I have explained my philosophy behind the longboards I shape previously on this site, so I won’t repeat myself. I occasionally delve into “one trick pony’s” but for the most part shoot for a longboard that will do it all. Most of my longboards are in the 9’2—9’6 range and are meant for fun, but can punch it in good waves. Paddle and volume . Able to ride the nose but not just a noserider. Etc.etc.
Probably the most influential surf flick on my surfing was Evolution. The small wave clips were shot in conditions similar to what we have around here and I always liked the lines they were drawing. I didn’t see it until years after it came out in VHS because I hadn’t yet started surfing when it first made the rounds in the theaters. A skinny little Wayne Lynch cranking a bottom turn going backside on a 7-0 x 23 with 17" diamond tail that he had shaped himself - he was able to handle all that board area because of the fin position, the flex fin and the bottom contour. When I saw that flick I realized how many years I had wasted following what everyone else in my local were doing and trusting them to know what I was trying to do better than me. This was pre-internet and not even Mitch’s in Solana Beach or the Longboard Grotto in Leucadia were carrying boards like this at the time.
This was years before Mollusk or the Hipsters came along. Liddle had taken going frontside to the extreme - which was fine for those guys but i was aiming for something a fair bit more basic and less extreme. Looking back I assume Jim Phillips was doing shorter piggy shapes but I never saw one. So I did my own version, and once I surfed that I never did another wide point forward singlefin for myself after that. I like the lines the wide-point back designs draw and I like not having to do the Daddy’s Little Dancer routine to put a longer board into trim. A little hula action never hurt anyone.
So yeah, those designs are more touchy in terms of paddling position and they’re not beginner friendly, particularly with the flat rockers and foils I use, and they definitely don’t glide as much if you just strike a pose. I only use them in small/soft conditions, chest high and under, so it’s a niche design for me. In those conditions I want to go with the flow, keep the board close to the energy in the curl and refrain from getting too far out in front.
The basic layout in the longer lengths are definitely not that versatile across a wide range of conditions, they’re not oriented to noseriding, and they’re definitely not for everyone. Particularly not for a lot of the people who actually need the length and volume and rocker in order to get a wave. But by the same token it doesn’t surprise me at all that some of the people who want to surf a longer length more actively would go this way rather than without getting into the frenetic “monkey humping a football” routine that the HPLB experts are doing.
Just my opinion.
For the last good hurricane swell I rode, most of my quiver had burned in a house fire. The 9-8 Nuuhiwa NR survived under a bed. A good wave catcher and a smooth glider/cruiser in waves up to 6’. Never truly appreciated that board before that day.
Every board I ever owned had its own nuances that had to be mastered before experiencing what it was really capable of doing…
I really don’t have an opinion on any of this.
I do, however, love the look of the boards Bruce Fowler has been doing. It strikes me that he’s doing what was described here: taking the best of the old ideas - including ones that didn’t get fully explored - and running with them.
Awesome to hear you’re shaping a little bit, reverb. Hope you keep feeling better.
Good points throughout. However your 1st paragraph is spot on and gets to the nut of it. Longboards were very refined at the end of that “Era”. When the resurgence happened all of the best was brought forward and rethought. New ideas were added. The HP boards got started purely because some surfers wanted to surf a Longboard like a Shortboard. The old designs were not condusive to that style. Eventually the style of many surfers became a blend of Progressive and Classic. Something like Tudor. I remember discussing Gene Coopers pinched rail boards with one of Al Merrick’s “scrubbers”. He got visibly upset when I spoke about that rail design, flat deck etc. He stated there was no way those boards could work. That he had studied design and that those boards just couldn’t work. Here’s the rub. He had never ridden one or even seen one in the water. I have shaped some real Dogs over the years. But I have never had anyone even complain a little about the Dogs, let alone the good boards. In fact some of the worst boards I have ever shaped(imho) got to my surprise pretty good reviews. A couple of times I walked away shaking my head, wondering how this could be? A couple of times I told a guy exactly how they would surf and in what type of wave they would work the best. And; It’s always nice to get that confirmation. Se le vi.
Aha! The Glory Day’s huh. Stuck in the past. Since 1958 I assume.
Hey Reverb; Tell me about that board. So is the painting/art a fabric inlay? Or a painting on the foam? Are the bottom and rails painted foam or a tint. I like the way you painted the yellow on the deck. Taped off the stringer etc. I can’t tell from the pic; Is the yellow a fade? White resin pinlines? What is the tail block made? Fin cut-offs or painted foam? Again! Nice work man.