Buff(et) and stuff...

...our old buddy Jimmy Buffet stopped in the shop the other day to throw down some shakas and pick up some threads on his way to Atlanta. He had spent the last few days in Houston where he got to surf some oil tanker swells in the Gulf of Mexico. Not exactly my type of surf trip, but for a guy like Jimmy I'm sure its just another day in Paradise, sans cheeseburger.

this is serious...

...everyone grab a 12'er (or your preferred libation) and lets do work! The future of Folly Beach is looking dismal and we're not really doing anything about it until after the fact. The condos went up at light speed, the parking meters were up at ridiculous speed and the dredging pipes and front-end loaders are being hauled in at ludicrous speed! Now the first vote to dismantle the Folly Beach Fire Department and contract our service out to the James Island Fire Department has gone by under the radar. Everyone's outraged, nobody's doing anything (except for a few, and I thank you) and the mayor is in way over his head. Next thing you know they'll pass a vote outlawing fins on surfboards, leaving us to be nothing but a bunch of spongers, not that there's anything wrong with that...

Let's get organized and stop this nonsense. Post your ideas in the comments section. First we're going to take back the pier, and then we're going to back back the Washout. And then were going to march down Center Street and take back City Hall from the crooks, beeyaaaaaaahhhhh!!!

wings and things...

...these wings were pretty much in perfect harmony with the fin placement, and then I over sanded the rail edge. An inch off the tail later and another set of wings down, I hope she won't mind a 6'1" instead of a 6'3". Oopsa daisy...

dem bones dem bones dem rail bones...

...let nothing go to waste during the creative process.

amateur hour...

...one MDI 6'4" F blank from http://www.warvelsurf.com/index.html birthed on March 28,2007. Independent tests show MDI foam emits no volatile organic compounds, is 5 to 15 percent stronger, has better flex, and is up to 10 times more waterproof than TDI foam.

...templated out. Now where is that thing...

...Ok you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This... is my boomstick! The 12-point 20 inch Kobalt. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the hardware department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about $11.95. It's got a hardwood stock, stainless steel blade, and an ergonomic rubber hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. You got that?

it ain't Indo, but it smells like outdo...

...2-foot perfection at the pier this morning. Looks like we could have a decent waist-high weekend of surf with light winds...oh joy.

yippee!!!

...we're being invaded by butt-paddlin' yakkers this weekend. You can burn one (except for the blonde haired guy who's been riding the black kayak around here forever, he's cool) and it won't translate into bad karma. I've checked into it.

he keeps going, and going, and going...

...the Pop-out bandit sent some more photos from Indo. The 5'6" Pavel Speed Dialer set to "do work" at HT's. For karma's sake, I hope that guy didn't drop in at the end. Let me know.

anatomy of a ding repair facility...

...this is where the magic happens. There are various tools needed to perform expert level ding repair, and you're about to get some insider secrets.

1) Speed bag: When you burn through the hot coat of an otherwise finished repair, this is the best way to vent, besides yelling expletives. Add a little footwork and some rambling..."I'm so pretty..."
2)2006 Reef girl calendar: Inspiring enough to keep it on the wall for another year. (Still waiting for 2007 Heidi)
3) Hair dryer: Look good, feel good. It'll show in your work.
4)2005 Reef girl calendar: What can I say, it was a good year.
5)Inflatable mat raft: More inspiration. Reminds me of George Greenough's brilliance and mega bowl haircut.
6)12-inch sub woofer: Gotta have beats.
7)Calipers: "Borrowed" from the shop.
8) Partial quiver: These are the boards that never get ridden because they don't deserve to ride crappy Folly surf.
9)OFF bug spray: Full body coat of this and your covered for a good solid 1/2 hour.
10) Homemade board stands: Just add a piece of plywood to the top and you have a suitable beer pong table. Das boot! Das boot! Das boot!

...some more stands and a weight bench for repping out during those slow resin setup days (or use as an additional board rack)...

