RAMBO!!!!!!!!!!

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With the Approaching Lines Slyder Cup approaching this weekend I thought I might treat myself to an early Christmas present.  

This is G-Mat 67 (AKA "Rambo").

Rambo is a 70/70 Ute, gripped with Sikaflex 11FC+I've been toying with the idea of creating camo for some time and the recent acquisition of green fabric seemed to be the perfect opportunity.  As for the jungle pattern, well maybe that was overkill but I'm pretty pleased overall.

So then... Off to the Slyder Cup I go and it sounds like quite a few of my UK Mat surfing brethren will be going along too so it promises to be a blast. You can keep up with all that here:

http://forum.ukmatsurfers.org/post/slyder-cup-the-slydie-bit-7160969?&trail=15

If you're in the south west of the UK over the weekend then come along.

Cheers

G

Adrian, Ripley... Ripley, Adrian...

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UK matter, Adrian Paterson has taken the plunge with a Rubber Bucky. He likes a glidy mat so he and "Ripley" should get along just fine.

Ripley is 200/70 and very well vented. She has Sikaflex EBT grip (rather than Sikaflex 11FC+), providing a significantly more robust type of traction to keep things together in a wetty during what looks like it's going to be a cracking UK winter.

I hope to be surfing with Adrian at his first outing. I love the way these ride so can't wait to see it.

Cheers

G


Warren's Other New Toy - "Trax"

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I've been working hard to get up to speed with the waiting list of late, since my illness a while ago. I'm back on track finally, having been working, perhaps a little too hard, having been working on two at a time. I know... Boo hoo!

I will slow down slightly though to my usual pace.

Anyway, enough whining. Here is the second mat in a pair going out for Warren Pfeiffer which he has named Trax.

Say hello to Trax.

This is another of the 4 pontoon design that I've been working on. I'm pretty sure that this will become a model in the G-Mat range, but I want to get a few more miles from able test pilots just to finalize exactly what the performance attributes of this design are.

There are few more able than Warren.

As you can see, Trax has a white deck and Warren lives in a pretty sunny spot. We've stuck some smooth black sealant on the deck to reduce glare back off the deck.

The bottom skin is the new 70d taffeta which I have in stock. This material is proving to be extremely popular with the next 3 mats in line looking to have green in the mix too!

Gentle elastic rocker and a Hestered valve.

As you can see from the shot above, Warren has opted again for a Hester Valve placement. I've also made a double bag for the two mats to be stored together. I'm giving some thought to how to build bags for more mats, should people want them when ordering multiple mats.

Double mat bag.

Black anti glare on the nose saves on snow-blindness!

I'm pretty excited to hear how this mat works out for Warren. Although wider than his new Ute, Max, this mat has a lot less volume so I'm really interested to hear about his experiences with Trax in solid surf.

Should be in Oz for next weekend.

Cheers

G

Warren's New Toy - "Max"

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G-Mat 60 (AKA "Max")


Meet Warren Pfeiffer's newest ride named Max.

There are a lot of similarities between Max and Warren's previous G-Mat, Zeno, 

There are a couple of differences though.

Like Zeno, Max is a 200/70 Ute with slightly squarer back corners than normal to enhance the speed. However, the front corners have the more usual Ute template with a slightly larger parabolic curve to prevent them from catching.  Max also has a  Hestered Valve with the grip on the middle pontoon going a long way forward.

The final difference is the subtle elastic rocker. I really think I'm going to start doing these as standard. Shaped rockers are OK, but you notice them when you really need to get that top gear out of a mat with the excess fabric and the natural propensity for the mat to settle into a curve causing them to red line on occasion. The elastic rocker really is the best of both worlds. There when you need it and flat when you don't.

Anyway, Warren has another mat in production so won't be getting his hands on Max just yet as both will go out together, but I'm hopeful he enjoys Max.

Cheers

G

Extended grip on the central pontoon.

Elastic rocker. There when you need it, flat when you don't.

Wiggleworm. The bungee that never was...

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G-Mat 64 (AKA "Wiggleworm")

I'm immensely proud to be able to say that I have just finished building a Ute for the genuinely heroic Scott Reeder. For more on why I say heroic, have a read of Scott's interview with UKMS.

 So then, on to the mat. Scott was pretty clear on what he wanted: a black decked, green bottomed 200/70 Ute. He also wanted a bungee at the nose.

