After shaping seventeen of his own designs and riding them to a first round victory at the QS pro, what does that say about the conventional board design/ shapers status ???
If you saw what he did on a 5’4" that he admitted it was his first win on a board he shaped himself, you would have to question who really knows what one should ride or belive.
Rocky
it says exactly that: conventional board design and shaping
kelly is not conventional, and prolly feels he can now just try and kill it, would you not absolutely love winning your 10th on a board you did yourself???
MR did, and some others, though, hell, 10?? isnt that a record of records in the first place? how many did schumacher win, 7?
have to look that one up.
wouter
I find it kind of humbling that a lot of people in general, and more importantly the media talk as if Kelly has number 10 in the bag, while the ASP 2009 has only begun. Anyway…
I’ve read a couple articles now of him commenting on his designs. I noticed he mentioned his quad fin placement more than shape, length etc. He claims to have found a four fin placement that provides him with a lot of drive. I’m interested in how and where those fins are placed? Are they all pointing at the nose? How much cant? Would be real fun to find out.
Anyway, I will post a link to this article…** ‘Kelly Slater victorious in self-shaped board at Duranbah Beach’ **
Kellys current mental and physical capabilities are so far above anyone else on the tour right now that you could put him on a 1965 Bing D fin tanker and he’d win. Right now the board doesn’t have much to do with Kelly’s ability. …It’s all Kelly. (Did you see the pictures of him doing that huge gaff, lay back, slash on that little hocky puck of a surfboard…Holly Shit!!)
What kind of a mental state would you be in if you just won more world titles than anybody in the modern era, won every major event in the world…3 or 4 times, and your still surfing against the same guys you did 5 or 6 years ago. Thalk about having the competition psyc’d out.
So a 5’4" snub nose thing…I think it’s fantastic. Why fantastic: Because now it means more waves for old resinhead!! I hope everyone buys, shapes or steals a little 5’4" thingy and paddles out. My wave count just doubled!!
Thank you kelly…maybe you can do it on a sub 5 ft board!! Everyone need to surf smaller boards, please.
I don’t think it’s a question of “who really knows” – it’s not as if Al Merrick is ignorant, or your local shaper doesn’t have what it takes to make a great board.
It’s more that there is so much knowledge in the public domain (and much more knowledge in Kelly Slater’s domain – I’m sure he has access to every masonite template and computer file from Al Merrick’s collection) that standing on the shoulders of giants is easy for anyone, esp for Kelly Slater, who doubtless has Al Merrick at his beck and call.
You can download a free copy of Aku Shaper, and it comes with free demo boards which are higher performance boards than anyone in the world had just a few decades ago.
Because of these factors, once your surfing ability is better than your communicate-what-I-want-to-a-shaper ability (or your shaper’s “understand-what-uncommunicative-surfer-wants ability”), there’s a strong case to be made that shaping your own boards makes more sense.
Resinhead said, ‘’…It’s all Kelly.‘’ I think so too. Didn’t he surf a Coffee Table, upsidedown, with the legs still attached? Says it all, about his ability.
does a board that was pumped out of a machine real count as a board he shaped himself.NO!
Too funny, I was just saying the same thing yesterday! Could it be the return of the “glass slipper?”
I said it in the other thread…he could surf an ironing board and make it look like the best thing ever made.
The fact that he had 2008 pretty much tied up by round 6 and won by more than 1000 points just about covers his current mental and physical state as well.
Either somebody else is going to have to be ON FIRE, or he’s just gonna have to completely tank it to lose.
He is calm, focused, and in peak condition…IMHO…that makes him just about untouchable.
Not to mention, older and wiser. Is there any surf break Slater hasn’t completely wired?
Yes, the outside fourth reef at South Pickleweed Point, close to the north side of Seal Bask Rock! I thought you knew that. Or are you afraid the SEALS will recognize you? Yeah, I’ll bet that’s it. Seal Fear Syndrom.
Nicely said!!!
I would like to add to it…
Is there any SURFER that he doesn’t have figured out?
Is there anyone that he hasn’t beaten…or more accurately…anyone with a shot?
…hello Resinhead, some times there s no need to have bigger boards to catch more waves
I think the problem is more in the bottom turn, etc
I can catch lots of waves in my 5 10 and I have guys by my side with 7 4 s that by no means got more waves than me (talking about paddling)
if you re in the place in the line up…
A coffee table… and a guitar case… a door… the list goes on. But it is worth mentioning he wasnt the only one getting towed into waist high crumblers on random household items, some of the other usuals participated in that scene too. Have no idea what vid that was in, saw it a few years ago i think
So is this good for all the DIY surfboard material suppliers (Greenlight, EZfoam, fiberglasssupply, etc.)?
In the 90’s Kelly rides a potato chip, so everyone thinks “I should too.” Now Kelly rides shorter boards so “I should too.”
He also shapes his own boards so “I should too” (though I already do). Will the masses follow that lead? Im inclined to say not so much, anybody else have an opinion?
Yeah, Kelly’s done pretty good for a kid from Cocoa Beach. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, either. We’re kinda proud of him back here.
I think the video you guys are all recollecting is titled “Fair Bits”, twas a Taj Burrow film if I remember correctly.
Reverb has a point about smaller boards. Kelly said his board has a similar tail to his longer boards. So it should feel pretty good turning. I think he can get shorter radius turns, which is probably what you see in the photo. I think this is the kind of board he’d ride in the smaller waves.
You may not be able to catch a wave as early as the guys on the longer boards, but you could take off behind them and just go nuts riding up and down in the curl. I do that with my short board when there’s too many guys out that don’t know how to surf riding longboards. A board in the 5’6" range would allow you to drop into the wave very late and still make it.
My guess is they will. All it takes is a few more stragegically located shaping machines. Surf shops will have laptops with AKU loaded on them, and the owner will coach you through the steps. Then, off the file goes via e-mail, and in a week you stop by the shop to “finish shape” the thing out back. The local glasser comes buy, knocks it out, and in two days, you’re “riding a board I shaped myself.”
jeez it looks like back to the sixtys
ted spencer was winning contests on sub 5’
**and shit he only had one fin **
** young wilson ? **
**ah well guess ill go back to my bay shape some retro
**
anybody want to start a business with me? We’ll get sooooo rich soooooo fast!