What was the absolute worst board you`ve ever ridden, and why?
What was the absolute worst board you`ve ever ridden, and why? Ah you twisted soul, Dale…give us these questions which seem so easy upon first read… After much more thought than I would have thought necessary I’d have to say the worst board I’ve ever owned probably wasn’t even a bad one - just wasn’t for me and made the absolutely most bland impression of anything I’ve ever owned or ridden. I suppose my first board, a 6’4" cutdown longboard (cut down, as opposed to reshaped), was the worst performer, but it was my first board and I wish I had it on the wall today. Some say surfing is half mental anyway. The worst board was a 6’5" William Dennis thruster/tri-fin. I traded in a perfectly good but rapidly aging 6’ Channel Islands thruster that ripped but was a b*&%$h to paddle and also was so fragile it seemed to deteriorate day by day - it turns out that was cutting edge in both design and materials. I wanted to go larger for the paddling, but that also made the tail section larger given the ratios of the times. It was used, not custom, and that no doubt contributed. Put somebody 6’3" on it and he or she would probably think the board was fine. As it was, the fun wasn’t happening and it sent me into longboards way before it was tolerably acceptable.
It was an 8’8" Player’s board I rented in El Porto 4 years ago. It didn’t paddle, turn, float, or anything. To top it off, whoever made it tried to make it look like a Black Da Cat model. On a 8’8"? Oh yeah, the black made all the wax melt off.
It was an 8’8" Player’s board I rented in El Porto 4 years ago. It > didn’t paddle, turn, float, or anything.>>> To top it off, whoever made it tried to make it look like a Black Da Cat > model. On a 8’8"?>>> Oh yeah, the black made all the wax melt off. I was living on Block Island RI. Great surf area, picks up swell from all angles and I could always find a place to ride almost anytime. The drawback was this place is a board killer, break’s are right on huge boulders with a small exception the beaches are strewn with jagged rocks. Having to retire an old Da-Cat ( never could wax on that thing either!) total re-fixed de-lam two many times, skeg on and off , lots of water ect---- a freind on the main land ( Rhode Island) hooked me up with a Morey Pope around 7-6? what a dog. ruff ruff, got water logged over a period of time swelled up total laughing stock. I will say this - Posted a thread a while back regarding Wave, Shape or the place in time. There is one wave from Morey Pope experience that I will always remember. It came after I quit whinning about how the board would buckle ( like a cheap bodyboard) and discovered how I could flex it like a ski ( bend it ) rode this wave and had the bending thing dialed in. Feet close together put a huge bend in the board and feel the exceleration out of the turn. This has spurred many thoughts regarding flex boards for myself over the years. I guess I’ve also had to much time on my hands eh? My vote is cast Morey Pope peter
What was the absolute worst board you`ve ever ridden, and why? A 1976, 6’8" single fin Newbalonie diamond tail with a flexible V in the tail. Essentially the board had a dead flat rocker but the tail would flex into a deep V when put on edge. I had cut trenches in the blank to control where and how much it would flex. The wider the trench the more it would flex. The sucker was 3 inches thick rail to rail to compensate for the all the weight created by the over glassed bottom and trenches. The deck’s hot coat was still venting when I took her out to Little Windansea for trials. (Never did get the stink out of my wife-to-be’s Toyota hatch back). I new I was in trouble as soon as I set her in the water and jumped on board. She floated ok but in my haste to get the thing in the water, I did a pretty sloppy job of foiling. My nose was only an inch or so behind the board’s beak to paddle. Needless to say, it was like paddling an oil tanker. After losing power on lift-off a couple of times, I found a reasonable compromise between paddling and kicking to get into a couple. She skated down the face like a hockey puck. So far so good…I leaned over the inside rail going backside…and…she button hooked so fast I got launched down the face while th board tracked, riderless, up the face, into the lip and then back at me like a SCUD missile. I beat a hasty retreat to the bottom and hugged the first boulder I could find until the beast passed overhead. Well, I was stoked that it seemed to work like I thought it should… until the next wave. She turned the same way no matter what I did or where I did it. A decellerating nasty, 90 degree, fish-hook bend. She wouldn’t trim; take off on an angle and…whooop, I was looking straight out to sea. After 4 waves I proned (plowed is a better word)to the beach to stuff some