Project Jeff

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Bonjour Mes Amis!

This is a post about a G-Mat Ute which has gone out to my Celtic Brother, Jean-Francois Mens (better known as Jeff) from Brittany.

Jeff has gone for a Ute which he has named "Redenn": the Breton word for "slide". He's opted for an all black 200/70 mat with plenty of grip. 

Right now he's on Belle-Ile, an Island off Brittany so Redenn has gone there in the hope of waves.

G-Mat 63 (AKA "Redenn")

I really enjoyed building this mat because she is going to surf waves which are very close to my heart, namely the breaks around Douarnenez, Audierne and La Torche. I've taken a couple of trips to this area myself and will be going back more. The people are amazing countryside is reminiscent of my beloved Cornwall 20 years ago and the waves are varied, high quality and quiet.

Here are a few shot I took on our last trip in 2011:

So then, the first G-Mat to hit the European Mainland is due to surf some of my favourite places. That makes me happy.

I hope Jeff and Redenn have a blast. 

Cheers

G

Clearing Out the Quiver

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Although mats clearly don't take up much room, I'm letting one go from my quiver because she's just not getting a look in.

G-Mat 34 (AKA "Bongle")

Bongle has seen some action, having gone on loan to a few people in California for a while. She was built with a subtle rocker and has hooked rails and concave.

The Glider has now been superseded by the new Rubber Bucky design but is still a very good mat. It is really quick and super loose, having a slidy, skatie feel. 

This particular mat would suit an experienced mat surfer of 5' 10" - 6' 1" looking for a lively mat to make the most out of medium sized surf.

Bongle was built as part of a test of a change to my welding table and as a result one of the welds has a very slight wobble to it. This has gone as far as it ever will and certainly will not cause a problem or affect performance. Due to the wear on the I-beam weld I'm going to let this mat go for £90 plus shipping.

The grip is warn as I type this but I'll freshen it up before I ship it so that will be like new.

Cheers

G

​PS Here's Kendog on a mat of the same size and dims:

Kendog - Photo: Lance Smith

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

Catching Up with the Master

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I've just spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone to my Sensei, Dale Solomonson.

For those who don't know (and I guess I'm talking to the minority here), Dale is the man behind the legendary Neumatic Surfmats and the man who pioneered the use of lightweight, weldable nylon. 

Dale Solomonson Photo: Ken McKnight

It was so good to finally hook up with Dale after so long. For the many who will surely ask, he sounds pretty good. Focused on getting healthy after his illness and sounding pretty positive about life in general.

As always, Dale has shared some info with me. To be more precise, he re-shared some info but some 40 mats down the line it made a lot more sense and has changed some over-complicated thinking for me.  I'm not going to go into anymore detail than that and apologise for being cryptic. The key lesson today is one that I so often preach in other areas of my life... The solution to compexity is simplicity.

Thanks again Dale.

G

Dale Solomonson Photo: All About Surf

Introducing the Rubber Bucky

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I recently posted about "Hestered" valves on a new mat. Well, now I've ridden the mat in question in conditions ranging from walled up solid peelers to rippy junk and now it's time to go public...

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! I give you, the G-Mat Rubber Bucky. 

ASB's Rubber Bucky Proto's: 200/70 top, 70/70 bottom.

Apart from having possibly the funnest name to say out loud of all the G-Mat range (I bet you just tried it too) the Rubber Bucky is a contender for the Ute’s all-rounder crown. Developed in partnership with Santa Barbara mat-meister, Andrew Stephen Buck, this mat emphasises traditional high speed mat surfing, quickly finding a plane and favouring controlled drifts and subtle rail control, whilst still holding well enough on steep walls to get your fins out of the water and let loose.

This three pontoon mat is slightly narrower than the Ute, but has a fuller feel due to having slightly more depth (thickness). The I-beam positioning draws heavily from the Ubercat giving a deep concave and pronounced rail hook. The overall feel is very different though with a greater width to length ratio and slightly enhanced bottom contours.

Photo: Jon Shafer

ASB Photo: Olivia Sabedra

Slightly rounder parabolic corners fore and aft work together with the bottom contours to give a clean progressive curve to aid hold. Well vented internal structures allow easy air transfer letting the mat to change shape rapidly, increasing speed and responsiveness.

The Rubber Bucky works well with a 200/70 configuration (200 denier deck and 70 denier bottom skin) or 70/70 for increased sensitivity.

Check it out in action from 1:10 in the following video.

Cheers

G

Hestered Away on an ASB... Erm... Paddow?

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OK. I will be the first to admit that the pun in the title of this post is flatter than one of Andrew Stephen Buck's mats, but I have some early feedback of my own on my scaled up version of ASB's favourite G-Mats. Namely, the valve position.

Hestered Away Valve

This valve has been tucked away under the edgelape at the nose to give a clear deck so as to reduce the likelihood of unwelcome union during duck dives and wipeouts. This positioning wasn't my idea. My first go at this was on a mat for the living legend that is Henry Hester on his mat "Stinkles", so I call this "Hestering" the valve away. 

I don't know if Henry is keen.

Stinkles

Stinkles Valve

My initial concerns were that the valve would catch but, as you can see from the shots, the valve is clear of the water at full inflation and the nose of the mat is always fully inflated. It's easy enough to get at the valve to reduce air by twisting the valve and the air pressure during deflation seems to prevent water from getting into the mat.

All in all, I think it works pretty well. Henry has given positive feedback as has Ian Wraith regarding his mat "Badger of Honour". I think my personal preference is still to have the valve on the deck but this is certainly a valid option for those who are into it.

Ian Wraith's "Badger of Honour"

Back to the ASB mat, I've ridden it once in very nice walled up glassy reef surf and she went really well. I need more sessions but am confident that it's a good design. To be honest, if I thought it was bad then I would be questioning my riding rather than the design as ASB is a far more able mat surfer than me.

More to come.

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