...and of course what ding repair facility would be complete without a drum kit. I try and nail at least one Neil Peart drum solo between laminating coats, sometimes a little Clyde Stubblefield if I'm feeling funky. Give the drummer some...
...from left to right: 6' rhino blank, 6' Schroff 4-blaster, 5'11" Campbell Bros. 5-fin bonzer, 5'11" Sparrow channel bottom, 5'3" 50-50 Ben Wei Waveskate, ...Lost beater missing a glass-on...

...and of course one regally handsome noble steed of a guard dog, Lefty. Beware, he'll eat anything.

lucky...

...the Pop-Out Bandit just got back from a 2-week Indonesia boat trip and this is his first contact. Bottom turn at good ol' HTs. If I had only had a spare $4,000 at the time I could have watched in person. More pics to come, I'm sure...

schwatz the difference???

...I'll tell you what is schwuz. On the left you have a single-foiled quad trailer fin (flat inside) which provides lots of drive and hold, better suited for point type waves. On the right you have a double-foiled quad trailer fin (curved inside and outside of fin) which will have less drive than its counterpart, but will allow quicker and more fluid turn initiation (more responsive) and is more suitable for beach break conditions. Stay tuned for more info...

everything you know is wrong...

...the stringer goes down the center of the board??? ...pinholes in a board are bad because they suck in water, right???

...Matt Biolos doesn't do all the R & D shaping for ...Lost boards, it's all the work of a genius computer???

Well how about a XTR epoxy parabolic stringered, heat releasing air-venting pin-holed deck and bottom that was hand shaped and designed by Matt Biolos? You have to see it in person to truly appreciate this beauty.

6'0" x 18 3/4" x 2 1/4"

ding, dong, ding, do-ong...

...Taj pulls out a score with 2 minutes left to defeat AI for the Bells' Trophy last night. I love to see this guy win (even though he rides for a pop-out company) because he has that genuine grommet stoke at all times. Congrats Teebs!

that's right!!!

...both coasts enjoying waves today and tomorrow. Enjoy.

flashbacks...

...I tried to mind surf this wave and almost had an aneurysm. Visions of Q-Bert, Timothy Leary and those coiled snakes that grow when you light the end... oh my face is schmelting...

haters...

...someone dislikes longboards enough to make up these bumper stickers. I'm not sure if they just don't like your longboard, all longboards or people that catch waves in the summer while they drink beer on the beach. Keep me posted.

pennies per wave???

...JP St. Pierre once convinced me to order a board on the notion that "surfboards cost just pennies per wave." Easily justifiable I thought. Unfortunately, thanks to Mayor "Hot Carl" Beckman, it will soon be quarters per wave as parking meters are up at every beach access on Folly Beach with rates somewhere around a dollar an hour. The "Surfing Mayor" now charges us to park to surf, prevents us from surfing the first 7 blocks in each direction of the pier starting in May and requires you have a leash on your surfboard (up to $500 fine) regardless of the size of waves or style of board. I for one will not wear a leash when I'm longboarding, ever. So you can come and find me and fine me. I'm the 6'4" pale white guy with the pink boardshorts and the Robert August "What I Ride" Surftech surfboard. Peace out...

Ian

happy birthday Perng...

...yesterday was Perng's 24th B-day which was celebrated with an expensive dinner at Mondo's followed by a dirty hippy band at the Pour House. I opted for the expensive dinner and left during the first song of what seemed to be a solid reggae band called the Burnin' Smyrnans. Maybe if Aaron Cormican was the keyboard player I would have stayed longer, but he wasn't...

not Ricky Schroder's Silver Spoon...

...it's IR's Bing Silver Spoon, and I once again have the ugliest board on the beach! But back to Silver Spoons. How about the episode where Ricky's dad hires Mr. T to be his bodyguard because a bully is picking on him? "I pity the fool who mess with my Ricky!"

junk in the trunk...

...of all the days to photo-shop a ghetto booty onto me Mark had to choose the day of the contest. Besides the contest conditions being small and choppy (shocker!) that extra junk in the trunk really made it difficult to flow through the mushy sections and it also got hung up on the lip during a backside turn. I did pull some numbers that day, so it wasn't a total loss...