Samples

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My material supplier has hooked me up with some different materials. These are an Oxford weave rather than the usual Taffeta. 

Each of these samples are a metre wide so enough for one skin each and a couple of I-beams or a bag.. They are:

1 x 70d navy blue. This is really nice, very pliable stuff which should make lovely bottom skins. 

1 x 70 burgundy. This has a weatherproof coating which prevents the material from absorbing water. Were this smooth it would increase hold but slow the mat. In this instance though, it has a rough texture which, in theory, should lead to less hold but a quicker mat. Perhaps it'll balance out and be exactly the same! Time will tell.

1 x 200d gold. That's right, gold! This is a 200d material although it feels notably lighter than most 200d material. It'll be a crime if the person who has a mat made from this doesn't call it "Bling Crosby"! 

1 x 200d airforce blue. This is the same as the gold.

1 x 200d grey. A heavier material more like the usual 200d material I've been using. This looks like it might have a weatherproofing so might not be suitable so will need some testing.

I'll need to do some tests but will be making mats with these over coming orders for people who are interested assuming these work out. Certainly nice to have some colour options without having to dye.

Cheers

G

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

Non-Identical Twins

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Andrew Stephen Buck's latest mats are about to wing their way to Rincon.

G-Mats 31 and 32

G-Mats 31 and 32

These girls are built to the same dimensions with G-Mat 31 (AKA "Accept Join Mr Torn 1") being a 200/70 construction and G-Mat 32 (AKA "Accept Join Mr Torn 2") being 70/70.

Both are gripped with stippled Vulkem and are, as you would expect, free-breathers.  This is a bit of a development of the Ubercat design made to make the most of many aspects of that design but enhancing the glide.

Reports to follow...

G

Ongoing Project Goes On...

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A little while ago I made a mat called "Jus d'Orange" which went to Ian Wraith. Ian has given some great feedback on the design and I've personally witnessed him flying in both weak waves and cracking barrels.

All is going to plan so far then! The thing is, Jus d'Orange is made to fit Ian and Ian is considerably smaller than me so I've scaled up to fit my more weighty needs!

G-Mat 30 (AKA "Piping OTT")

This is a complete free-breather with a 200 denier top skin and 70d I-beams and bottom skin. The grip is stippled Sikaflex.  I've left a little space around the grip at the tail incase I need to rework the corners.

Given the ridiculously huge logo I've called her "Piping OTT". I'm really looking forward to giving this mat a go out. 

Cheers

G

More Valve Developments

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The new Boston Valves have been working very well indeed with entirely positive feedback to date. The one observation that I have made is that deflation can be a bit slow when loosening the base out in the surf. The temptation can then be to loosen too much meaning the valve comes out. Not a huge problem but an irritation.

I've come up with a solution though and have had my drill out.

Drilled Boston Valve

That shot is a super close-up. The residue doesn't affect the thread at all and quickly cleans itself up. Both sides are drilled giving just the right amount of ventilation. The rubber seal of the valve stops any leaks once the valve has been tightened.  

All future G-Mats will come with this set-up. Anyone who has Boston Valves which haven't been drilled, feel free to have a go yourselves. If there are any problems then I am more than happy to send over a replacement drilled valve to screw into your mat so give me a shout.

Cheers

G

G-Mat 28 (AKA "Yellow Peril")

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It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have a Bullet in my quiver after my last one left me for another bloke.  With that in mind I knocked up this little lady.

G-Mat 28 (AKA "Yellow Peril") 70/70 G-Mat Bullet

I've named her Yellow Peril for obvious reasons but I really wish I'd waited for my wife to come home first. She took one look and said "Jasper" which is Cornish dialect for "Wasp".

Bugger...

70/70 construction with a little restriction in the airflow to keep some shape in the juice. The colour will help should I lose her in the early morning murk too.

The grip is Sikaflex... Stink-free. 

G-Mat 28 - Backlit. Idea for this lighting nicked from Jamie McClellan

Anyway, looks like we have just the swell for her tomorrow.

Excited! 

Cheers

G

Andrew Stephen Buck Interview

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Ken McKnight has spent some time chatting with Andrew Stephen Buck in the latest installment of "Here & Now" on UK Mat Surfers.

ASB was able to supply some great shots of himself riding mats and boards, including a few of himself riding his latest G-Mat, "Slippery Dick". Really stoked to see these.

The interview is well worth a read:

http://ukmatsurfers.org/html/asb.html

Enjoy.

G

Andrew Stephen Buck by Will Adler

Andrew Stephen Buck by Will Adler

Ongoing Project

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I've been putting thought and now time into a design idea recently and have come up with this 200/70 free-breather..

G-Mat 27. Full bellied goodness.

This is a mat more in the belly and less of a hook on the rail than other models mixing characteristics of the Bullet and Glider designs. Hopefully this will give a good all-rounder but needs testing.

G

Lambeau & Bluey's Big Adventure

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I received some great feedback from Henry Marfleet about a mat from my quiver; an Ubercat named "Lambeau".

Henry posted his feedback on the UK Mat Surfers forum and said the following:

"Got back last week from a 2 week holiday in west oz.

G-Mat 19 aka "Lambeau" hitched a ride with me, as it needed to get over to east oz, and thought it would be nice for it to get a taste of west oz.

Was in the water 2 hours after arriving in Perth, and because it was small and the spot was shallow reef took the fatty out, nice to be surfing in boardies for a change.

Then down to the south west of west oz around the Yallingup region, to surf some proper waves.
Grabbed Lambeau, and never looked back, poor sod had no rest up as I surfed it for the rest of my time over there .

Surfed a variety of reef breaks, handled the steep take-offs, loved the fast walls, and held nicely into the barrelling sections.

It was just as happy in the hollow beachies, was slightly worried that it would not want to track and stay in the barrels but no worries on that count, slipped and stayed into them perfectly."

Sounds like Henry's scored himself some pretty sweet waves!

G

Hoth Monster

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This is a mat for California's Matt Pierce named "Hoth Monster", a 200/70 Ubercat with a flat rocker. Gripped with Sikaflex. This mat is completely un restricted in terms of airflow but as the stablity of the Ubercat. The flat rocker should help to give it a wee bit more and I've done a little something to help to keep the nose in order without the need for asymmetrical corners.

G-Mat 26 (AKA "Hoth Monster")

G-Mat 26 (AKA "Hoth Monster")

Matt is something of a big hairy monster himself and has been looking for a little something to get into those tight wedges kicking around down there. Hopefully this mat will fit the bill being slightly undersized but with enough in the gut to compensate.

G

Jamie McClellan - Feedback

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For those unaware, Jamie McClellan is a mat surfer of some note from North Carolina on the US East Coast. (Find out more about Jamie HERE). 

Anyway, Jamie has ridden a few of my mats (see the banner pic at the top of this blog!) and recently scored a G-Mat Bullet named "Lucky" which is the orange mat featured on the home page of this site. After a really long lay off due to work commitments, Jamie has finally managed to get a session in on Lucky.

Jamie McClellan riding G-Mat 13.

Photo by Dan Murphy

Jamie offered some brief feedback:

"Lucky did everything I asked of her and I didn't have to think about it which is a very good first impression. Felt great!"

Action without thought... Music to a mat builder's ears. 

Cheers

G