Latest batch done. *VERY PIC HEAVY*

General Discussion
1

Two long months making these. Today was my first day surfing in as long. Water temp has dropped twenty degrees in the interim. GREAT session!

Here’s the photos, sorry for those on dial-up. No comments about the lawn, please. The gardener has been busy in the garage for a while.

First, a pair of eggs. Big thanks to Balsa for the inspiration and some guide numbers for these boards. I shortened them and changed things up from the numbers he gave me, but the inspiration was still there.

Both measure 7’8"-22.5-2.75

I’m keeping the one with wax on it. Rode it today in wonderful conditions, at least for Corpus Christi. Sets were coming in at head high, wind was offshore at 10 kts, and this board was smooooth as butter. Only took two waves to get used to it, even though it was the biggest board I’ve ever ridden, with the most fin (8.5" TK flex). Very fun day. Low rocker so fast, very positive in turns, big carvey arcs, feeling the TK, so very nice.

Next, a trio of fish.

From left to right they measure (5’10"-21 1/2"-2 5/8") (6’1"-21 1/2"-2 3/4") (5’10"-21 3/4"-2 5/8’)

Lokbox fin systems on each one, available with zippi template or standard keels in clear or wood inlay. Low rocker, old-school style, for blazing speed down the line and in weak waves, and particularly low rocker (“oops rocker”) on leftmost fish.

 	 Oneula's board

Custom for Bernie.

6’4"- 22 1/4"-2 3/4"

You said to pull out the dimensions for you, so that better do the trick! Sorry about the crooked logo on the deck. :frowning:

Finally, a custom bonzer for a surfermag BBer. But I’ve been teasing him so he’ll get to see the full package when he gets the board, so you all can just see what he’s seen for now.

6’8"-22 1/2"-2 5/8"

Thats it for now (and for a while!). Thanks to everyone for keeping this place functioning, fun, on-track, and most of all, real.

2

Yowza! Smokin’ work. Knockouts, one & all. Hope you’re getting paid (well, except for Oneula’s. All the dozens of us to whom he’s posted generous care packages should all chip in & buy him that board. Seriously.)

So…I can’t imagine hotwiring out 7 blanks in a row…then shaping them…bagging on skins…assebling the rails…laminating…and especially dealing with 7 epoxy hotcoats - 14 really - in a row. All while tending to a ‘real’ job and a new marriage :slight_smile:

If you were to start again on 7 boards next week, would you again gang up each step & do all 7, or would you build them one at a time for the variety, or are there things where you do benefit from doing multiples, but other things where there’s no savings?

Thanks for posting.

I didn’t even notice the lawn.

3

Thanks benny!

Actually, don’t worry too much about Oneula, we’re working on a trade. His cash is no good here. His quiver, however…

And if I were to do it all again tomorrow (excuse me a moment while I laugh myself silly), I’d probably have to do the same thing.

in a perfect world, I would have a shaping area and a separate glassing area (or a glasser!), and I could just build a board from start to finish. Since I have to set up my garage for each step (hotwiring, bagging, shaping, etc…) it makes more sense to take all the boards through each step before moving on to the next step. Especially doing a thorough cleaning before glassing, and doing all the hotcoats before any sanding. It did get really tedious at times though. I thought turning all those rails was going to kill me, all that back-and-forth… Probably won’t do this kind of production run again though, it really kind of turned it into a job.

4

Amazing boards!

I really dig the fishes and the inlay work.

Cheers.

5

Your boards are truely amazing! I can’t believe the quality of the finish work. They look like solid wood boards (its impossible to make out the skins)

6

Nice! Are those the leash loops that got somebody’s panties in a wad? I especially like the “eyes” on the nose blocks…reminds me of Chinese Junks or Phoenician Galleys.

7

okay so maybe you all can help Jarrod out as he’s having a heck of a time trying to decide which gem he wants from my personal vault.

Below are some of the options on the table Shwuz has been battling in his head for a respectable trade and I’ve added a new one in to boot because of it’s uniqueness. They are all gems in my eye as is Shwuz’s handiwork but that’s just my opinion. If I had something from my own hands I though was worthy I’d offer it but these are definitely worth it.

This is why there’s a Swaylocks… in my silly mind at least

don’t see anybody else on the other forums giving up a new or relatively new hard to come by treasure to share.

