…so here we had a surfer/designer that was banned somehow: Roy Stuart.
Today I noticed that hipster California shaper C Christenson have a similar design obviously based on the Stuart s.
CC:
-Has all the right contacts.
-Hipsters and big wave riders love him.
-He s from the right area of California (extremely important factor)
-Has the right workers and team.
This other dude from Germany I think, tried and put a lot of money trying to validate those “peanuts” outlines that firstly we see here with Benny1 (a member here that suddenly disappeared) but could not mainly for luck of the previous reasons; so we see if Christenson can validate what Stuart cannot from down under.
But has Christenson sold a single surfboard for over $1.3 million?
Who needs hipsters, location and the inner circle if you can sell one surfboard for $1.5 million?
Smiling all the way to the bank…
The peanut design is by Meyerhoffer. The boards in that article look nothing like Stuart’s or the Meyerhoffer.
Any claim made by Roy must be taken with a 20 lb grain of salt. He may have convinced some people that he sold a board for that much money but claims are just that. Without hearing from the buyer first hand it’s safe to say the story is more of Roy’s hyperbole.
There was an article in Surfer a couple months ago all about this. I felt like the explanation had merit, but the bulb-nose is addressing a specific issue not inherent in all surfboards or all surfing situations.
The ‘‘problem’’ that is trying to be solved, results from an incorrect technique, used by wannabe big wave riders. Coming to your feet too soon, results in hanging up in the lip, and being pitched. Or pearling in the upper portion of the wave, while trying to drive straight down, to get into the body of the wave. The ‘‘secret’’, the counter intuitive technique to use when you feel the wave pick you up, and you gain what feels like takeoff speed, is to remain prone and take 3 or 4 more strokes down into the wave, before coming to your feet. And even then, use a low crouch at first. I’m talking about waves in the 15, 20, and 30 foot range. Even on a windless day, these waves displace such a volume of air as they move forward, that there are near gale force winds to contend with, at the top of the wave. It is not an aerodynamic problem, it is a rider technique problem, and a failure to understand the forces at play, in the big wave environment. The first time you take those extra strokes, down the steep face of a 20 foot wave, your brain will scream that this is all wrong. But it isn’t. It is the path to salvation, in the dangerous conditions that you’ve chosen to test yourself in.
The above “bulb nose” looks almost identical in shape to a clubby paddle ski…so , just add a bit more nose lift , ditch the paddle and stand up ~ ~ ~ ~ too eezee ! - ( mind you , I think Bill would be correct ) .
The big wave season is still going on, so it’s possible that we may see some ride reports. I wonder what that huge mass does to the boards balance.
I like Bill T’s remark. You’ll hear from many people how those extra 2 strokes make a big difference. It’s totally counter intuitive, but if get a couple more strokes in before you stand up, you get good results. Sometimes it’s hard to force yourself to do because you feel like you’re already on the wave.
I’d agree that silence and a lack of facts from Roy only shows it never happened, the mystery is his whereabouts. His absence is noteworthy.
Sick, abducted by aliens or languishing at Her Majesty’s pleasure perhaps ?
Roy’s done well in the past couple of years. He started making boards with foam, then he started making blef fins using 3D printing, and then he went back to school and got his degree in construction. He was top of his class too.
I think the money he made from selling that board allowed him to do other things. It costs money to mess with foam and 3D printing. It’s also a time commitment to go back to school, so he wouldn’t have the time to work and support his large family.
Roy’s wood surfboards were unique and definitely not what most of us would think of as good boards, but he was passionate about it. I think he’s channeled that passion towards other stuff. I also think he’s back under a new moniker. I saw something about fins recently and the phrase used was unique to Roy. I can’t remember what the thread was.
He’s an amazing person in his own way, funny, opinionated, loyal and deeply involved in his craft, but to sell the most expensive surfboard ever in the universe and vanish without a trace is not his style.
Even when he was universally and comprehensively wrong, he fanatically defended his own unique interpretation of his personal science of surfcraft.
So now that he’s allegedly trumped the surfing design world forever with a single massive sale for a kings ransom, where is he ?
Obviously somewhere there isn’t a keyboard.
He’s on facebook. That is how I know what he’s been doing.
There have been quite a few guys that were once heavy contributors to Swaylocks, but are now gone. I think this environment is good for certain people and maybe not so good for others. I don’t go to the surfer mag BBs so I’m not sure what they are like.
That massive bulb on the XXL wave boards is something I can’t comprehend because I don’t surf that kind of wave. The engineering side may make sense, but we’ll have to see how they work in the big surf. These boards have very little in common with Roy’s designs.
Personally, if I chased the big stuff, I would tow surf.
Good to hear he’s still around. He deserves to have a voice and be heard. He’s an amazing person in his own way. I saw his FB page but the Last Post seems to be from 2years ago ?
While Bill’s advice is clearly sound, I’d say that problems getting into the wave aren’t limited to wannabees, although they probably have a higher rate of failure than more experienced riders. So many drops at places like Jaws are just a hairline away from disaster that the rider somehow manages to get under control. A couple of Shane Dorian’s rides come to mind. Even with experience, you may think you have the wave, but then a gust catches you or you hit a bump. Doesn’t take much to create your own mini disaster.
All this coming from a non-big wave rider, so take it with a grain or two of salt.
You may have a different page. He’s been doing a lot of sharing to other people’s stuff, but he’s still very active. He just graduated in December, and posted a video of him receiving his diploma. He got the top in his class certificate too.
