Kessel Run - Something for the Govnah!

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Here's a new mat for Bryn Dampney, Editor of the UK Mat Surfers site. She's a 70/70 Ubercat built with a certain wedgy South Devon spot in mind. 

Bryn is something special at finding barrels and wanted something that would hold well but also have a tight turning circle to get back in the pocket without hacking speed. Given thatthat,  his new mat "Kessel Run" has an elastic rocker which will be a new experience for Bryn but hopefully a good one. 

Given the construction and the planned use, we figured that Kessel Run could do with having a little stability up top. Bryn is a fan of 70/70 mats so we went with Sikaflex EBT to add a little more structure through the middle, without effecting the pliability in the rails. 

Bryn Squeezing into a wee one in SE Cornwall 

Bryn Squeezing into a wee one in SE Cornwall 

I'm looking forward to seeing Bryn out on this mat. One great thing about building mats for people locally is that I get to have a go on them myself too!

Can't wait! 😆

Cheers  

G  

Word from Jesse Witthoft - Big Mat, Big Man, Big Smiles!

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I recently received word from Jesse Witthoft about his adventures with his Ubercat named the "Eggbeater."

Jesse surfs some interesting waves (finless due to his huge feet!) and has told me about a sneaky little micro-barrel in San Francisco. It sounded like fun so I was stoked when I heard from him telling me about the fun that he'd been having with Eggbeater.

Matsquatch spotted in San Francisco!

Jesse says:

"I rode a board once the other day for the first time. It was no fun so I got out got my mat and then I scored.   I've been experimenting with the go pro. Today I put it on top of a broom stick that was zip tied to a fishing rod holder. I put it on the bar on the inside point break that I told you about last time."
 

That looks like fun and a real testament to these floppy bags we love so much.

Thanks Jesse!

G

G-Mat 111 (AKA "Sea Shmoo")

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I seem to be building a lot of black mats of late. And this one is the second with flashes of green.

I like this mat.

"Sea Shmoo" is a 200/70 Ute heading over to Jesse Tuesday in San Francisco. she's free rockered and is set up to handle a wide range of conditions. As you can see, the increasingly popular nose grip is in full effect. Jesse was keen not to get separated from his mat in some some of those river moth spots.

(All sounds pretty sharky to me...)

Jesse surfs with Jesse Witthoft so I'm really stoked at the thought of a pair of G-Mats showing the techie's what's what.

UK matter, Dan Lawrence travels to SF a bit so perhaps we'll see a mat meet.

Anyway, Jesse is out of town at the moment so Sea Shmoo is waiting at his Tattoo Shop for his return.

Baited breath...

G

Evolution - Small Tweeks

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Meet G-Mat 110 (AKA "Steady Eddie").

G-Mat 110 Surfmat Surf mat Nouveau Racer 1564

Eddie is a tweaked Nouveau Racer. For those unfamiliar with it, the Nouveau Racer is a 4 pontoon surfmat with lower volume and comparatively round corners and notable concave designed for solid surf. A number of riders, including myself, have ridden this design in good waves around the globe with the feedback being pretty consistent... It takes a good wave to get going but once you do the mat is very dependable and maintains a good degree of glide for its size.

That's the real trick: building a mat that achieves hold without just bogging.

G-Mat 110 Surfmat Surf mat Nouveau Racer 544

I did notice one thing that I wanted to change, however. On really sizeable days, I was having to kick like crazy to get in to waves, given the mat's smaller profile. This resulted in some pretty hairy drops! Given that, I revisited the design and added a little more length (just a smidgeon). This runs the risk of slippage (there is a goldilocks zone when it comes to aspect ratios) so I needed to up the hold. 

G-Mat 110 Surfmat Surf mat Nouveau Racer 14785

A very slight alteration of the I-Beam positions to slightly enhance the concave has done the trick. The results so far? A mat that behaves as before but gets going a little earlier.

G

 

G-Mat 110 Surfmat Surf mat Nouveau Racer 65497

Holy Guacamole!

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So then the orange deck, black deck, orange deck, black deck pattern continues with a black Ute built for Tim MacMurray who lives in Avocado country in the Northern bit of Southern/Southern bit of Central California. You know the bit... All them pointbreaks!

