Nephele

/

Here's a new mat for Nilus Mattive built back in December called Nephele.

Nephele is a RB-JMC built with negative rocker and a super-free-breather so a very fast mat. As you will notice, Nephele has an acid dyed deck.

Nilus is a fine mat surfer from Santa Barbara, CA. I asked him about his journey into mats:

“My first real surf craft was a Morey Waimea Pro body board. In 2013, I returned to my prone roots and got my first mat, mostly thinking I’d use it for junkier days. Didn’t really pull it out a whole lot.

Fast forward to 2016, when my nine year old daughter Vela got into surfing. That gave me the opportunity to start messing with the mat more often.

Now she’s 15 with the long-term goal of qualifying for the world tour. We’re in the water most days, traveling quite a lot, and I always bring a mat with me. Have had the chance to ride one all over the place — Hawaii, Indo, Barbados, the Waco wave pool, etc.

My favorite is taking a mat out when conditions are too fast and hollow for me to surf standing up. Matting is also a great way to break the tension in a lineup or simply remind yourself what the essence of surfing really is. Whenever I bring one out — whether it’s CA or Kandui — people seem genuinely stoked to see me send it on a couple.”
— Nilus Mattive

Mats certainly do help remind everyone what this is really all about.

Nephele is nearly with Nilus so I'm looking forward to getting some feedback. Rincon has been on of late so fingers crossed the swell hangs about!

Have fun Nilus and please do send a pic of you in your Tee

Cheers

G

Turbinia Down-Under

/

Here’s a mat headed down under to mat surfer Mike Curran. Mike is a self-confect mat addict as you can see from what he had to say when we spoke about his journey into matting:

“I am 65 and nowadays a part time Marine Engineer.

I had my first mat/surfoplane rides at Torquay, Victoria way back when 10 years old when you hired them at the front of the Torquay lifesaving club. The thrill of catching a wave has never been lost.

Wind on to 5 years ago & after 45 years as a stand up surfer, (knees getting stiff) as an avid adventure motorcyclist, (Tiger 900) went way over to the NE coastal side of Tasmania to a little known remote area and took a RedBack Surf Mat so I could have a splash, fun and a laugh and ..actually caught some waves. (And still no idea how to use a mat). I was Immediately inspired!

Then In 5 years since has become absolutely hooked! I am now a regular Matter, and have improved a lot, and also helped immensely when he met through work connections the famous NSW, SCUMM. Since then I have matted around Victoria, NSW, even Long Island in New York, Mentawis, and recently South Central Atoll Maldives!

To add to my current mat quiver I needed a mat with more bite and turning ability to use in grungier waves. I’m ready to welcome my new G-Mat Ubercat. My aim is to eventually position on the inside of Stand-Up surfer and call them, for your wave…When you can do that you know ..you know how to surf a mat !

I have named my mat “Turbinia” which was the name given to the very first experimental & extremely fast ocean going steam turbine ship from 120 years ago.”
— Mike Curran

So then, on to Turbinia. She has a very specific place in Mike’s quiver being specialised to surfing hollow and gruntie waves. After some discussion we settled on the idea of an Ubercat. We went for free-breather venting to maximise responsiveness but combined with a 200/70 construction so a stable deck but responsive morphing characteristics on the go. We have also gone with a positive elastic rocker which I have tried to capture in the photo’s below. The camera never really shows this that well.

Turbinia is all black with grey/black Sikaflex EBT grip and white branding which pops nicely I think.

Mike has also gone for a classic G-Mat Apparel Tee. Thanks for the support Mike!

Have fun with your new ride Mike!

Cheers

G

Feedback - 21st May, 2023

She’s had about 5 surfs. Main points In point form. 🤔

1. Seems to be much easier to bend and paddle through broken waves than my others.

2. Yes gripping better on the bottom turns and seems to point and turn easier than others.

3. Is faster!

4. Must have it more than 90 degs fold over for best inflation.

5. Loves a late drop.

6. Deck grip very good.

The Widow Maker V6

/

This mat is an Ubercat build for one of the English South Coast’s prone stalwarts, Mike Steele. Mike has been a body boarder for many years, seeking and charging some of the phenomenal hidden gems on the Jurassic Coast. Mike says:

