A long time ago… A hybrid short board… one, two or three fins… concave deck… commercially available… ridden by a guy named Larry Sheflo at Malibu. The ads presented it as a stand up/kneeboard hybrid. He stood up and ripped it consistently from outside second point all the way through to the pier. This was maybe 1970???
A radical kneelo revolution in the new millenium? Most doubtful: standup > rider pigdogging the tube, bodyboarder in dropknee slashback? In a single > photo, at any given moment, sometimes it
s hard to tell whos morphing > into a standup, kneelo or bodyboarder.>>> For 30 years theres been so many big clues borrowed from kneeboarding, > that maybe now theres nothing left that hasnt already been taken.>>> Three of surf historys stellar kneelo legends: George Greenough, Steve > Lis, Peter Crawford: Greenough sold Velo to a guy in another country and > just rides his surfmats, Stevie quit while both his knees still worked and > rips standing up. Peter? More a core airmat rider than a kneelo in the > last few years before his final waves. That damn surfmat thing again. > Anyway, Peters in a better place now.>>> One day a hybrid may emerge, the best of each, the worse of none? Maybe > the endless quest for better boards has been nothing more than a search in > the wrong direction. Maybe the ultimate answer to those finicky little > design problems waits within us, the riders? Maybe generations from now, > itll all just be called surfing. Does anyone here (Tom V.?) know if the ancient Hawaiians had a separate word for kneeboarding, or was it all just known as “surfing”?
I read that Bunker Spreckels used to ride his fish in the same manner at Jeffreys Bay, dropping in as kneeboarder then standing up. Just riding it as knee/standup hybrid.
Hey John I was working on a job and Larry was the pool builder,and a good one to he is still surfing around socal and baja.We talk storie about olddays at the BU.PS. been up your way every other weekend camped at El Chorro or Morro bay. aloha Kirk
There were probably people saying ‘everything physically possible has been done on a surfboard’, or what ever craft at various points in surfings history. Probably just after a new champion had reached legend to be status. Just because it has been said does it mean it is true? Kelly Slater talks about progression in surfing in Shelter and say s some interesting things. The next person will no doubt use what they have learned and then add their slant, taking any of the sports in a slightly or maybe completely different direction. Kneeboarding has through out its life influenced surfing and vice versa and making the comment that it would change the surfing world was a bit over the top, but it has provoked a bit of discussion. Only the other day a stand up surfer talked to me about my board and how he wanted to apply some kneebopard designs to a surfboard. He actually was talking about four fin fish Hybrids and if you look at the Blast web site and read the interview with Greg Holzman the same discussion comes up there. Maybe kneeboarding will continue to influence the surfing world. I choose to ride a kneeboard (having previously bodyboarded and surfed) because it is different. It doesn’t handicap me in anyway (not that I mind being called a cripple. I can draw the same lines as a surfer on a wave or very different ones and I am sure I reach the same level of enjoyment. Kneeboarding can be as high performance as surfing, bodyboarding, tow surfing, longboarding. It can also be as soulful. The way you actually surf comes down to who you are. The question that some people might ask is why do I need to stand up? or you could ask why do I need to kneel up? The simple answer is who cares as long as you do it because you want to. http://www.blasthawaii.com
I saw one of the best south bay surfers come up with something unique yesterday at El Porto. This guy has been body surfing there consistently for 20 or more years. Lately he has been body boarding. I saw him using the body board to catch waves and if he likes the way the wave is lineing up he slides off the board and body surfs the wave! A very elegant, creative and seemingly fun approach to rideing waves.
Matt…right-on…surf for fun…surf for life…if I had no arms and > only had one leg I would have someone put my one fin on my one leg, then > strap a sponge on my stomach and picth me into the lineup…it would > still be bitch’n… 10-4 on that!!!whatever it takes to get in the water i’ll do it!
I asked Ron Romanosky via his fine web site about the shoe and was surprised when he responded… Yes - I used to shape the “Shoe” and there was an article in one of the mags about this thing that Con, of Con Surfboards, was trying to push. It was not a good kneeboard and they were not around long. It was a better stand-up board, as Larry proved. Ron
Matt: Coming across your comments is spooky in it’s relevance. I,like yourself, have recent shoulder problems that keep me from doing alot of paddling(30 years of paddling takes it’s toll). FYI- Bud McCray of Blast Kneeboards is missing his right arm and he rips on the North shore. Fortunately, I was an avid kneeboarder in the 70’s and still have my old board (just bought a Romo) and have gotten back into it. Forgot how radical you can get on a kneeboard (airdrops? no problem, drop-in on the foamball, fine)and the speed, I routinely blow by standups. Also,I’ve gone out on huge days and and find I can kick alot longer than I could ever paddle even when my shoulder were strong. So I get out on big days with total confidence. I think guys who look down on kneelos are ones that haven’t tried it. It’s definitely a different beast. Seems to be growing slowly here in Santa Cruz.
