. I didn’t measure the diameter, though. Just blunted it thinking about previous threads. If it ever injures an eye and the eye is not lost I will send you a $100 US to donate to your favorite charity. Mike

10

you should get a surftech…I hear they have rounded noses.

11

Good call Silly.

I just saw a board called a “pendo flex” by a guy named Steve Pendarvis. He scoops out his tail and puts stomp pad rubber in there flush with the deck. Looked really nice- smooth and soft. Right now, with the water warm, I have to use a full suit because my knees are torn to shreds from the stomp pad.

http://www.wetsand.com/product.asp?locationid=4&ProdId=3552&CatId=2368&TabID=893&SubTabID=896

I’m thinking you could shape the stomp pad foam into the nose the same way and make a real safety nose.

Yeah, but then what can we do about fins?

I gashed my foot one year and my next board had those K flex fins, but they had kind of a mushy feel.

12

Second that. I have a couple of shapes about finished (I work really slow), and have been wondering what people are using as a “safe” radius of curvature?

I was reminded of this last week when I had the pleasure of taking a loose longboard in the ribs. and imagining if it had been a pointed board in a more delicate part of the anatomy.

13

Nose guards are the best protection because they can also dissipate the blunt blow that could cause a skull or eye orbit fracture that even your “invention” would not prevent. But you have to actually purchase a nose guard with money and put it on your board. Unless the NZ gov’t takes care of that stuff for you.

As a representative of all that is epoxy I will settle out of court.

I offer 1 us dollar and a 3 board quiver of these as in my avatar

no further questions your honor

14

Back in the 80’s I noticed Maddog at byron had really blunt noses when asked about it they said it was NSW law at the time. dunno how true.

Paul that must have really hurt. But in the words of Chopper Read “HARDEN THE F$%CK UP”.

Could have been worse could have gone up your clacker.

15
Quote:

Nose guards are the best protection because they can also dissipate the blunt blow that could cause a skull or eye orbit fracture that even your “invention” would not prevent. But you have to actually purchase a nose guard with money and put it on your board. Unless the NZ gov’t takes care of that stuff for you.

jong just said his mate lost an eye from a board that had a rubber nose guard

so they dont work!

the nose width needs to be greater then the width of an eye socket

a nose guard on a rounded nose would be the go!

pandanus

your right mate

i had an overwhelming urge this morning to buy a pigdog,some thongs and a bonds t shirt

a pack of winnie reds ,get a tattoo on my face

watch the rugby and bash someone :wink:

stuff being a SNAG

it blows!

ive already had a horan winged keel up me clacker btw

16

jeff not sure about the fins but i scooped out a concave on a kneeboard for eva inlays

those fush are cool

17

must agree here… nose guards are readily available. in fact if you buy a board in a shop it should be offered to you if the salesmen are up to scratch. then i becomes your decision to have its protection or not. sure its a fashion design decision left to the consumer. where do you stop… next you want rubber edged fins then soft rails… pandanus has it… harden up!

18

tell that to jongs friend and every kid whos lost an eye

then imagine what it feels like to have your eye ripped out

nose guard or not its the nose shape that will save the eye

its unlikely a fin or rail will do it

put possible i guess

check the stats and your own experience

nose and tails do the damage

19
Quote:

If it ever injures an eye and the eye is not lost I will send you a $100 US to donate to your favorite charity. Mike

my favorite charity would be the local strip joint :wink:

does that count

nah kidding my wife would cut me nuts off

20
Quote:
tell that to jongs friend and every kid whos lost an eye

then imagine what it feels like to have your eye ripped out

nose guard or not its the nose shape that will save the eye

its unlikely a fin or rail will do it

put possible i guess

check the stats and your own experience

nose and tails do the damage

Lets see some pics please.

The protec nose guard made in america is the one I recommend. The AUS ones who ripped off the patented product from america make a crap one that probably was the one that allegedly gouged the eye ball out. I can only speak for the success and documented testimonials of the protec fin and nose protection system.

But to blunt the nose of a surf board will increase the likely hood of direct contact with your cranium by 6 times. I suggest the pointed nose with american made nose guard would have only glanced your face and smartly slid down the rail of the board versus your dangerous system of a 6 times greater chance for a direct blow to the face .

If you ever get hit in the nuts do you mind keeping that one to yourself? Don’t think I could handle a picture of that bloody or bruised.