“Got the bug when I was 10 when my dad bought me a polystyrene board for the summer and then progressed to the Mach 7-7 and was a devout Morey fan until they sold to Mattel. Grew up surfing Bournemouth Pier, then discovered the local reefs and was completely sold on boogin’. One of the spots was in an M.O.D. training range and we got arrested for trespass for walking back from the break after we had been told to get out by the range boat. In and out of court for two years and the day before judgement they dropped the charges. The whole thing was very underhand by the M.O.D., false evidence etc. Anyway, after that ordeal we decided to buy a boat so we would never have this problem again and we discovered a few spots that were literally made for bodyboarding. We had a few eventful boat trips in the surf, one in particular was witnessed on quite a big day, my mate driving hit a big wave too fast and we were apparently fully vertical and the ‘prop was 10ft clear of the water’. How we all survived is beyond me and hence we named the boat ‘The Widowmaker’. Most of our crew has their own boat now, mine is the Mk 5, and now the mat is the Mk 6. Re: board progression, had many boogs over the years, and I know the guy who imports NMD and VS and he is very pally with Nick Mezeritz so been getting customs with experimentary tails for about 10 years. Then saw Noah Lane in Ireland riding Guy Butcher wooden boards and went down that route, again experimenting with shapes with Guy. 3 boards in and started following the fringe element and saw some clips of fellas on mats going exponentially fast and have been trying to get my grubby mitts on one of yours for a couple of years. And now I have one!”
— Mike Steele

Mike and I spoke about the amount of adjustment needed to switch from a bodyboard/paipo to a mat. He is up for the challenge!

So on to the mat, WMV6 is a wheezy 200/70 Ubercat with positive elastic rocker so has good hold and is well set up for tight S-turn surfing on slabby waves and wedges. Mike has gone for the bungee leash option as a lot of the waves he surfs involve tricky swims if losing the mat. You will notice the 2-tone blue and white bottom skin and logo. This was based on a design Mike sent me and we’re pretty stoked on how it’s come out.

Widow Maker V6 is with Mike now and with a winter of south swells looking to be on the cards we’re pretty hopeful that they will get plenty of action!

Have fun Mike. Can’t wait to hear about your journey into matting!

Cheers

G

Z-Brah

/

A bit of a weekend project here building a mat for myself. It was flat and absolutely freezing cold so a warm workshop and podcasts seemed very appealing. I've had a big hole in my quiver for some time now with a Nouveau Racer named "Steady Eddie" and a RB-JMC Ultralight named "Featherweight Fordy" and nothing in between. Basically, if it was ether solidly overhead/heavy or upto shoulder high glass I was golden. The 80% in between I was having to work a lot more and poor FF had been taking a right pounding!

So then, on to this mat. It's called "Z-Brah" because the name makes me laugh and works however you pronounce "Z". Z-Brah is a 70/70 Ubercat. Standard free-breather with positive elastic rocker to get tight on the turns. I've also added a bungee for leash attachment for night surfs and wave pools so all in all... I'm covered! Weight off my mind to be honest!

I've actually finished another mat before this one for Mike Steele which I'll post dreckly.

We have waves at the mo so Z-Brah should see some action pretty soon.

Cheers

G

UPDATE/FEEDBACK 06/03/2023

Well after all that I sold Z-Brah to Chris Cavey over in Santa Cruz. I ended up building my son and myself mats over Christmas and needed money for a trip so with heavy heart let Z-Brah go.

Here’s feedback from Chris. It’s good to see that the Ubercat does what it says on the tin.

UPDATE - APRIL 2024

A little edit of Chris Cravey riding Z-Brah at the Kelly Slater wave pool.

Crumbs!

/

One for a test pilot here. James Tanner rides a mat really hard and really, really well so is the perfect person to test this design concept. This mat which he has named “Crumbs” (a name which came to him during the trance-like meditative state that is driving home after a day at work) is a 70/70 RB-JMC.

Crumbs is built to the usual favoured configuration for this model with negative elastic rocker and venting, but the latter has been ramped up. I have increased the venting to make this a super-free-breather sucking a menthol mint! It’s going to be interesting to hear how James goes. He rides with low air so I imagine he will find the ride to be super responsive.

I hope one of those Noosa cameras points in James’s direction once Crumbs gets down there.

Have fun James!

Cheers

G

Blue Darr

/

This is G-Mat 244 (AKA Blue Darr), a mat built for the supremely talented Nick LaVecchia.  If you aren’t familiar, Nick is an amazing photographer hailing from Maine on the US East Coast.

I spoke with Nick some time ago about mats after he was pointed in my direction by Trevor Gordon and Will Adler. We spoke about mats and Nick signed up for my mailer and, after a few miss-outs, managed to nail a spot this time around.

