The 70/40 Experiment Goes On...

The experiment continues and I am very excited to send this mat off to her new owner.

As a mat builder I have always been a believer in testing things out before imposing them on the general public (or ‘going to market’ I guess if I want to sound fancy).  I believe I am a reasonably good mat rider but certainly not the best and aside from anything else, it is important to get things under the bellies of talented mat surfers who are able to give me detailed feedback. That’s no different for this 70/40 construction.

So far, Andrew Stephen Buck has an RB-JMC built with these materials. He’s had a few waves as Rincon has had the worst winter you can imagine but the feedback to date is “best yet”. The next test pilot is Kiwi James Tanner.

For those who don’t know him, James is one of those watermen who just hit the flow whatever they are riding and that’s no different with his mat riding. James has a really dynamic style getting a mat right onto it’s rail and really defining S-turn surfing, without losing an iota of speed. He has an RB-JMC in his quiver but we talked about an Ubercat given his style so we’re both excited to see how this mat named “Chinook” goes.

The 70 denier deck is dyed salmon pink with the bottom and I-beams being cut from orange 40d taffeta. Chinook has an elastic bottom hiving a natural inclination to create a smooth progressive curve into turns. Perfect!

So lets see how she goes. My 70/40 RB-JMC has been surfed 15 to 20 times. She has developed a super-slow leak. It doesn’t affect inflation when surfing but it is there. I think this is due to a scrape with a reef but I can’t be 100% sure. This is why we test... to see what happens over time with different mats, different riders and different conditions.

Exciting though!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK 25th JANUARY 2022

Rat the Mat - A Fit for Chet

The last mat of 2021 here is a 70/70 RB-JMC built for Californian, Chet Taylor. Chet is a skilled mat surfer with a penchant for pointbreaks. He's currently riding a G-Mat RFT-M which is pretty small for him truth be told as Chet is 6'4"!

"Rat the Mat", as Chet has named his new ride, is scaled to be a much better fit for him. The grip is Chet's own design. The red is actually a deep pink (cameras ). I think it looks good and am looking forward to hearing how she goes. Rat the Mat is in good hands.

Back to Chet please do follow him @chet.taylor.chet.taylor

on Instagram. He is a super talented artist who's work I'm pretty sure you will all appreciate.

So there we go. That's 2021 all wrapped up. Wishing you all a great 2022. We are working on some exciting projects moving forward into next year so stay tuned!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK - 15th JANUARY, 2022

Kamoenahoʻokalakupua

Hello all and a happy bit between Christmas and New Year to you all.

Here is the latest RB-JMC to go out of the workshop for Anthony Olayon over in Hawaii. This is the first of 2 for Anthony although we have agreed a few months between the 2 so that he can get the feel for this mat, a 70/70 super-free-breather with free rocker named Kamoenahoʻokalakupua which translates roughly ot Magic Towel.

Anthony and I were discussing his mat surfing exploits. He has one of my AirPlanes (stay tuned on them and the RFT's by the way... honest!) as well as a collection of other modern mats and was keen to get onto the RB-JMC. Here's a bit more about Anthony:

“I come from a bodyboard background surfing the imperfectly perfect slabby waves of Hawai’i island. Bought my first mat around ten years ago. Was hesitant to ride for fear of losing the mat and it washing up the lava lined shoreline...and honestly never quite figured out the mat riding technique a hundred percent. Fast forward to 2018. Volcanic eruptions covered our home surfing spots. That was pretty depressing as the waves lost were what a lot of us built our lives around...uncrowded waves and a tight knit crew. I lost motivation to surf and bodyboard for a good year and a half or so. Eventually started dusting off the mat and really got hooked on it and figured out how to properly ride over the last couple years. The past two years I’ve ridden the mat far more often than the bodyboard and other surf craft. Just love the speed you get on the mat and the weird comments people give you when they first see you.”

— Anthony Olayon

Sounds like the perfect time to get on this mat then!

Kamoenahoʻokalakupua sets sail tomorrow, despite being built before Christmas. We just didn't want to take the risk of shipping with over-stretched couriers.