So then, on to the mat. She is called "Big Mac Avocado Hauler" in honour of how Tim makes his living. As metioned, BMAH is a Ute. She has is a 200/70 build with elastic rocker. The logo is in my interpretation of Avocado green (I think I've got close) with black Puraflex 40 grip. The grip is wrapped around the front corners to help Tim to keep hold of BMAH.

Ask any builder of surfcraft and they will tell you that every now and then they create something that they just don't want to let go and Big Mac Avocado Hauler is on of those. I'm really pleased with every aspect of this mat and she would be a perfect fit for me! If I manage to get back over to California, I'm definitely going to be badgering Tim for a ride.

Have fun Tim!

Cheers

G

G-Mat 108 (AKA "Felis Tubus Lapsus")

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Here is Peter Misson's new Ubercat named Felis Tubus Lapsus. 

​She is a 200/70 Ubercat with flat rocker to make the most of some of those French barrels that Pete is so keen on exploring.

Pete has gone for a Hestered valve, which is my personal favourite option these days. He has also gone for Puraflex 40 grip to make the most of its combined durability and pliability. 

So, Felis is with Pete as we speak but unfortunately, like much of Western Europe, the waves aren't. There be rumblings though... The waves are coming... 

G  

UPDATE: 25/11/2016

Feedback from Pete:

"I think it's a magic mat. Just right for here [SW France], It's fast & really tracks well in hollow conditions & doesn't spin out in the shorebreak."

G-Mat 107 (AKA "Seefarther")

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So, it's been a while thanks to a very memorable trip to California but I'm back in Blighty and my nose is held firmly to the grind stone. I was honoured to mark my return by building a mat for one of surfing's true gentlemen and a master craftsman to boot.

John Mellor's new mat, G-Mat 107 (AKA  "Seefather")

John Mellor is well known to many, being a talented builder of all sorts of surf craft. I first got to know John through his mat riding, via Dale Solomonson and through John's paipo designs. This interview on   MyPaipoBoards.org is well worth a read.

John recently built a couple of kick board style mini-paipo/jumbo handplanes for my son and I which he hand delivered to us in Carpenteria. 

I rode my carbon beast yesterday in 1 foot Challaborough death barrels and she is absolutely incredible! (Note to self... GoPro next go out).

So then, on to "Seefarther". She is a Chino Racer scaled to John's dimensions with a little bit added. John wanted a good stable mat so we went for 200/70 black with Sikaflex EBT grip and slightly restricted the airflow. I could have gone a bit more wheezy in retrospect but I still think John will notice the added shape holding characteristics. 

Seefarther has elastic rocker to get those turns happening too..

So, she ships on Monday. Hopefully John will get some waves. I think the Pacific is doing her thing of late.

Cheers

G

The Rincon Rental Raft

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I'm getting this post up now because I won't have a chance between now and leaving for a pretty sweet holiday.

This is the last custom mat built before my trip to SoCal. She is for ASB by way of rent, what with us parking an RV on his driveway for almost a week.  Given the fact that this is a gift, I've taken the liberty of naming her myself and so the Rincon Rental Raft has been born.

"RRR" is a 200/70 free-breathing Ute with elastic rocker, a Hestered valve and a cracked patterned grip. I'm looking forward to seeing this gal get an outing in the flesh.

So, last one until I get back. I'll be reading and replying to emails while I'm in the US and am hoping to get a few mat meets together.  

I have a brown baseball cap with an orange logo in my case and it will go free to the first person I meet over there who tells me face-to-face that they like brown, like orange and wear caps.

Cheers

G

G-Mat 105 (AKA "The Eggbeater")

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This is G-Mat 105 (AKA "The Eggbeater"), so called because she has the task of helping Jesse Witthoft to negotiate Egg Rock. Jesse says:

"This point I will surf her atthe most is called Eagles. There is a rock that if you get a real good one you make it past called the Egg Rock."

Eggbeater pretty much named herself then!

So, about the mat.  Jesse is 6' 6" tall and long. He wanted a mat that would go fast, hold well and managed the smallest of conditions but still go in juice. The holy grail!  The other thing is that with his size 16 US feet he can't find fins to fit properly (although perhaps doesn't need to).

Given all that, we went for an Ubercat basic design to make the most of the concave and rail hooks. I also extended the length to width ratio slightly to help Jesse to get in to waves more easily.  Eggbeater is a 200/70 construction with Sikaflex EBT grip to add stability to the deck, given the larger size of the mat.

Jesse has also opted for a bungee. Whether this gets much use remains to be seen but it's there if needed.

