Lucky Ride The Waves: bonzer

Showing posts with label bonzer. Show all posts

Lessons in trim…

5'9" 5 fin.

Custom 7'1" for Andrea (Daniel's girl). Wood fins and wood burn by Daniel Partch.

Horan-McCoy Nugget bonzer spitfire….

Not one of mine, but something about this design just screams – “try me!”

Its from the ProBox fins site/blog and the templates (board and fins) are pure McCoy/Horan, with a little reverse Campbell Bros thrown in.

The reverse (to norm) foil is meant to be the lowest drag option, which is why this is a more common shape on boats now than swept back like a conventional surfboard fin.

I had the best barrels of my life on my McCoy Nugget in both Indo and the Caribbean. I guess I may have to make a version in the very near future, add the EVO vortex bottom, foil up a spitfire fin… find some decent waves to try it in – watch this space…

What year am I going back to with this one Phil? Smile

Daniel picking up his new 6'2". All glass on Daniel fins of course.

Clear Cleanline high performance bonzer EVO5

Ok I know this is a first – a clear board from me! This is test-pilot Anthony's new board. He wanted a shorter high performance version of his 5 fin 6’10 Cleanline… here it is... 6’4” x 19 1/4” x 2 3/8”. Clear glass on fins on this one too…

Demo blunt diamond…

Was surfing a great little break I call “Scalps” this morning, lovely right reef (don’t ask where) with a few friendly compadres… and one asked about the blunt diamond demo – so if you happen to be reading this post… here’s a pic. It’s just waiting for Daz to polish it. 6’8” x 21 1/8” x 2 5/8” It has a wide tail but foiled through so its easy to bury the rail and the double concave bonzer bottom keeps it really lively and fast. The fin set up is EVO3 with American Hardwood fins by yours truly. resin tint on the bottom. 6oz + 4oz deck with a 6oz bottom with a 4oz fin patch. This one was glassed by Jason. It also has a Go-Pro camera mount on the nose…

EVO 3 bonzer fix

Lucas’s EVO3 Blunt diamond was fixed and looks just as good as the day it was finished. Sadly he lost the fin on impact so not only did I have to redo all the artwork around the fin area but also had to make a new fin. Daz did an excellent job on the sanding/gloss and polish. Cheers.

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.

Nigel Semmens - Malcolm Campbell - Bonzer Light Vehicle Russ Short - Guy Penwarden. Autumn 2009

Busy day…

Fins ready to go on the latest FreakFish…

Winds and swell were looking good, so…

checked the surf down in the Badlands but ended up at Porthmeor…(great peaks!)

then raced back to the factory to collect Jack's board ready for him to ride this afternoon… 6’10” EVO3 Blunt Diamond

EVO3 bonzer Porpoise

My beautiful daughter’s first birthday is rapidly approaching (March) so I thought I’d mark the occasion not only with her first board, but a new model – The Porpoise. 5’4” x 19 1/4” x 2 1/4” bonzer with a Proteck rear 7” fin and mini-EVO3s. This will hang on her ceiling for the next few years and be met with a consistent “when your big enough and brave enough Seren”… it will be a special day when we finally take it out.

A 6’ x 22 1/2” grown-up version of this board is already in the pipeline. Just love the plan shape.

Designed to be a total wave hog with a really stable platform, but lots of drive and manoeuvrability to carve all over the place. EVO4 fin set up and more rocker than a plan shape like this would suggest, so it should go vert with ease.

More azure…

More Azure blue rail – resin tint by Jason this time whilst i was in Baja :) – going to get a little artwork before the gloss and polish.

This board will be heading straight to Morocco with Jack almost as soon as it is finished… wish i could hand deliver it!

Bonzer Quad goes east – FreakFish EVO4

Some feedback from North Cornwall surfer Dougal on the FreakFish he took to Indo… thanks Dougz, send us some pics when you get some:)

hey bud,
Yeah freaky has been great heaps of float, was surfing it at a spot called Passe or mushroom point the other day for a couple of days and she flew.
It was so shallow i nicked the fin a couple of times on the bottom turn but nothing major, she got me in and out of some great barrels,
only 2ft but beautiful hollow barrels!! Great fun.
She's kinda like a twinie with a bit more drive and the channels are interesting never surfed with those before.
Glad you had a great trip in mex and thanks a million for the board. She's just the other kinda feel i was searching for.
Sampai jumpa!
Doogz