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''...misuse of the English language...''
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You came to the right place!
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Ooh, ooh!!!
I can't believe nobody has beaten me to this!
My vote: First ban idiots who can't use apostrophes correctly! (Idiot's, rack's) Yay!
Sorry, couldn't resist, and by far my pet peeve. Poorly racked boards hurt just one board/rider. Public misuse of the English language hurts EVERYONE!
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Better now?
I have written it out 10 times correctly and had a break time detention!
I can only apologise for for my error, I was so excited at starting a post and the English language escaped me. What about starting an apostrophes post? There are loads of idiots out there who get it wrong...
Daz!
Ha! Indeed!
And no offense intended, it’s all in good fun! My fave, I saw a sign on a side of a truck here in Corpus Christi which read (I shit you not), “Juans custom sign’s”. Seems he’s getting lots of business around here!
With regards to the rack situation, my fave was the small japanese car with a board passed through both rear windows, sticking out either side, and the windows rolled up so the girls in the backseat had a little headroom. Laughed all the way to the beach on that one!
I’ve seen that one many times.
Here’s a pic from yesterday morning. I was thinking of this thread when I saw this.
All these years I’ve been using some type rack to put my boards, kayaks and wave skis on the tops of my vehicles and never did I ever see a manual on which way to point what ever I was putting on the rack. Oh I put the fins in the rear in case I rearend another car my water toy doesn’t become a missile. If my water toy flies off while I’m driving I must not have made sure it was secure in the first place The only load I’ve lost from a vehicle so far a four ton block of concrete just plain awesome!!!
I saw a sign on the back of a tow truck once:
“Ho Towing” laughed about that one for days… took a picture with my phone and it still makes me chuckle
i do it like thi’s so i can always see the fin and know its still on the car. bot i use old 700c inner tubes rather than camping tiedowne’s
I’m with you on this one brother.
Here’s my solution for the family car. The Nissan racks were going to cost $500 so I drilled some holes in the roof rails and attached some eye bolts. Total cost $7.50. The rope wraps round the boards on it’s way over which really makes it impossible for them to blow off. The rope is tensioned with a trucker’s hitch. It helps if the rope is cut to the exact length required. The boards are facing forward for aerodynamic reasons.
We scored some pretty epic waves on this trip to a certain island in New Zealand.
Here’s my set up with our little 4WD during a South Island winter surf trip.
Fins forward, deck down. As others mentioned in the 70’s my Dad taught me to put them up that way - probably because we had the “2X4 & rope” style racks, and were afraid of them somehow working loose from the constant wind resistance on long trips.
These days I use ratcheting tie down straps and keep my board without fins in its bag (though I still go deck down and tail forward - just like my regular surfing!)- I get 4 straps from Home De-Pot for $10USD, and the only real drawback is having mechanical advantage - it’s real easy to crush rails that way…
For pickup owners - ever look in the bed of your truck while driving and spot your board hovering? - I don’t think I’ve ever pulled over faster!
I fit my 9'1 inside my toyota corolla hatch. I need to take the centre fin out, and put it tail first. Much rather the board inside than on roof racks. I'll never forget going down the coast with my dad when i was 10 or so, with my 5'7'' skip secured on the roof, and a semi trailer went past, ripped the board ( and racks ) right off the car. Plus, when they're inside, i dont worry about it getting stolen if i stop somewhere ( like getting milk on the way home after a morning surf ).
Always had a pick up. Seen the boards "hovering" more than once. Was heading to Hueneme during strong offshores years ago when the sand bars still got good. Made the turn side shore to the wind and had the top board fly up and out but the fin was still caught under the bungie. The nose bounced twice before I could pull over.
I have ratchet straps criss cross the bed of my pickup so that the hover doesn’t matter. Plus it makes for a good clothes line!!!