Have fun Anthony!

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FEEDBACK - 8th JANUARY, 2022

Jason Stanson - 2 of 2

2 of 2 for Jason Stanson is a mat named "Pink Panter". This slinky pinky is the quiver mate to Ghost Rider, Jason's RB-JMC and is built with a mind to surfing the OC beaches and hollow wedges.

Pink Panter is a G-Mat Ubercat. With her positive elastic rocker and narrow beam, as well as deep concave and rail hooks, Pink Panter will transition from rail to rail easily with hold and drive through tight radius turns. She is also a free-breather to keep things responsive.

I recently built a similar mat for a very notable mat surfer who fedback that "it comes off the bottom real well and when the wave has some power it really goes". Just the ticket then eh Jason?

Pink Panter and Ghost Rider are on route so I'm hoping to get word of their adventures in the not too distant future.

Have fun Jason.

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK - 7th JANUARY, 2022

Jason Stanson - 1 of 2

1 of 2 for Jason Standon is an RB-JMC named "Ghost Rider". Jason has been stoked on mats for some time, riding one of my stock mats, the G-Mat RFT. He has been on my mailer for ages having narrowly missed out on several occasions he got in really quickly this time!

Jason splits his time between Ventura and Newport so splits his time between points and beach breaks. Ghost Rider will love both, but especially the points.

This mat is a 70/70 super-free-breather with negative elastic rocker and a lightweight ClearFix grip job. Bar the logo, she's as white as a... Well, a ghost!

Stay tuned for the other mat in this couple.

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK FROM JASON - 6th JAN 2022

Proto Too...

The 70/40 experiment continues...

This is a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Andrew Stephen Buck.

"Buck" needs no introduction for most mat surfers being an inspirational mat rider. If you're not familiar with him, however, he's that guy what went viral a while back burning off longboarders at Rincon. .

So onto the mat and this one is built to the same spec as my own original proto. It's important to control for as many factors as possible when testing new materials and design characteristics so feedback from one of the world's very best is going to be most meaningful if we're taking about the same mat.

So... "The Bruise" as he has called this mat (black and blue), has a 70d deck and 40d I-beams and bottom skin. She is built with a negative rocker and is a super-free-breather.

I am extraordinarily excited about this mat going to Andrew. Considering the speeds I have been getting on mine, I'm almost scared that ASB will go back in time! Let's see.

Cheers

G

Mat LeBlanc

The latest build and this is a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Steve Halpin.

Stevo is a busy fella. He runs Karma Surf Shop in Newquay, Cornwall, UK. He is also the driving force behind the amazing Real Surfing Magazine along with his wife, Helen. More recently, Steve had been bitten by the bug of ditching the fibreglass and getting a little more horizontal. That has included riding mats.

Anyone who follows the @fringesurfing Instagram page will know that Stevo has got pretty obsessed with exploring new ways to ride waves, taking the time to learn the nuanced elements of mat riding. What's more, Steve is keen to share his exploits. He's been very supportive of my own endeavours too so I was stoked to be able to build him a custom mat.

So on to the mat then and it was clearly time for Steve to step things up. With this in mind we went for a 70/70 RB-JMC. This mat is built entirely from white material and with Helen's maiden name being LeBlanc, it was obvious what this mat was going to be named!

"Mat LeBlanc" is a free-breather with free rocker. You'll notice the interesting grip pattern. Stevo was keen for an easy slide up onto the mat so the inside section of the outer pontoons and the central pontonn are clear quite a way up. However there is grip under the chest and the strips out towards the tail keep Stevo in place.

Early days but initial rumblings from Steve are positive. I have high hopes for where he goes with Mat LeBlanc.

Have fun meht!

Cheers

G

Wedding Bells!

So here we have a mat named "Shirley" built for Rob Bailey @bailey_9_

Rob had been asking about a mat for a while and managed to get in on my mailer just in the nick of time. For what? For his wedding! I was stoked to hear from Rob that he was getting hitched and that this mat was a wedding present to himself.

Perfect!

