G-Mat 77 (AKA "Righty Tighty")

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Ladies and gents, this is "Righty Tighty", a G-Mat Ute built for Santa Barbaran (Barbarian?) Colin McCrindle,

Colin tells me that he surfs a lot of points and reefs, including Rincon. Given this, we've worked on maximising Righty Tighty's lift and down-the-line speed which I'm very excited to see in action.

As you can see, Righty Tighty is the customary Santa Barbara monochrome. Colin actually went for dark grey, rather than black lettering which seems to disappear in the shots above but is actually visible.

Colin has gone for Sikaflex EBT grip to maximise traction. The more I use this stuff the more I dig it. It adds a bit of overall weight to the mat but that is negligible once you add a rider. The grip is so dependable.

Anyway, Colin has some boat trips planned so I can't wait to hear back from him on how she goes.

One last thing though, Colin actually named this mat Righty Tighty and I accidentally wrote "Tighty Righty" on the edgelap.

Tighty Righty... Sounds like Ron Paul's new underwear line, am I right!!!

Thankfully, Colin took it on the chin. DOH!!!

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UPDATE:

I forgot to post this at the time of WRITING, accidentally saving it as a draft,  so all of that above is a little out of date. Colin has been riding his mat a bit in good waves and has given me some feedback. He had been riding an extremely narrow mat so had some adjustment to make. Seems like he's made it. 

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Here's what Colin had to say:

"The mat has been great. We've had a few really good south swells recently, so I've been getting head high to double overhead surf quiet a bit.

I'm still adjusting to the width, but it's not an issue. The speed it generates is incredible, a new skill I'm working on is hitting the brakes to not completely outrun sections. I got one really good barrel on my last go out, so I'm getting it dialed in.

More later. "

Well, 'too fast' is fine by me.  We can always stall. 😆

Cheers  

G  

RIP Scott Reeder

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This post is hard to write.

I woke this morning to an email from Scott Reeder's wife, Pam, saying that Scott has passed away.  For those who were unaware, Scott had been living with a rare  form of cancer since 2012. He never let that get in the way of living his life though, carrying on mat and stand-up surfing, snowboarding and spreading his infectious joy for life to everyone he touched.

I first got to know Scott when I worked with him and Ken McKnight on his HERE & NOW INTERVIEW for UK Mat Surfers.  Anyone who has read that has been blown away by it, and anyone who hasn't read it should. We obviously spent a lot of time talking about mats and I was honoured to build Scott a Ute named "Wiggleworm" last year. We spent well over an hour talking on the phone about all sorts and I was struck then by Scott's energy and joy. He regularly gave me feedback and clips via email, in amongst just talking shit.  Scott's sense of humour was a good match for mine, and I enjoyed many long email conversations with Scott putting the world to rights (and wrongs). People who have been following the Phileas Project will remember how much work Scott and Pam put in to Phileas' stay in San Diego and the comedy of it all. You can see all that HERE.

Recently, Scott was readmitted to hospital to undergo surgery and unfortunately passed away after a period in ITU. Scott sent me an email just before going into hospital with a couple of clips entitled "Small Wave Hellman". He said:

“ I surfed Wiggleworm a bunch during the leadup to surgery. The last day, Sunday, was sublime. Probably snagged 40 glassy little racers. These clips are not from that day. I’ve been having a blast lately trying to build speed through the cutbacks. Surf mats are the best. Goodwill to all matkind! OK, gotta rest for the big day tomorrow. Cheers. ”

And that sums Scott up for me. He never stopped living and he never stopped loving. My thoughts and heart-felt wishes go out to to Pam, Maz and all of Scott's family and friends.

I will say Rest in Peace but I seriously doubt that Scott will rest at all in whichever form of heaven he finds himself.  He'll be dragging everyone down to ride the next cosmic swell with a smile on his face and I'm sure he will check in on the rest of us from time to time just to make sure that we're not taking ourselves too seriously.

3 cheers to you Festus Porkmeyer, and thanks for the inspiration.

G

Glorious Sexnicolor

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I've managed to get my hands on some pigments to colour the sealants that I use for logos and grip. 

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To date, I've been using the technique developed by Dale Solomonson of mixing powder paint into sealants but that has been a horrible, time consuming messy business, needing gnarly solvents and general hideousness to get it done.