I love my ‘03 Hyundai Elantra! I tilt the passenger seat back, and remove my center fin from its box. This way I can fit any of my boards (even a 9’2"!) all the way inside, and lock them up securely. I put them in their bags and slide them in thru the hatchback, tail first, extending down to the floor on the passenger side. Putting my fin on and taking it off is simple with a Wonderbolt, and doesn’t take as long as strapping a board to the roof. Plus, no worries about having my board fly off my car or get stolen when I stop for breakfast or groceries. Only problem is that a (human) passenger must sit in the back seat on the drivers’ side, LOL! But I mostly surf solo anyway.
Hey art4peace, good to hear from you. My wife drives a Corolla, and I usually put the board inside. If the board is over 6' 10", then the seat goes down, and the board slides in from dash to trunk. I generally surf solo, but often she'll come to the beach with me (she keeps threatening to take up surfing, but I'm not gonna push her, she'll do it when she's ready).
Anyway, I'm the guy sitting in the back, taxi-style. Makes it look like my soccer mom is driving me to the game LOL. I don't really care - I'm going surfing, that's all that matters!
So - whats a wonderbolt? And while I'm at it - whats a Grecian Urn? (OK, I can just google wonderbolt, I know, I know)
Why?? Does it matter?? Are you one of those people who only carry a board under your arm a certain way??
I don’t understand this banning idiots idea. Half the posts I see here are from idiots. I’d rather see idiots banned from surfing on the outside. They can drive around all day with their boards any way they want as long as they stay out of the way in the water.
There’s a bunny slope at ski resorts, why isn’t there a place for beginners at the beach? We had to do that when we were growing up. You’d get your ass kicked or your board broken if you went out and got in the way. Plus you’d have a long swim in.
Hi Huck, good to hear from you too! Hope to see you sometime when I’m at C-Street. Also I want to share my first attempt @ board art with you b/c you are such an amazing artist, you have really inspired me.
A Wonderbolt is a screw and plate combo for the Fins Unlimited type of center fin box. It’s easy to adjust w/o a screwdriver. The top of the screw is kind of flat and extended upward and easy to grip with your fingers. Some surf shops have them, some don’t. You’d probably be more likely to find them at a shop that sells some longboards and “alternative” boards.
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Why?? Does it matter?? Are you one of those people who only carry a board under your arm a certain way??
I don't understand this banning idiots idea. Half the posts I see here are from idiots. I'd rather see idiots banned from surfing on the outside. They can drive around all day with their boards any way they want as long as they stay out of the way in the water.
There's a bunny slope at ski resorts, why isn't there a place for beginners at the beach? We had to do that when we were growing up. You'd get your ass kicked or your board broken if you went out and got in the way. Plus you'd have a long swim in.
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This thread is built around something that has annoyed me for years.
Maybe banning is a bit strong, sorry, but people who do not know the basics are liable to injure themselves or most likely someone else. Over here in the UK surfing has had a massive increase in popularity over the last 10 years, people do not just drive around with boards on the roof of their cars, they go into the water with no clue about surfing etiquette. Most of these people have no clue about local conditions, rocks and currents and when you are paddling out behind one of them the likelyhood of being hit by a board is high because they can't duck dive - just throw it and dive technique...
When I started as a grom in South Africa, we would surf rubbish breaks out of respect and then slowly progressed to the knarley waves. We would watch the hot locals and older guys tear it up, wait for a free wave and go for it (your life was not worth living if you dropped in). Most of the surfers over here are doing it for 2 weeks a year and are not all young kids, its mostly older guys who cant afford a Harley. Only the other day I had two of my FCS fins snapped in half by some bloke that dropped in and went straight ( even though I had priority and was shouting)...that bloody annoyed me. You can rant and rave all you want but as I said in the first post, I don't get angry... I have seriously considered making signs for surfing rules and putting them up at all the spots.
Not all people are idiots and certainly not people who are slightly interested in surfing to expand their knowledge by reading and posting of websites such as this...
I am with ya on this Sharkcountry…who gives a crap about how you strap your frickin board…it is behavior in the lineup that determine the kooks(or idiots)…and many of the kooks have decades of experience being kooks…
rogelio