Yaroomba

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Say G'day to G-Mat 274 (AKA " Yaroomba"). Mat 1 of 2 built for Adam Goldin.

Adam got in with a double-barrelled deposit drop in the last run and came with a clear idea of what he wanted to have for a balanced quiver. More on the other half down the line but for now let's focus on Yaroomba.

Adam says:

“I was born in South Africa but have spent the majority of my life living in Australia. I am currently based in Coolum Beach, situated on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. I mostly only surf prone whether it be body surfing, belly boarding or mat surfing. Occasionally I’ll take my finless foamie out for a bit of knee sliding too.

I’m fortunate to have an abundance of great surf spots in my vicinity, including my local beach breaks in Coolum and Yaroomba, as well as the renowned points in Noosa just a short distance away.

I first got into mat surfing about 3 to 4 years ago after seeing some locals flying down walled point breaks. I already knew of mat surfing and was highly intrigued but after seeing the speed and glide with my own eyes I just knew I had to get involved. I immediately bought my first mat. Although I’ve been mat surfing on and off since then, I’d say it only “clicked” about a year ago when I finally committed myself to really low inflation.

I now mostly only take the mat out with me.”
— Adam Goldin

A true example of jumping off-board.

Yaroomba is a 200/70 Ubercat with elastic rocker. Adam has some heavy wedgy beach breaks nearby and this really is what the Ubercat loves. The narrow aspect ratio encourages lively rail to rail transition and the rocker really supports hard carving turns so getting off the bottom and cutting back high into the pocket are much easier and assured. Ubercats definitely have waves they don't go so well in, but Adam is buying 2 so something more specialised makes sense.

I'm still working on Yaroomba's quiver-mate so Adam will have to wait but that's all part of the fun, eh mate?! 😂

Back to the workshop I go for round 2...

Cheers

G

FEEDBACK: 5th October, 2023

Turbinia Down-Under

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Here’s a mat headed down under to mat surfer Mike Curran. Mike is a self-confect mat addict as you can see from what he had to say when we spoke about his journey into matting:

“I am 65 and nowadays a part time Marine Engineer.

I had my first mat/surfoplane rides at Torquay, Victoria way back when 10 years old when you hired them at the front of the Torquay lifesaving club. The thrill of catching a wave has never been lost.

Wind on to 5 years ago & after 45 years as a stand up surfer, (knees getting stiff) as an avid adventure motorcyclist, (Tiger 900) went way over to the NE coastal side of Tasmania to a little known remote area and took a RedBack Surf Mat so I could have a splash, fun and a laugh and ..actually caught some waves. (And still no idea how to use a mat). I was Immediately inspired!

Then In 5 years since has become absolutely hooked! I am now a regular Matter, and have improved a lot, and also helped immensely when he met through work connections the famous NSW, SCUMM. Since then I have matted around Victoria, NSW, even Long Island in New York, Mentawis, and recently South Central Atoll Maldives!

To add to my current mat quiver I needed a mat with more bite and turning ability to use in grungier waves. I’m ready to welcome my new G-Mat Ubercat. My aim is to eventually position on the inside of Stand-Up surfer and call them, for your wave…When you can do that you know ..you know how to surf a mat !

I have named my mat “Turbinia” which was the name given to the very first experimental & extremely fast ocean going steam turbine ship from 120 years ago.”
— Mike Curran

So then, on to Turbinia. She has a very specific place in Mike’s quiver being specialised to surfing hollow and gruntie waves. After some discussion we settled on the idea of an Ubercat. We went for free-breather venting to maximise responsiveness but combined with a 200/70 construction so a stable deck but responsive morphing characteristics on the go. We have also gone with a positive elastic rocker which I have tried to capture in the photo’s below. The camera never really shows this that well.

Turbinia is all black with grey/black Sikaflex EBT grip and white branding which pops nicely I think.

Mike has also gone for a classic G-Mat Apparel Tee. Thanks for the support Mike!

Have fun with your new ride Mike!