 

The powder also affected the consistency of the sealant but these don't seem to at all. 

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Pleasing, glossy finish. I'm pretty sure that these will work with grip too and I will be able to mix up colours and send some pigment out with mats so that people can get a perfect match when topping up. 

Pretty excited by this. 

Stand by. 

G

Long Live EBT

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Word from Adrian Paterson on his Rubber Bucky, 'Ripley':

"Hi G, just thought you'd like some feedback on 'ripley' have to say I've had some great surfs of late, due to your technical know-how! feels real positive in all sizes & conditions , love the grip. tiz real good so thanks & well done, saving my beans for another.

Regards Adrian"

I'm very pleased to hear that Adrian's grip is going well as his mat is the first I gripped with Sikaflex EBT, the more hardy cousin of Sikaflex 11FC+. Glad to hear that Adrian has his Rubber Bucky going in all sorts too. 

Cheers

G

Recognition for a Legend

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I'm very, very proud of a certain Californian G-Mat rider today. 

Some of you may know of, or even personally know Henry. An extremely talented mat rider with a colossal pedigree as a surfer having been a previous Rusty team rider.  Henry has a special mat which we christened the Glider XR. I built two of these to the same dims. On called Big H (a play on "Bad H") which now lives with my friend Bob Booth. The other was "Stinkles". 

"Stinkles" Photo: Graeme Webster

Henry at Swamis Photo: Lance Smith

There's plenty more to read on Henry and his mat surfing in his UK Mat Surfers Here & Now interview . For now, lets get back to why I'm so proud of Henry.

I'm sure most will know that Henry has dabbled in Skateboarding over the years. When I say "dabbled" I mean that he is a bona fide legend of the sport. Seven times World Slalom Champion who competed regularly up until just a few years ago. 

Henry went on to organise the Hester Series comps and famously developed revolutionary skateboard wheels. And then there's the Skatecars. And then the Snowboards...

Too much to cover in a brief blog post and that UKMS article has it from the horses mouth.

What that article does't is why I'm so proud of Henry today. I'm proud because a few days ago, Henry was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.  So well deserved for a true legend of our time and a really top guy.

What blows me away most with Henry is his openness and humility (kinda blustering hell-man chaotic humility that is of course!) Henry has undoubtedly forgotten more about skating and surfing than most of us will ever know. Still, he goes through life with his eyes and ears open and is always looking for the new stoke. 

He picked up a surfmat and took glee in being a novice. Guess what... Now he's RIGHT up there.

Henry, I salute you mate. Enjoy Henry's acceptance speech and look on Planet X. Henry Hester has a few lessons for you on how to ride a surfmat.

Cheers

G

Just What the Doctor Ordered

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Please welcome G-Mats 79 and 80 into the world. This pair are called Gladys and Dorothy, respectively.

Dorothy is a Ute and Gladys is a Chino Racer. Both are 200/70 free-breathers with subtle elastic rocker. This is an ideal quiver for all eventualities.

First up, Dorothy. She's a Ute and the perfect all rounder. Sean currently surfs around North Devon and with summer coming a mat to glide those long, glassy peelers at spots like Woolly is ideal. Dorothy isn't shy of the juice though but I have slightly emphasized the bottom end  as she is part of a double act.

Next we have Gladys. She is a Chino Racer so loves power. Sean travels an awful lot and surfs some very high quality solid waves. He tells me that he has found that he has been pushing the limits of his existing mats in some of these waves so Gladys is here to fill that gap.

Gladys will dig those big hollow North Devon days too.

Can't wait to hear how these girls go. 

Cheers

G

Feedback from John Hughes

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I've had a couple of emails from John Hughes regarding his early experiences with his 70/70 Rubber Bucky, Sylvia.

John says:

EMAIL 1:
My first session was on tiny waves at the local pier. There is a break on the north side of the pier that happens only when the tide and swell direction are just right. When it breaks a wedgy peak forms right next to the end of the pier. That turns into a fast drop which usually breaks right away and puts you in the whitewater. That lasts for a few yards then it re-forms into a walled up ledge that reels right into the pilings. Just as you get to the pilings you can pull out then take the outgoing channel next to the pier and go right back to the take off zone.

The ride is short but exhilarating.

