Poobah – what kind of wave does the Pavel Butterfly Fish like the most? Is it made for something like the Newport Wedge? Why do some paipos have such tiny fins or none at all? Why don`t paipos look more like bodyboards? Thanks.
Rich shaped my butterfly fish (Mr. Waverly) knowing it would be ridden mostly at local beach and reef breaks in medium and small surf. At 48 inches it’s a bit long (I think) for a large shorebreak wave like the Newport Wedge. You want to be able to hold the board out in front of you when you free fall. I wonder if people still ride hard boards at the Wedge. Fins? Recent Hawaiian paipo contests were limited to finless, wood paipos. Unfortunately we don’t have their kind of waves everywhere. I tend to favor manueverability over speed for the kinds of wave I’m usually riding. Most of my boards have fins. Some people really like the finless, channel bottom fiberglass & foam boards. Some of them look very much like bodyboards from a distance. Is it a stealth thing for some people? Maybe. Sneaking into the swimming zone with a glass board. But I imagine that some of the channel bottom bellyboards ride very well. I just haven’t had the luxury of trying one yet. When Rich was shaping one of my boards, I threw in a last minute change as he was about to cut the blunt nose. I told him to give it a round nose like he might put on an egg board. He stood there silently for a moment, and then grapped the appropriate template from the shelf behind him. As he was drawing the curves he said, “because that’s what you ride.” I’m no expert at hydrodynamics, but I do know this basic equation: Local shapers + Local waves = fun Cheers, Poobah http://www.larryobrien.com/mrwaverly.htm
Poobah – what exactly is a “Pendo deck”? The Lamaroo site said something about painful chest bruises from fiberglass and foam paipos. Is that kind of punishment normal?
Pendo is short for Steve Pendarvis who was “the guy” for getting that kind of shapable rubber deck back then. More popular on kneeboards. I’m told that stuff was originally designed for packing medical instruments. It’s bought in big blocks so it’s not something for the backyard glasser. It adds some weight when you get it wet, but it certainly helps prevent the chest bruises. It also makes the board easy to grab onto when the rubber is close to the rail. I sometimes get deep chest bruising from just riding a traditional sponge bodyboard if I take enough drops. I’ve also heard of female surfers getting it just from paddling on a surfboard. Something about the ligaments that connect the rib bones. Or the tissues surrounding the ligaments. I’ve met people that went to the hospital emergency room because they thought they were have heart troubles. If it only hurts when you breath, then it’s probably just “bbogie breast.” http://www.larryobrien.com/mrwaverly.htm