Cheers

G

Feedback - 21st May, 2023

She’s had about 5 surfs. Main points In point form. 🤔

1. Seems to be much easier to bend and paddle through broken waves than my others.

2. Yes gripping better on the bottom turns and seems to point and turn easier than others.

3. Is faster!

4. Must have it more than 90 degs fold over for best inflation.

5. Loves a late drop.

6. Deck grip very good.

The Widow Maker V6

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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

Z-Brah

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A bit of a weekend project here building a mat for myself. It was flat and absolutely freezing cold so a warm workshop and podcasts seemed very appealing. I've had a big hole in my quiver for some time now with a Nouveau Racer named "Steady Eddie" and a RB-JMC Ultralight named "Featherweight Fordy" and nothing in between. Basically, if it was ether solidly overhead/heavy or upto shoulder high glass I was golden. The 80% in between I was having to work a lot more and poor FF had been taking a right pounding!

So then, on to this mat. It's called "Z-Brah" because the name makes me laugh and works however you pronounce "Z". Z-Brah is a 70/70 Ubercat. Standard free-breather with positive elastic rocker to get tight on the turns. I've also added a bungee for leash attachment for night surfs and wave pools so all in all... I'm covered! Weight off my mind to be honest!

I've actually finished another mat before this one for Mike Steele which I'll post dreckly.

We have waves at the mo so Z-Brah should see some action pretty soon.

Cheers

G

UPDATE/FEEDBACK 06/03/2023

Well after all that I sold Z-Brah to Chris Cavey over in Santa Cruz. I ended up building my son and myself mats over Christmas and needed money for a trip so with heavy heart let Z-Brah go.

Here’s feedback from Chris. It’s good to see that the Ubercat does what it says on the tin.

UPDATE - APRIL 2024

A little edit of Chris Cravey riding Z-Brah at the Kelly Slater wave pool.

The 70/40 Experiment Goes On...

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The experiment continues and I am very excited to send this mat off to her new owner.

G-Mat 221 Ubercat 70/40 Surfmat positive rocker elastic rocker Chinook James Tanner

As a mat builder I have always been a believer in testing things out before imposing them on the general public (or ‘going to market’ I guess if I want to sound fancy).  I believe I am a reasonably good mat rider but certainly not the best and aside from anything else, it is important to get things under the bellies of talented mat surfers who are able to give me detailed feedback. That’s no different for this 70/40 construction.

So far, Andrew Stephen Buck has an RB-JMC built with these materials. He’s had a few waves as Rincon has had the worst winter you can imagine but the feedback to date is “best yet”. The next test pilot is Kiwi James Tanner.

G-Mat 221 Ubercat 70/40 Surfmat positive rocker elastic rocker Chinook James Tanner

For those who don’t know him, James is one of those watermen who just hit the flow whatever they are riding and that’s no different with his mat riding. James has a really dynamic style getting a mat right onto it’s rail and really defining S-turn surfing, without losing an iota of speed. He has an RB-JMC in his quiver but we talked about an Ubercat given his style so we’re both excited to see how this mat named “Chinook” goes.

The 70 denier deck is dyed salmon pink with the bottom and I-beams being cut from orange 40d taffeta. Chinook has an elastic bottom hiving a natural inclination to create a smooth progressive curve into turns. Perfect!

G-Mat 221 Ubercat 70/40 Surfmat positive rocker elastic rocker Chinook James Tanner

So lets see how she goes. My 70/40 RB-JMC has been surfed 15 to 20 times. She has developed a super-slow leak. It doesn’t affect inflation when surfing but it is there. I think this is due to a scrape with a reef but I can’t be 100% sure. This is why we test... to see what happens over time with different mats, different riders and different conditions.

Exciting though!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 221 Ubercat 70/40 Surfmat positive rocker elastic rocker Chinook James Tanner

FEEDBACK 25th JANUARY 2022

Jason Stanson - 2 of 2

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2 of 2 for Jason Stanson is a mat named "Pink Panter". This slinky pinky is the quiver mate to Ghost Rider, Jason's RB-JMC and is built with a mind to surfing the OC beaches and hollow wedges.

Pink Panter is a G-Mat Ubercat. With her positive elastic rocker and narrow beam, as well as deep concave and rail hooks, Pink Panter will transition from rail to rail easily with hold and drive through tight radius turns. She is also a free-breather to keep things responsive.

I recently built a similar mat for a very notable mat surfer who fedback that "it comes off the bottom real well and when the wave has some power it really goes". Just the ticket then eh Jason?

Pink Panter and Ghost Rider are on route so I'm hoping to get word of their adventures in the not too distant future.

Have fun Jason.

Cheers

G

FEEDBACK - 7th JANUARY, 2022