Although the swell that day was tiny, the conditions were right and a miniature version of the wave was working. The mat handled it easily, tracking down every little seam in the wave, turning a potential non-session into an hour of fun. No pics of this. I took a camera with me but no one was there to take pics. The inflation pic is from that morning.

EMAIL 2:
I got the mat out again this morning, this time in some waist high but lined up groundswell. This mat is blazing fast! I was easily blowing by sections and the mat was smooth and controlled. When the offshores held the wave back I could hang the mat at the top of the wave until it walled lined up then let it loose. I am definately clicking with this mat. It is another level above Phileas. I can't wait to get it in some big stuff.

I didn't get actual surfing pics. I just had the snapshot camera. I include one pic of the inflation level I am at. It works very well with low inflation. Also include the latest update on my car stickers. We may be getting some big onshore slop soon. If so, I will send a report.

aloha, John

Bring on the slop!

Cheers

G

Word from Scandinavia

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Word has come in from Sweden's minister of matting, Tim Ciasto.  Tim has a couple of Rubber Buckies, both in sultry black on black. You can read all about them HERE.

Anyway, having a lot of work on as a film maker, plus living in a land with inconsistent waves, it's not always easy to get quality surf in but it sounds like the Norse Gods have been smiling on Tim judging by his recent email:

 

Got incredibly busy the last week but guess what...

Today I went surfing. It almost didn't happen because when I tried to put my DaFin Big Boo's on over my winter booties I ripped the strap of one fin... damn :( need a replacement now...

I really thought that was it, but I discovered that I had backup in my car (my V7's and 5mm dive socks). 

The wind was not too extreme so I decided to take "Geburtstag Bonus"...

You said it will take probably a couple of waves to get used to it... well ... what can I say...

My first 3 waves where pure magic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

On the first one I pulled into a steep section an had the brief feeling that I side-slipped but then the mat locked in and accelerated rapidly... so much fun. It was at my favorite spot but those waves today where among the best I ever surfed in Sweden. 

Thank you so much for this incredible gift. I still have a big smile on my face :)

Well, now I have a big smile on my face! Great to hear. Tim is planning on another visit to the UK soon which the UK Mat Surfers crowd are very pleased to hear. His last visit was great fun:

I'm looking forward to hearing about more adventures from Tim and his girls. It warms the cockles to know that I've played a small part in people's stoke. 

Cheers

G

Blue & Green Should Never be Seen...

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.... or so the saying goes. 

Luckily, that saying is a bunch of ol' pap and I've just built my second 70/70 Rubber Bucky in a row with a blue deck and green bottom skin.

Meet G-Mat 78 (AKA "Sylvia") built for Floridian, John Hughes.  John is a connoisseur of lightweight surfmats and a strong advocate of drifting mat surfing. Oh and he lives in the land of raggedy short-fetch swells so a Rubber Bucky seems like the perfect chariot.

Sylvia Is a free-breather with rocker and a Hestered valve. John asked for lighter grip so we went with Sikaflex 11FC+. He also asked me to leave a good amount of clear fabric up the the middle pontoon to save his chin from rashes so I've compensated with a little extra grip on the inside of the outer pontoons to make up for it.

John has also ordered a charcoal grey tee with black print. Sexy monochrome... Cool guy. :-)

Just waiting on the Tee and then Sylvia is off to her new home.

G

G-Mat 76 (AKA "Aquamanbag") - Happy (Early) Birthday Me!!!

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Never let it be said that I'm not an advocate of self-compassion and to prove that, here's my new steed, Aquamanbag.

I built this mat as a birthday present to myself an fully intended to wait until my birthday to unleash her. I was even gonna wrap her up.

That all went out of the window though and I've already had her out in some sloppy pap! She went great though.

Aquamanbag  is a G-Mat Rubber Bucky. Blue  70 denier deck and green 70 denier bottom skin. She is a free breather (of course) and has a flat rocker. That flat rocker does special things in those mats that you need to just run and they get quicker over time.

Stuff happens to them...

Special stuff...

Anyway, I've gone for a little colour and jazziness with a yellow logo and grey jungle grip. The grip is Sikaflex 11FC+ to keep things light and pliable.

Summer is on the way ladies and gents!!!

