for the recor:PG was never an employee of the journal-just a guy that sold them a couple of good articles. (whish he’d contribute more. my guess is he will…)
Matt,
I know that Paul was never on staff with TSJ, but his frequent contributions made the mag a worthwhile read more often.
I know that he was frustrated with TSJ, but if I were editor, I would have given him a much longer leash, in exchange for the potential of more writing gems. Check out his intro to the Yater article, as a teacher, I give it an A++, and I have used it as an example of good writing skills, to share with my students.
I do hope that he does contribute in the future. He has such a vast knowledge of design, and is one of those rare individuals who is able to convey ideas into print most effectively. Brian Hilbers is another person who can take the complexities of design theory and explain it to a novice, like me, and make it understandable.
Another from KP.
Liddle Pig and anti-Pig 40 years apart (1968 - 2008). Matt Miller in between them.
i agree. he has a way with words and explaining things in print like no other, not to mention he knows what he’s talking about…
Great hat, Matt.
What’s the story behind the '68 pig?
Jim, I’m really disappointed that you didn’t turn that in to a post about three pigs or some such.
seriously.
This Liddle piggy went the market…
The piggy tale looks very beaky and thick or is that a distortion from the photograph . I would imagine the pig shape hull would be much more beach break friendly and accommodating those less then perfect days which most of us get . Wide tail giving a bit of extra oomph for weak waves.
cheers
mpcutback
Thats what the first american shortboards looked like everybody feared losing float of the longboard and so the tails were kept very thick, this did not last long, maybe 4 to 6 mo. at the most. Liddle was a Yater dealer and was influenced by his early shortboards. I have # 202 and its 6’8’‘’ like a MP3 template but still has a thicker tail. Things were changing fast back then, fun stuff!
Hey Jim,
I just missed you on Friday. I was pulling into the lot at Wavefront just as you and (mcmalibu)? were leaving. Give me a call next time you’re up here and I’ll take some time off. My office is only a block from the shop.
Had a great time swapping stories with Randy about our old Army days. 
Marc
board #o83, made 8-22-68. has the thick tail but no V back there at all. textured deck. very yater influenced for sure.
It’s interesting to read the comments regarding the Kopps Displacement article in the latest TSJ. It quickly becomes clear that the entire Displacement hull “movement” is based on elitism more than function. All of the stuff that’s come out of the displacement camp via Alex Kopps is full of esoteric references to some mythological world or “anti” movement. And it seems that this isn’t done strictly as an artistic expression but also as a way to separate the “movement” from the masses of surfers.
In surf marketing we tend to see two types of approaches. First is the elitist approach like Mollusk where language, fashion and lifestyle are portrayed as some sort of in the know-only tribal thing where you are either a part of or not. Take a look at the Mollusk New York blog to get a taste. Then there’s the polar opposite to that, the type of marketing that assumes that we are all into the same thing, that being perfect waves and ASP tour surfboards. It’s all contrived.
What interest me the most is what’s really happening in the water. Surely most of you who post here and are dedicated Hull riders come from a mix of cultural backgrounds. While some of you may subscribe, or be part of, the Displacement movement, others could care less. Anyone who has surfed for a while knows that all the smoke and mirrors disappear when we paddle out. People either know how to surf or they don’t. And that in itself seems to be an allure to the Hull –the fact that it is a really difficult craft to master shows a commitment from its rider. Someone who rides a hull well will obviously be a talented surfer.
The elitist approach to the Gothic Dolphins/ Displacement film grates on me. Maybe because I feel like I’m not in the club (joke). And it seems strange that TSJ would give it so much space, especially when it’s nothing really knew. Most of the content in that article was already posted on the Gothic Dolphins blog. But then again TSJ’s main focus is to promote the California surf vibe/history so I reckon the Displacement thing fits well. All in all though Kopps does create dialog and dialog is good. I just wish his spray painting was a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
After an e-mail conversation last night with the mighty PG, I must clarify and correct when I stated; “I know that he was frustrated with TSJ…” HE WAS NOT FRUSTRATED WITH THE OVERALL SITUATION WITH TSJ. They let him accomplish his objectives, and they were very accommodating, but they wanted a maximum 1000 words, from him, for the KP, Matt, et al 1st TSJ Hull article, and as he told me,“I use more than 1000 words ordering at Jack in the Box!” I remember visiting him, to pick up a mat, a few days after this all came down, and he was very bummed. I thought that it was something i said.
