Deep Brain Stimulation

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G-Mat Surfmat Surfmats Pete D'Ewart Rubber Bucky 256515

Ahoy ladies and gents, this is DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) a 70/70 Rubber Bucky built for Pete D'Ewart in Washington State in the US of A.

I always enjoy building mats for Pete. He is a real connoisseur and this is his fourth custom G-Mat. You can see the others here:

https://customsurfmats.com/blog/?tag=Chiledub

G-Mat Surfmat Surfmats Pete D'Ewart Rubber Bucky 25

Pete was actually my first ever customer so it is always a pleasure to build a mat for him.

G-Mat Surfmat Surfmats Pete D'Ewart Rubber Bucky 785

So back to DBS. As mentioned, she is a Rubber Bucky. 70/70 free breather with a free rocker. Being a Rubber Bucky there is a deep concave up the middle which provides good lift, with the mat being designed to ride on the wide inside pontoon in trim.

The bottom skin and I-beams are made from the very last scraps of the beautiful green 70 denier fabric from my role so Pete is in for a quick sensitive ride.  I can already hear the cries of anguish from those who have fallen in love with the green fabric. Please rest assured that I will get some more when I can.

G-Mat Surfmat Surfmats Pete D'Ewart Rubber Bucky 9856
G-Mat Surfmat Surfmats Pete D'Ewart Rubber Bucky 365

It looks like the run of good swell continues for the US West coast so Pete should be getting plenty. DBS is more minded towards subtle sensitive low inflation glides than keeping life together in hectic conditions but she will certainly have a prime spot in Pete's quiver, I'm sure.

Cheers

G

UPDATE - 03/12/16

Word from Pete:

"DBS, double bag and T landed today.  G-121is a beauty, another fine design realized with obvious attention to detail.  Can't wait to get it wet.  In the meantime, I've inflated DBS well beyond riding hardness to admire the contours indoors.  Thanks.  Your mats more often disappear when I'm on a wave, full body flying."

Happy so far it seems.

G

 

Not So Iron-Clad

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This is a USS Monitor, a G-Mat Rubber bucky built for Carpinterian, Matt Herman.

Matt surfs the waves in the Santa Barbara region, which means points... Lots of points! The locals are also very open to exploring different ways to ride waves so it's a pretty great place to be a mat rider!

This mat has been named after the Iron Clad war ship. Monitor was a high performance, marine craft too, but that's where the similarities stop as G-Mat 122 isn't armour plated! She does have a 200 denier deck with Sikaflex EBT grip though to offer some stability (comparitively).

The original USS Monitor

The original USS Monitor

The Rubber Bucky design was developed with a lot of testing at Rincon so it kinda feels apt whenever I ship one over there. We know the design goes well in those waves!

It sounds like the US Pacific post is doing well for itself at the moment too so she should get her maiden voyage pretty soon!

Cheers

G

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UPDATE - 24/11/16

Stokes to hear from mat that Ironclad it going well for him. Matt says:

Literally just got out of water now- the mat is all speed.  The negative rocker just pulls you over the face of the steepest drops supper late, giving me tons of speed but also keeping me in the pocket. 

Thanks to @tate_larrick for permission to share the shot of Matt at Rincon.

G

PHOTO: Tate Larrick

El Gnaranja!!!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, I would like to introduce you to "El Gnaranja", a G-Mat Ute built for a true giant of Californian mat surfing (in every sense of the word).

Matt Pierce is a very talented mat rider. You may be familiar with his image popping up on the site every now and then in the banners. I have a lot of time for Matt. He is a very knowledgeable, and a really good guy with an eye for hand built surf craft.

Matt rides mats at super low inflation so El Gnaranja is a free breather to make the mat super responsive. On paper, she is a small mat for Matt's 6' 7" frame, but Matt has grown up on mats that are small for him an we settled on these dims after a lot of collaborative head scratching. 

In addition to the free-breathing innards, El Gnaranja has a free elastic rocker, meaning that fore/aft elasticity is in place on both top and bottom skins. All-in-all she should be a fast mat.

The grip is Sikaflex EBT so nice and durable offering some added stability.

California seems set for some good swell this Autumn and winter so El Gnaranja should get plenty of water time. With Matt recently moving back to Orange County he should get her in the water a ton! 

Have fun Matt!

G

G-Mat 220 - Getting Manly

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This is G-Mat 220 (AKA "Bening"). She's the new steed of Manly Beach Surf Lifesaving Club's General Manager, Marc Manion. 

Bening is a G-Mat Ute. 200/70 construction with a deck valve and leash attachment. Marc was after some stability so she has a Sikaflex EBT grip job. The internal venting is also restricted. Being a "wheezer" means that Bening will be more predictable in terms of holding her shape. Marc is a bigger fella so the increased stability balances our against the extra volume.

The leash attachment is there as a back up to the matter's death grip as Marc takes trips to Indonesia. I'm really looking forward to seeing that! I hope Marc and Bening have a lot of fun! 

Cheers  

G  

G-Mat 119 - WUNDERBAR!!!

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It's been quite a while since I dyed a mat and, if I'm honest, it's a job I hate doing, but the results tend to make it worth while. That's certainly how I feel about Ian Wraith's new Rubber Bucky named "Wunderbar". 

Wunderbar is built with high speed glide in mind. She is a 70/70 with negative rocker and a Hestered valve.  Ian lives to ride at super-low inflation so Wunderbar is set up as a free-breather to maximise speed.

As mentioned up top, Wunderbar has been dyed VERY green. I think this is set of nicely with the black of the Puraflex 40 grip and the black logo. Ian has gone for grip around the front corners, including the edge-lap to help with keeping hang of Wunderbar in gloves this winter.

I'm looking forward to handing this gal over to Ian. I'm also looking forward to getting a quick go!  

Cheers  

G

Anuket - Heading to Wales

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This is G-Mat 118 (AKA "Anuket"), built for super-talented prone riding Welshman, Keith Usher.

Anuket is a 200/70 G-Mat Ubercat with elastic rocker. The grip is Puraflex 40, pigmented light blue on a royal blue deck with white livery and black bottom skin. As you can see, Keith has gone for a leash attachment as well.

Keith has had Anuket out for her maiden voyage on the day of writing. He seems pretty please with her getting over flat spots and plenty of hold at low inflation. These were soft waves so not really where this type of mat really gets to open up. 

Today Keith didn't wear a leash. The leash isn't intended for every day waves. It's there because Keith takes on waves like these! 

G-Land

Aileens

Leashes are always only a back up on mats but sometimes, keeping hold just isn't an option and a swim around the inside at Aileen's doesn't sound a ton of fun!

Keith has another G-Land trip planned soon. The spot where he first tried a mat! I can not wait to see how Anuket and Keith get on.

Cheers

G