So there we have it. Long mat for a long chap. She will certainly be a different ride to his current mat and hopefully will beat the Egg Rock.

Cheers

G

G-Mat 104 (AKA "Lupine")

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This is a Ute built for Pam Reeder in San Diego. Pam has ridden a few G-Mats including Phileas, Wiggleworm (a mat I built for her late husband Scott) and a mat I built for my son, Joe which he passed on to Pam and Scott's son, Maz. 

Lupine is a 200/70 Ute with elastic rocker, pigmented Puraflex 40 grip and a Hestered valve.

This is a very similar mat to Wiggleworm but scaled to fit Pam so is MUCH smaller.

I was interested to hear how Pam named her mat.

Her name is "Lupine." 

Lupine is a California Wildflower. It grows abundantly in our yard because Scott spread the seeds a few years ago and in the spring the beautiful bluish/purple flowers return every year. They are gorgeous! (You will see them when you visit). 

I recently looked up the symbolism of the Lupine and thought it was perfect because riding mats was a key to my feeling better and accepting the future and building hope again. 

Here is what I found regarding the symbolism:

"The Lupine flower symbolizes happiness and brings one the inner strength to recover from trauma. The Lupine also brings the message that new opportunities are discovered when one finds the way to have a positive outlook."

Love, Pam

My family and I are heading over to Southern California at the end of March so I'm looking forward to hand delivering Lupine to Pam and seeing them both in action. 

Cheers

G

Clothes for All!

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Up until now G-Mat clothing has been restricted to those with G-Mats and the odd gift but a few people have been after stuff so I've opened it up.

HERE is all the pricing and stuff.

Clothing is significantly cheaper for people buying mats of course (ie. cost price).

If you want anything just get in touch and we can sort something out.

Cheers

G


G-Mat 103 (AKA "Serenity")

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As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been working on a mat for AJ Goodwin. AJ is currently travelling around SE Asia with her husband Chris and has been riding mats for sometime, but struggled to find a good fit, being quite petite.

The obvious beauty of custom mats of course is that they fit. AJ was looking for an all rounder so a Ute was the obvious choice and Serenity was born.  Serenity has a 200 denier deck gripped with grey Sikaflex EBT and 70d I-beams and bottom skin. She is a free-breather and has a positive elastic rocker. 

From what I gather, AJ and Serenity should rendezvous in South Korea. I've tried to talk AJ in to taking a trip to the north to try some of those spots on Google Earth but she's having none of it!

Hope to see some pics in the future.

Cheers

G

Adventures

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I'm had emails from a couple of people off travelling with their G-Mats of late.

First up is Chris Goodwin who is taking a trip with his mat, The Onion. Chris and how wife, AJ are currently in Taiwan.  

 Here's what he had to say:

Hi Graeme, 

I wanted to send you a few pics of The Onion's first time getting wet in Taiwan.  This was at a rivermouth/jetty spot called Fulong Beach in the north east.  It is about an hour and a half by train from Taipei.     We had a ton of fun.  

Chris 

Only a small day but I'm guessing winter is a pretty good time to be in that part of the World so fingers crossed that Chris, AJ and the Onion come across some more solid surf. 

As it happens, I'm currently building a mat for AJ. More on that dreckly.  

Next up is US East Coast legend, Jeremy Grosvenor. 

Jeremy has just been making the most of the wonder that is the Icelandic coast with his low key Flying Carpet named Celeste. 

Word is that Jeremy might head over to my neck of the woods next year so I'll be happy to get him into some local delicacies. For now though, he's making do with a trip to Hawaii. Let's hope we get to see some pics of that too. 

He might even get to hook up with Phileas again!  

Cheers  

G

5 Star General

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G-MATS @ UK MAT SURFERS!!!

I've been a bit busy building some mats for UK Mat Surfers. I designed a mat a year ago called the 5 Star General. Something of an all-rounder, which UKMS now have in their store. 4 mats, all built by me. 

The original prototype was tested by the now infamous Matsquatch.

Luckily, that mat was rescued from the hands of that beast and now lives with Demi and Chris from ApproachingLines.com.

I'm very happy with this mat. It is a little different to the spec of  a full custom with a more restricted air flow to suit  a wide range of riders.  It goes great in all sorts of conditions.  

