Not very helpful. Lots of video with little explanation. There was some voice over from another person filling in some of the verbal details while Mr. Brewer shaped. But don’t expect help with details or numbers for fin settings, or rail band details as JC did in his videos. Nothing on rocker. Nothing on outline dimensions. Just watch and try to discern what he is doing. You will find Jim Phillips DVD (Damascus Productions) much much better, particularly for a garage guy like me. And Jim is a very good teacher. (My copy was defective, and I didn’t get the full story, but heard they fixed that in subsquent copies) And Bill Barnfield’s rail band thread is so very good, and free for the reading here. I’ve learned more from that thread than anything I’ve seen or read elsewhere. All in all, save your money and just read Sways.
Mr. Brewer is a legend for many good reasons and I wish I had a board from him. But he doesn’t excel as a teacher. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he got the lion’s share of my $50. All the best to you Mr. Brewer, really.
I agree, i was really excited when I ordered this DVD and I was disappointed upon veiwing it. While it was cool to watch a legend in his element, it lacked on the instructional aspect. Oh well, they can’t all be great I guess…
Thanks Mr Tate for your **“You can say whatever you want; its the internet” **attitude you saved me $50…and just cost a legend some retirement coin. But who cares anyway, not me, i can buy an extra carton of piss today, yeewww.
At one time I believe he must of excelled as a teacher. Or maybe the DVD is not scripted correctly?
A teaching video (DVD) learning all the formula's of Dick Brewer would be worth $500.00.
Copied from Surfline:
Brewer, a self-proclaimed shaping guru, served as a teacher and an inspirer of a radical band of young surfers during those radical times. His apprentices and team riders read like a who's who of the era: Reno Abellira, Sam Hawk, Owl Chapman, Gerry Lopez, Jock Sutherland, Jeff Hakman, Jimmy Lucas, Buddy Boy Keohe, Leslie Potts, Larry Strada, Gary Chapman -- and the list goes on. Brewer has clearly been one of the most influential surfboard shapers of all time.
Add many others to that list like: Gary Linden, Pat Rawson are two that come to mind..
I think for historial vaule I will go head and buy the video and have it in my collection out of repect. I have the formula for fin settings and few other principles that I was fortunate to obtain by various sources over the years. Never had a fin issue since I use the Brewer formula for setting fins. Guy's that have had the honor to actually shaping under him are very fortunate. Look at Gary Linden or Pat Rawson those guys are so talented and so refine that I am convinced that Dick Brewer had to have been a great teacher. I think the student has to be Intuitive in Nature to learn from a Master like DB. If you study the list of the students over the years you will find that they are very intuitive people as well. To be in his presents is enough if your the right type of student. Their are many well know shapers that have paid $500.00 just to watch him shape so I've heard?
All true. But the Brewer fin formula wasn’t really offered. I think if someone were with him as he shaped and asked all the dozens of questions I was thinking, it would have brought out the “teacher” in him. There is a lot more in his head than was brought out in the vid.
I have nothing but respect for him. Well, a touch of envy too.
I took his fin placements from guns and shortboards and made an fin table base on his linear logic . It works on Guns, Fun Boards and High Performance shortboards. I have checked out the fin placements of many shapers who worked under Brewer and they all seem to maintan the same logic.
I have 4 fin formulas:
Thrusters
Quads
Bonzers
Twins
Single
I have them memorized now however I have them on a excel file somewhere. Need to look for it and I can send it to you.
I will buy it just to see him shape. For me it’s all about technique and subtle things that may happen in the blink of an eye. I already know how to shape. I like learning new stuff. There is a video of Terry Martin on Utube. He shapes a classic Hobie longboard. It’s a good video and 20 minutes long. You have to watch carfully as he is not “teaching” in the classic definition of the word. There is this one deal (that happens real fast) where he flips a 9 foot plus longboard over on the racks using one hand. It was very subtle and very cool. These guys are classics.I think they all deserve to be documented. How much would a Velzy Shaping vid be worth nowdays? Think about it.
Knowledge is power, I’d love to have that list also.
I was given Pat Rawsons fin formulas from the Local Motion crew in Ballina along with the addvice there’s a lot more to making a good board then the fin placement, but haveing said that, they can make or break a board.
I like where McKee has his fins at the moment… I often wonder why he posted soo much valuable info on his site… maybe hes just a good bloke!
Although McKee quad fin setup, I prefer to add 3/8" between the rears and up a touch. Bit looser and faster for me.
Dick Brewer shaped my windsurfing boards and I was in the shop when he shaped them. He just doesn't do any talking when he is shapeing. Any discussion is before or after. I never thought of him as being any kind of a guru or anything. Just one of the guys. We actually named a place at Mahulepu after him , Brewers landing, but I will never tell why. I have not talked with him in many years, since his nephew took over manageing his affairs.
yes I think good bloke comes into the equation, but also consider that publishing numbers for world scrutiny is a statement of confidence in the formula. It seems that his numbers have withstood world scrutiny and helped make him well known in the quad design world (Rusty acknowledged him).
I expect there are builders all over the world copying his numbers, but their customers probably aren’t located in the right retail proximity to get a McKee. Those consumers who are in the market and in the right proximity will likely want the real deal - a real quattro.
world scrutiny means understanding of the quad moves forward at a faster pace - better for everyone.
However I think it makes sense to keep the sauce secret when it comes to innovative build construction. The industry/consumers have been so conservative with materials/construction that it takes business guts to develop and unleash new surfboard technology on consumers and there is a need to get ahead of the game by keeping the sauce secret at least until the hard efforts are recouped.
fin positions are hard to keep completely secret anyway.