So here are the choices…

(Sorry J if this is gonna make it harder for you, I thought the smurkers here might help)

Opportunity Number 1:

6’0" x 21 1/4" x 2 5/8"

OTR Firewire “Fish Tail” model

Opportunity Number 2:

6’4" x 21 1/2" x 3"

Custom Manolo Mandala Quad Fish in his famous Coke Bottle Green tint

Opportunity Number 3:

6’2" x 21" x 2 7/8"

Custom Griffin 5-fin Fish with handmade G-10 fins

Opportunity Number 4:

6’8" x 23 1/8" x 3 1/4"

OTR Ricky Carroll Cheyne Horan Replica single with Keel nose and baby blue Lexan Keel Fin (courtesy of Noel “SoloSurfer”)

8

Beautiful work. I’m really impressed with the abalone inlay. However, you’re really teasing with the Bonzer pic though. Can’t wait to see that one.

Oh, and when the hat comes around for Onuela’s board pass it my way as I too have received a generous aloha package from the man.

9

damn…no wonder he’s having a hard time to choose…thats a hell of a quiver…

I would go for the mandala quad…or the griffin 5 fin

10

I’d send Oneula the winger & the second egg and try to get the Horan Nugget & the Griff 5. You know, shipping two doesn’t cost any more than shipping one and I know SharkCountry loves boards like that egg. Who can resist a great xmas gift for their favorite brother? :slight_smile:

I have a Horan Nugget & freaking love it. And I’m a hardcore longboard/single fin guy. And the Griff 5…you can learn a lot from a board like that and probably can’t get one anywhere else.

I hear you on the build steps. My garage is the same way.

Oneula…the sad thing is that 2+ years ago, Shwuz had bought a vac bag & some peel ply & stuff…and then decided it wasn’t something he wanted to get into at the time. He posted that he would trade the stuff away for something interesting…I took him up on it. He got me into the bagging with an infusion of cool new gear…and in return I sent him a couple fins. One was a sh!tty cutaway that I never liked and I suspect he didn’t either (although I wasn’t trying to get rid of itt, really, he was interested in trying it :slight_smile: ) and the other was one of my first attempts at making a Bert-style fin - plywood foil under glass. My fins worked ok, but were aesthetically awful. Of course, my standards at the time weren’t all that high & I was hoping his weren’t either. NOW, when I see what ol’ Shwuz can do with wood & epoxy…I am so f&%$ing embarrassed about what I sent to him :slight_smile: But we’re all learning here, that’s the beauty of this place.

I’m just glad that he went ahead & bought himself the bagging gear again anyway. Just hope he didn’t lose too much scratch on that deal :slight_smile:

11

I second the hell out of that, but if oneula only wanted one board, I’d take the Horan.

Put a Sway’s sticker on it.

Book a trip.

:0

12

I hate to say it, but if its only one, I’d take the Griff. How the heck else you gonna get a G5 in Tejas? Ricky Carroll’s a lot closer to Shwuz than he is to Oneula Beach…

But still…both extremely worthy additions to anyone’s quiver.

Shwuz…as Oneula probably already knows (sorry B) you could build a Firewire better than that Firewire. And the Manny Quad…seductive, for sure, but probably not the most useful where you are, nor is it irreplaceable.

  1. Griff 5

  2. Nugget

Get 'em both - even if it takes you three boards to do it :slight_smile: Hell, you built enough of the durn thangs.

13

I wouldn’t have never been here it it wasn’t for Shwuz.

Shwuz originally was interested in my Alexander Gemini adventures(which I still have along with 3 balsa compsand versions…) and kindly pointed me in this direction when I pretty much got raked across the coals trying to explain my experience with it over on the other design forum. People think ugly board stupid idea must be a piece of cr*p without even giving it a try like Sharkcountry did before he rode it. Same for with Griff’s 5-fin, oh 5 fins tail must be heavy must have alot of drag etc etc until Griff let us demo one. Same with the Horan people think its just a fun board till you get it into vertical walls and the board comes to life carving turns at speed in the pocket that even fish can’t do. Noel knows… that’s why he sells them… I’ve learned so much from these designs and their shapers who’ve been battling the same status quo like Bert did before he blew up big time. Hell I even got my hands on a “mini-me” version of his Son of a Beach to find out his juice for myself.

I was so impressed with Shwuz I sent him my very first set of “white porcelain” future vectors 467’s for his brilliant FP project. I knew right then than anyone willing to make an FP out of homedepot foam just to find out the truth was my kind of open minded surfer…

Unfortunately I tend to spend my hard earned pennies buying these adventures in foam instead of making them like most hear and each one has taught me a little bit about the hype and the glory. I’m only more than happy to share the same experience with Jarrod and others I’ve gotten to know here at Sways. I only wish we had more get togethors to trade off boards and varying technologies so we can all can learn first hand versus just reading some marketing material. We envy your Keith events and education seminars… Be neat to do something similar to cerritos out here one day.