We were finalising finishing touches late in the day before but I'm sure Rob's mind was on the task at hand. 😂

Shirley is named after Rob's gran and, like her, is pretty slick. As a first mat, Rob and I agreed that a 200/70 Ute was the sensible option. She is set up as a wheezer to help keep her shape and allow for experiments with inflation.

Rob is hoping to get Shirley in the water soon. Looking forward to hearing how they go.

Congratulations again Rob!

Cheers

G

R and D - 70/40 Construction

For some time I've been interested in finding lighter fabrics than 70 denier material. Back in the day, Dale Solomonson (Neumatic) built a few mats out of 30d Taffeta. There are a few mats still kicking around made from this mythical fabric, but not many. Rare as hen's teeth, this weight of fabric is hard to find in anything other than Ripstop. And ripstop sucks for mats.

Fast forward and I've got to know talented newby mat builder Zac Garfield over at Valley Pool Toys pretty well. Zac managed to source some 40d Taffeta and was good enough to share where from.

Fast forward a little more and I've built the first of a few mats to see how this fabric is. Like Zac, I found that this material is really not easy to work with. No surprise there though.

As I've said in previous posts, it is tempting to get excited about something new and immediately put it out into the market but you need to know how it works in terms of performance, quality and durability before putting it out there. I am excited about this though.

Having ridden this 70/40 (70 denier deck and 40d I-beams and bottom) prototype named "Little Boy Blue" 3 times in varying conditions, it seems to be holding up well and it is super-duper light! Initially I wondered if this mat was more sensitive but no faster but I have tested in comparison with Night Rider (my 70/70 RB-JMC) built to the same dims. I have swapped with other surfers between the two mats and have to say it is quicker too. That means that Little Boy Blue is quicker than the mat that is quicker than any mat I'd ridden before it.

Before people get excited though, there are a few things to keep in mind. Testing isn't done yet. This mat needs at least 10 surfs to test durability as a bare minimum. I also need to get this under the bellies of better mat surfers than me. Also, if this works out then this configuration would only suit experienced mat surfers who comfortably ride 70/70 as a go to mat. It would be easy for someone to buy the 'idea' of this only to find that its not at all suitable for them. It's not about competition or anything just important to make sure people have the right mat.

Cheers

G

Guess What... Black on Black!

The RB-JMC is the mat a lot of people are after and this is the latest, built for Santa Barbarian, Colin McCrindle.

Colin was one of my early customers and has always been a good source of feedback being both a skilled mat surfer and a fella with access to some very fine and very quiet waves as he goes on the hunt on his boat.

This mat, named Vaccine, is a RB-JMC, as mentioned. Colin has opted for a 200/70 configuration, preferring the feel of a more stable deck. As always with this model, it is a highly vented super-free-breather to maximise air movement at low inflation. What this means is that the highly malleable fabric of the hull can morph to the wave and the deck to the rider almost instantly. More twitchy for the newer mat surfer but more intuitive and responsive for for more experienced riders.

Vaccine also has a negative elastic rocker to enhance down the line speed. There has been some confusion around this issue at times so just to clarify, the key word here is elastic. Elastic rockers refer to the favoured stretch of the fabric in the deck and bottom skins. At full inflation the mat will stretch into a rocker but at lower inflation will be flat. The important issue is that a neg rocker mat has a slightly elastic deck and restricted bottom skin so will favour forming a negative rocker when air is forced into the inside rail giving more lift.

Back to Vaccine, you can see that Colin has gone for a black on black colour scheme. These are becoming a thing!

I'm looking forward to seeing how Colin and Vaccine go.

Have fun mate!

Cheers

G

Low Key for Dado

There seems to be something about black on black. It just looks so clean, don't you think? This is "Billie". A custom Rubber Bucky built for an Italian with a penchant for going fast on mats. Just the ticket then.

Billie is a 200/70 mat built for Eduardo "Dado" Girardini. She has free rocker and as you can see, Dado has gone for a bungee fitting as well to allow for a leash.