So, I apologize for offering my “spin” of the true situation. Thank you PG for correcting me. We miss you down here and hope that you return to SoCal very soon.
Madprofessor,
Try riding a hull and once you master it, there’s no turning back.
Then you too will have that special feeling.
The marketing approach to selling surfboards has always had these two camps. Look at the ad campaigns of Morey-Pope and Nolls’ Da Cat. It worked and kept those companies floating.
Hull riding is much different from just an elitist advertising selling approach, it is a very very unique style of surfing, So, those on the outside will always be looking in. Come on in and give it a serious go. It will change your surfing life forever. I’ve been riding Liddle hulls since early 1970, and have never wanted to switch back to back footed surfing.
as far as I know there’s only one hull here in Nova Scotia and it’s a tim stamps modernica model -single fin. i’ve seen the guy on it make some super long right point waves on that board, longer than anyone else on that day when the wave was super fast and him way up in teh pocket tucked. the board as ar as I can tell is true to the hull with s-deck, super thin tail with little rocker and knife thin rails, with the fin box set way forward and a pregnant belly bottom.
this may have already been discussed to death here but I must ask. how come in almost all of the photos of Hull riders we see people going frontside? are they too difficult to ride backside? if that’s the case then a Hull would do me no good here where 90% of our waves are right point breaks.
Ya know I miss the good old days of going into any surfshop and immediately being labelled as an outsider. Shops (some up to the late 1990s) used to have local surfers working in them and treated customers as they’d treat outsiders as they would un-locals at their favorite localized shops.
Once in a great while someone at a shop would be friendly, but if you saw them in the water, it was if you were invisible. This idea that that the “new” displacement movement is a an elitist thing is nothing new. (Interestingly the only shop I never experienced this was Liddle’s).
In the 80’s when one of the Santa Barbara area shapers went super international, his whole team were branded “persona non grata” at the one spot they all loved to prove their designs. So elitism can cut many directions. I’ve heard even the SUP Janitor crowd has clique levels, (this one sadly is based on income levels, a yuppie culture thing).
That said, most any Huller would gladly talk your ear off to the design attributes of our surf craft. We here on this post love to talk Hull, poke fun at each other and discuss new ideas and welcome newbies.
BAckside can be done, it just needs a lot of commitment. Mr. Putnam is a Goofy-Footer and has been Hulling it since the early 70’s. In that TSJ article there are some shots of a Malloy doing a backside thing.
Look at this thread: http://www2.swaylocks.com/node/1020515
There’s some shots of KP somewhere in there going backside.
Talk to Kirk Putnam. Rode many right points backside. He is probably the best goofy-foot huller around. Djelem is also a goofy-footer.
http://www.allaboutsurf.com/articles/sixfeet?pg=5
(Top pic shows KP going backside at Malibu)
Madprof,
I envy you for living in such a beautiful place. Being a transplanted Torontonian/Vancouverite, I have had the opportunity to visit the Maritimes in the late summer, but not in the winter. What swell directions work the points best?
You need to e-mail Liddle and discuss the wave types you will be surfing, and from that info, he can design the perfect ride for you.
Good luck
hi pjd,
thanks for the note. not sure that I’m ready for a new board yet but I love reading about the Hulls. I think I like the challenge that they bring. Currently I’m riding a 5’8" quad Stamps fish and a traditional 9’6" single fin log. a hull may be in my future though but I’d like to try one before committing, especially with our dollar being so shitty these days.
surfing here is a love hate relationship for sure. as with the rest of the east coast, good swells stay around for a day maybe two if we’re lucky. right now the water is 0 Celcius and the air temps way below freezing. it’s actually quite manageble with a quality winter suit and fairly new mitts and gloves.But the weather does start to get to me after a while. As for swell angle, mostly systems coming up from New England -usually the swell direction is south west and it’s favourable for the right points. a straight south swell will light up spots that otherwise are dormant. the same for an east swell but those are less common. I’ve had many head high glassy days here and that’s fine by me.
I’ve lived in Hawaii, Oregon, Florida and Jamaica and this place is one of the most beutiful places I’ve ever surfed. The people are amazing and free of prententions.The pressure of over-crowding is becoming evident at some spots but that’s the case everywhere eh?
cheers