Longboard Quiver, Mentawais/Maldives

General Discussion
1

Hey Everyone!

I thought that I would get the best advice here instead of over at the SurferMag Forum so I’m asking.

We are presently in the planning stage for a lifetime trip to the Ment’s or Maldives. We have four longboarders (some of us are oldies but goodies) and four shortboarders and a couple of the guys kitesurf as well.

I’m going to be doing my quiver as well as some of the others and need some advice on the longboard stuff. We will be surfing slightly overhead surf (or smaller) for the most part on the longboards. I don’t have a problem with the designs for the short stuff, but the biggies that I make for here (Cali) won’t work too well there.

I’m looking at taking three longboards for myself (not counting the thrusters). I’m 55, weigh between 160 & 170 (depending on the number of Bintangs) and surf two to three days a week during the school year and almost every day in summer.

Please try to include any info on glassing schedules you might think appropriate, including epoxy stuff! Thanks to everyone ahead of time!

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You’re not doing urself any favors taking 3 longboards + tris…Three boards is a perfect amount to drag halfway around the world. U should concentrate on fine tuning that quiver. Really all you’ll need is a medium high performance shaped longboard it will ride from 2-6ft, then for the days that it’s too big for that step up to a nice minigun and get ur moneys worth of those waves down there. U may want board # 3 to be a back up or u can get all groovy and take a fish for the fun small days to mix it up…Went to the maldives last year. Waves can break pretty fast and while not terribly critical not ideally suited for the longboard. Have fun, take it easy and bring free stuff for the crew.

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Hi Surfteach, apart from the extrodionary quality of the waves in the Mentawais the main difference you will find is also the extrodionary speed at which you will travel.

However very often the waves are similar to waves everywhere, so you dont need to go too far away from the designs you are already comfortable with. Having said that, it would recomend making one of your longboards to a bottom rocker that is very drivey for the big days.

You will also be surprised how powerful it is out there, so for the same board, if pu double lapp the rails, first sheet of deck cloth all the way under to the bottom at least 2" and second/top sheet same but shy 1/2"

For the short board guy take at lease one board for big waves with a lower entry rocker to paddle in easy, rawson type rockers if you can get a blank glued that way would be ideal. Again double lapp your larger travel board,

Think; up and going quick, it aint much fun being left behind and getting draged over sharp coral…have fun

4

i’d take a good pintail single fin and widowmaker in longboards.

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I ride longboards all the time here in Hawaii, but on my trip to the Mentawai, I rode a 7’6" pintail thruster. Built strong, by B. Hamilton. I also had an 8’4" gun that I never used. Ended up borrowing an even smaller board from a friend and had way more fun. If I went again, it would be a single fin in the 7-8’ length, and a small-ish thruster or maybe a Fish.

Travelling with all those longboards, major pain.

Don’t forget fins for bodysurfing.

My trip was in '00 and I was 43. I’m 6’5 and 220lbs.

The place is a dream come true…

6

Almost forgot, if you want a land based trip in the Mentawai, try the Kandui Resort.com. Bunch of Big Island boys got it going, Playgrounds area.

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i know that the billabong guys/other big names in hawaii are glassing their longboard in a little different way latley…the laps are wide in the middle 3/4 or a little less of the board, and tape at the nose and the tail…not a normal taper but a cut like this kinda…like an actual cut, not taper:

                                  rail

tail --------________________________/--------- nose

                               stringer
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Thanks everybody, for your quick replys!

I’m planing on taking a 6’8" pintail thruster for the barrel on medium days.

Kaalualu:

would recommend going a bit longer? How does the speed compare to OTW or Backdoor? The last island wave I rode was in Moorea a few years ago and I was suprized on the speed for about the first half hour then something clicked and I was able to adjust. Rode a 9’0" in some overhead stuff there as well.

nik:

Thanks for the recommendation. i was wondering if I was going to need to cut my own stringers and re-glue. Waiting to see what is available in Cali from the Aussies this summer. So far it is only Walker in any variety. US Foam is selling a good blank in short sizes, none good for longer stuff. I was planning on doing a full 2" rail wrap anyway if I don’t go epoxy.

Greg G:

You out there? I thought you might chime in with some sage advice! Some of the other guys going on the trip will be board light so we are going with some “party boards” to give us a bit of variety.

One of the guys is 220lbs on a good day and is game to go but needs some length…

With all your TC stuff for the longboard crew I thought you might give me some advice!

