I love surfing! I have for over 25 years. But I also love making things, which lately has been surfboards. I love designing and shaping them. They are works of art and engineering marvels. As I am working on the stingray and thinking about the next board and the next one…, I realize that I feel more stoked and excited to create the board than I have felt to go surfing. Also the fact that there hasn’t been any waves to speak of for over 2 months doesn’t help!!
Does anybody love the shaping as much or more than the surfing??
It’s funny but I feel like I am being unfaithful to surfing. It’s like loving to women…without all the misery.
Oh well, neither one of them is complaining or seems to mind.
I hope this doesn’t get ugly. You know how these things usually turn out!
I used to surf a shortboard when I was in high school on the gold coast… but it was just something to do… I didnt really get vibed for it…
I now live in melbourne and early last year I thought about shaping a board because my mates that I have now ride longboards so I started on my 9’2".
The shaping actually is what got me into surfing, not the other way now I just can wait to fnish my next board to see what it rides like but I know as soon as I have a few good sessions I will want to shape a different one… (actually Ive already seen a singlefin shortboard from the 70’s that I want to copy… will hopefully make some templates next week)
there is nothing like crafting something of beauty that can be used for no reason other than shear pleasure… Im hooked.
good to hear work has begun on the ‘‘Stingray’’ / ‘thumb’ re-release [the beauty of working from home , eh ?]
…where are you up to at the moment ?
Please can you film it being made [for the sways footage] ? It’s not every day a board like that gets designed, shaped, ?sprayed? , glassed, finned, and surfed…
Or, if you don’t have a vid, and none of your friends have one , could you please get plenty of ‘progress photos’ ?
cheers mate !
ben
oh yeah …in answer to your question : -
to me a good balance would be …
1] shape when it’s flat. Here, that’s about november to march [ sometimes as late as April . ]
Or , howling onshore for days / weeks [ this often happens during our winter...June to August] .
Or, in the evenings...any day !
I hope your car makes it, and you get to have a surf / ?boardswap? and footage and photos…ARE you guys getting any waves at all there ? NOTHING here…check it : -
[… it was 72 [minimum] to 105 degrees [maximum] fahrenheit here today, too ! ]
shaping and surfing go hand in hand. i love to shape becasue i love to surf. and i love surfing because i shape my own boards. there are times where the relationships are lop sided but even when i am shaping i still get the same amount of excitement as if i where surfing.
maybe i have readt to many of ambroses post lately
