Mike, from Fish n Log Blog in New Zealand posed a few questions of Roger Hall about the Wooden Board Day. Mike had just become a new dad for the 3rd time and was unable to join us this time.
Questions and Answers with Roger Hall on The Wooden Boards Day trip to Aussie recently, Micro*
1: What did you take to display at the wooden boards day this year ?I took three boards this trip, A 5'11" Speed Dialer made from 9 different species of wood, It's probably my favourite one, Board two was a 7'0" Semi Gun made mostly of Cabbage Tree timber, This is the most recent board we have built here at Surfline, The third board was my personal 5'11" Speed Dialer that I have really been enjoying riding over the past couple of years.
2: Did you order 'the kiwi breakfast' on the flight over ?Absolutely not! Actually I took an evening flight.
3: Who was the first surfer/shaper you saw at the park on the day ? (other than 'bigfish')Mike Conner of Bush Pig surfboards fame, Mike had his latest paulownia Pig style board, Nice work!
4: What or who's boards impressed you the most ? and why ?That's a hard question to answer as there was so many boards that impressed for different reasons, However the sexiest board by far was a solid balsa Hot Curl shaped by Dick Van Straalen, I was busy talking to people most of the day and actually didn't get to see every bodies boards, I liked Richard Harvey's stuff too, He does a range of things and his personality an depth as a surfer/shaper comes through in the boards, It's hard to name anyone in particular as every shaper there had worked really hard to come up with their particular take on construction and shape, I saw good work laying around the park no matter whether it be a seasoned board builder or a first time hobbyist.
5: Was there any species of timber used that sparked your interest ?Well, It's all wood and some pieces just seem to shine, I think for me its more the combinations, Dovetail Surfboards had some nice clean contrasts in some of their boards with Paulownia and a dark rich cedar?, There was a lot of Paulownia boards which is great in itself but what caught my eye was woods of other colours, I liked John Sutcliffe's N.Z recycled Kauri board!
6: What was the atmosphere at the park like ?It was quietly humming, Heaps to see and lots of people looking and admiring, A really nice vibe between all the shapers and there were first time builders rubbing shoulders with industry legends but most of the time it wasn't obvious which was which or who was who, Really awesome to be part of.
7: What feedback did you get on your boards ?I got a really good response, I think people could see a difference in my approach with different timbers and could see a lot of hard work had gone into them.
8: Was there a shaper/surfer that you shared common views with ?I think there is a common thread running through all of us making wood boards even though we may all be exploring different aspects, But that's the depth that wood has to offer, I think that many of us share common views but then there are places that we may go as individuals and I think that's pretty special and we all feed off that without necessarily needing to copy one another, It's a fantastic venue for trading ideas and talking openly, Grant Newby is a Saint for putting these days together, It adds a lot more meaning and context to being a shaper.
9: What will you take away from the day ? ideas, thoughts etc ?A lot of stimulation, Motivation but also a lot of encouragement too, And also a healthy respect for what others are doing and the reinforcement in the belief of just how special it is to be involved in shaping the future as well as the present.
10: What would you like to build for next year ?There is a number of ways I could and would like to go with my wood projects for next year but right now my focus is on getting my custom orders up to date and beyond that, Following some design paths that I have had rumbling around in my brain for too long and it's time to do them justice . . . . I guess we will have to wait and see.
Thanks guys for sharing you thoughts.
When it comes to going the extra mile and effort for the Fish Fry , Roger surely sets the bar pretty high.Here below is the workings of his latest board for this years Fish Fry.
A combination of foam and wood like you have never seen. As if it is not hard enough to work with the differing densities of a variety of timbers and then to add the foam as well.
How the resin brings it all to life...
A sanding nightmare for most of us , but just something to be done for Roger.
Roger builds beautiful detailed custom boards all day and this is him just stepping it up for the Fish Fry in his own way. Mate my hat goes off to you once again and like everyone I can't wait to see it in all it's glory next week.
A lot of planning and time goes into a project like this especially when you are running a small team building great boards all day. Check out what Roger calls his regular boards :