G

Happy Birthday Webbo!!!!!!!!!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BOY!!!!

Photo: Becky Webster

My boy Webbo (AKA Joe Webster) is 14 today and I'm not being at all biased when I say that he is a great lad of whom I am very, very proud.

Anyway, Webbo is becoming a pretty good mat rider and asked for a new mat for his birthday so here she is... "The Camo Carrot".

The Camo Carrot is a 200/70 G-Mat Ute. She has an Urban Camo style grip job with Sikaflex EBT, offering plently of traction, is hard  wearing and also helps to add stability to the deck to make things more manageable. 

That stability is also increased with the restricted airflow in this mat. I don't usually built "wheezers" these days but it does offer a more predictable platform so should help Webbo to continue to progress.

The Camo Carrot also has a bit of rocker. Webbo seems to have developed a bit of a taste for steep waves so that should help to keep things in order.

Finally, The Camo Carrot has a bungee leash attachment. Nice to keep Webbo attached to his mat... At least for now.

Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!!!!!!!!!

Dad.

G-Mats 73 and 75

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I'm VERY proud to have had the opportunity to build a couple of mats for one of mat surfing's truly great guys.

Tim Ciasto Photo: Mike Holland

Swede, Tim Ciasto is a great film maker, Photographer and a very solid mat rider. If you don't know him, UK Mat Surfers published a Here & Now interview with Tim last year which is well worth a read:

http://www.ukmatsurfers.com/tim-ciasto

Tim recently asked me to build him a mat to film from, asking for a bungee fitting for leashes and, perhaps, to hang stuff off. After some discussion, Tim opted for a Rubber Bucky. And then one became 2, because Tim is a solid mat rider so why have a leash on those days when you're not filming, eh?  And so it was that Geburtstag Bonus and FunWell were born.

Both mats are 200/70 free-breathers and, as you can see, Tim is a fan of black on black for grip and logos.  Geburtstag Bonus has a blue bottom skin. Very nice fabric this. Super pliable. FunWell is the same but all black which has a slightly denser weave and has the bungee fitting..

Tim is coming over to see us and get some waves so will be grabbing these in person. I always love surfing with people on their maiden voyages of mats that I have built so I'm pretty stoked. 

Cheers

G

Objet Volant non Identifié

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There have been some strange events afoot of late. First off, the sighting from mat grom Joe Webster of the Matsquatch in South East Cornwall, UK.

Then, as if that's not enough, an OVNI (French for UFO) has been sighted heading south from the area towards South West France.

We have our best man, Peter Mission on the case.  He's going to take a good look into what's what with this phenomenon. Photo evidence seems to indicate that the OVNI looks very similar to a G-Mat Chino Racer. 

Who'd have thought it!!!

So,we await word from Pete for more info.

Believe...

G

Soixante Neuf

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Double Entendes are go!!!!!!!!!!

Here's Peter "Chiledub" D'Ewart's latest mat, a 200/70 Chino Racer with a Hestered valve and Sikaflex 11 FC deck grip.

This is G-Mat 69 (ooh er!) whom Pete has named "Fast & Bulbous" (yuk yuk!).

Pete tells me that he's planning to slip it into some glistening tubes (fnar fnar!!!) in So Cal in a week so the Courier is under strict instruction to GET THE MAT TO PETE IN TIME!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, that is the double entendre mat out of the way.

[The world breathes a collective sigh of relief]

Onward.

Cheers

G

Tees and Hoods

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I'm really stoked to say that customers are now able to add a quality tee or hood to their order when buying a mat. 

These tees are top quality Gildan garments with the G-Mat logo individually cut and vinyl printed by the good people of the Cornish T-Shirt Factory. What this means is that you can pick your colours for both the garment and the print.

Custom exclusive clothing!

Bar a couple of pressies that have gone out, the only way to get one of these is with a custom mat. 

Cheers

G

G-Mat 70 - Keep the Faith

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Here is my first mat of 2015. I'm honoured to have been able to build G-Mat 70 for So Cal Surf Photographer, Joe Ewing who has named his new ride "Faith".

G-Mat 70 (AKA "Faith")

Faith is a 200/70 G-Mat Ute. Joe wanted an easier paddle so she has a flat rocker to help on that front and will also see this mat get down the line in a hurry.  The grip is Sikaflex 11FC+ in white with a grey logo. 

