Did Ukulele go out of buisness? i know chris ruddy made great boards? does anyone know where he is shaping nowadays??
Chris Cruddy, he’s long gone, sold the biz’ to Jonathan for about a gazillion times it’s worth and he was unable to make it fly, another recession casualty of the bubble.
bummer, I have a 9’6 Ukulele Drifter and love it, too bad they werent around anymore.
Chris Ruddy made great boards, not while this planet still circles the sun, I liked his bragging of how he shaped boards by hand in 23 minutes, sure you like the way your board rides, you got really lucky.
Surfore and I had a discussion 2 days ago about the fine line between an OK board and a finely shaped board and it is a fine line, everything works to a degree.
I had a BEAR that was broken, put back together very crookedly, but I rode it for months while I was between boards, it shredded, I would have thought it would have been like riding a bucking bronco.
Ruddy is a reason to get a Chinese board, I call’em like I see 'em
I agree, some boards are just magic, i could grab another ukulele drifter shaped by ruddy and it might not be “magic” hand shaped boards are rarely the exact same. I was told by a friend who has had several poly walden magic models and all performed the same and excellent. but those are probably ghost shaped/ highly produced.
You can still get a new one, the shop closed down but you can still contact Johnathan and he’ll make you a drifter
Well i hope my drifter lasts a long time, they are very light glassed though. but mine is very solid and i expect to ride it until it’s no longer sea worthy
Jonathan will try his best to build you a good board, a really upfront guy, who took it in the shorts from Chris, I shaped some of Jonathan’s personals before he started shaping for Ukulele, nothing against the label, I don’t agree with turn and burn builders and this in the end hurt Jonathan by being in Chris’s flotsam and jetsam
Lots of trash talk about me. Unfortunate;
A year after I sold the biz to Jonathan, we had a little chat by phone, word was getting back to me from my dealers that he was complaining to them about me. I commited him to a promise… That he would stop at once. Not for my sake, but for his.
He said he wouldn’t do it any longer. I wish him well. the brand has a great deal of value… and could again. It was built by 15 years of hard work and based on original designs that Jonathan was trained to reproduce for about 2 years. He really is a nice guy. He has an amazing eye for style and was a quick study. But, trashing the founder is not good policy then, and not now. Where the brand goes and if the"Drifter" rides again is entirely up to Jonathan Tacbian.
It is interesting to read the passionate commentaries portraying me as some grifter who stuck it to JT. Black Monday was a tough blow to the industry as a whole. Many shops closed as a result of the general and surfing economy (channin?) or was that my fault as well? Well, I remain a retired shaper, who on occasion carves a personal to take out for a sesh.
I’m alive and well, not long gone.(that guy has a credibility issue) I live and work in San Diego once again. It’s nice to be home.
Class response. (bump)
Nice to hear you're alive and kicking Chris old boy. I bought a 9,9 ( I think ) CR Hawaii Model a few years ago, a beautiful pintail with clear top and bottom with pale blue rails. Rode it for a while at my local beach break here in England, and it was a Royal Ride.
Smooth and stable... real glide with lots of built-in inertia, yet manouverable enough to take on head high and over stuff.
Everybody who tried it loved it. Got talked into selling it to a friend... regretted it ever since.
All the best to you Chris and ignore the detractors...
They've never done it, but you did. Be proud.
Hi, I know this is a old thread but maybe you could help me out anyway. I'm moving to WY and need to sell a few boards one being a Ukulele lee shaped by Chris Ruddy. Haven't really found any others for sale online but maybe I'm just looking in all the wrong places. If anyone has suggestions please let me know. I can always try craigslist but if there's an actual website for collectors and such I'd rather sell it there, This particular board belonged to my dad so I don't know much about it. It's a long board (I'll check the footage) and in great shape. Message me for more details.
I had talked to Jonathan about building up the label again. He just wants to much for a dead label. It would take years to and way more money then I have to make it happen. The label is a strong marketing one but ya need fresh blood. Jonathan is a good guy who went down because of lack of market. Good things happen to good people, shit happens to everyone.
i know this is an old thread but i joined this just in response to this particular post. Chris Ruddy is a Good dude. i grew up with him in hawaii he lived with my family for years! is a sailor, surfer, kiteboarder, and all around waterman that knows what he is doing and has when it comes to shaping for a long time. oh yeah and he started from the bottom fixing boards for Joe roper way back! so really find the above words hard to hear…i never road a board chris shaped himself that i didn’t like he will be the last person to go on about himself so i took this opportunity to lay it down for you jim…get to know the man be for you judge the gossip. keep surfing and Chris my brother! hats off to you. I still see those Uk boards everywhere and no ones complaining. my Drifter is my favorite its in Waianae at moms place.
Hello Surfers,
This past year I built a new shop down where I first built my original shop in 1994, By the sports arena. You can check out my designs at www.chrisruddysurfboards.com
thanks. CR
Hey Chris— What ever happened to your relatives. Can’t remember their names. They were out of SC; but I first met them in South SLO county. at the “Chicken Ranch”. Nichols?? Father/son. they were doing stuff for Greg Noll. Said they were related to you. The son gave it up and supposedly went to Dental School. The Father started a real estate career in Morro Bay. They had a boat up there on a mooring… Were they bull-shittin’ me about their connection to you// Great guys, liked 'em both. The son really knew his $#!t and the dad wwas an expert BMW guy. BS or No??? lowel
Hello
Hey Chris,
I had you shape me a board years ago and Jonathan shaped me a Ukulele last summer. Did you buy the label back from him? I couldn’t imagine you would start making Ukulele Surfboards without his permission.
Dan
You are responding to a thread that’s been dead for 8 years. Aside from the couple posts you see in this thread Mr Ruddy was never one of our regular posters prior to that, so it’s highly unlikely that he’s ever going to see your post. If you want to ask him a question then it might be more expedient to look him up and call him directly. Or not.
I agree. I have two year old Drifters from Jonathan. These guys https://www.instagram.com/ukulelesurfboards/ are saying they are Ukelele Surfboards. So they either stole it or Chris duped these guys into buying a brand he doesn’t own they are even using JayTacs logo!!!
Very clearly says he sold it to Jonathan in this post!
