I just got back from a 2week trip on the North Shore. My buddy lent me a Chapman Brewer Gun with Brewer downturn rails. I haven’t rode anything like that since the 80’s. The board was magic, but so was the surf. My question: would those rails work well in So Cal surf or was it just the perfect template / foil/ rail/ surf configuration all lining up with the moon? -Jay
You made it work…you could make it work any where…the return to the "corky"rail attitude in the contemporary mindset is rampant with the return of the classic fish(lis) w/thick rails dating to the original sunset cliffs-Backdoor- Edge style boards that led to the blossoming of all down railing quests…the rexploration of this stuff adds the necessary spark to reconect the circle of refinementto take us all on along down the road to a greater awareness of these foam form dynamics applied to the uplifting weightless free gravity glide that will surely lead us to a better understanding of flight dynamics without a slide rule…they worked before in so cal in limited venues they will work just fine as long as you are inspired by them …rule of thumb add an inch in width for California face slope or the gag on the turn takes the fun away…a humble encoragement from a old guy in the middle of the night…ambrose
They aren`t “magic” in less than perfect surf. A “nightmare” in flattish chop waves.
Thanks Ambrose, I’m going to give it a shot. I copied the template on news paper before I left, so I got a cheater start. Surfed it at DayStar, Silva Channel and Sunset beach and Rocky Point Rights. Worked well in all the different surf. Those of you that that haven’t tried those rails on a board might want to relook at it. -Jay
Would u care to describe the board. Length, width, thickness etc. Im getting images of the thick boxy rails Brewer did in the 70s. Did Brewer or Owl shape it? Glad u got some waves on your visit. http://www.islandfindesign.com/finstore/proddetail.php?prod=IFN
PV…Four mile on a south swell overhead stocton ave ano nuevo redondo bounce wave newport point ona south overhead…etc huntington on a north to westoooooooooooooohhhhhhh…aaahhhhhhhhh…ooooo ambrose
On those down railers it’s important to position the thickness correctly. Try putting the rail bulk a bit behind center and put your rocker apex in about the same spot.
I was using 3 boards, one was a Brewer logo & Chapman under ground logo. 9’0"x 20 x 3.5+ pintail, moderate rocker. Flat bottom to vee in tail 12 inches before cluster. probably built in around 89-91 full deck boxy rails. The other is a Brewer Chapman in the Plumeria logo like a standard Brewer. Its less than 1 year old. 7’6"x 20 1/2 x 2 3/4, Flat bottom to vee 12 inches before cluster, baby swallow tail,same full boxy rails, glass job by JR. The 7’6" didn’t have a single inch of wasted board i.e too thined out nose or tail. Kind of a loose corky fee, but the rails made it very stable at the same time, it was almost like a hybrid, with a more pointed nose. Suprisingly it surfed well in everything from waste to 2x overhead. It was semi hard to catch waves, when you let up on paddling the board stopped moving, but once in the wave it worked really well. The third board was a standard Brewer gun, 8’0" x 19 x 2 7/8, modern rails and rocker, glass by JR. Also worked well, Rode it like I stole it. Also on another note, you always hear of the heavy vibe on the North Shore (Sunny Boardinghouse stuff) Nothing further from the truth, everybody was full of Aloha and let me and my buddys catch more than enough waves all day long. We showed respect to the locals, and they gave back at every break we paddled too. -Jay