TaylorO
Photo by Andrew “The Aussie”
Ah “Uncle” Dale your too much. I would like to say, that is the board I brought to Sway '07. And, the quote of the day came from a friend of mine on the bluff - not refering to that wave but one on which I, thanks be, as they say, got all the way in for a while, and came out the end of. “You got the nice barrel man, what board… (He looks on my car and stops) oh that board you made, you should be a shaper man… wait, you just got that nice barrel on that board you made, I shouldn’t say you should be a shaper, you are a shaper…”
Thank you Sway family, and happy new year - Taylor
That somehow looks way friggen cold. Nice tho.
That’s what I thought too… and I was there. Was it the tiny white face pokin’ out of the black “seal skin?” It only took half an hour to feel my toes after a couple hour session… Ha! Classic Oregon though; you don’t think about how cold you are when actually going for and riding… Ride a warm one for me. Taylor
Sure it was cold enough?
Ah it was fine… (Read with the old man voice/rasp/rant)
“When I was kid, I remember paddling out before sun up w/a wind chill of zero, my lips were so cold I couldn’t even talk to my friend when he paddled out, and I loved it…”
Then there was the true Oregon grom days with my short sleave bever tail as my only suit… had to unzip my suit with my wrists as I couldn’t feel/use my fingers… “And I loved it…”
hmm the good cold wintersurf 
Coming out of the water, all muscles stiff and shaking. A warm cup of tea.
And then a very small cig of marihuana and and you feel all your muscles relaxing (not getting stoned just a tiny little joint wich relaxes your muscles). There is not much out there that feels better during a break or after surf.
Yeah, I know. The Netherlands are great. Cold and clean wintersurf with a legal smoke bought in the shop around the corner.
Yes, It was WAAAY colder when I was a kid too… I used to have to beat the icicles off my wetsuit before putting it on!
You young bucks are all just plain soft with all this fancy new wetsuit technology…
Josh
that NW we’ve had on the west coast the past few days made for some good times.
el porto was firing all weekend long down in the south bay.
Hi Dale, Hi Taylor -
Great wave! I was amazed by that board. IMO the most inovative stick at SA 2007. It obviously works. (period)
Happy New Year to you both!
Thanks John - Happy News year too!
If you ever feel like it, I’d love to explain the photos you took on that rainy night.
Taylor
Uh Taylor? I’d say you have PLENTY of splainin’ to do! Why doncha start with the multivortex generators and then the slot bottom and then the beveled panels and then the asymmetrical tail and then…
Yeah, that’s one seriously trippy piece of work there. Does that slot run all the way out the nose?
I’ll bet it was fun to laminate, not to mention the shaping and the sanding. Highly personalized and
maybe inspired by some of the local agricultural products?
Mike
how come there’s no orange on that board!!!
Ha! That had me laughin’ all the way out the door John…
Short answers:
MVG’s: “Gimmics”
Slot bottom and beveled panels: Copped off HIC Converter web sight.
Asymetrical tail: “It’s just BS”
Longer answers"
MVG’s: vorticies generated by the finlets keep the flow of water on the fin, reducing incedence of flow seperation, and the ensuing stalling at high angles of attack. What it feels like to me is, the first board I put them on “stopped” turning on cut backs at a certain point, what I’ve always refered to as “tracking,” but it wasn’t that bad… I didn’t “know.” After the MVG’s the board would keep “turning”/come all the way around on cut backs, and then go back the other way with far more ease than pre MVG’s
Channel and panel: Ideas I had from my own experiments with long deep channels, and triplane hulls, so when I was “surfing” and found the “converter” on the HIC site, I was looking for the “gemini,” which seemed similar, I was insipred to revisit and combine to theories… and, this being the second board I’ve made with the bottom, it worked great… the best thing I’ve ridden for “squirt” off the bottom on smaller/mushy waves. The panels are slanted out @8 degrees -@6, nose to tail. The middle of the channel which becomes the bottom in the tail is then a V panel. The other thing I did for front-foot-ability - the “tube” - is put 50/50 rails in the nose and belly to about 3’ from tail, then 30/70 transitioning to sharp edges after glass with Qcell/RRepoxy putty.
