Pinliner - Trying New Things

TRAVELLING BACK IN TIME!!!

No... Not really but the eagle eyed among you might notice that the numbering on this mat is out of sync. The reason for this is that I number mats as I design them and this one was designed a while back and then other things took priority.

So what's the deal here? Well this mat is a bit of a prototype. It's a 70/70 RB-JMC super-free-breather with neg rocker, but with a much squarer tail. The RB-JMC design has a squarer tail then nose anyway, but this mat has that taken to an extreme. The squarer tail of the RB-JMC releases more readily giving less drag, thus more speed. This also encourages the tail to drop slightly allowing the mat to sit in its naturally faster position on the high line. This mat is taking that concept to its extreme to test its limits.

I have actually already built one for Andrew Stephen Buck and he has surfed it once. The feedback is that it might be too much with the hard corner possibly inviting cavitation but as Andrew said himself, one surf isn't enough. Also I really believe that as a builder it is important to test designs myself to get live feedback.I have left space between the end of the grip and the corners on both Buck's mat and mine to re-shape the tail if this really doesn't work.

The other part of this experiment is the aesthetic. I have had an idea about using sealant pinlines and stenciled designs to create a barrier for acid dye. Hard edges are pretty much impossible with acid dye on nylon. When I got an order for an intricate design (that one's on the way) it was obvious that it was time to try it out. Not really "pin" lines on this mat but I had the idea for a name in mind as tribute to the legend of Moonlight Glassing, Peter St Pierre who's internet handle was "Pinliner". My efforts are not a patch on anything Pete does so maybe more of an insult. Sorry mate!

Anyway, Pinliner is going to be my new mat. Whether this new iteration is what I stick with or I just reweld the tail back to what already ain't broke will have to be seen.

Cheers

G

The Widow Maker V6

This mat is an Ubercat build for one of the English South Coast’s prone stalwarts, Mike Steele. Mike has been a body boarder for many years, seeking and charging some of the phenomenal hidden gems on the Jurassic Coast. Mike says:

“Got the bug when I was 10 when my dad bought me a polystyrene board for the summer and then progressed to the Mach 7-7 and was a devout Morey fan until they sold to Mattel. Grew up surfing Bournemouth Pier, then discovered the local reefs and was completely sold on boogin’. One of the spots was in an M.O.D. training range and we got arrested for trespass for walking back from the break after we had been told to get out by the range boat. In and out of court for two years and the day before judgement they dropped the charges. The whole thing was very underhand by the M.O.D., false evidence etc. Anyway, after that ordeal we decided to buy a boat so we would never have this problem again and we discovered a few spots that were literally made for bodyboarding. We had a few eventful boat trips in the surf, one in particular was witnessed on quite a big day, my mate driving hit a big wave too fast and we were apparently fully vertical and the ‘prop was 10ft clear of the water’. How we all survived is beyond me and hence we named the boat ‘The Widowmaker’. Most of our crew has their own boat now, mine is the Mk 5, and now the mat is the Mk 6. Re: board progression, had many boogs over the years, and I know the guy who imports NMD and VS and he is very pally with Nick Mezeritz so been getting customs with experimentary tails for about 10 years. Then saw Noah Lane in Ireland riding Guy Butcher wooden boards and went down that route, again experimenting with shapes with Guy. 3 boards in and started following the fringe element and saw some clips of fellas on mats going exponentially fast and have been trying to get my grubby mitts on one of yours for a couple of years. And now I have one!”

— Mike Steele

Mike and I spoke about the amount of adjustment needed to switch from a bodyboard/paipo to a mat. He is up for the challenge!

So on to the mat, WMV6 is a wheezy 200/70 Ubercat with positive elastic rocker so has good hold and is well set up for tight S-turn surfing on slabby waves and wedges. Mike has gone for the bungee leash option as a lot of the waves he surfs involve tricky swims if losing the mat. You will notice the 2-tone blue and white bottom skin and logo. This was based on a design Mike sent me and we’re pretty stoked on how it’s come out.