The Rubber Bucky is my larger model (which is then specifically scaled and tailored to the rider). This means that the mat has a larger planing area so offers more glide in smaller surf. Dado is aiming to open up spots around him offering waves around waist to chest high so this is the perfect mat. The wheezer option makes sense then because Dado will cover less of the deck so a slower air transfer offers a more stable mat allowing for lower inflation, despite the reduced deck coverage.

So a bit about Dado. He says:

"I grew up in northern Italy and moved to California right after high school. I became a regular at Rincon and met some of the greatest surfers in the world, including Andrew Buck. My friends and I rode anything from food trays to 12’ gliders but nothing blew my mind harder than seeing Buck going a thousand miles an hour on those little cove dredgers.

Now I live in Portugal and those waves just don’t exist around here. I started surfing bigger waves to get away from crowds but somehow riding the mat is still the most thrilling thing there is."

Hopefully Billie will open up the options for Dado to surf in his new locale.

Have fun Dado!

Cheers

G

One for Kenny

This is a mat I've had on the list for a while and am glad to finally get to. This mat is built for a notable member of Santa Barbaran surfmat heritage. Kenny Hughes is one of the originals. A hugely experienced mat surfer who was there for the early days of Californian mat surfing, particularly the evolution from heavy materials to modern lightweight TPU coated nylon and low inflation surfing.

A former Rincon regular, Kenny spends his days now off the beaten track surfing lesser frequented points along the Central Californian Coast.

After discussing Kenny's needs it is perhaps not surprising that we settled on a RB-JMC who Kenny has named "Penelope". She is a 200/70 mat with an elastic neg rocker set up. I have maximised the internal venting to allow the air to move inside the mat with as little restriction as is sensible to make for a very responsive ride at low inflation.

Penelope is on the way as I write (along with a Matsquatch tee by Bryn Dampney) so I'm excited to see how Kenny and Penelope get on together.

Fun mat... Enjoy Kenny!

Cheers

G

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Here we have a G-Mat Ute built for Olaus McLeod. For those who don’t know him, Olaus is a board builder from Cornwall UK specialising in building paulownia paipos and alaias. More on that in a mo.

First, let’s talk about this mat. Olaus comes from an aviation background and has named his mat X-1 after the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. Olaus is planning to have a crack at doing the same I think!!!

X-1 is a G-Mat Ute. As you can see, Olaus has gone for a sexy low-key black on black colour scheme. Mats always look good like that don’t you think? X-1 is a 200/70 wheezer. She has free rocker too and is a perfect mat to take out in any conditions, confident that she is going to perform.

Olaus is not a hugely experienced mat rider, but has ridden them enough to get into the groove quickly and is used to surfing on his belly so X-1 should be just the ticket.

As mentioned earlier, Olaus builds wooden boards under the Kiri label and they are lovely! His boards are very mice indeed hand shaped from Paulownia and sealed with linseed oil. Olaus and I did the old swap-a-roo. Check out the board he shaped in return for X-1. This stunner is coming my way and is going to be a gift for my son who’s prone style will be perfectly suited to this beauty.

Im going to be getting more than the odd go on this beuty myself too!!!

If you fancy getting some wood in your quiver then take a look at Olaus’s work on his Instagram page:

@kiri.surf

Have fun with X-1 Olaus. Hopefully I’ll get to join you in breaking the sound barrier in the not-to-distant future. If we ever get any waves again over her in the UK!

Cheers

G

PS. It was only after I had packed up the mat that I realised I really do need to hoover up the cat hairs!

Something Fishy Going Down

So then, here is a mat that has been on the radar for some time and I am as stoked as a freshly poked campfire to have been able to build a mat for a very, very talented waterman. For those unfamiliar with him, Trevor Gordon is s super talent surfer from Santa Barbara, CA. I got to know Trevor through our mutual friend Andrew Buck, when “Buck” put me in touch with Trevor’s extraordinary wife, Maddie, to build her a mat named Bumbarreller.

So back to Trevor. He is, as you would expect, a very good mat rider. His surfing style suits the mat perfectly: super smooth, no wasted energy, being guided by the wave rather than trying to impose himself on it. And of course, hailing from the stretch of coast with endless point breaks, PLUS living on a sail boat Trevor has it pretty sweet to be a mat surfer. Not that I’m envious at all!

