I rode a Hot Curl Terry Martin shaped years ago. Very difficult to ride, but had a lot of fun. One day was enough for me though.
Okay.
Here is the real deal
Photo, maybe my old eyes betray me, or do I see concave in the nose???
Matt,
Those water shots were at Sunset Cliffs. The tall blond fellow on the left, in the opening shots, is Rod Luscomb. The surf spot, luscombs, is named for him. I surfed with Rod, for most of twenty years, at WindanSea. He’s now passed away, I didn’t know that Rod’s surfing roots went that deep. I enjoyed seeing him as a very young man.
Thought so…
Those guys were rippin’, for 2 years after WW2.
I feel I was born too late!
What a life !!!
I think it would be a shame to waste such a rare and valuable resource on shaping a board that you know will surf like shit, compared to a modern board with a fin (or several fins).
There is a reason they chopped into these boards and made them shorter .
Someone with your experience shaping surfboards should use a ‘blank’ like this to build something better than what they had in the last millennium.
It may be a one in a lifetime chance, why waste it on trying to shape a dinosaur that you have never attempted before?
[Quote]I think it would be a shame to waste such a rare and valuable resource on shaping a board that you know will surf like shit,
[/quote]
Just curious, MrMik, how much time / experience you have riding hot curls? While they would certainly ride differently than a modern performance shape, my understanding was that they surfed much better than the earlier finless boards, and that’s why they were considered a significant step in the progression of surfboard design.
The video of Roger Hall surfing a hot curl actually looked kinda fun to me, certainly didn’t look like it rode “Like shit”.
It wouldn’t make any sense to me to shape anything other than a historical longboard shape of some kind from the rare chunk of redwood.
I have no experience riding or shaping hot curls, whatsoever.
But I can see how well (or not) they performed in the videos shown.
Many lessons have been learned since the hot curls were the pinnacle of surfboard design, I bet it could be improved a lot.
FWIW they typically didn’t make them shorter.
They shaped a pronounced V into the tail creating an ad hoc fin, giving the water something to hold onto…
Andreini’s
More here:
[Quote]I have no experience riding or shaping hot curls, whatsoever.
But I can see how well (or not) they performed in the videos shown.
Many lessons have been learned since the hot curls were the pinnacle of surfboard design, I bet it could be improved a lot.
[/quote]
I’m always leery of negative comments about a design by someone who has never ridden one.
Surfboard design has evolved and morphed drastically since the glory days of the hot curl, that doesn’t necessarily imply they ‘rode like sh!t’.
The same argument could be made against finless alaias, and yet they continue to be enjoyed by many as an alternative surfing experience.
The hot curls are probably closest to a standard longboard of all the finless boards of antiquity. They were designed to ride the curl, and they seem to do pretty well at it. A hot curl seems to me like a completely appropriate use of this rare opportunity.
Huck - your wrong. It should definitely be an 84lb solid redwood 5’6 thruster. <<<— it would surely surf amazing!
I once worked at a tree outfit with an Alaskan mill. I slabbed a Western Red Cedar into a 10’x24"x6"generic tongue depressor shape.
I added a big bulbous center keel, you couldn’t really call it a fin.
I did surf it once… it was a bummer to paddle, had neutral buoyancy, and no rocker whatsoever. The glide was incredible, but it was an education into just how marvelous modern boards of all designs really are.
If I can find a pic I’ll post it.
I think swaylocks member Sweid made a solid balsa gun, as I recall it was a heavy beast but he said it performed well. If i can find a pic i will post it up.
Sorry Huck, I should not have worded it like that. Thoughtless of me.
However, Bill asked for opinions, and there it is.
I reckon he should build the best board he can, not try to replicate something outdated.
Hey MrMik that’s ok things are kinda slow here on the forum so we’re all just weighing in on a project that’s only a maybe (“rumor” was the word used in the thread title) at best anyway.
Just a few observations: One, I don’t think he did ask for opinions, although by posting here he was certainly aware he would get them 
Two, anything other than a modern high performance shortboard is pretty much “outdated” if you wanted to call it that, and a modern high performance shortboard shape makes no sense in this context.
Three, this is Bill’s own board, and like me, he’s an old guy, but only older. The logical thing for him to make is something that inspires him, and if he gets the chunk of wood under discussion then an opportunity presents itself to make a period correct reproduction of an important part of our surfing history and heritage, and while that may be viewed in a negative light by some, others of us see that history as the foundation that our sport stands on.
Four, this board might be ridden yes, but because of the rare nature of the materials it will be built from, it is very likely to become a work or art that will be hung on a wall like most works of art are. So modern performance standards are not so much an issue in that case. If someone wants an up-to-date performance board, the shop racks are full of 'em. This is not likely to end up in the same category.
Really, what are the options for a logical shape from a solid chunk of redwood, 10 foot by 24" by 4 or 5"? Something long, with low rocker. The boards of the solid wood days are gonna be historical (i.e. “outdated”) boards, a swastika, a plank, an alaia, a Malibu chip, an old round bottom log, a simmons, a hot curl, maybe an early pat curren gun. The old Hawaiian olos were solid wood, but much longer than 10 foot I think.
There are people here with a much deeper knowledge of the history of surfboards than me, but those are the shapes that come to my mind.
I hope that Bill's redwood deal works out.
As he most certainly would approach said project as an honor.
IMHO, it really comes down a sacred art with old wood.
I think that Bill and I grew up listening to the old timer’s story.
I became intrigued with the “old days”, just feeding on anything related.
Bill down South with TONS of history.
Mattwho? Malibu…
A place almost as noteworthy…
Simmons, Kilvin/ Quigg and Velzy.
I’ll close with the why I care.
Like I said “it really comes down a sacred art with old wood.”
Understand, it is respect.
Perhaps that word doesn’t mean what it did.
FACT
For an ancient Hawaiian wanting to make a surfboard
Searched for a tree.
Have it blessed, by Kahuna
Hand shape, with fire and lava stone.
Craft, respect and something popular during the revolution
SOUL…
Hey Matt. Where did the photo come from of Noll (and his son?) standing in the fog, forrest behind them working on all that beautiful lumber? In shorts… I’d like to find it and read it. I hope Bill gets this wood and does something with it. Hope it doesn’t kill him, too. Maybe wait until the weather cools, Bill? Mike
Something to bear in mind, before I can get after what I want to make, I’ve got to make a surfboard for the other fellow. He wants a Big Wave Gun, which I’m sure will probably not be surfed. I want to make a Hot Curl, which I WILL take out (once), just so I can say I’ve ridden it. Then it will be retired. And, frankly, I may not be far behind it. That would be a good project to hang up the tools on.