Unexpected Addition to the Family!

Say hello to Inkblot.

This is an unexpected addition to the family.

The customer who originally ordered this mat was all good to go and then unfortunately ran in to some unforeseen expenses which meant they we unable to go forward. I had already dyed this deck and cut the panels.

As it turned out, the customer was very close to my size and the mat is a 70/70 free-breathing Rubber Bucky and I have been desperate to get one in my quiver but just haven’t had the free-time to build one so I made the decision to have her.

Don’t worry… I squeezed in an extra day of work on the Bank Holiday weekend to get her done so hasn’t slowed anything down production wise!

Anyway, with Inkblot and my Nouveau Racer, Unity I now pretty much have the perfect 2 mat quiver and am sorted for the next couple of years at least. I don’t tend to hang on to unused mats so I’m putting my blue and yellow mat named Michael Stripe up for sale for anyone who wants her - £145 GBP + shipping.

She’s was built in September 2016 and is in very good condition (the result of washing with 50 dunks after every session). I’ll top the grip up before she goes out.

Michael Stripe is an Ubercat (in case you hadn’t guessed) but being a 70/70 free-breather is much more of an all-rounder and goes well in pretty much all conditions. She is best suited to an experienced mat surfer or, if you are less experienced, more air and patience to get used to her floppiness will see you adjust!

Cheers, G.

Siobhan Heads to Hawaii

G-Mat 165 is a G-Mat Nouveau Racer heading off to hook up with Craig Jerome in Hawaii.

She is a 200/70 wheezer with free-rocker made to eat up decent waves with some push but with some scope built in to the bottom end to open her up in more average conditions too.

Craig has named his new mat Siobhan. Funnily enough, that’s what I was going to be called had I been a girl, so I have a natural soft-spot for this one.

Craig says there’s a bit of solid swell on the wat so looking forward to seeing how he and his new ride get on with that.

Have fun you two!!!

Cheers

G

Off to Cali!

Hello there!

I’m off to California for a couple of weeks from Saturday so keen to hook up with people and maybe sort a couple of matmeets over there.

The time I was there I got a session in with ASB in tiny Rincon.

And the meet at Cottons was such a blast!

Our itinerary for this trip is:

---

WEEK 1:

Based in Carpinteria at Santa Miguel Campground from Sunday April 4th until Saturday 13th April.

---

WEEK 2:

Based in San Onofre at San Mateo Campground from Saturday 13th April until Friday 19th April.

---

Be good to to hook up for some sessions so give me a yell. Another matmeet would be great! Mike Janich is staying at the site over that week too! :)

---

In other news, I’ll be sending out an email to take a couple of custom orders over the next couple of weeks to get started when I’m back so keen an eye out if you’re on the list and if you’re not, HERE’S THE LINK.

Cheers

G

His and Hers

I’ve finally got around to building a pair of mats that have been on the horizon for some time. These are G-Mats 163 (AKA “Bear”) and 164 (AKA “Bunski”) and have been built for husband and wife surfmat tag-team, Ben and Yoko Bennink.

Ben and Yoko run the wonderful Slidaholics website based in their homeland of Australia. They are both enormously experienced waterpeople with a good deal of experience riding all manner of craft, including mats.

Given that, it was a real pleasure to work with them around this collaboration. Ben and Yoko came knowing that they wanted mats that were fast and loose, with stacks of glide. Given that, a brace of free-breathing Rubber Buckies seemed to be the order of the day.

As you can tell from the picture of Bear and Bunski side-by-side, there is a bit of a difference in size between Ben and Yoko! As a result, there was a need to do some serious scaling in both directions but, job done.

Have fun you crazy kids!

Cheers

G

---

March 7, 2019: FEEDBACK FROM BEN & YOKO:

I’m so stoked to get this message from Ben! THIS is why I do it:

“G-Mats Situation Report.

Yoko and i got to test the new G-mats this morning. We actually got really lucky, we scored somewhere with just the two of us, a place that's usually always packed. There was offshore / cross-shore devil wind on it. Hence the lack of crowd. But, pick the right one between gusts, and it was a good size, fast and reasonably hollow despite the bumps coming up the face.