We started talking about this mat and Trevor asked for a Mackerel Print deck. I had a few goes and you know what? I just couldn’t do it! It just came out as a greeny, bluey stripy splodgy affair and not really conveying the mood. Trevor wanted his mat to clearly be all about the mackerel! We went back to the drawing board and here’s what we cam up with… Meet MACK DADDY! All hail! Gotta say, I dig this one.

Mack Daddy is a 70/70 G-Mat RB-JMC. He has negative rocker and is a super free breather. The deck is acid dyed and there is a sexy Mack on one rail (I’m trying to work out if this is the Mack Daddy or if Trevor is like some kind of fishy Dr Doolitle). There is also a bit of branding down the other rail, just in case anyone is wondering who is coming. Finally, the grip is added using ClearFix sealant which I have started to use for clear grip jobs.

Trevor and Maddie are currently in the Canaries and with the weirdness around Eupoean shipping since Brexit we’ve agreed to ship to the US so Trevor will have Mack Daddy waiting for him when he gets home.

 I’m looking forward to sharing some waves with Trevor and Maddie either when I’m next over there or when they’re next over here.  

 Cheers

G

Mat for a UK Legend!

I am stoked to have been able to build a 5 Star General for one of the legends of surfing history, Dennis Cross. Dennis is the man who founded Gul Wetsuits and contributed so much to the development of cold water surfing (so a man close to my heart).

For those unfamiliar with Dennis, here’s a wonderful film about the early years of cold water surfing in the UK and the influence that Gul had which can’t be understated on a UK and international stage.

Enjoy your mat Dennis and thank you!

Cheers

G

Happy Halloween?!

G-Mat 205 (AKA “Pumpkin”) is a RB-JMC heading to Noosa Heads in Australia. I am super excited to be sending this mat down there too because she is on the way to hook up with James Dylan Tanner. James is one of those people (that us mere mortals hate) who jump on anything and click. What makes it worse is he’s a really nice bloke…

What a c***! 😂

I jest of course but what I said about James other than the insult is true. Really solid mat surfer.

So on to Pumpkin. As mentioned, she is a RB-JMC. Super-Free-Breather with a negative rocker. Slightly unusually, Pumpkin is a 200/70 because James wanted a mat that is easy to spot should he lose it, but this 200d has quite an open weave and is certainly not as heavy as the 200d black material.

This is also the second mat in a row that I have built with clear grip using ClearFix. I have used this in the past but tended to stick with clear Sikaflex EBT just for consistency but the clear EBT formula feems to have changed with it being thicker than it was. The ClearFix works into the weave really well.

This mat is one of two mats that I am going to be doing for James but the second will be down the line once I have caught up on my backlog. I’m really looking forward to the feedback on this mat and am pretty sure she’ll tide him over until the next one.

Have fun down there JDT!

Cheers

G

PS James hosted Phileas in Sri Lanka and NZ as people may recall but HERE’S A LINK to take a look. He’s also been enjoying the delights of his G-Mat RFT down in Oz as you can see below.

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Django Pour Cloclo

The latest out of the workshop is an RB-JMC for Clovis Donizetti. This mat has all the sexy speed and glide ingredients with a neg rocker, 70/70 construction and super-free-breather venting. She has a Hestered valve to protect Clovis’s rugged looks too.

You might notice that Django looks a little familiar, She was inspired by a mat I built for myself named Night Rider. In reality this similarity is a bit of an illusion. The studio pics of Night Rider make her look like she has deep red grip, it is actually pink.

Not so with Django. Django is full on red. That’s taken a lot of pigment so a slow cure but looks very nice.

On to Clovis briefly. I was introduced to Clovis by mutual friend, Andrew Buck. ‘Cloclo’ is an extraordinarily talented longboarder hailing from Biarritz in SW France. He is noted for having a super smooth style, not wasting an iota of effort. The epitome of functional style and stylish function.

I was honoured to hook Clovis up with one of my Raft G1 mats for promo shots which came through courtesy of Thomas Lodin. Unsurprisingly, when Clovis jumped on a mat he looked like he’d been at it for years.

