5 Star General 70/70 Proto

Little proto here. As you can see, this is a 5 Star General, my "off the shelf" model that I build for UK Mat Surfers. This one is different though. No, not the colour. That's just cause I had some sexy material lying around and this is a prototype.  

The 5SG is a well tested design. There are a few floating around our there and I've had nothing but good feedback from the people who own them. This one is different because of the materials. This is a 70/70 build so has a 70 denier bottom skin as normal, plus a 70d deck rather than the usual 200d. That means this mat is super light weight so gives a really sensitive and fast ride. 

I've tested this mat in small weak waves and shapely hollow racie shoulder to head high surf (see below) so far and she has gone great! 

So, all good. What this all means is that I will be adding a 70/70 5 Star General to the mix with the next batch that go to UKMS. A great addition to the quiver, if I do say so myself! 

G

G-Mat 127 (AKA "Isabel")

This is Isabel. She's a 200/70 G-Mat Ubercat built for Paul Lorello over in New Jersey.

Paul is an experienced mat surfer and got on the waiting list after getting hold of a 5 Star General from UK Mat Surfers.

Isabel has been built with a free rocker. Paul surfs hollow, fast breaking beach breaks (well, he is in NJ after all!) so free rocker seemed the best bet to get down the line whilst still benefitting from the Ubercat's hold.

The deck is 200d in royal blue and the bottom 70d navy. The grip is Puraflex 40 and covers the front corners.  The livery looks yellow in these pics but that's down to some kind of interaction with the blue I think. The logo is actually green, as you can see from the bag.

Paul has gone for a free breather to add a little more zip and a standard deck valve placement.

As for the name. Isabel is named after Paul's new Granddaughter.

CONTRATULATIONS!!!!

So off she goes. I reckon Isabel is going to be the perfect companion for Paul's 5SG. Looking forward to hearing back. Have fun Paul!

Cheers

G

UPDATE 04/08/2017

Word from Paul:

"Isabel arrived yesterday and  I lucked out  because the wind turned offshore and the 2-3 ft closeouts I’ve been riding the past few weeks turned into glass, with some punch.

Mat rode great and I was able to get a feel for how good it will be when the size bumps up, which should be soon.

Can’t say enough about the excellent quality and really appreciate the fact that these are handmade…kind of a rarity these robotic  days.

Paul Lorello"

Glory Goes Deep...

Sounds like someone scored....

"Graeme...

On Sunday, while the northern California surfing world formed a huge circle in the waters off Pleasure Point to honor the life of Jack O'Neil...I paddled out at Steamer Lane on Glory. No disrespect to Jack as he was a hugely honorable man and I have been an advocate of his products for over 40 years, but the opportunity for a perfect wave with minimal crowd conditions was too tempting (I think Jack would understand and approve, as he was larger than life on the outside but a true waterman on the inside).

To make things neat and tidy here is the deal...started off inside at Middles...caught a handful of mid-size (2-4' face) waves and got some nice long rides. Then I graduated myself out to the main break in front of the looming dark cliffside where the waves were considerably larger with 6' faces. I waited in the line up as the handful of board surfers got waves...then eased towards the deeper section behind them. Soon enough I caught a set wave, carved a nice arching bottom turn, pulled into a deep barrel section, came out as the wave rounded the point and was immediately hopped by more than 3 longboarders who had no idea I was there.

I tucked underneath the white water and returned to the line up to await the next set which came soon enough. I caught another wave with equal result except for the hoppers part as I yelled my fool head off from inside the barrel which caused them to hesitate...100 yards later I kicked out over the dwindling wave face and returned to the line up once again. As I passed through the cluster of guys who were hanging on the inside all of them commented on my ride positively.

From that point onI didn't have to say a word...just kick like hell and commit! All in all, I caught over a dozen set waves in short order and burnt my matches...legs like noodles, I caught one last wave and let it carry me to within 30 feet of the egress rock pile at the bottom of the cliff. I exited almost gracefully except for one bobble while removing my fins, walked up the steps, and found my way home.

Thank you for your part in this story...no photos this time...as I wanted to stay low key. I will go back Thursday to a much larger south swell and will shoot some video.

Alan Whitsett"

Big, Bright & Sexy!

A bit of colour on this one then! This is G-Mat 136 (AKA "Jah-Sea-I") built for San Franciscan, Jesse Witthoft. Jah-Sea-I is a Flying Carpet designed to get the juice out of even the slightest swell.

Jess is an interesting fella to build mats for. First off, he is huge!  Secondly, he has a unique riding style way back on the mat (As you can see in the pic below) so there is a lot to think about regarding grip placement. As you can see, the grip is towards the back following a design by Jesse. There is also a bungee for a leash.

