Big, Bright & Sexy!

A bit of colour on this one then! This is G-Mat 136 (AKA "Jah-Sea-I") built for San Franciscan, Jesse Witthoft. Jah-Sea-I is a Flying Carpet designed to get the juice out of even the slightest swell.

Jess is an interesting fella to build mats for. First off, he is huge!  Secondly, he has a unique riding style way back on the mat (As you can see in the pic below) so there is a lot to think about regarding grip placement. As you can see, the grip is towards the back following a design by Jesse. There is also a bungee for a leash.

Photo by @steevsea - Click the pic to follow him on Instagram

When building mats for lager riders you have to consider the weight of material. 70d fabric feels like 30d on a jumbo mat. As a result, we have gone for a 200d deck rather than the standard 70d on a Flying Carpet, but Jah-Sea-I still feels super light.

The other issue was that the original plan was for a red bottom skin. We tried and tried and tried with dying a sheet but the size of the fabric meant I just could not get an even finish around the edges. It was bigger than my work bench!  

In the end, we settled to build the mat and go for an all yellow dip dye which has come out great! I now also have a bit of red 70d fabric in the bank now (it's enough for a less massive mat!)

Finally, given Jesse's riding style and the neg rocker in Jah-Sea-I we have gone with slightly more rounded corners than normal to prevent catching.

So, Jah-Sea-I is heading of as soon as UPS get her. Can't wait to hear what the SF locals make of her! She's a fast mat.

Cheers

G