Graeme, those "Rubber Bucky's" you scaled for us both are fucken insane.
Seriously, just fucking WOW. Bravo dude, fine workmanship. Worth the wait and every cent.

We found them to be,faster than the Ute model, and that's in tricky bumpy conditions! Which is pretty wild, the ute is damn fast too, but these are quicker.
Seriously can't wait to get them in something with a cleaner face. yes more slip, and much more sensitive than the Ute, but it's manageable, and a shit load of fun.

Can't report on crossovers at this stage, we were overtaking each other easily, but didn't risk the crossovers at that speed in the wind and bump, didn't want to hit a bump, get it wrong and knock each other out.
So mainly sharing speed runs, and swapping the lead. Made a couple of windy barrels as well.
Both hooting like kids on speed. Still smiling, and the last time I saw Yoko that stoked, was when I made a new noserider for her. BTW. That problem we had when I was on a G-mat, and she wasn't, where i kept out running her, problem solved :) Now she's as fast as me, or even faster.

G it's obvious you put a lot love and dedication into you're work. We both genuinely appreciate it.

Thanks Dude, from two very happy sliders. :)

Taking Custom Orders

Hello everyone!

I’m pleased to say that I am nearly at the end of my left over waiting list. As some might remember, my list got long to the point of being about 3-4 years and that was ridiculous! As a result, I had to cut it down to the longest waiters and I’m just working on the last two right now.

G-Mat 162 (AKA “Unity”) - After hours build for myself to take on my travels

So, how am I going to avoid another long waiting list? I’m glad you ask! I have set up a mailing list and will email when I’m ready to build a mat or two. It is a matter of first come-first-served so I’ll vary the times to suit different time zones.

There is a new page on the site imaginatively called “Ordering a Mat” where you can sign up;

https://customsurfmats.com/order/

As I say, I’m working on a couple of customs now and am then going to do some 5 Star Generals and Bodybags for MatSurfers.com (with a trip to Cali in the mix for my Birthday) so the first email will go out in late spring.

Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support. I never cease to be blown away by the positive vibes I get from people!

Cheers

G

PS The mat pictured is named Unity. She is a Nouveau Racer built after hours for myself to take to Cali. 😎

Oink! Oink!

I introduce to you, ladies and gentlemen, a mat with an identity crisis! Not anything to do with the mat herself, but her name. 2 stuck out for her owner and both stuck out too prominently to be dismissed. As a result G-Mat 161 is named "Comrade Napoleon" AAKA "Miss Piggy"

This little piggy is built for Andrew Steven Buck and is a 70/70 G-Mat Ute. ASB is a master matter and as such he is after mats that are super sensitive and responsive. With that in mind, Napoleon (I’m not typing out all that again) is a free-breather with negative rocker.

70/70 construction with a lightweight Sikaflex EBT clear grip finish, Piggy (again… I’m not typing all that) is built to be super glidy, very sensitive, highly responsive and therefore…

FAST!!!

She heads off to hook up with ASB in Carpineria and I am gagging to see how she goes in those Rincon rights. Hopefully I’ll get to see her in action in the flesh in April (yes… April. Not the best time for Rincon eh?!)

I love building mats for Andrew. A true master of the art and a man with an deep knowledge not just of how to ride surfcraft but how they work. He has certainly played a huge role in making me both a better mat builder and mat surfer.

Here’s to you ASB!

Cheers

G

Bumblebee

No… not a Transformer, although mats are certainly transformative!

Bumblebee is a 200/70 Ute, built for Hawaiian mat surfer and bodysurfer, Kris Robinson.

Kris hangs about on the North Shore and was looking for a mat to get in to some solid, sizable surf but also with the bottom end to have fun on the junky days. A Ute was the perfect fit for that. Bumblebee’s internal venting is restricted because wheezers are more predictable on bumps and such.

As you can see, Kris has gone for black grip with black stripes to really pop on that acid dyed Sunshine Yellow finish. To get this finish with sharp pin lines, I used the same sealant (Sikaflex EBT) to add the stripes. This will also act like a stinger up the middle of the mat.

I’m really looking forward to hear about Kris and Bumblebee’s adventures on the North Shore.

Aloha!

G