Matt: Coming across your comments is spooky in it’s relevance. I,like > yourself, have recent shoulder problems that keep me from doing alot of > paddling(30 years of paddling takes it’s toll). FYI- Bud McCray of Blast > Kneeboards is missing his right arm and he rips on the North shore. > Fortunately, I was an avid kneeboarder in the 70’s and still have my old > board (just bought a Romo) and have gotten back into it. Forgot how > radical you can get on a kneeboard (airdrops? no problem, drop-in on the > foamball, fine)and the speed, I routinely blow by standups. Also,I’ve gone > out on huge days and and find I can kick alot longer than I could ever > paddle even when my shoulder were strong. So I get out on big days with > total confidence. I think guys who look down on kneelos are ones that > haven’t tried it. It’s definitely a different beast. Seems to be growing > slowly here in Santa Cruz. Cool!I also believe bud is blind in ome eye as well.Paul Gross says that bud is an unbelievable surfer and craftsman and is blown away by his skills.
Cool!I also believe bud is blind in ome eye as well.Paul Gross says that > bud is an unbelievable surfer and craftsman and is blown away by his > skills. Sure his name’s not Neil?
Cool!I also believe bud is blind in ome eye as well.Paul Gross says that > bud is an unbelievable surfer and craftsman and is blown away by his > skills. Sure his name’s not Neil?
Sure his name’s not Neil? Just checked-it’s Alan “BUD” Mcray.Thanks for the heads up though.By the way, WHERE is the SURF???
Sure his name’s not Neil? Just checked-it’s Alan “BUD” Mcray.Thanks for the heads up though.By the way, WHERE is the SURF???
Just checked-it’s Alan “BUD” Mcray.Thanks for the heads up > though.By the way, WHERE is the SURF??? Yeah, ain’t this a bitch. Just got my new Romo kneeboard and there hasn’t been a decent swell in a long time and nothing on the way to try it out. By the way, what are you riding? My new board is 5’6" double wing quad pin about 16x22x17, close to an Aussie type board but not as wide or long as most. Old board was a 5’6" single fin pin 15x20x16 hard rails all around. Extremely fast but doesn’t turn worth a damn.
Just checked-it’s Alan “BUD” Mcray.Thanks for the heads up > though.By the way, WHERE is the SURF??? Yeah, ain’t this a bitch. Just got my new Romo kneeboard and there hasn’t been a decent swell in a long time and nothing on the way to try it out. By the way, what are you riding? My new board is 5’6" double wing quad pin about 16x22x17, close to an Aussie type board but not as wide or long as most. Old board was a 5’6" single fin pin 15x20x16 hard rails all around. Extremely fast but doesn’t turn worth a damn.
Any person who has the strenght of character to challenge cancer, Pipe, and the shaping of kneeboards deserves respect. Not to downplay the “Big C” or Pipe, but designing and shaping a kneeboard for someone is very difficult - It must be perfect or it won’t work. Apparently, Mr. McCray has done and continues to do all these things. Moreover, I hear he is a good person.
Any person who has the strenght of character to challenge cancer, Pipe, and the shaping of kneeboards deserves respect. Not to downplay the “Big C” or Pipe, but designing and shaping a kneeboard for someone is very difficult - It must be perfect or it won’t work. Apparently, Mr. McCray has done and continues to do all these things. Moreover, I hear he is a good person.
Any person who has the strenght of character to challenge cancer, Pipe, > and the shaping of kneeboards deserves respect. Not to downplay the > “Big C” or Pipe, but designing and shaping a kneeboard for > someone is very difficult - It must be perfect or it won’t work. > Apparently, Mr. McCray has done and continues to do all these things. > Moreover, I hear he is a good person. I gotta say that after reading about “Bud” in the Blast website I was blown away by his situation and accomplishments and it made my piddley shoulder problems seems insignificant. Quite an inspirational guy.