Showing posts with label Campbell Bros. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Campbell Bros. Show all posts

MC in the house

bonzer_vehicleMalcolm will be in the factory shaping next week, so if you need convincing on the merits of a bonzer pop in and say hi from Wednesday onwards… Mr Penwarden or myself will also be around to help you on your way to a more pleasurable surfing experience.

This is one of my all time favourite planshapes from Malcolm… that lovely fullish nose with the curvy middle and straighter drivey tail… oh and masterful pinlines from Moonlight Glassings, Peter St Pierre.

I’ve been doing some American Ash bonzer sides for a few of my boards this week, so hope to get a set on the longboard next week and maybe get in the shaping room as i have a few piling up now!

EVO5/6 bonzer

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EVO6 set up with FCS plugs for a whole heap of flexibility. Wood EVO bonzer sides in American Ash.

I think that is an Campbell Bros Russ Short above it.

Malcolm Campbell European “vacation”

To all those looking for one of Malcolm’s originals he will be back at the Ocean Magic factory in June. Contact Guy Penwarden via the House of Bonzer to place an order. Hopefully we will actually manage to brush the dust of him long enough for a beer this time Smile

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Glycerine Campbell Bros bonzer

This is a really unusual board from MC going through at the Foam Asylum – kind of bar of soap idea, with a flextail and bonzer 3 fin set-up… I’ve nick-named it the Glycerine (though it’s not mine to name I thought it was worthy of something original). Can’t wait to hear how it goes…

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Atlantic POD - new DEMO

New 6 fin bonzer coming out soon, the Atlantic POD, based on a board Malcolm made me several years ago this is my take and update on his classic design.

Same length and width but with a twin rear fin set up and the EVO front 4s... a little more rocker in the tail, thinner more modern rails, narrower nose, and an adapted bonzer concave bottom. All these changes should make for a quicker  more reactive board that should suit the Atlantic energies nicely.

Pics coming next week whern i have finished shaping it... in the meantime here is a pic of the original board that inspired me.

Foam frenzy…

The factory is chocca with foam at the moment.

Foam from Christian, Quiksilver Europe

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Foam from Malcolm Campbell

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Campbell Bros thruster…

2 of Malcolm’s boards intrigued me the other day, just out from hot coat i was feeling the concaves, feeling for the second little channel… there was none! Unusually contemporary shape for a bonzer 3 i thought, so i looked at the fin dots and they weren’t long enough… so i checked the worksheet and blow me down but in big writing was NOT A BONZER… yep these were two very tidy looking thrusters with Malcolm's bonzer bottom artfully crafted into the tail… it felt so different to the standard double concaves that run across most boards these days. I can’t wait to hear how they go…

malcolm cambell custom surfboard - not a bonzer

e-wing foam

Malcolm left a stack of e-wing eggs, octafish and other delights for the UK when he left. Here are  a few. More pics as they go through the factory...
Campbell Bros e-wings

MC in the house

Malcolm is currently shaping up at the factory so if you want an original bonzer from The Master get in touch with Guy Penwarden on 0774 921 0094 or drop me an email and I’ll get the ball rolling. He has limited slots, so think quick. :) 50% deposits required.

Blunt Diamond version of the MC "bonzer light vehicle"...

I've shaped Jake's 7'6 x 22 13/16" x 3" Blunt Diamond as a take on Malcolm Campbell's Bonzer Light Vehicle... Hopefully this shouldf be finished around the time MC arrives for his shaping trip and he can let me know whether I captured the essence of his design. Some green tint to go on this one... coming soon.


Farewell to the POD

I just heard from Mikey that my trusty 6’6 Malcolm Campbell POD sold in Revolver the other day. Who ever you are who bought it – i hope you enjoy her as much as I did… From a remote right in north Bandah Aceh I named Dredgers to an amazing session at Treyarnon Point (the right!) summer 2008, the board never let me down, got in, made the drops, never span out… except the one time at Cellars when I airdropped and the board flipped over in the offshores, and one of the bonzer sides went through my buttock… the buttock pushed back and the fin came out the deck! I have photos of both but I'm not posting either.

