*The Gobstopper* shortboard !

This device will be known as ' The Gob Stopper' we have done lots of boards at 27 wide and they go rail to rail just fine as long as the tail is fairly narrow and there's some curve in the tail planshape. Going 28.5" wide is new territory for us but should be sweet, the board will have a 10 inch tunnel or ' barrel' fin. I want something super skatey and fast which can carve tight arcs on flatter water, sort of an alaia/skimboard/Thrusterbuster mutation if that makes any sense. The first one's for my son James he's doing most of the build, I started building it and he immediately liked it and kind of took over ( that's how he gets a new board).

So far we have 3 of the 4 panels missed getting pics today as the light was too low, here's the planshape drawn, it doesn't really show much will post more pics of the actual components tomorrow.

The tail shape is a circular arc with the addition of a straight section behind the fin. . . there's a lot of curve in that tail so the last bit has a straight section to drive off, kind of like a fin section with a hollow trailing edge, it sort of looks like the planshape curve flares out slightly but really it's just a straight, this makes the squaretail an inch or so wider too.

The wide point is 30% back from the nose or 15 inches forward of the midpoint, lots of nose tweak and the tail is as flat as a pancake.

Asher drops in...

Team rider Asher Pacey was in today to talk boards, here he is with D'Arcy going over some board designs.

Watch Asher rip it up in the team videos section of our blog!

Check out the newest issue of Waves magazine for our write up in the board test!!! Also some words of wisdom from D'Arcy in the article "future boards or false prophets?"

Have a great weekend!

I've been riding this 5'10" lately.  

Wednesday

We finished 2 more logs today.

Jeremy and Dylan are each a glass job away from their new sliders.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

80s television hit series The Facts of Life's (featuring a then unknown George Clooney, pictured with full cast below) theme song urged us to take The Good, to take The Bad. "Take them both," the peppy jingle advocated, because, when combined, these two opposing forces form 'The Facts of Life.'

(whose hair is feathered better--Clooney, or Tootie?)
I was too soft-brained during this SitCom's run to appreciate how the abject nihilism and tenacious good-cheer embedded in its opening lyrics reflected our 80s nation: engaged in a dark, secretive Cold War, yet hypnotized by bright colors, reckless fashion choices, and dancing, dancing, dancing!
It's been a week of opposing forces up here, too. First (The Bad), my beloved MacBook was stolen. However, six days later (The Good), the teenage architect of this heinous crime was brought to justice, my laptop returned lighter by a few thousand personal files and photos, but heavier by some disquieting porn and game downloads.
Speaking of lighter (The Bad), this week also saw gastrointestinal gnarliness strike, leaving nothing in the house unscathed. It was like Invasion!From Planet C if the invaders were parasites and 'C' stood for 'colon.' Not pretty. However, (The Good) saltines were ingested, ginger ale was sipped, and most of us are feeling better.
Surf-wise, (The Bad) there was wind, and there was wind. However (The Good), a few pulses of south swell fought their way to our shores, providing a few peelers for those in the know.
The week continued, offering up some classic oppositions. It was hot (Bad for baby) so we blew up the pool (Good for baby). Gas prices rose (Bad), so we didn't drive (Good).
School ended (Good), so...well, that one has no downside.

(6'10" round-tail bonzer-inspired egg with 101 Fin Co bamboos for stoked bro up north)
In the midst of all this Facts of Life, a few plugs of foam were transformed into sparkling surfboards, resin and fiberglass were added, hardened, got sanded, got polished, got waxed, got surfed. A trip to the Fattyshack restored the stoke and belief in human generosity. Some beautiful fins arrived from 101 Fin Co.

(rootbeer tint Fatty special quad ripstick)
It's the stuff inbetween the Facts of Life, when I'm not struggling with a setback or a solution, where I find some sort of grace.
Neither good nor bad, but there you have it.