Zawn

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Here is a mat built for west Cornwall-based mat surfer Matthew Geyman.

Matt surfs way down west getting into some of the short, sucky beach breaks down that way so wanted a mat that would get in and get hold quickly. Matt has a 4GF Omni from PG so we settled on a Nouveau Racer to concentrate on hollower or bigger days. Matt opted to name her 'Zawn'.

Matt says:

“Zawn is named for those secluded places along the Far West’s remote North Coast. Coves accessible only via a scramble, or by canoe, are a treat to explore. Packing a mat on a summer coast path walk, in the hope of spotting an unexpected wave is real treasure hunting. Originally a temporary way to stay on the water after a back injury, mats quickly became a source of joy for my whole family, often replacing more traditional craft: boards and hand planes. Because a mat’s so easy to transport, its rewards were multiplied.

Our closest break (a lesser visited spot in the far west) has waves better suited to short craft and bodysurfing. We snag treasured family memories here: daughters hooting and skidding on mats down the face of Christmas Day growlers, with no other soul about.

‘Zawn’ joins a stable including a 4GF Omni, Catherine’s G-Raft (a birthday gift when she fell out of love with surfing), and a behemoth Redback with chunky handles that the kids love (a great summer mush machine, sent by my brother from some godforsaken town near his home on the east coast of Australia). A mat’s joined the annual Morocco pilgrimage a few times in 20 years, but usually stays rolled up as it’s unlikely to replace a board for the long paddle out to Killers. Zawn will feature more heavily and it’ll love Cathedrals.

After a life in the water, it’s only a surfmat that makes me giggle uncontrollably and I’d do anything to keep the maniacal cackle factor.

Cheers n gone

Matt”
— Matthew Geyman

Zawn is a 200/70 Wheezer. We had some debate around elastic rocker versus free rocker. The new red material kinda made the choice for us being pretty inelastic. I suspect this might loosen up after a surf or two. I'll be checking in with Matt. Matt has also gone for a bungee for long Moroccan swims!

Have fun Matt!

Cheers

G

An Unexpectedly Low Bottom

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Word has come in from Warren Pfeiffer that his Chino Racer, named Trax, is finding good lines in some weaker surf. Although not having quite the bottom end glide of his other 2 G-Mats, Trax is finding her way through  some weaker inside sections, getting far more water time than expected in over the Aussie summer.

Warren Pfeiffer - G-Mat Chino Racer

I've found similar results over the last couple of sessions. I've ridden my Chino Racer, Turd Surfer, in some of the recent solid swells and found myself getting into a good glide as waves backed off on the inside. I initially put this down to the experimental rocker profile that Turd Surfer has has, but Trax has a full on elastic rocker. The conclusion, then, is that this model actually has a much better bottom end than we initially thought. As a result, I've edited the Slide Guide to reflect this.

With our solid run of surf continuing in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm looking forward to testing the top end a bit more over the coming weeks.

Cheers

G

Introducing - THE CHINO RACER

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You will have seen pics of the latest model before, I'm sure. I'm pleased to announce that this 4-Pontoon model has now been tested thoroughly. The verdict... It loves good powerful waves (hence the pun on "Rhino Chaser" for which I make only a moderate apology). Here's the blurb:

G-MAT CHINO RACER

The 4 pontoon Chino Racer is the “gun” of the G-Mat range, being the choice for waves overhead and bigger, or heavier and hollow smaller surf. Tested in solid conditions, the feedback has universally been that this mat needs a decent wave to get going but when it does, it is really quick from the off, giving a very assured and predictable hold. Warren Pfeiffer has described this model as “feeling like it is locked on rails”.

The mat is relatively narrow and the 4 pontoon design reduces the overall volume making it easier to get under waves.  The I-Beam configuration through the middle pontoons features 2 lower I-beams with a slightly taller central I-Beam giving a concave through the bottom and increased stability through the centre line.

200/70 configuration (200 denier deck and 70 denier bottom skin). 

Pretty much all conditions covered then.

With a number of models of mat now in the G-Mat range, I've knocked out a wee diagram to help customers to think about what might best suit their needs. I call it the "Slide Guide".

Happy New Year!!!

G

Warren's Other New Toy - "Trax"

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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.

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!

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.

Double mat bag.

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

4 More...

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This is G-Mat 61 (AKA "Turd Surfer"). I've named her in honour of South West Water to thank them for the gnarly gastric infection they gave me recently.

G-Matt 61

There are some slight changes from the last 4 pontoon mat. The cant has been dropped on I-beams 2 and 4, thus loosing the main pivot points and slightly reducing the concave. It still has a solid concave though.

Turd Surfer Concave

This is a low volume, flatter mat with rounded corners. Hopefully lots of hold too so should be better for solid waves, both paddling out and riding them. 

No shortage of swell on the way. Me hooking up with it is another issue but I shall try my best.

G

4 Pontoons

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Generally, I'm a fan of 3 pontoon mats. Personally, I find them to be generally more versatile with less of a structured feel and will usually require less air. However, the flatter feel can be an advantage at times and more pontoons allows width without depth, so lower volume when required. Also, some people just prefer the feel of four pontoons.

I built a couple of four pontoon mats a while ago. The best one being an all white mat named Casper, now owned by Cornishman, Phil Sinclair.

Casper

Casper was a lot of fun and Phil swears by her, but I found the mat felt very full and flat, a feeling that didn't really work for me. I left 4 pontoon mats alone for some time but started mulling an idea over a little while back and thought it was time to try it out with ever willing guinea pig, Ian Wraith.

G-Mat 58

I've tried to take the things that work in 3 pontoons and apply them to 4. First off, More stagger (the depth of the channels). I-beams 2 and 4 are slightly over half the height of 1 and 5. It's not evident in the photo but I-beam 3 (the central one) is taller than than 2 and 4 so there is more stability through the middle.  This also moves the pivot points out towards the rail so will provide a different feel.

I may have gone a bit too deep with the concave so might put more volume in the middle of further mats. I think we might need more grip up the middle but Ian rides toward the tail so we'll see.

The corners are pretty round to help with hold, rather than hacking down the length. We've also gone with Henry Hester's preferred valve placement. 

The Drawing Board

The Drawing Board

G-Mat 58 - Hester valve placement.

I'm excited to get some feedback on this. We just need waves over here now!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 58