Widow Maker V6 is with Mike now and with a winter of south swells looking to be on the cards we’re pretty hopeful that they will get plenty of action!

Have fun Mike. Can’t wait to hear about your journey into matting!

Cheers

G

Circe - Heading to Noosa

This is the first of two mats going to Australia for a matting couple in Noosa. "Circe", a 200/70 Ute built for Rachel Scarff. Rachel says she has named her mat "Circe" beacause:

“I’ve always loved mythology, in particular Circe, and always find myself coming back to her. Thought it would suit as her legend is based around water. Her dad is the sun god and mother is a sea nymph. She also represents femininity in the stories about her in a way that’s scares men, so thought it would be funny to have a mat called that in a sport that’s fairly dominated by guys who don’t always give women respect or the time out in the ocean. It’s like if they were mean I’d just channel Circe (she’s a goddess of sorcery) and put a spell on them and turn them into a sea cucumber or something 😂😂”

— Rachel Scraiff

Notice the mistake here?

That is perfect!!! I always love building mats for women. Unlike much of the mainstream surf media, mat surfing tends to break down the gender barriers and just welcomes mat surfers as mat surfers and we really do need more women to be surfing mats.

I asked Rachel about her matting experiences the journey into mat riding. She said:

““I’ve been living in Noosa for the last 7 years, originally from South Australia. Started out on a log, but downsized to an 8’2 V bottom made by local board shaper Ado (Maren surfboards), because I just want to trim and turn. I’m fairly new to the mat game. I started using my partners spare mat more seriously last year and have been enjoying it so much that I decided to get myself a custom mat for my size (I am very short haha!). My partner has been wanting to order a g-mat for a while now, so perfect timing!

I’ve found myself hardly surfing my board these days and only taking out the mat because I just love it so much - I can go out and even if I only get a few waves I have a blast, as opposed to taking the board out and not getting that same feeling.

Love riding the mat out at Tea Tree and always fun to mat with pals James T, Matt C and my partner Ben. Still a few other mat friends that I’m wanting to catch waves with….””

— Rachel Scraiff

That's such a familiar story. Mats get you like that!

So then, on to the tech bits. Circe is a 200/70 wheezer with free elastic rocker. Rachel has also gone with a Hestered valve. As with all customs this has been specifically scaled to meet Rachel's body size so will hopefully feel like a good fit.

Circe is on the way to Oz now along with her partner Ben's mat... but that's a story for another day.

Have fun Rachel! It's been a pleasure.

Cheers

G

Something Fishy Going Down

So then, here is a mat that has been on the radar for some time and I am as stoked as a freshly poked campfire to have been able to build a mat for a very, very talented waterman. For those unfamiliar with him, Trevor Gordon is s super talent surfer from Santa Barbara, CA. I got to know Trevor through our mutual friend Andrew Buck, when “Buck” put me in touch with Trevor’s extraordinary wife, Maddie, to build her a mat named Bumbarreller.

So back to Trevor. He is, as you would expect, a very good mat rider. His surfing style suits the mat perfectly: super smooth, no wasted energy, being guided by the wave rather than trying to impose himself on it. And of course, hailing from the stretch of coast with endless point breaks, PLUS living on a sail boat Trevor has it pretty sweet to be a mat surfer. Not that I’m envious at all!

We started talking about this mat and Trevor asked for a Mackerel Print deck. I had a few goes and you know what? I just couldn’t do it! It just came out as a greeny, bluey stripy splodgy affair and not really conveying the mood. Trevor wanted his mat to clearly be all about the mackerel! We went back to the drawing board and here’s what we cam up with… Meet MACK DADDY! All hail! Gotta say, I dig this one.

Mack Daddy is a 70/70 G-Mat RB-JMC. He has negative rocker and is a super free breather. The deck is acid dyed and there is a sexy Mack on one rail (I’m trying to work out if this is the Mack Daddy or if Trevor is like some kind of fishy Dr Doolitle). There is also a bit of branding down the other rail, just in case anyone is wondering who is coming. Finally, the grip is added using ClearFix sealant which I have started to use for clear grip jobs.

