Dave Parmenter

General Discussion
1

I bought up this gentleman’s name because I finally read his anatomy of surfboard properly. If you want to check it out the link is below. You will need to click the board or click one of the coloured squares to view all the information on the boards.

If you found Bill Barnfields rail band post quite influential then I think you will like this one just as much. Here’s the link and thanks to whoever posted this link prior to me to I could check it out.

http://content.surfline.com/mag/features/anatomy/anatomy_flash.html

2

My early vote has been cast for “Best Avatar” for Best of Sways 2008. Back to original topic.

3

Dave Parmenter is 'looong-winded" and always has been. Even from the days on the “Central Coast” at Hazzards and assorted Cayucous spots. More “bu//$#!~” than the average aspiring shaper would ever want to wade thru. Shapers who already know what they are doing wouldn’t even bother reading past the first sentence. McDing (Was I concise enough?)

4
Quote:

Dave Parmenter is 'looong-winded" and always has been. Even from the days on the “Central Coast” at Hazzards and assorted Cayucous spots. More “bu//$#!~” than the average aspiring shaper would ever want to wade thru. Shapers who already know what they are doing wouldn’t even bother reading past the first sentence. McDing (Was I concise enough?)

In the picture …the high performance funboard belongs with the modern shortboards and the fish belongs in the hybrids. BTW: I agree with the above statement.

5

I saw Dave once at Rincon back in the mid 80’s he was very arrogant and full of himself.

Hopefully he has mellowed with age.

6

I don’t think winning the XXL would do much for humility.

7

Thanks for the link.

I read this last night with a John Wayne movie on in the background to get me through the lulls!

I thought it was interesting that bottom concaves are just barely alluded to and not really discussed at all???

I road a few DP Aleutian Juice boards while living on Oahu (and shaped a knock off 6’9”) – his semi guns suited me well for the JV north shore spots I frequented; however, the 6’2” of his I road in 4’ fun walls was stiff and corky and my 165 lbs couldn’t burry the boxy rail…

8

pretty interesting Deanbo, thanks for posting…

it’s concise, well organized, and obviously, DP is very knowledgable.

although, i can think of a few other shapers whose opinions on all

of this i would much rather read.

but, the majority of those shapers freely share their knowledge here on

Sways…

9

Thanks for posting that link Deanbo.

Very interesting and useful as a reference tool.

I found the longboard design explanations great because I’ve yet to find anything as clear and concise as this on Sways regarding what goes into the different longboard shapes.

This is in no way a citicism of Sways or the knowledgable posters because usually different design elements are being discussed in isolation or in so many varied posts and opinions.

Simply that it sets out design elememts in a systematic way which allow a shortboarder like me start to understand what makes the different types tick.

10

yep I am gonna rewrite surfing history some day.

But in my own image.

and after wards I think I will make a movie of all the other s

that have written history in their unacceptable images .

the movie will be this huge blender

mebe out front of rockafeller center

when they aint using the ice scating wrink

and I will put all the guys

and all the copies of their ‘‘Illiterature’’

and add some quick lime and water

and press start …and leave for the beach to check the waves.

the smartst and most agile will escape without the paper trail

and go to the beach to be quiet and listen and watch the waves

patient and relentless erroding the coastlines.

when all is said

and much is done

it comes down to that one wave you remember.

…ambrose…

remember that wave?

heck just another dave.

send money to dave.

11

always makes my day to see a thread filled with resentment.

good info in the link though.

12

Great shaper and surfer ( finished in top 20 in the world at least once)

Was married to Rell Sunn

One of the first shapers to say short thin surfboards were not suitable for the average surfer and introduced the “stubb vector”

wrote some really great articles for Surfer, Surfing, and Surfer’s Journal ( I personally don’t like the current surfshop stuff in Surfer).

While I do not know Dave personally, we have a lot of mutual friends. I moved to the Central Coast about the same time he moved to Hawaii. I know Dave has been a controversial figure in surfing at times, but his friends love him and would do anything for him. He definitely has a place in surfing history.

13

IMO the Anatomy article is a true classic. More impressive is that it is still remarkably current.

14

he’s a wishy-washy hypocrite…

15

Talk to Blane.

16

how old is parmenter? if he was married to rell and she passed in 1998 or so (at close to 50) he must have been way younger than her

17

he was a fair bit younger. however, age doesn’t really matter…

18

i agree, i was just using it as a point of refrence, as her age was less of a variable in my mind than his. Thanks!

19
Quote:

Great shaper and surfer ( finished in top 20 in the world at least once)

Was married to Rell Sunn

One of the first shapers to say short thin surfboards were not suitable for the average surfer and introduced the “stubb vector”

wrote some really great articles for Surfer, Surfing, and Surfer’s Journal ( I personally don’t like the current surfshop stuff in Surfer).

While I do not know Dave personally, we have a lot of mutual friends. I moved to the Central Coast about the same time he moved to Hawaii. I know Dave has been a controversial figure in surfing at times, but his friends love him and would do anything for him. He definitely has a place in surfing history.

Mccoy was doing it way way way back and still is. Others also. D.P. didn’t come up with something new in his take on short thin surfboards. Most shapers I know all felt the same way, but enjoyed the easy to shape little buggers flying off the racks. Respected shapers jumping on bandwagons has set us back a few times in surfing’s performance history. The thin little early ninties jobs were setbacks as is the recent trend towards popouts.

The best statement D.P. made was paddling out in a pro contest with a longboard. The rest always seemed like posturing to me.

20

Was that in Huntington?

I heard about this…From the “story” I heard that He did something like a drop knee turn and the crowd boo-ed him.

This was something like the early to mid 80’s something like that.

On that move alone I give him credit.

His writings might be a little cranky, however if your partner passed anyone could get a little stoic and pessimistic.

Quote:
Quote:

The best statement D.P. made was paddling out in a pro contest with a longboard. The rest always seemed like posturing to me.