Tail: Always felt like wide thick boards worked well under my heels, but not my toes, so I made my toe/front side as it were a 12" round pin, and the heel/back side like a 13", slightly thicker, cut away.
The only local “produce” would be the clear cedar stringer, but it’s probably from Canada…
Tim… I was just trying to get it patched up and spaced the “magic carrot dust…” thought of it later. Oh well…
The thing I’ve learned, this board is 7’7"x20"x12" nose (Tail I’ve mentioned), my other board, from the rocker thread, is not much longer, similar rocker, narrower - but the bottom line is, when this board is “down” - the other one seems like a stiff dog, and I use to think it was so loose…
Oooo - Thanks to Keith M. for the carbon fiber tow… the leash loop (the black stuff on the bottom tail) is right over the tip of the tail at the top… serious reduction in “tomb stoning.”
Also put compound curves on the deck (“Thumb”/parimeter channels just in from where the rail curves end.), and when the nose buckled on one side the curve didn’t even crack, and I’d like to think it helped to keep the nose from totally breaking off (Although, as you may have noticed, in my lazyness, I just used the clear cedar at the 7/8" width, so that wouldn’t have hurt.). I’m thinking of putting three compound on each side in the first 18" or so on the nose of my next board… may keep the nose in one solid piece.
Ok - hope that provides some info. Thanks for playing with me - Taylor
Thanks Taylor -
I think the pics of the board and of you in the tube speak for themselves. The board looks perfectly slotted in on that wave. I’m sure it took some doing on your part to get in there but the board looks like a nice fit.
John and Taylor -----I’ve got a copy of an old “Surf” Magazine('80’s East Coast) that has an article and drawings of a design known as the Slingerland Hydrofoil. I’ll get out my “Idiots Guide to the Computer” and I’ll see if I can scan and post the article. The slot part of the design is almost identical. I am assuming that the “Slingerland” they are referring to is the same Slingerland who was and I guess still is shaping in San Diego County.
Quote:
Yes, It was WAAAY colder when I was a kid too… I used to have to beat the icicles off my wetsuit before putting it on!
You young bucks are all just plain soft with all this fancy new wetsuit technology…
Josh
SN, I consider you lucky, when I started in '59, I didn’t have a wetusit for two years.
After I got out of the water I was BLUE!
Just recently saw old super 8 on dvd from the northern corner of Oregon, from back in the 60’s pre - short board. Big heavy long boards, no leashes, no suits, or just beavertails…
2 mind blowing things:
Summer time at a protected cove beach 30-40+ people in the water!
Winter time OH point break… few guys charging on those board in tennis shoes, and beavertails…
First time I surfed in one of the new super stretch suits a few years ago… I flet like a kid agian, peeling that thing off hot and stinky!
Taylor
So - I’m bumping this thread, cuz it has some pics and descriptions of my “hands” model from a year and a half ago (when I made it), and I just let a friend of mine ride it this weekend.
First time anyone has ever ridden one of my creations.
He has given me good feedback before based on his observations of my surfing… He used to be a traveling pro and judge, so I respect his opinion, and he’s one of the only guys around here who “gets” what I’m up too, talking about, with my hydrodynamic ramblings… Ha!
Anyway - the board is @7’7", and he is use to boards about a foot and half shorter, yet he said it turned like it was about short as he was use to, yet caught waves like a long board. The only draw back he noted: Hard to stall, as he was going so fast - He is about 25 pounds lighter than me… and goof foot - which makes some difference if you read my details on the asymmetrical nature.
I surfed with him on the first day in head+ decent reef surf, watched some flying bottom turns… way back on the tail… little choppy on some of the wave - I think if the inside fin had been a little further up it may have made it look smoother, but he didn’t say anything about that, but it came around off the top like it was way shorter… and he said that!
He said he had lots of guys asking about the board yesterday and a good, crowded (for here) beach break - I opted to go back to the reef (Cuz I like surfing alone… Ha!) Anyway, he said it was amazing, as he could turn it as hard as he wanted…
Gives me good feedback to think about if I were to shape for him/others, and even stuff to refine for myself re. foil, rails, rocker…
So - I just thought I’d share w/you all - esp. those of you who have offered so much support, encouragement, and feedback over the years. Pretty good feeling to know it wasn’t just me…
Please share any similar experiences