 Nick is a very experienced surfer and spoke about his journey into mats:

“I am a lover of the ocean and all ways of riding waves. If I’m not out swimming and making images, you can usually find me with the van loaded up with cameras, housing, fins, wooden log/single fin/fish and a mat of some sort for all kinds of conditions.
I’ve found myself never wanting to be caught at the beach without a pair of flippers and a mat. That first started back in the 2008 or so when Dave Rastovich came for a Maine visit and had his Krypt mat. Once I witnessed him lock into a nice long wall and fly by me with a smile....that was it.

Then in 2010 on a trip to Nicaragua with Tomo, he had one of his Dad’s mats rolled up in his board bag. After that trip ended he left the mat with me, and I’ve been heavily hooked since.

Headed into Winter here in Maine, my favorite time. Looking forward to getting this new mat into some waves with energy while the snow flies. Nothing like skimming along the face of a wave through a blizzard Nor’easter.

Thanks for all you do Graeme. Hope we can share a few waves in the Atlantic someday.”
— Nick LaVecchia

So when we got to talking it became clear that Nick knows how to ride a mat, enjoying the feel and performance of riding with lower inflation levels. We settled in the end on a RB-JMC with super-free-breather venting and negative rocker. Full steam ahead! Nick was keen to look at a teal colour scheme for the bottom skin and the logo. Acid dye can be funny stuff and pigmenting sealants for the logo is far from an exact science so we went into that from a “let’s have a go” perspective. All in all… pretty pleased with the match! 

I’ve already had some feedback from Nick from his initial session where funnily enough he bumped into Ryan Kleinert on his new mat! Nick said:

“Just got out of the water with Ryan. Some big beautiful rights this morning. Had an amazing vision of him coming flying around the whitewater on big overhead barreling right. So good. That pink mat

I got a few amazing rides. Totally different feel. Waaaay lighter and way faster on the water. The hold felt really nice. I sideslipped down the face on a couple late large ones(my own wrong-doing) then it grabbed and really locked in. The wave was really fast this morning. Just felt amazing to make a few and beat the section with not a ton of effort. Just skimming across the top!”
— Nick LaVecchia

Music to my ears right there! I love building mats for people who take the time to learn to ride them well. It is easy to pump up a mat, jump on it and catch waves, but it is hard and takes true commitment to explore the nuance of these craft. A lifetime of learning which gets into your bones… Just ask Nick!

Thanks again Nick. Here’s to sharing waves one day.

See Nick’s amazing work on Instagram @nick_lavecchia at his website at nicklavecchia.com and in surf mags everywhere.

Cheers

G

Starchaser

/

This is a mat built for Ryan Kleinert from Maine in the US of A. Ryan has got pretty into mats… Like REALLY into mats. And why wouldn’t he?!

Ryan says:

“I slept on mats for way too long but when I started mat surfing, I felt the magic immediately and become completely and utterly obsessed. I started surfing boards and body surfing over two decades ago as a grom in NJ but have called New England home for most of my adult life. I have always been drawn to alternative surf craft and experiencing waves in different ways.

Surfing for me is a spiritual pursuit that connects me deeply with the wildness of the ocean and intimately with the energy of waves. Mat surfing has been transformative and has completely transcended surfing for me. The feeling that I was seeking while surfing on a board is found over and over again on a mat. Surfing is not about what I can do to a wave but about experiencing how each wave feels and what it has to offer: unhindered speed, an intimate feeling of connection, sensations defined by the uniqueness of each wave. As you know well, mats facilitate this better than any other surf craft.

I named this mat “starchaser” for the magic portals that it will open and the infinite stoke and speed it is destined to cultivate.”
— Ryan Kleinert

Well I’m certainly hopeful those portals will open! Starchaser is certainly built with that in mind. The internal gubbins are set for easy movement of air with super-free-breather venting and being a 70/70 RB-JMC Starchaser has a perfect balance of hold and glide with down-the-line speed helped out with negative elastic rocker. All in all, not the easiest of rides but an extremely rewarding one once tamed (the rider I mean, not the mat!).

I’m really looking forward to hearing from Ryan once her gets Starchaser in the water. In all there are 3 mats going to New England in this batch. There’s a bit of a boom over there with the locals seemingly being right on it to get in on the emails I send out.

Have fun Ryan!

Cheers
G

Feedback - 17 November, 2022