Cheers and farewell POD. 

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T-shirts coming soon

Had a chat with Mikey at Seed the other day when i dropped some of the old quiver into Revolver for sale… and looks like I’m going to be getting some nice healthy t-shirts done (as soon as i have done a drawing for them!)… it will be a small run for friends and people who ride my boards only, so if you think you might want one drop me a line an your size. 

In the meantime here’s a favourite pic of Duncan’s (left) and Malcolm’s (right) 1977 bonzers I  scanned in from one of my old Surfer Magazines… classic outlines that are just as valid today as they were back then…

Surfer-Nov-1977-bonzers

Nothing new under the sun...

I was browsing Duncan and Malcolm's site this evening and came across an interesting photo which proves the saying "there is nothing new under the sun"...

An early bonzer by Malcolm contrasted against a modern high performance | My "new" shapes: 6'0" Porpoise Vs. 6'10" Cleanline.

Slop busting bonzer…

Sloppy day at my local bay on an all time favourite, my 6’0” x 20 1/2” x 2 7/8” BumbleBee from Malcom… on this occasion ridden with a blaspheming 8” Soul-flex rear fin positioned just short of the trailing edge of the bonzer sides.

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Rumour has it bonzers only go in perfect waves – personally I enjoy them in all conditions.

PS Big up to Tash who got these shots…

Just bonzers… and a couple of single fins

My current mobile quiver… on the left 8’2” Supaglide trihull single fin (for sale), on the top the new 6’4” FreakFish, underneath an MC 6’0” Bumble bee Bonzer 3 but with an 8” Soulflex (which I find works much better backhand on the 3 fin set up), and on the bottom a 6’4” McCoy Nugget with a Starfin which gets wet whenever the waves get really hollow and the only order of the day is barrel riding…

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Why bonzers?

There is a lot written about bonzers… containment of the water via the concaves and the side fins, increasing drive and speed, allowing shorter wider boards (which turn more easily). For me, all theory aside, the crux of the matter is bonzers just “feel” better.

When I used to ride thrusters I was often plagued by poor foot positioning, (my excuses ranged from 7mm booties and numb feet, to onshore winds and bumpy take-offs)… and I used to frequently miss that narrow sweet spot that each board seemed to have. When I jumped on my first bonzer it just felt natural, the sweet spot seemed huge and pretty much I could ride it from anywhere on the board. And then there was the speed, particularly through roundhouses, and drive to spare. i was making it round sections I wouldn’t of, my off the tops came round quicker, and my take offs improved (due to extra foam and less rocker getting me in quicker). All of these components are a tribute to Malcolm Campbell and his original designs.

Whilst subtly (and radically) different, my boards are based on the theories tested and proven by MC and Duncan over decades. Every board I make carries the "peace sign" in acknowledgment of their designs and philosophies.

Glassers hate them, sanders loathe them, polishers despair… and they cost heaps more to make (time and money).

So for me, why bonzers? Well, they just feel better… and that’s what surfing is all about for most of us.
Malcolm Campbell & Guy Penwarden with a Bonzer light vehicle
Nigel Semmens - Malcolm Campbell - Bonzer Light Vehicle Russ Short - Guy Penwarden. Autumn 2009

Dawn patrol POD

Served up some fun steep walls this morning at first light. No suffering from spaghetti arms. Should have taken a pic but then you’d be able to suss out where it was!!! Rode my 6’6” Campbell Bros POD… was a fun board well suited t o the wave…

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Machado shows why I love bonzers

On another note I'm glassing Anthony’s Cleanline tonight – he’s fallen in love with the SupaGlide Jurassic Amber tint – sop looks like we going to be getting all T-Rex again…