Hey Mike W:

what kind of epoxy schedule would you recommend? 9’2" will prob. be the longest on the cruise.

thanks again everyone and I’ll drink a Bintang for ya!

PS: too bad M. Biolos doesn’t post here. He just sent a crew of pros over there with a slug of eps/epoxys to try out. Would love to here how they did!

Surfteach

9

what kind of epoxy schedule would you recommend? 9’2"

for #2 eps…triple six top, double bottom…bomb proof and weighs about the same as a well glassed pupe…

funny how Biolos is getting epoxy recognition…Greg Loehr’s been making eps/epoxy’s for 20 years…when Biolos was still riding the bus to school…stranger yet, Biolos’ specialty is making disposables…a great marketeer indeed

10

Just got back from a Maldives exploration trip yesterday so I am pretty fresh on the topic, also

was in the Mentawais about 6 months ago. Really it will depend upon the specific region. Typical

Maldives would take any longboard you use at home. However, we found some waves in the heavy

category that you would have to make changes to your designs if you really have your heart set on

using a longer board.

Likewise, there are tons of spots in the Mentawais where you could successfully surf a longboard.

I saw a guy from Oz on a high-perf 9’0" at headhigh+ Rifles get some pits. He eventually blew apart

his board after a couple of hours… …but places like smaller Playgrounds (BurgerWorld, 4Bobs etc.)

would be longboard heaven for you and friends.

Personally, I would be going to find surf, so even on small days the energy will support your smaller

boards and you can use the down time to heal/explore etc. I brought one epoxy prototype and it

worked great. Equatorial conditions are ideally very smooth/glassy so you can take advantage of

epoxy’s lightweight potential on smaller days.

Jesh is right about lugging boards to (literally) the other side of the earth, this last trip took 4 flights

and there was an 8 foot limit on board bags on the seaplane leg. A boat-load of European guys had to

have their bags sent by boat watched us surf from their boat for a couple of days…

…I know you will score, keep things simple and have fun!

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Hey George:

Thanks for the input…It looks like we will be doing the Maldives this time so any advice would be helpful! I’m going to be shaping up a 6’8" to 7’2" RPT semi similar to a custom merrick I rode in Moorea for the hollow stuff. I’ll check on the size limits too before buying a bunch of blanks…

I just like longboards for the versatility on the wave and ride them almost exclusively now. Some of the other guys want length as well. How do you think two shorts & one long would travel? Anyway, thanks for the time & looking forward to the pics from your trip!

Dave:

(craftee)

I know Greg L has been doing this stuff for a long time as I have followed his trail from back in the day when I ran an EPS plant here in Cali. Matt is trying to ramp up a modern production style board using EPS in large (read enormous) quanities so has some unique problems. Just remember that he is competing with the Merricks & Rustys that are mass produced while Greg was going the smaller custom route when in Florida. Anyway, that’s a whole nother thread! Thanks for the glass advice, I don’t yet know how many boards will be in this lot so I might not be glassing the epoxy’s but farming them out so I want to be sure that they will last. Some of the boyo’s going are known to be quite hard on the equipemnt! Thanks again,

Surfteach

12

Hey Surfteach,

the Maldives is basically broken into 3 zones, each progressively more difficult to

access. The easiest is right around the Nth/Sth Male (mall-ee) atoll group. Trust

me, the place is crowded. This is a mainstay of the European surfers/travellers.

Lots of Japanese on long boards as well. Depending upon the time of year, you

may/may not score. The place is wind-sensitive and be sure to check your

calendar for optimal times. The last bit of harsh news is the increase in boat

charters there. Last week, we found out there were 14 boats up north, and

saw it as we motored back to the airport. Two years before, there were 4 boats.

The only two “exclusive” waves are Lohifushi (fun left) and Dohnvelli Village (fickle/

great left). Everything else is open, though this may change in the near future.

Why the negativity? It’s just a little motivation to get off the beaten path a bit.

Consider paying a little more to go a little further away from the main area. It will

be worth your while.

Your idea of 2 smaller boards and 1 long is perfect. Keep it real simple. Have a

good repair kit and minimal boards. You have enough skills to keep them going.

You will find great longboard spots and, like other tropical places, the wave energy

is a little higher than at home, but not open-ocean like Hawaii and other places.

Think smooth, equatorial glass, mostly light off/side shores.

Lastly, the reefs lost their coral in the North due to a water heat wave about 10

years ago, so the reefs are pretty flat. The opposite is true down south and

elsewhere. (my scratches and bruises are still healing, ha!).

I’ll try to get some photos as soon as the photogs come back and release some

to me…