Right now we’ve got a hell of a lot more to learn from the mind of Chandler before he gives up the ship. And it’s going to be one hell of an education for sure…

BTW

what I do for you guys it’s because I’m Hawaiian and that’s just what we do

there’s no expectation other than maybe a smile and some positive discussion if we ever should meet

It’s guys like CMP that inspire my brother and I to do what we can when we can…

Most of the sways guys here in Hawaii and the ones from the mainland we’ve met are the same way…

14

You’re right Benny. Kinda what I thought first go, but then that blue beauty and the keel fin hypnotized me…

Both is the right call.

:wink:

15

Thanks a lot for those extremely detailed pics. Very good as desktop wallpapers.

Nice and hard work done!!

16

Gawrsh, you guys are making me blush. :slight_smile:

Yeah, benny and bernie, it is crazy the way that things come around and come together with time. It’s hard to explain to someone not here (like my wife) about how even though many of us haven’t met in person, sways is still a community in the truest sense of the word. Don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have this resource of knowledge and the opportunity to interact with folks who think like myself.

Quote:

I only wish we had more get togethors to trade off boards and varying technologies so we can all can learn first hand versus just reading some marketing material.

I second the hell out of that! Someday, when I win the lottery, I’ll go on the road with a couple of hard cases filled with boards and visit as many swayers as I can… Hopefully upon my return, the cases would be filled with completely different boards from when I began.

By the way, bernie, you’re totally killing me here. I want you to know that.

I think I need to do the horan replica, though. The firewire isn’t really my ideal size, and I wouldn’t be expecting many surprises from it anyway. The manny quad and griff fish are both extremely tempting, and that would have been a very tough call given only those to pick from. But that all changed with that Horan on the table. I’m all about the new stuff, and given a choice between a different breed of fish and an entirely different animal, I’m going to have to pick the new animal every time. My wife thought it was the “prettiest” too, so that is worth something. I do feel like I’m getting the better end of the deal though, I’m trying to think if there is anything else I can do to sweeten the pot a little.

By the way, the wheel are in motion. I’m going to work as a travel nurse starting next spring. My first request is for Alaska, to see the folks, then after that Hawaii. So, next fall I might be back on the islands, god willing.

17
Quote:

By the way, the wheel are in motion. I’m going to work as a travel nurse starting next spring. My first request is for Alaska, to see the folks, then after that Hawaii. So, next fall I might be back on the islands, god willing.

Thanks for the heads up…

we’ll get working with CMP and have a couple boards waiting for you when you show up maybe even a jensen or grain inspired HWS “travel board” or a custom chandler 5 fin of your design…

I think the 6’5" grain single fin or 8’ 2+1 might make a perfect travel board as well as one of Paul’s shorter designs…I even have a 6’10" CMP 2001 original pre-EPS (virtually indestructable) you can take back.

also even though I never though about it if you want to do a multiple board exchange like everyone says I’d be open to it too… Maybe the Griff, Mandala and Horan for one of the big ones, the fish and a bonzer you can make me sometime next year when you have the time. That’ll give me an reason(and open up rack space) to give Chandler a bunch more orders for some more of his exotic designs…

But you could put some real cash in your pocket selling those instead of picking up another one of these things… And if you want I’ll just stash another one on the side for you when you finally make it here…

BTW

fantastic job as usual

your artistic side really shows…

your compsand boards are unique

18
Quote:

BTW

what I do for you guys it’s because I’m Hawaiian and that’s just what we do

there’s no expectation other than maybe a smile and some positive discussion if we ever should meet

It’s guys like CMP that inspire my brother and I to do what we can when we can…

Most of the sways guys here in Hawaii and the ones from the mainland we’ve met are the same way…

Ahhh…don’t be so modest. You’re rare among Hawaiians just as you’d be rare among the Tlingit at a Potlatch or Merry Pranksters in Big Sur or any other group of people known for their generosity…

And I completely agree that Shwuz’ work is extraordinary among compsanders. He’s got the Jensen or Richie B look with the Bert tech and he’s knocking them all out to such high standards…sigh :slight_smile:

19

Man, I would definitely be into the multi-trade, if not for financial stuff. The only reason I did such a big batch this time (only reason I had permission from my wife!) was because I wanted to generate a little cash for our upcoming ecuador trip. It was actually her idea, and she’d have my hide if I traded a bunch away. She was already giving me a hard time about trading just one! But once I explained who you were and why I was doing it, she understood.

That’s not to say I won’t be down for another one later. But right now I’m not able to predict when the next batch will be, so I don’t really want to commit.

And thanks for the kind words, I hope you have as much to say once you ride yours. Maybe you can talk chandler into making some custom fins for it, now that’d be hot!

20

ovates standingly