Lesser Black Back

Here's a new ride for Kernow based mat surfer, Tom Carter.

Tom lives in West Cornwall and has really into mats for a while. He got a Ute from me last year, named Black Back, which has been his go to since. This time he wanted something to fit the profile of a low volume, narrow mat he has. With that in mind, we agreed that an Ubercat would be the way to go.

It's been quite some time since I've built one of these. The narrow profile and deep concave makes for a mat that locks in and goes rail to rail really well, but will straggle more in the flats than designs with a wider aspect ratio. But then, Tom has Black Back for those days. In punchy waves, the Ubercat feels lively and a lot of fun to whip back into the pocket, particularly in wedgy waves.

With less volume, we have gone with a 70 denier deck. As the Ubercat is narrow, Tom will be covering the deck more so the material doesn't need to be as heavy to still give some stability. We have gone with a restricted venting set up. "Wheezers" keep their inside rail shape more through turns. We've also gone with a free (flat) elastic rocker.

So what has Tom called his new mat? Well, the colour scheme and grip pattern of Tom's G-Mats are in keeping with each other, so sticking with the gull species, Lesser Black Back of course! Well there is less of her!

Have fun Tom!

Cheers

G

Black Back

Here's a mat for Tom Carter, a UK based mat surfer from West Cornwall. Tom has been riding mats for a while now and has a narrow mat that really has seen a lot of action and needed a few repairs. He came to me wanting something to open the bottom end up a bit more with better glide through softer sections, but also to keep the rail-to-rail feel. We talked a bit on the phone and eventually settled on a G-Mat Ute. Our thinking was that this mat will become Tom's main ride, with his current mat being saved for the heavy and hollow days.

The mat Tom has been riding has a canvas deck so, although Tom was up for more maleability, we didn't want to go too full on so have gone with a 200/70 build. In addition the the 200 denier deck, we have gone with panels rather than strips of grip which will add a little more structure. The mat is also a wheezer, with the restricted airflow adding further stability which will help with keeping shape through turns.

We talked about names. No custom mat has left my workshop without the new owner giving it a name. Tom said:

“I was thinking Black Back - a little nod to the gull. Nothing philosophical, it’s just there were two nesting on the roof at work so I saw them most days this summer! Stunners !
Have been on a wave specific mat so looking forward to surfing some different waves. Love to boot it around the coast path, and super excited to exploring some coves with the new mat!”

— Tom Carter

That sounds amazing, eh?! We're lucky to live where we do.

So, Black Back is off to hook up with Tom. We've just moved into Autumn here and it's landed with a bump, including swell, so looking forward to hearing about Tom's adventures.

Have fun mate!

Cheers

G