rubber washers into the trenches. Too much flex I figgered. I looked in the trenches and saw cracks going all the way through 6 layers of 6 oz volan. The deck was delaminating all around the trenches ‘cause the foam was crushing. I jammed the washers in anyway and paddled back out. Ever notice how one rubber washer doesn’t seem to weigh very much? Multiply that by…a lot and see what you get. Well, my washer laden barge was now listing like the Titanic (well not exactly. The Titanic went down nose first and…well I think you get the picture). I managed to scratch into one last wave. Standing at the bow, I got her to start down the face. I felt something pelting my legs, like little rain drops, little black raindrops with holes in them. With the weight gone, the back lifted and I scrambled back to center my craft. It was not meant to be…"I can’t hold her Cap’n. She’s abreakin’ up!" I was now flying down the face on a rudderless 4 and-a-half foot long slab of plastic. “Abandon ship, abandon ship!” The last I saw of her was a few fragments of foam washing out from between the rip-rap. More than foam and fiberglass was dashed on those boulders. I dragged myself to the car tears running down my cheeks. “I knew I shoulda made it a swallow tail…” Newbs
What was the absolute worst board you`ve ever ridden, and why? A Broom(sp)Stick.!! … Oct 31st, 01’. Just didn’t feel right at the moment. Happy Halloween. This year though, I get to borrow my father’s fine new surfcraft, mat. And tomorrow at midnight when you are gazing up at the moon, look for a … have fun
A Broom(sp)Stick.!! … Oct 31st, 01’. Just didn’t feel right at the > moment. Happy Halloween. This year though, I get to borrow my father’s > fine new surfcraft, mat. And tomorrow at midnight when you are gazing up > at the moon, look for a … have fun Probably any longboard back in '86 when the longboard resurgance reared it’s ugly head, wish i never started into that, all the phoney contests(easy shallow trophys), phony glory, idiot longboard idols, looking back it was a bad equipment decision, people on longboards are either out of shape or extremely greedy and still to this day are the scorge of the shortboard crew, thank god I’ve seen the light, oh I’ll still ride one but only if the waves suck! Think of shortboarding as an excuse to get your fat smoking loser longboard club as#es back to the gym, oh don’t hate me now, I’m simply speaking the truth any dropped in on shortboard athlete wants to say but doesn’t. There’s still time to go back…just do it!
Probably any longboard back in '86 when the longboard resurgance reared > it’s ugly head, wish i never started into that, all the phoney > contests(easy shallow trophys), phony glory, idiot longboard idols, > looking back it was a bad equipment decision, people on longboards are > either out of shape or extremely greedy and still to this day are the > scorge of the shortboard crew, thank god I’ve seen the light, oh I’ll > still ride one but only if the waves suck! Think of shortboarding as an > excuse to get your fat smoking loser longboard club as#es back to the gym, > oh don’t hate me now, I’m simply speaking the truth any dropped in on > shortboard athlete wants to say but doesn’t. There’s still time to go > back…just do it! It’s tied between a number of boards I rode between 91 and 94, when extremely anorexic surfboards had me considering other sports. Thank God most of us are over that. My shoulders are happy, too.
There is > one wave from Morey Pope experience that I will always remember. It came > after I quit whinning about how the board would buckle ( like a cheap > bodyboard) and discovered how I could flex it like a ski ( bend it ) rode > this wave and had the bending thing dialed in. Feet close together put a > huge bend in the board and feel the exceleration out of the turn. This has > spurred many thoughts regarding flex boards for myself over the years. I > guess I’ve also had to much time on my hands eh? My vote is cast Morey > Pope>>> peter Interesting how important “worst boards” can be in the long run…
The 9’ waterlogged Bic I rented at Mundaka.
the board i rented in bali, looked like it was fixed together with a slab of concrete and floated like it had too!!
What was the absolute worst board you`ve ever ridden, and why? The two boards I made back in the autuumn 93’. Totally clueless. First one was a poor shape, but the glassing was totally crap. It soaked water like a sponge. Second one we used a template we scaled from a snowboard mag that had a surfing ad. Propably less then 6’ about 2" thick, what I now know is greek rails all the way around. Banana rocker. Fins cut out of thick but oh so flexible plastic. Homemade leash with so little flex it felt like it would rip your foot clean off. I never stood up for more then a split second on that thing. Boy, did we have fun… regards, Håvard