One for Kenny

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G-Mat 209 Kenny Hughes Surfmat RB-JMC Negative Rocker Penelope

This is a mat I've had on the list for a while and am glad to finally get to. This mat is built for a notable member of Santa Barbaran surfmat heritage. Kenny Hughes is one of the originals. A hugely experienced mat surfer who was there for the early days of Californian mat surfing, particularly the evolution from heavy materials to modern lightweight TPU coated nylon and low inflation surfing.

G-Mat 209 Kenny Hughes Surfmat RB-JMC Negative Rocker Penelope

A former Rincon regular, Kenny spends his days now off the beaten track surfing lesser frequented points along the Central Californian Coast.

After discussing Kenny's needs it is perhaps not surprising that we settled on a RB-JMC who Kenny has named "Penelope". She is a 200/70 mat with an elastic neg rocker set up. I have maximised the internal venting to allow the air to move inside the mat with as little restriction as is sensible to make for a very responsive ride at low inflation.

G-Mat 209 Kenny Hughes Surfmat RB-JMC Negative Rocker Penelope

Penelope is on the way as I write (along with a Matsquatch tee by Bryn Dampney) so I'm excited to see how Kenny and Penelope get on together.

Fun mat... Enjoy Kenny!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 209 Kenny Hughes Surfmat RB-JMC Negative Rocker Penelope

Happy Halloween?!

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G-Mat 205 AKA Pumpkin Surfmat RB-JMC James Tanner.jpg

G-Mat 205 (AKA “Pumpkin”) is a RB-JMC heading to Noosa Heads in Australia. I am super excited to be sending this mat down there too because she is on the way to hook up with James Dylan Tanner. James is one of those people (that us mere mortals hate) who jump on anything and click. What makes it worse is he’s a really nice bloke…

What a c***! 😂

I jest of course but what I said about James other than the insult is true. Really solid mat surfer.

So on to Pumpkin. As mentioned, she is a RB-JMC. Super-Free-Breather with a negative rocker. Slightly unusually, Pumpkin is a 200/70 because James wanted a mat that is easy to spot should he lose it, but this 200d has quite an open weave and is certainly not as heavy as the 200d black material.

G-Mat 205 AKA Pumpkin Surfmat RB-JMC James Tanner.jpg

This is also the second mat in a row that I have built with clear grip using ClearFix. I have used this in the past but tended to stick with clear Sikaflex EBT just for consistency but the clear EBT formula feems to have changed with it being thicker than it was. The ClearFix works into the weave really well.

This mat is one of two mats that I am going to be doing for James but the second will be down the line once I have caught up on my backlog. I’m really looking forward to the feedback on this mat and am pretty sure she’ll tide him over until the next one.

Have fun down there JDT!

Cheers

G

PS James hosted Phileas in Sri Lanka and NZ as people may recall but HERE’S A LINK to take a look. He’s also been enjoying the delights of his G-Mat RFT down in Oz as you can see below.

Dirt McGirt

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G-Mat 152 Surfmat Jamie McClellan

Ladies and Gents I'm pleased to introduce G-Mat 152 (AKA "Dirt McGirt" is a free-breathing 70/70 G-Mat Ubercat built for Jamie McClellan. 

She has an elastic rocker and is gripped with Sikaflex EBT. Jamie lives in a land of solid, heavy waves so she's a good fit and that grip offered that bit of stability without adversely affecting the pliability.

Hestered valve to protect Jamie's beautiful face. 

G-Mat 152 Surfmat Jamie McClellan

As you can see, the Ubercat's deep concave will give a stack of lift, working will to support the slim-Jim plan shape. 

Looking like a run of Atlantic swells this summer so hopefully Dirt McGirt will get plenty of action.  

Always a pleasure building mats for Jamie and it's been a pleasure to build this mat. 😁 

Sometimes you build one that's just that bit too hard to let go.

Have fun Mr McClellan!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 152 Surfmat Jamie McClellan

The Ute

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Right then, after some successful tests I'm please to unveil the complete all-rounder - The Ute.

G-Mat 33 (AKA "Blue Thunder")

G-Mat 33 (AKA "Blue Thunder")

I've built three of these to date in various weights of material with some subtle alterations length-wise and these have performed really well. The latest (above) is a 70/70 construction and is a more skittish and quicker ride than the two previous 200/70 incarnations, as you'd expect.

G-Mat 30 (AKA "Piping OTT")

G-Mat 27 (AKA "Jus d'Orange")

Both of those mats have had very good feedback.

So... The primary design points are that the Ute has a very subtle rail hook and a slight concave, giving it a fuller, flatter feel. In practice, this means that it has some of the down-the-line drive of the Bullet and the glide of the Glider. 

Of course, the top end/bottom end of more specialised designs will perform better but the Ute is the perfect mat for the one-mat-quiver,

Cheers

G