Wondering if anyone can tell me about the “Jick Bottom”. I’ve seen it in an article on Tom Morey, and I saw one in person on a shortboard made several years ago on the Big Island by a shaper named Gordon Hansen. It looks similar to the Pedersen Fireball bottom that was popular in Australia about ten-15 years ago. Very irregular wavy, almost random channels. I imagine it was suppossed to break up water flow, be loose yet positive? Just curious about this very different idea.
Hey
I have not idea what a “Jick” bottom is.
About 30 years ago, we made some surfboards with multiple channel bottoms, but also some with multiple dented bottoms, and they worked very similar to one another…loose, flicky, skaty, out of control in big strong waves, and horrible for riding high on steep faces. Then we gave up.
I think every surfboard maker has tried a dimpled bottom config, and found some success, but mostly just a differently looser reacting bottom.
I couldn’t give you history of who actually pioneered this idea, but we would try anything we saw in SuferMag or heard thru the grapevine.
I’m wondering about the Jick bottom myself. Some kids in our neighborhood have a board they got out of the trash or something and they said it goes unreal. The board is really fast. I wonder how well it would work with the modern shortboard updates?
Earl pederson does jet bottoms they are awsome but very labour intensive and a bugger to glass &sand but go really well. he is putting them in tails and belly. as well as in long boards.
Tubedog, When I was a teenager growing up living and surfing at Whale Beach on Sydneys Northern beaches in the 70’s. One of the guys we hung around with was a guy named Jick Mebane. I’m not shore if that is the correct way to spell his 2nd name. Anyway he was an American and he was a friend of Earl Pederson. Earl was out there as far as shaping was concerned. He showed Jick how to shape these weird bottoms. The best way to describe them is, next time you are walking on the beach and a wave washes up and receeds, look at the pattern that is momenteraly left in the sand by the water. He also shaped some boards that resembled birds in flight.One of the bird boards was hanging on a wall in Kirra Surf on the Gold Coast. We actually tried surfing these boards one day. Jick was also an agent for the W.A.V.E hollow surfboards. I believe he returned to the USA and inherited a Macadamia farm in Hawaii somewere. Platty (David Platt)
The board we’ve got here in San Diego is about an early 80’s looking, thick thruster. It has “Jick” written on it. The bottom contour is as you describe, looks kind of like ripples in a sand dune and not necessarily with the flow of the water. My guess is the little ridges can stablize turbulent flow and reattach it back into laminar flow thereby reducing drag; hence the groms are saying how fast the board goes. My concerns: shaping looks like a chore. laminating looks like even more of a chore. I think a sander would just grind off all the little “jicks” back into a flat bottom; I couldn’t imagine how hard THAT would be!
Yeah, tha’s what I’ve seen too, a thick, 80’s style thruster. But I might be game to try one on a modern foiled board. I think I’ll try to contact Gordon Hansen here in Hawaii since his name was on the one I’ve seen. Interesting to me that Tom Morey would pick up on it. The article I saw in TSJ also mentioned he was making irregular nonsymetrical boards with random bottoms since water movement is random. Don’t think I buy into that, but I do believe that textures will be the new frontier to speed and performance enhancements.
Some surfcraft are sculpted glossy, hard-finished surfaces, minimal flex, and maximum water resistance. Made to operate with the least amount of rider contact, optimized in specific types of clean waves.
Others are sponge-like intermediary vehicles, featuring a broader range, functioning with more rider contact, less water resistance and limited bend in response to leverage and pressure from wave and rider.
There`s also an entirely different medium of expression. Its a wide range interface requiring the most rider contact, yet little guidance. Supple… flexibility in all directions, low water resistance, constantly adapting contours, camber and buoyancy distribution. Its finless function dependent upon fluid, ephemeral bottom shapes, drawn from the natural curves and textures of the ocean itself.
HA! How dare you post a sweet photo like that! Love, Taylor
Any chance you can post a picture of the bottom? I’d love to see it.
I’m working on getting those groms to bring it to me (they’re on spring break). I will post soon as I get the board… …thanks for the hook up on the planer Keith!
Did you find the Skil part you needed (or a way to fix the old one?)
I just saw this thread , doing a search on channel bottoms for ‘tedd’ , so I thought I would reply. I was talking to my brother two days ago ,
he mentioned jick , a mate of erle pedersen . Jick also made jet bottoms , as does Erle , still, TODAY . C.b . , who posts here , would know of jick , as probably , would ‘platty’ , as they are whale beach boys .
okay , if you are still lurking here , tubedog … I hope this helps !
cheers ,
ben