Photo by @steevsea - Click the pic to follow him on Instagram

When building mats for lager riders you have to consider the weight of material. 70d fabric feels like 30d on a jumbo mat. As a result, we have gone for a 200d deck rather than the standard 70d on a Flying Carpet, but Jah-Sea-I still feels super light.

The other issue was that the original plan was for a red bottom skin. We tried and tried and tried with dying a sheet but the size of the fabric meant I just could not get an even finish around the edges. It was bigger than my work bench!  

In the end, we settled to build the mat and go for an all yellow dip dye which has come out great! I now also have a bit of red 70d fabric in the bank now (it's enough for a less massive mat!)

Finally, given Jesse's riding style and the neg rocker in Jah-Sea-I we have gone with slightly more rounded corners than normal to prevent catching.

So, Jah-Sea-I is heading of as soon as UPS get her. Can't wait to hear what the SF locals make of her! She's a fast mat.

Cheers

G

Blue Goose!

Say hello to G-Mat 135 (AKA "Blue Goose"). Blue 

Blue Goose is a 70/70 G-Mat Rubber Bucky heading out to Jesse Tuesday in San Francisco. This is a mat built for out and out speed with negative rocker and free-breathing internal venting. Jess was keen on maximising pliability whilst having plenty of traction so we have gone with Puraflex 40 grip. The front corners are fully covered to help with hanging on.

This is the second mat I've built for Jesse. His last mat, Sea Schmoo was a Ute built exactly a year earlier. Blue Goose will certainly open up some bottom end stuff for Jesse but with plenty of crossover, will also offer a different angle on his surfing.

Certainly a different ride to a 200/70 Ute. I always look forward to hearing about the experiences with neg rocker from experienced mat surfers.

Cheers

G

PS. After tats in SF? Tuesday Tattoo is your place. 

---

UPDATE: 08/06/2017

Word from Jesse:

"Hey G,

    Got the Goose in the water and she’s brilliant. Fast enough to make sections and has enough bite take the hi-line. She even accelerates and holds well enough to get into the face of a wave when taking off late out in the crumble zone. Thank you again, your mats are definitely worth the wait!

     Jesse"

G-Mat 134 - Making America Inflate Again!

Meet "Glory", a G-Mat Nouveau Racer heading off to Santa Cruz. Glory is the new steed of Alan Whitsett, a mat surfer with a penchant for big and heavy waves.  Alan asked for a pretty distinctive design which, after a little collaboration, we hit bang on. 

Here's what Alan had to say about the design:

"I'm probably the happiest when I'm in the water and my humor and humanity is reflected most...it seems to me that the world needs to see that America still has goodness in it...the abstract use of the star images rather than rigid rows is whimsical...I want to be the ambassador that makes people laugh and smile, to focus on our commonalities rather than our differences." The name "Glory", ha...well it's kind of complicated...a bit personal and a bit political keeping in mind the current regime in Washington."

"My first waves were ridden on a mat in 1958...I was four. When I first paddled out last year on my 4th Gear Flyer at Steamer Lane...and caught that first wave...I remembered how glorious I felt as a four year old...sliding across the water, laughing, giggling, wanting more. The mat for me is a "new-found Glory", a "coming home" if you will. The flag design came after that realization...it just made sense to combine my sense of glory with our flag "Old Glory"

So there you have it. Pretty distinctive mat for a pretty distinctive fella. Glory is a 200/70 set-up built as a free-breather with free elastic rocker and gripped with Puraflex 40. Down the line speed is the go! 

Alan is heading off on a trip to San Jose del Cabo early next month so a Nouveau Racer seems a pretty good pick if things are firing over there. I'm sure Alan will turn a few heads! Hopefully we'll get some stories and pics.

Cheers

G

Bleddy Kernow bound, innum!?

Yes... She is. Although to an ex-pat Aussie who now resides in Newquay in Cornwall.

G-Mat 133 (AKA "Tilda") is a 200/70 G-Mat Ute built for Bill Topham. Bill wanted a stable and predictable feel to his mat so we settled on building Tilda as a wheezer. We've also gone for quite a heavy coating of Sikaflex EBT in grey as grip to help to stabilise the deck. 

Tilda has a free rocker so she is a real all rounder.

Bill has also gone for a rather fetching long sleeve tee. Nice to see G-Mat Custom Surfmats getting to exposure in "Surf City"! ;)

The thing I like most about building mats for people in the UK is the fact that I get to see them in action. I hope to get to surf with Bill at some point. I surf a few spots around Newquay and it's always a pleasure to see experienced wave riders take up the bag of love.

Cheers

G