High-Performance Custom Surfmats Hand Built in the UK
After some serious faffing about with various samples, I've finally managed to add caps to the G-Mat clothing range. I'm really happy with these caps and the quality of the print.
People buying mats can now also get flat and regular peaked Trucker Caps (pictured), cotton baseball caps and flat peaked rapper caps. As with the tees and hoodies, the caps come in any colour with any colour print.
Cheers
G
The latest mat out of the workshop is for Henry Hester. This is Henry's special take on an old model called the Glider. Henry's adaptation is the XR corners at the tale. There's more on the ordiginal mats built to this design HERE.
Henry's favourite mat is named "Stinkles" so it only seemed fit for him to name his new steed "Son of Stinkles." S.O.S. is a 200/70 set up, same as Stinkles with free rocker. The one change is that Henry has gone for more grip than previously and this time has gone for Sikaflex EBT, rather than 11FC+. The reason? Well, Henry has some significant travelling planned for this year, going to Hawaii and to NSW. Given that, he was keen to go with a mat with a more stable deck as an option for waves with some grunt.
I've knocked Henry up a double bag to keep his girls together on their travels. Sounds like the three of them have a pretty sweet adventure lined up.
Have fun Henry!
Cheers
G
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, this is the next instalment of weird surfmats for Andrew Stephen Buck, following hot on the heels of Pacmat.
G-Mat 89 (AKA "Fluffy Sunshine") is a free breathing 200/70 Ute with rocker.
You may also have noticed that she has a little artwork.
Fluffy Sunshine is a gift for ASB from his good lady, Olivia. Apparently she was quite insistent about this theme. Thankfully, Andrew seems to like it.
Whether or not the Rincon locals will get their heads around it is another question all together!
In any case, we can be sure that there will be no missing ASB in the lineup and, should be lose his grip, Fluffy Sunshine should be easy to see.
Cheers
G
Well kids, it's been a long time since I've built one of these. This is "Eye Beam", a 70/70 Flying Carpet built for UK Mat Surfers web guru, Bryn Dampney.
Bryn has a bit of a fetish for black and orange which we first saw when he had his first G-Mat, Bombina. With that in mind, Bryn has gone for pigmented grip on Eye Beam's outer pontoons. I've used Sikaflex 11FC+ so nice and pliable with grit added to help out with the durability and traction when worn down. I've also left plenty of the deck uncovered as Bryn has fine tunes, water chess in mind for this mat.
Bryn made the decision to go for a Flying Carpet with summer in mind. Of course, sod's law means that this El Nino summer seems to be sending us some munting swells (not that we're moaning) but there are still plenty of small shapely days and no shortage of wind slop, so I'm sure Bryn will find something to get Eye Beam going in.
Slippy-slidiness doesn't mean this gal will shy away from a little more anyhoo.
Can't wait to see how she goes.
Can't wait to have a go myself!
Cheers
G
This is Henry Marfleet's new ride, Bez. She's a free-breathing 200/70 Chino Racer with a restricted flat rocker.
G-Mat 87 (AKA "Bez")
As you can see, Bez has a 3/4 grip job of grey (yes, it is grey I swear) Sikaflex EBT+. This is very durable and offers good traction and also adds to the stability of the deck. Bez also has added black grip on the front corners to help with hanging on to her in heavy situations. I've used Sikaflex 11FC+ for this to keep it pliable. This is backed up with a bungee leash setup just in case Bez and Henry get separated.
Sikaflex love handles
So why does Henry need such a solid, stable, belt and braces mat? Well, that's because he's off to G-Land and it can get quite heavy there apparently. As you can see, Henry isn't unaccustomed to waves in that part of the world:
Anyway, Bez has set off to hook up with Henry and then off they go. Pretty exciting trip for both of them.
Cheers
G
Henry Marfleet - K-Bay, Dorset, UK
Here's Jason MacMurray's new ride. A 70/70 Rubber Bucky, disturbingly named "Self-Pleasure."
As I say, 70/70 and the black material combines with the lighter coated green to make a nicely balanced mat. Jason has gone for some rocker.
I have been promised some shots of Mr MacMurray pleasuring himself in due course although I'm a little apprehensive about opening the email!
G
This way, that way, both ways, no way... Rocker in mats is a tricky subject.
Since first starting to build mats I've been really interested in bottom shapes. Curves across the bottom have a huge impact on the performance of mats, affecting hold, lift, rail to rail transition, etc. But what about end to end?
In the past I have built a few mats with rocker built in to them by shaping the I-beams. This gives a curve for sure, but also leaves excess material when the mat at low inflation is flattened which causes form drag and cavitation so slows the mat down. No more of that then!
