G-Mat 114 (AKA "The Narwhal")

/

This is Mark Garcia's new mat named, "The Narwhal".  When I was talking to Mark about his mat he said:

"When my girlfriend bought me my first mat just over a year ago, there was a popular AT&T commercial that had a catching tune about narwhals swimming in the ocean and causing a commotion because they’re so awesome. We have associated our matting sessions with the Narwhal ever since, which is why I thought it would cool to go with the Narwhal theme."

The challenge was getting the blotchy fade from black at the nose to white at the tail right. I've had a good go. Whether or not it is a good match might be up for some debate but Mark says he's happy.

Perhaps more Arctic Camo than Narwhal print but Mark did make the point the those two things are maybe one and the same.

The most tricky bit of the build was gripping right around the valve to get the black nose. Fiddly stuff!

So then, some technical jimbo jambo. The Narwhal is a 200/70 Ute. She is scaled to Mark so may feel like a little less mat than his current mats, a G-Mat 5 Star General and a 4GF Tracker Round Tail, but should fit him nicely. She is a free breather with free rocker and I expect her to be quick. The grip is Sikaflex EBT to offer some durability and stability to the deck.

As I said, this is going to be a lively and fast mat so I'm looking forward to hearing how Mark gets on with The Narwhal. Certainly a different experience to what he's ridden to date. 

Cheers

G

UPDATE: 28/04/2017

Word from Mark:

"The Narwhal is going great, absolutely love it. Great travel companion. Just got back from a week in Maui. The swell was small, long rights in warm water was like heaven.  Heading to Taiwan at the end of the month, hopefully my timing is good and we catch a bit of swell. it is either awesome or it is nothing. I'll try to get some pics from Taiwan to send along."

Sounds sweet! 

G

Off to Noo Yoik!!!

/

Black is back with G-Mat 113 (AKA "Matte Black"). This low key number is a G-Mat Ute built for Tim Darwish. 

Tim is a New Yorker and surfs many of the local spots. Given that, he was after a good all-round mat to take on some of the less than perfect local conditions but with something in reserve for the solid days when they come around. The obvious choice was a Ute. 

Matte Black is a 200/70 Ute. She has free rocker and is a free breather. She is gripped with Puraflex 40  for a pliable but durable non-skid deck. 

I'm looking forward to hearing how she goes. Tim tells me that he is hoping for some waves around the middle of the week so fingers crossed...  

G  

Kessel Run - Something for the Govnah!

/

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!

/

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")

/

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

/

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!

/

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