To get hold of one or to read more check the UKMS Store:

http://www.ukmatsurfers.com/warehouse/g-mat-5-star-general-surfmat

£175 plus shipping ain't bad if I do say so myself.

G

Introducing the Nouveau Racer - Haven't We Been Here Before?!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to formally announce the Nouveau Racer. As you can probably tell, this design has been born out of the Chino Racer to be, well, what the Chino Racer was meant to be!

What happened was this; I designed the Chino Racer with good sized waves in mind and as a mat, it loves a good wave, giving natural hold and stability. The thing is, the feedback from the owners was that they couldn't believe the range of waves their mats were going in. Even a couple of foot would get the Chino Racer flying, as long as there was a bit of shape to it. Of course these mats were also eating up good sized waves but there turned out to be a point where it just felt like a bit too much mat!

The Nouveau Racer was born out of this. The I-beams are the same height as a Chino Racer but every thing else is pulled in giving a comparatively smaller mat with more depth to its length and beam, as well as a slightly enhanced concave. What we have then is lift and hold in a fast, manoeuvrable mat.

The original re-workings went to Bob Booth in North Cornwall and Henry Marfleet. Henry took his to G-Land and rode her in some pretty heavy conditions so it it safe to say that this design is tested! The latest is built for Jamie McClellan for his impending trip to the US West Coast. She is called the Black Mat. I'm not sure what inspired the name.

Henry Marfleet, G-Land

Jamie McClellan's "Black Mat"

I've updated all the mat information on the site to include the Nouveau Racer. Keep in mind of course, these are custom mats so are still each scaled to the individual rider.

Any questions, just ask in the comments below.

Cheers

G

Centurion and Something Else a bit Sexy!

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Well, I've hit the century with G-Mat 100!

This is one of two mats heading off to Oz. The other is G-Mat 97.  Aussie mat wonder, Warren Pfeiffer, was keen to try out some negative rocker and that is what has gone into the mix for G-Mat 97 (AKA "Doppleganger).

Doppleganger is a 70/70 Rubber Bucky. As I say, she has a negative rocker and has pigmented grip in glorious forest green to match the bottom skin. She also has the Hestered valve welded in which is a development that I'm pretty pleased with. Extra work but worth it. I'm pretty sure Warren will enjoy this set up. Not the easiest ride but is set up for lots of glide and speed.

G-Mat 100 (AKA "Centurion") is a 70/70 Flying Carpet in sexy black on black with a blue bottom skin. Flat rocker to get her moving and the valve welded in again. The jungle pattern looks interesting with the back on black I think.

Both of these mats also have a new sealant which has tested very well recently. Puraflex 40 has all of the pliability of Sikaflex 11FC+ but seems to be more durable. It'll be exciting to hear how this holds up in the long term.

So then, 2016 sees me hit the century. I'm pretty pleased with that.

Onward...

G

PS Don't be confused by the numbering. I number mats in order that they are designed, not built!

ASB at Home - Full Movie

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I'm stoked to have been able to put this little edit together.  

The first couple of waves were shot by Dave Schauber. Andrew is riding a Ute named "Fluffy Sunshine" which is pictured below.

The last wave was shot by Chris Keet. ASB is riding a Rubber Bucky named "Pacmat."

These two were really fun to do the artwork on and I'm really happy to see them in full flight. You can read about Fluffy Sunshine HERE and Pacmat HERE.

Thanks to Andrew for making my mats look beautiful. 

Cheers

G

PS You can download a copy of the video HERE.

New Stuff

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Here's what I'm currently riding. There's a fair bit going on that's being tested. 

G-Mat 98 (AKA "80's Nightmare" 

G-Mat 98 (AKA "80's Nightmare" 

First off, it's one of a shortlist of 2 for a design which maximises hold without losing too much hold. That's a tricky balance. One way is to narrow the mat. That does the job but leaves you with a mat that potentially bogs in weaker waves and flat spots. 

The other thing here is that I'm testing a new sealant for the grip.  I spoke with the tech guy at the company and, if this does what it says on the tin, this has the potential to be very pliable but also very durable. 😎

Finally, I've welded the valve on to the mat. 

upload.jpeg

This is a design I've been working on for a while. There are plenty of valves out there designed to be welded in but none of them are so good a design as the Boston valve, after modification. These valves are made to be stuck on, rather than fixed in, so I've had to do a lot of work to sort this out. 

Worth it though I think. 

Cheers  

G