A woman`s point of view

Are you infatuated with the appearance of your board? In love with the psuedo- craftsmanship it represents? How it looks properly racked on top of your new SUV? Is your ego a prisoner to correctly pointed noses or mult-finned tail rails? Youve convinced yourself that top mainstream shapers really do build the best equipment- and the higher the asking price the higher the rush? You dont really feel good unless you have the “right” board bag to go with your other accessories? Are you uneasy about things which arent symmetrical? None of this has anything to do with the act of surfing. Its pure bullshit. The real life creatures who ride waves of air and water are not hard-surfaced, inflexible beings, sporting a narcissistic see-yourself showroom gloss. Theyre covered with hair, slime, scales and feathers. Theyre stinky- not perfumed like some freaking bar of designer surf wax. Theyre hunter carnivores, not zen vegetarians. They spend their energy living in the moment, not for a futures flatulent early retirement. Every creature that occupies the atmosphere, water and land have flexible and resilient forms. They follow natural paths which are characterized by fluidity of motion. At our best, we can only hope for the same. The air surrounding us is always moving, and the waves we love are made up of constantly shifting, curving, textured, undulating, spiraling energy. There is a timeless elegance and beauty in adapting to the environment around us. Those who are wise seek speed, power and control through the ways of least resistance. Observe nature and learn. It all makes perfect sense. Most of what passes for modern surfing is completely self-absorbed and confused. If you get turned-on over something thats rock hard stiff, has decals on glassy smooth surfaces and never changes its shape, go buy a handcrafted wood rocking chair and park your fat ass in front of the big screen tv. Do I offer any constructive criticism? It starts by hitting the road without a webcams advice. Ditch the accessories, including your kook cords. The courageous leave their wristwatches at home, too. Discover a less-than-perfect, empty break where theres no fresh footprints in the sand. A place where you`re not a local. Take time to appreciate the sea, the land and sky. Build a camp fire and wake up on the beach. Come home and make plans to shape and glass your own board. At least once in your life. Build a set of your own fins. Just go surfing for the fun of it.

referring to a sincere appreciation of the aesthetics of surfboards as being feminine or ‘chickish’ is kind of a narrow view. how about to each his own? sure a surfboard is a hydrodynamic tool that’s gonna work about the same no matter its color or quality of the gloss, but if i see craftsmanship, art, and detail, i’m going to admire it. after all, i’m a craftsman.

Ok people…this is getting weird. Lets get back to hot coating and fin templates and surfboard design…ok?

BODYSURF NEKKID!!! (fun but it doesn’t raise too many design issues… or DOES IT??)

well for one thing ya got to consider hull displacement(ie, how big is that gut?) and degree of fin rake(ie, angle of the dangle).then drag coefficients-ie,texture of surface:hairy, smooth, wrinkled,scaled,etc.that’s just for starters!!

I agree with the author to a point. How many people travel to explore these days as compared to those that go where The Surf Report has gone before. It is my opinion, for what it is worth, that there is little soul in surfing. Even the idea of being soulfull has become trendy. How do you escape it all? I am not sure but I do know that I am going to go somewhere next winter where all I jknow about it is it borders an ocean that has potential for waves. Commercialism is alive and well in the surf industry. This is the same industry that only a few years ago was never seen in the main stream. Now every second commercial offers some token shot of a wave and or board. Like one can’t enjoy the surf unless they get there in there new toyota 4+4 or even worse their exterra. More accesories means more waste and this equals more pollution of the waves we surf. Live clean, surf clean and shape clean sticks.

RICKY C, WILL YOU MARRY ME-hA HA AAHA HA HAHAHAHH- GOD POINTS ALL AROUND IN YOUR POST- IT IS SO TRUE.

Who let this woman out of the kitchen. Ill have two fried eggs and salad for lunch thank love.

I see your point but… we are humans not animals. (at least thats how it should be.) Humans should not fly. But we invented a way to do it. And discussion and passion over airplanes makes for improvements and makes flight better and better. Swaylocks is a place to discuss how to make improvements to surfboards which in turn improves our surfing experience. Thanks to all you shapers who strive for perfection to attain that magic ride. SteveA

You say humans arent animals, but most of the men Ive dated sure are!

…You’re right Candy,most men are animals…I’m a well trained one at that!Herb

Bean, no offense, but…go back to your cave if that is where you think a woman’s place is… My place is where I make it.

Chill…I picked up on Bean’s stereotypical sarcastic humor just as Herb did with Candy’s. I’m sure a blatant sexist attack was not his intent… Women belong in the kitchen and men are heartless pigs…everyone knows that.

Chilled out…but still don’t see humor in it. As a girl, I’ve been shrugged off as many times like, “it’s only a girl”, or “girl’s can’t do that”, or “girl’s aren’t supposed to do that”. I guess I am a bit sensitive about stuff like that. Sorry, but I did start out with “no offense, but…”.

As a girl, I’ve been shrugged off as many times like, “it’s only a girl”, or “girl’s can’t do that”, or “girl’s aren’t supposed to do that”. I guess I am a bit sensitive about stuff like that. As a girl, I’ve been shrugged off as many times like, “it’s only a girl”, or “girl’s can’t do that”, or “girl’s aren’t supposed to do that”. I guess I am a bit sensitive about stuff like that. I can relate to everything your saying. My wife uses those misstatements to work harder to achieve her goals. It’s great to see her out surf a lot of men her age on challenging days. Now-a-days she has me trying to keep up with her. She’s the one with the trophy shelf. The times are changing for all of us and those days of gender intolerance should be over.

Sylvia, Your work speaks for itself… that`s a gorgeous board. Welcome to Swaylocks! http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/Detailed/595.html

Most of what you said offends me. You attack the foundation of modern surfboards building. Are we supposed to ride sponge boards covered with stinking fish scales and hair? I don`t care if you are a woman- opinions like yours are destructive and out of place.

My fish stinking fish scaled, hairy, sponge board SHREADS!

Thank you Dale. EP, I’ve also always used those statements to make me work harder. I just get annoyed at sexist bull from both men AND women. I also can’t handle it when girl’s label “all guys” as being jerks or whatever. There’s a lot of great men out there that get easily overlooked. My husband is one of those great guys. CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!?? :slight_smile: But anyways, I’m done. Lets get back to discussing how to build surfboards and how wonderful it is to ride and admire your own fine, hand crafted creations!!

Are you cute?