MOTIVATOR

If there was one complaint about the Rocket in 2009, it was that some average surfers didn’t feel it was a full on groveler (It's not). We were told that it wasn’t easy to “get going” in 1’ junk. So knowing that it takes more than hacking a Triscuit out of a slab of foam to make a great hi-performance groveler, we went to work making a board to “Motivate” people to get out and surf in that 1’ junk. How to turn a “Rocket” into a super groveler…in 4 easy steps. -Widen the nose and tailblock. The straighter outline will make a longer rail line, creating drive. -Thicken the nose (and add a beak nose to abruptly thin out the tip) and tail to add flotation without increasing overall thickness. -Lower the tail rocker along the stringer line (to add drive and resistance to rear foot in mushy waves) but leave the rail rocker as curvy as it was (creating a strong “V” behind the rear foot) so the board still has that magic, tight turning radius when put on a rail. - Flatten the deck and put a full, steep rail for stability and paddle power , then add a volume reducing “step rail” to the last 6” of the tail , to add bite and make “real” turns in small surf easier. Best of all, it doesn’t feel like you’re riding a breakfast sandwich. Feel free to ride this one 1-2” shorter, and up to ½ “ wider than a Rocket.

The Plank

Sometimes, when it's really small and mushy down at Trestles, I will ride a longboard. One day last summer I was doing so and tried a friends " Mini Simmons" twin keel, retro board shaped by one of the guys who shape these types of boards. It had a longboard nose, completely parallel rails, a massive square tail and some crazy, roll to vee to concave, bottom curves. It caught waves and glided across sub knee high lumps like my 9'6". All though I needed to surf it gingerly, it could turn easily, at low speeds, on even the smallest, most gutless, waves. Months later, I had a "Green Foam" recycled foam, fish blank in my shape room and The New York Times came to do a story on "Green foam". I proceeded to shape the blank by hand (with my planer) while they filmed and shot fotos (seen here) for the story. Using no templates or measurements of any kind, I attacked the 6'0" blank like a high school sculpture project.... All the time thinking about that strange board I had ridden months prior. The blank was pretty thin, so I left the deck flat. It's really wide, so I didn't want any concave. Looking for ridiculous glide, but demanding aggressive turning, I left it really straight rockered, but did a little flip out the back. I made it a strong bump, diamond tail. In place of the twin keels, and hoping for a positive, reliable feeling, I chose to make it a quad, and used a Future Fins, split keel, concept fin we have been playing with as the template. It sat in my room for months. Finally, I fine tuned it and got it glassed. The board you see here is that board. It's about 6'0" x 22" x 2.5 full". I rode it only once. It's the easiest board I have ever ridden in waves I would normally only bother with on a longboard. It catches anything and does full rail roundhouse cutbacks on 10" high lumps of water. I haven't made a second one yet. But if you like the way it looks, and want a truly unique and extreme small wave tool to keep you off that log, then think about custom ordering one of these. I guarantee you won't be let down.

Think: 6'2" x 22.50" x 2.75", 5'10" x 21" x 2.5", 5"8 x 20.50" x 2.38", 5'6" x 20" x 2.25", 5"4" x 20" x 2.13", 5'2" x 19.50" x 2.03".

STEALTH PRO

Team riders immediately loved the Stealth, mainly as a groveler or extreme junk contest board. Before long they were asking for “The same board, but with my shortboard rails, and a regular squash tail”. So we did it and handed them out for everyone to try. We received almost unanimous feedback saying that we had successfully converted the “Rocket” into a performance shortboard. Throughout 2009 it was an underground favorite. Nearly every teamrider, hot grom, and random pro who got boards from us rode The Stealth Pro. Ward, Ian Walsh, Kolohe, Cory Lopez, and dozens of contest groms were ordering them by name. Coco Ho used one to Win the 2009 WQS, The Rip Curl “Search” WCT event in Portugal (Her first WCT win, at 18 years of age) and was named the 2009 ASP Rookie of the Year. Now, in 2010, we have it in the lineup for the public as well.

SDII

The “Every man’s short board” features a moderate entry rocker and low, drivey tail rocker, with a hyper extended rail line in the tail (creating a pronounced vee behind the rear fin), flattish deck, full forgiving outline and rails, with a single to double concave bottom. The SD-II has evolved into an international favorite for the every day surfer and is one of the most popular surfboard models on the planet. It’s a board for the average surfer looking for slightly wider standard dims than the pro’s potato chips, without sacrificing maneuverability. Also of note - this is our most popular board on both ends of the size spectrum. The design translates well to small mini-grom boards like Kolohe Andino’s contest winners (the drivey rocker and full outline forces traditional carving and power surfing into young kids) and also makes a great Big Guy Short board in the 6'6" to 7'6" range.