All went well with the build and my new forest green 70 denier material is great, but I've recently re-stocked on stainless steel eyelets which are, inexplicably, razor sharp around the edges once fitted making them unusable for the leash fitting as they'll just push through the edge-lap and come out! Who the hell designed that!?

The first mat built with the new 70d taffeta

Anyway, I'm sure Scott will enjoy his decorative eyelet whilst terrorizing the San Diegan lineups on his new leash-free ride.  (If anyone knows of a good European based stockist who can supply sensible stainless steel eyelets than I'd be very excited to hear from you).

So, back to the bits that work, Scott's new mat has a mellow elastic rocker to help to project the mat off the bottom. The clue to this feature is in the name, using the elasticity of the bottom skin to create rocker at high inflation. This means that a slight rocker comes in to play when squeezing the rails on hard turns, but then springs back to being flat again on lower inflation to maximise speed on a flat plane.

Anyhoo, Scott has named her "Wiggleworm" which he tells me is because he likes the way G-Mats "wiggle" and also in homage to his wonderful wife Pam who he affectionately calls "Worm". 

Have fun Scott!

Cheers

G

Elastic rocker comes into effect at high inflation

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

Back to the 70's

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The thing that really got me into building surfmats in the first place was the quest for light weight rides. No surprise then that the two latest rides to come out of the workshop have had me smiling, both being 70/70 construction (lightweight 70 denier material on the deck and the bottom).

First up is G-Mat 56 (AKA "Slop Humper"), a Flying Carpet. It's been ages since I build one of the flat, thin, square speed machines and I've tired a couple of new ideas, specific to this design which look like they will work well. These take more work than the other mats that I build but well worth the effort for those days where you just need to tweak the trim and fly!

G-Mat 56 (AKA "Slop Humper")

G-Mat 57 (AKA "Black Betty")

Next is G-Mat 57 (AKA "Black Betty"), a 70/70 Ute built for Stuart Marshall. Stu seems to constantly be off to warmer climes, charging endless bowling points and reefs. He's also a man who enjoys a flacid, lightweight mat so I'm really excited to hear about his adventures with Black Betty.

As you may have noticed, there seem to be a lot of monochrome mats coming out of G-Mat Towers at the moment... That seems set to continue. 

Black is the new black it seems. 

Cheers

G

Sikaflex News

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For some reason which I really can't get my head around, sealant manufacturers periodically change the name of their products.  I put a video together a while ago on topping up grip using Sikaflex 11FC.

I've recently had an email from a US mat surfer saying that he has struggled to find Sikaflex 11FC over there. Having done a bit of research it looks like Sika have renamed it SikaBond Construction Adhesive. 

As I say, I have absolutely no idea why they do this. The sealant I use for logos has changed it's name 3 times in the time I've been building mats.

Anyway, as far as I can see, this change is only in the USA at present. Anywhere else, just look for Sikaflex 11FC.

Cheers

G

UPDATE: 31/05/2017

My personal fave for topping up is Sikaflex EBT. It bonds to everything and is durable. What's more, you can get it in the UK from Screwfix!

Project Chiledub

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Peter D'Ewart (AKA "Chiledub") has just jumped on the Ute train with his new mat named "The Breeze".

Pete has opted for a slightly squared tail corner. This should speed things up a touch whilst loosening the tail but that's something a mat surfer of his standard will relish. We've also worked the bottom shape a little to support the squarer corners.

Free-breather (as always), 200/70 with the emphasis of the grip in the middle of the mat with the middle pontoon clear for 12" to help with getting up on take offs.

G-Mat 55 (AKA "The Breeze") - Deck

G-Mat 55 (AKA "The Breeze") - Bottom

Pete is a real mat connoisseur so I'm always keen to hear his feedback.

She's boxed and sets off tomorrow. Have fun Chiledub. 

G

G-Mat 53 (AKA "Zeb")

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Aussie matter Henry Marfleet (commonly known as Bluey) has a plan. This plan involves some heavy hollow waves. He came to me after a mat for such circumstances and, having tried a prototype Ubercat some time ago, was pretty clear on what he wanted.

So it was, Zeb was born...

G-Mat 53 (AKA "Zeb")

Zeb is an Ubercat. 200/70 construction with a white deck and black bottom and a very light rail rocker. She also has a bungee leash attachment as you can see for those heavy waves I was on about.

She's en route to Henry right now.