Dale Solomonson Neumatic Advanced with an extreme elastic rocker
Dale Solomonson experimented extensively with "elastic rockers." This is where one skin (usually the bottom) and the I-beams have an ability to stretch and the other skin doesn't (as much). I have moved into using this technique for some time now too when putting rocker into mats. The advantage is that at rest at low inflation the mat is flat. As inflation is increased (ie by squeezing the rail) the rocker comes in to effect. Also the nose of a mat is pretty much always fully inflated to the curve in the bottom is always in operation as water comes into contact with the mat and starts to flow around it.
Much better!
So, on to the types of rocker.
FLAT ROCKER (ROCKERLESS)
One option of course is no rocker at all.
Flat rocker
A mat with flat rocker basically has no elasticity in either the top or bottom skins. This means that the mat's default position is flat and flat means fast. Minimal drag. What this also means is that the mat has a wider turning circle so flat rocker is best suited to people who want to get down the line at speed.
Of course, with mats being mats it is possible for the surfer to bend the mat into any shape they want (I am a builder. The rider is the shaper). That said, mats seem to "remember" their dimensions even at low inflation. It is important point to remember is that when bending a rockerless mat, the lack of elasticity in the skins means that there will be a small excess of material on the shorter side (ie on the deck on bottom turns and on the bottom when bending the mat the other way.)
Rockerless mats are best suited to surfers who want to get down the line and have complete control over what the mat does. The lack of elasticity end to end makes the mat far more predictable in the way it behaves. As predictable as you can get with mats anyway!
POSITIVE ROCKER
Positive rocker (what people generally mean when they say rocker) gives increased maneuverability when turning off the rail by introducing a curve.
Positive rocker
The elasticity of the bottom skin gives a smooth, progressive curve, rather than a bend so turns such as bottom turns and cutbacks can be tighter but still smooth, maintaining and even generating speed.
The downside is that rocker slows the mat down. That's not to say that rocker results in a slow mat. Just slowER than a flat one. With an elastic rocker, you are able to flatten the mat so that the elastic bottom skin returns to a flatter plane, but that magical surfmat memory will still remember and act accordingly. Also keep in mind that, unless you are almost totally deflated, at least some of the mat will be at full inflation as the rider's weight pushes air into other parts of the mat. On a flat plane, this is the nose so the rocker still has an affect.
Positive rocker is great in steeper, peaky waves needing a more maneuverable mat.
NEGATIVE ROCKER
Negative rocker basically means that the mat is built to "bend the wrong way." A lot of people find it aesthetically displeasing to the eye but function should always win out over form.
Negative rocker
The idea of negative rocker can seem counter intuitive and it is certainly a rare build but it gives a very quick mat by producing additional lift (I think in large part due to keeping more of the bottom in contact with the water). What's more, the rocker profile helps when catching waves so mats with negative rocker can get going earlier.
The potential problems with the design are clear of course. Mats with negative rocker are less inclined to naturally want to turn up on the rail and there is always the risk of catching a rail and unexpected instantaneous pearling is far from unheard of! Rounding front corners can help with that but they can become sticky, negating the point of having a negative rocker in the first place. The advantage of surfmats over other craft is their malleability of course and surfers can manage the outer front corners to deal with these issues.
It's certainly not a design for everyone, but is an interesting, fast option for those who are happy to put the work in.
FREE ROCKER
Saving the best 'til last? Maybe...
I've coined the name "free rocker" after some reflection on the characteristics of mats that I've built over the years. Free rocker is essentially a flat rockered mat but with elastic top and bottom skins. The majority of mats that I have built have had elastic decks and bottoms because I have not always restricted the elasticity. I'll be honest, this was incidental initially, rather than a deliberate decision on my part.
As I have said, at rest a mat with a free elastic rocker will be flat, even at higher inflations. The difference between free and flat rocker though, is that free rocker can stretch either way to produce a smooth positive or negative rocker when needed. At times this will be because the surfer has chosen to put it in, eg on a bottom turn or pressing down on the nose to get into a wave or over a flat spot. At other times, the mat will develop a positive/negative rocker (or both) of it's own accord because it just needs to. The wave and mat kinda get together and agree!
The more I think about free rocker, the more I think it is probably more "surfmat" than any of the above three because it is the only one that is completely unrestricted. That is not to say that it's always the best bet but fans of surfmat magic just have to dig it, right?!
At the end of the day, the decision on what's best will be down to the surfer, the waves they ride and where the mat sits in a quiver.
Lots to think about though.
G
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