I rode mine last weekend at County Line, the thing flies down the line, and paddles super well.Still a little intresting turning it backside though.
hahaha, yeah, cowboy seems like a good guard dog for the shop.
I’ve ridden a few hulls and I’m not really sure why some people get so stoked on them. They are in my opinion the most singular surfing style boards and they make me cringe to think about how one-sided they are. Not to crap on anyones thread but could you guys enlighten me on why you dig them so much? Maybe I’m missing something here…
i can’t wait to see the replies you get on that one, SanO.
No worries mate. Again, my intentions are not to crap on the thread or board. I just can’t fathom their following (especially recently) considering their performance characteristics. To each his own I guess…
Hulls are unique animals. Perhaps not for everyone, and truly on one end of the spectrum…They are designed to capture the waves energy, and slip thru the water with minimal effort. When you apply this idea to a descent wave, you got something unique. Your relationship with the wave, stand and trim, and go faster then ever. Ever seen a pelican glide???
no… i don’t think you are either.
but well, explain “singular”.
for me that feeling of going and rolling into BT, and keeping it on a rail, then flying up and out ( not up - vert style) is very exhilarating. as you climb and drop you’re just building speed on speed. unlike any other board i’ve surfed… i started on singlefin 70’s style boards, then to thrusters, then back to early 80s style twins… years on thusters… then retro fish… but none of them feels like my hull. i rode my fish a few months back on one of my fave right points, adn from the first bT, i was wishing i had my hull. i traded my hull for a 10’ tanker for a few waves last friday… not happy. more than anything else, when i turn my hull, whether a bt or a cuttie – feels like a razor slicing through the water – no whipping and pivoting turns – just slicing through on rail. also, to me, other short boards seem to surf in spurts of speed; that’s what vert surfing is – vroom, bash, back to zero, and look for speed again. the hull is a smooth continous acceleration. she comes off the top too. maybe not like a thruster, or other shortie, but exilarating nonetheless.
did yr ride the hull on a long wave, or a shortish beachbreak?
as we all know though – hulls not for everybody – everyone surfs for different reasons.
i forgot an important characteristic: NO PUMPING required.
I hate to paddle out and see a guy on a beautiful waves … and then he starts that jumpin stuff ( huntington hop, you call it? ). again, personal taste… but to me that hopping and tick-tacking is not beautiful surfing.
I meant singular as a synonym to “specific” or “distinctive”. I ridden the boards at Rincon/Churches/sunset cliffs. I just didn’t find them pleasing at all. I felt the acceleration plenty of times as I lined them up and put them in trim but I guess I just enjoy boards w/ more manuverability and ability to function is more conditions. Again, it’s so one-sided it’s hard to comprehend. I guess if I could afford a 15-20 board quiver I might pick one up to have for a day when the perfect condition come together but I’m a poor, poor man-plus I’d probably still be regretting it.
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vroom, bash, back to zero, and look for speed again. the hull is a smooth continous acceleration. she comes off the top too. maybe not like a thruster, or other shortie, but exilarating nonetheless.
As a person who rides numerous board (as well as thursters) I comprehend completely. From what you are saying, is it fair to compare it to car racing in these terms? -Nascar(200 miles an hour straight through and around the bends) -Street Race (where stopping, sharp turning, multiple points of acceleration ect are involved)
“i forgot an important characteristic: NO PUMPING required.”
- Yeah, I call that “neutral acceleration.”
Hulling is a very subjective trip. Not very visual in the mainstream sense, but an “inside job”, a feeling. I like Rob’s description of the pelican glide and flow.
They get a lot of distance and speed with very little flapping. In fact, even their flapping is smooth. Just like Hulling.
Tim, Keep a close eye on Cowboy. A friend in San Clemente that has a well established ding repair business had his dog STOLEN when he was upstairs in his office for 10 minutes. The dog was tied in the shop door just like the photo of Cowboy. That’s got to be close to the lowest of the low. Heart breaking.
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The dog was tied in the shop door just like the photo of Cowboy. That’s got to be close to the lowest of the low. Heart breaking.
What the hell???
That’s pretty random. Is it possible the dog got loose?
i pretty much ride only points – the occasional reef, and the occasional rivermouth – usually long, down the line waves.
Yr description of Nascar vs the Street race is good.
i’d disagree a little with pointdog, coz i love to watch vids of guys surfing hulls – the sixfoot to fit Lloyd footage, the displacement movie trailer, the siglo 21 footage, the J gamboa stuff on Sprout, the Chris Vail clips on youtube. yep… subjective. i think seeing good hull surfing is inspirational… christ those full-on cutbacks steve K does inthe Sixfoot clips… fast! insane!
Ok…I’ll take a stab.
This will be lost on you if you don’t understand or appreciate The Blues.
The Blues is a framework, a foundation. There are definate rules that help define The Blues; twelve bars, call and response, I IV V chords, flatted thirds, fifths and sevenths, minor pentatonic scales, etc. But if you know The Blues, you know that there are infinite variations within these rules. And ultimately, the rules themselves can be bent like an E at the 12th fret; that begats Jazz.
If a wave is sound, then a hull is The Blues. The rules; flat rocker, pinched rails, round parallel outline, single flex fin. You stand on these Blues and you ride the music. To the ill-informed, it all sounds/looks the same, boxed, no freedom. To the experienced, the game is puting your personal stamp on the Blues. You work within the framework until you can bend those notes.
Just like The Blues, riding a hull is an extremely personal trip. It’s not about flashing rock and roll. It’s feedback through your feet right up to your head; draw, acceleration, g-forces. It’s feel. And…it’s really fucking hard to do right!
It’s not for everybody, and it’s not for all the time. Even Robert Johnson played a waltz every now and then. But, just like The Blues, there are days when nothing else will satisfy that itch. Shoulder high, glassy and lined up, you just have to roll one up on a rail and work through the gears.
All the words and pictures don’t mean anything. Pick up a good hull and run your hands down the rails, sight down the bottom, put it under your arm. Just like a National Steel Resonator or a '57 Strat. You have to put one under your feet and and strum a nice trim or riff a rail turn. The challenge to play will last a lifetime. But if you never pick up the instrument, you’ll never know.
Actually, all of that was crap. We dig them 'cause they’re fun!
well said Lee(as always) it’s sum total of a feeling that is addicting-a feeling no other board provides…
Damn, Leev. why are you not employed full-time at TSJ? that was good.
Hey Lee… do you play guitar?
Lee V
He is good, isn’t he?
Thanks Lee!
I will be hearing Lightnin’ play that howling wolf blues the next time I feel that rail cut in and fin unload!
LeeV,
That doesn’t seem to be a fair comparison. The blues being a complex compilation of theory/notes/style/lifestyle ect. can really be applied to all forms of surfcraft.
The Displacement Hull seems to be more of a simple board meant to be ridden in specific conditions and a certain way. That sounds more like GREEN DAYS earlier albums when they were a simple three chored wonder band.
LeeV, are you “leeD” on the old surfline forum?