G

G-Mat 51 (AKA "Desperate Dan") - Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

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Me catching a little lump of chop on a Redback. Photo: Mat Arney

We have been having one of the worst summers I can recall in the UK in terms of surf. Weak, dribble has been the order of the day for the most part. I've been spearfishing and riding my bike but enough is enough.

When I was at the Slyder Cup a few weeks ago I had a go on a Redback. Not great mats by any stretch of the imagination but the big, traditional 4 pontoon design was able to get into a glide which smaller, lighter mats couldn't in the the knee high wind slop. It dawned on me that it might be good to build myself something similar, so I started work "Desperate Dan" as a side project whilst building Phileas. 

Big Boys! G-Mat 51 and a Redback

G-Mat 51 Deck

Now, I was sent some assorted samples a while ago. In the mix was some 800 denier Taffeta. Too heavy for my liking for my usual builds, I figured that I might try to make some bags out of it but an 800 to 800 weld was just too much hassle. However, this was perfect for building an 800/70 retro mat as huge decks require heavy material to manage the air movement. A lightweight, huge mat will just leave you chasing the air around like a game of whack-a-mole! The heavier material also has a textured canvas finish so did not need my usual grip, especially considering the waves I have in mind. Instead I applied a hot wax finish as developed by Paul Gross to grip up his Fourth Gear Flyer mats.

G-Mat 51 Bottom

As I say, the Redback went OK (ridden backwards) but needed work so I went back to the drawing-board and updated the design. Square as Sponge Bob, with no fade into the corners, but an XR Tail corner, rather than the drawn out curve. Essentially, I've cut 3-4" off the Redback's 'rounded-pintail'.

I've also increased the venting a touch.

So then, an interesting deviation from my norm and not a mat that will get a huge amount of water time, but something to open up the bottom of the bottom end and hopefully, fun for my wife to get on too!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 49 (AKA "LiLo") - One good turn and all that...

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Paipo by Chris Hartop

So then, let's start with the back story.  A while back, surfboard shaper, Chris Hartop, suggested a board/mat trade. Now, I've long been an admirer of his work and am a sucker for a paipo so that deal was too good to miss.

The race was on...

Who would get their surfcraft built first?...

Obviously it was Chris. My waiting list is AGES long! 

Anyway, Chris hooked my up with my beautiful new board at the Slyder Cup a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, I wasn't too far behind (turns out Chris is busy too) and I've just finished Chris' G-Mat Ute which he's christened "LiLo".

G-Mat 49 (AKA "LiLo")

G-Mat 49 - Bottom Contours

For Chris....

So then. Chris is a relative newb to mat surfing but a man with a wide range of experience as a waterman so I'm sure he'll 'get it'. I can't wait to here how he finds his new ride.

Also, for those interested, Chris runs a shaping workshop so if you're interested in building your own stick then take a look at the Love Foam Facebook page.

Cheers

G

The Approaching Lines - Slyder 2.0

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This weekend saw me and the family take a wee trip to Cornish beach, Porthtowan for the Approaching Lines Slyder Cup 2.0.  This is the second of an annual event celebrating all forms of skeg-less surfing.

The Slyder Cup has a tongue-in-cheek competition element to it but the conditions weren't exactly supportive of this.

Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.....

Nonetheless, it was really good to hook up with everyone and to promote mat surfing as best I could. A few other UK matters were planning to pop along. Phil Sinclair made a showing, but a combination of injury, domestic crises and it just being too far to travel with no surf meant that me and my lad, Webbo, were the only regular mat surfers in attendance. 

Let's hope the surf comes together so we can get a gaggle of matters together for the re-arranged splash-a-thon due to take place in the autumn (TBC).

Anyway, I had a table set up and enjoyed some great chats with interested people. 

There were some truly beautiful creations on show. The spirit of the Slyder is getting in and having a go with all of the creators of various surfcraft having stuff to try.

Most Stoked!

Anyway, despite the lack of surf we all went surfing. And despite the lack of mat riders, there were people riding Redbacks and having a blast.

Great to see a collection of finless craft in the water together with a great vibe all round. 

Webbo had some good waves riding various craft, including the paipo he shaped for the day (second from the right above) and he managed to snag himself an award for being the "Most Stoked Surfer".

All in all, this was a great day and I'd urge anyone to make these. The organizers, Demi and Chris from Approaching Lines, put a ton of work into this and they deserve support.

Keep an eye out for more info on approachinglines.com

See y'all there next time!

G

PS I rode a Redback. Not a design I'd rush to look into but perfect for the shin-high wind chop.