Trevor and Maddie are currently in the Canaries and with the weirdness around Eupoean shipping since Brexit we’ve agreed to ship to the US so Trevor will have Mack Daddy waiting for him when he gets home.

 I’m looking forward to sharing some waves with Trevor and Maddie either when I’m next over there or when they’re next over here.  

 Cheers

G

One for the Birthday Boy!

I always love buildin mats for those who really appreciate the art and Tim Ciasto is one of those people. A German living in Sweden, Tim travels a lot for his waves and he’s riggen his mat on many-a-continent. His skill as a film maker is phenomenal as you can see from the video he put together for the last UK Mat Surfers Matmeet

This is his new mat, Fringesurfer, a G-Mat RB-JMC. I have known Tim for many yeas and he is an avid surfmat rider. He has spent the last few years traveling the globe in persuit of his art, documenting the off piste surf world for his fantastic web series, Fringe Surfer which you can see at:

https://www.fringesurfer.tv/

What better name for this mat then?!

Fringesurfer is a 70/70 RB-JMC. Super-Free-Breather with neg rocker. A very fast mat! As you caqn see, Tim also whanted a splash of retro colour. This is a costly business but Tim is 50 this year so this mat was his birthday present from his wife so no holds barred!

I’m really looking forward to hearing the feedback from Tim on his experiengces with Fringesurfer and I’m particulalry looking forward to seeing her in the flesh again when we caqn finally get together again, somewhere.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!

Cheers

G

Blue & Green Should Never be Seen...

.... or so the saying goes. 

Luckily, that saying is a bunch of ol' pap and I've just built my second 70/70 Rubber Bucky in a row with a blue deck and green bottom skin.

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Meet G-Mat 78 (AKA "Sylvia") built for Floridian, John Hughes.  John is a connoisseur of lightweight surfmats and a strong advocate of drifting mat surfing. Oh and he lives in the land of raggedy short-fetch swells so a Rubber Bucky seems like the perfect chariot.

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Sylvia Is a free-breather with rocker and a Hestered valve. John asked for lighter grip so we went with Sikaflex 11FC+. He also asked me to leave a good amount of clear fabric up the the middle pontoon to save his chin from rashes so I've compensated with a little extra grip on the inside of the outer pontoons to make up for it.

John has also ordered a charcoal grey tee with black print. Sexy monochrome... Cool guy. :-)

Just waiting on the Tee and then Sylvia is off to her new home.

G

Warren's Other New Toy - "Trax"

I've been working hard to get up to speed with the waiting list of late, since my illness a while ago. I'm back on track finally, having been working, perhaps a little too hard, having been working on two at a time. I know... Boo hoo!

I will slow down slightly though to my usual pace.

Anyway, enough whining. Here is the second mat in a pair going out for Warren Pfeiffer which he has named Trax.

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Say hello to Trax.

This is another of the 4 pontoon design that I've been working on. I'm pretty sure that this will become a model in the G-Mat range, but I want to get a few more miles from able test pilots just to finalize exactly what the performance attributes of this design are.

There are few more able than Warren.

As you can see, Trax has a white deck and Warren lives in a pretty sunny spot. We've stuck some smooth black sealant on the deck to reduce glare back off the deck.

The bottom skin is the new 70d taffeta which I have in stock. This material is proving to be extremely popular with the next 3 mats in line looking to have green in the mix too!

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Gentle elastic rocker and a Hestered valve.

As you can see from the shot above, Warren has opted again for a Hester Valve placement. I've also made a double bag for the two mats to be stored together. I'm giving some thought to how to build bags for more mats, should people want them when ordering multiple mats.

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Double mat bag.

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Black anti glare on the nose saves on snow-blindness!

I'm pretty excited to hear how this mat works out for Warren. Although wider than his new Ute, Max, this mat has a lot less volume so I'm really interested to hear about his experiences with Trax in solid surf.

Should be in Oz for next weekend.

Cheers

G