Clovis riding a Raft G1 Surfmat - Photo by Thimas Lodin

People often think bodyboarders are the natural cousins of mat surfing but the reality is that coming from bodyboarding is a steep learning curve with a lot to unlearn. Talented longboard/mid-length surfers tend to make the transition far more easily and when you think about it that makes sense. Attention to nuance, micro-management of trim, finding flow and working with the wave rather than working to impose yourself on it.; So when you’re talking about a longboarder with Clovis’s talent, no wonder he has found a home on the mat.

Clovis riding a Raft G1 Surfmat - Photo by Thimas Lodin

Django is en route to Biarritz as I type and should be there by the middle of next week. Let’s hope she and Clovis get some swell.

Bon voyage!

G

Quiver Completed!

Well, it's taken up a lot of my free time but I finally have a quiver consisting of every model I build. Of course I could go with different deck weights, venting and rockers with each model to really set myself the task of creating a massive quiver but that's just getting silly!

In order of appearance we have:

A RB-JMC called Night Rider.

A Nouveau Racer called Chunky Monkey

An Ubercat called Pocket Rocket

A Ute called GI Go!

An AirPlane mini mat (doesn't have a name as its a stock mat)

A Rubber Bucky called Dippy Hippy.

"Night Rider" - RB-JMC

"Chunky Monkey" - Nouveau Racer

"Pocket Rocket" - Ubercat

"GI Go!" - Ute

AirPlane

"Dippy Hippy" - Rubber Bucky

The job now is to not keep selling them /giving them away! 😂

With regard to the bungees, I injured my arm last year and couldn't hold a mat. It's recovered now but does flare up. In addition to that, I’ve been surfing a bit at night so definitely need to be able to attach a leash. They are horrible though and I barely use one.

Anyway, with a mat meet coming up at The Wave in Bristol, it is good to have a bunch of mats with leashes to loan out too.

Cheers

G

Moonlight Matting

I have been excited about building this mat for a while. This is the latest in the run of mats I’m currently doing for some fine people. The latest in that run is Peter St Pierre. For those unaware, Pete is a legend in the So Call surf industry. A true master craftsman in every sense of the word and, to be honest, a legend who’s name spans far beyond his locale. I’ll let Pete tell you about himself in his own words in this Local Legendz video from Korduroy TV.

So on to Pete’s mat. Pete told me that her likes a mat that goes rail to rail easily with decent hold. Also something very lightweight and fast. That perfect combo eh?! Well, an Ubercat sounded like the perfect fit for these qualities. Pete has been riding a 5 Star General he got from Ken McKnight a while back although this is a little over sized and is a different mat to the Ubercat.

Rental (as Pete has named this mat) has a 70/70 construction. She has been built as a free-breather to up the speed and has a positive elastic rocker to help to drive her through tight turns.

Rental is certainly different from anything else in Pete’s quiver but I’m sure she will fit in nicely. Pete is a vastly experienced surfer who has embraced the way of the mat for years so I’m pretty sure they will get on well with each other.

Have fun Pete!

Cheers

G

Transmogrifier

Ladies and Gents please say hello to G-Mat 199 (AKA "Transmogrifier"). She is a 70/70 G-Mat RB-JMC built for @agentholmes over in Santa Cruz, US of A.

Ryan is the latest in this run of orders I'm working through for people who have helped me out over the years. He has been smitten with mats for some time and is a really good mat surfer, most recently helping out with promo shots for the RFT (Raft) mats.

Ryan is a fan of going fast and knows how to hold a line right on the edge of slipping so what better ride for those kelpy reefs and points than a 70/70 neg rocker super-free-breather RB-JMC? Like me, Ryan is into making use of the full moon and so has had a bungee fitted for a leash attachment when needed.

Vroom vroom!

Transmogrifier is en route to Ryan right now and should be with him within 24 hours of this post, all going well.

I'm looking forward to photos! Fun mat Ryan... Enjoy!

Cheers

G

PS I also did a valve repair on a very interesting Dale Solomonson mat for him. More on that later as I find it out.