Joe has opted for a bungee leash attachment too.

Anyway, back to Joe, those who know him lill be aware that he's a talented surfer great photographer. You can see his work here:

http://joeewing.printroom.com/pro/ewing/default.asp

Have fun Joe.

Cheers

G

 

An Unexpectedly Low Bottom

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Word has come in from Warren Pfeiffer that his Chino Racer, named Trax, is finding good lines in some weaker surf. Although not having quite the bottom end glide of his other 2 G-Mats, Trax is finding her way through  some weaker inside sections, getting far more water time than expected in over the Aussie summer.

Warren Pfeiffer - G-Mat Chino Racer

I've found similar results over the last couple of sessions. I've ridden my Chino Racer, Turd Surfer, in some of the recent solid swells and found myself getting into a good glide as waves backed off on the inside. I initially put this down to the experimental rocker profile that Turd Surfer has has, but Trax has a full on elastic rocker. The conclusion, then, is that this model actually has a much better bottom end than we initially thought. As a result, I've edited the Slide Guide to reflect this.

With our solid run of surf continuing in the Northern Hemisphere, I'm looking forward to testing the top end a bit more over the coming weeks.

Cheers

G

Introducing - THE CHINO RACER

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You will have seen pics of the latest model before, I'm sure. I'm pleased to announce that this 4-Pontoon model has now been tested thoroughly. The verdict... It loves good powerful waves (hence the pun on "Rhino Chaser" for which I make only a moderate apology). Here's the blurb:

G-MAT CHINO RACER

The 4 pontoon Chino Racer is the “gun” of the G-Mat range, being the choice for waves overhead and bigger, or heavier and hollow smaller surf. Tested in solid conditions, the feedback has universally been that this mat needs a decent wave to get going but when it does, it is really quick from the off, giving a very assured and predictable hold. Warren Pfeiffer has described this model as “feeling like it is locked on rails”.

The mat is relatively narrow and the 4 pontoon design reduces the overall volume making it easier to get under waves.  The I-Beam configuration through the middle pontoons features 2 lower I-beams with a slightly taller central I-Beam giving a concave through the bottom and increased stability through the centre line.

200/70 configuration (200 denier deck and 70 denier bottom skin). 

Pretty much all conditions covered then.

With a number of models of mat now in the G-Mat range, I've knocked out a wee diagram to help customers to think about what might best suit their needs. I call it the "Slide Guide".

Happy New Year!!!

G

Signing Off with a Wee Gem

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G-Mat 68 (AKA Buckwheat)

So, here's my last post of the year as I pack up G-Mat Towers to spend some quality time with family, friends and waves.

I'm signing off with some shots of my latest build, a G-Mat Rubber Bucky built for cold water mat legend, John "Bagjuan" Mann of Washington State, USA.

John is what we mat builders refer to as "compact". As a result,  his mat (named Buckwheat) is comparatively small.  I would be a happy man if I could see Buckwheat and Matt Pierce's mat,  California King side by side. It would look like a mattress and pillow combo!

Anyway, Buckwheat is en route and John tells me that he and his son are awaiting arrival.

Les BagsDeux

So, back to the wrap up, it's been a great first full year. I'm so stoked to have been able to build mats for so many people. The waiting list is currently going to keep me busy for the next 6 plus months so it's onwards and upwards!

Thanks to all my customers for all their support.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

G

California King - A Big Mat for Big Matt

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I have just built a monster. This is "California King", a G-Mat Ute for the 6' 7" wookie that is Matt Pierce, OC mat charger. California King is Matt's 3rd G-Mat and this time he's going BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG!!!!!!!!

Matt asked for this 70/70 monster to have added grip at the nose to save unwanted separation, hence the snow-capped corners. This is a very lightweight mat  which has been scaled to fit Matt's colossal dimensions.

As you might expect, Matt has largely learned his mat riding on craft which are comparative travel pillows so this will be a new experience for him, which which may require some adjustment. I know he's relishing the challenge and I know that a rider of his immense talent will do it with ease.

I'm hopeful that California King will open up new waves for Matt.

This has been a real fun build and I'm really looking forward to hearing the feedback.

G

California King next to an average sized mat.

Matt and his Mat