Demo-lition

Ever wonder what kind of board shapers shape for themselves? For Matt Biolos it is a 6'3" Stealth with a double wing swallow (which I am not sure is a standard tail option).

We got this in with a bunch of other boards from Lost for a board demo Easter weekend.

When I first saw this I wondered who B E was, then I realized Matt Biolos's M 's and B's are almost the same letter. In addition to this stealth we have another 8 boards including round nose fish, monk fish, sharks (XTR), and rockets. The exact time and location of the demo is still to be determined, but I'll be sure to let you know.

Almost Done

Well, after it sat in the garage for a few weeks I finally started glassing that bonzer.

Right now all I have left to do is hot coat the deck, sand, and apply the gloss coat. For the pigment I used acrylic paint which actually worked really well. I was concerned the resin might not set up properly, but that wasn't the case.

This might be the last board I glass only because of how much glassing sucks. The rail laps on this one didn't go so well, the cloth kept wrinkling up. Really frustrating. I'll post some pics of the finished product on a later date.

A little surf on Folly...

Hey, just thought you guys should know there is a little wave right now. About waist high and clean, some of the better waves there has been in the past few weeks. This picture isn't exactly accurate but I thought it might catch some attention. Oh, and I don't expect it to be too crowded (since no one looks at the blog anymore), but high tide is at 6:42pm and if you are at home reading this you should grab your fish and go surf.

A dog named Oyster

Hey guys if you are not busy tomorrow, be sure to head down to Bowen's Island from noon-5pm to help out Pet Helpers. As you can see from the poster it looks like they will be offering all you can eat dog. Reading further along I realized the dog's name must be Oyster and they will be offering him up as a tasty roast.

This seems like an extremely effective way to get people to adopt pets in order to save them from poor Oyster's golden delicious fate. So, be sure to make it out to enjoy some savory Oyster.

Take Control

...with the new controller fins from future...

It looks like they've taken your classic keel twin fins and cut them in half.

...but wait, I've seen something like this before.

I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery.

To be fair there are subtle differences. The Speed Dialers have a smaller forward fin and a larger more upright rear which moves your board's pivot point a little further back (which comes in handy if you have a wide fish that catches the rail on turns). The Controllers are much lighter. Either way, both sets take the speed of a wide based keel fin and add a little more hold by moving the back of the keel towards the center of the board, perfect for your Round Nose Fish or any other wide tailed fish quad.

Whoa, take'er easy there, pilgrim.

Just as Will Allison grabs at inspiration from the east, new brand Tavik finds its inspiration in the wild west with their new John Wayne boardshort. Call me crazy, but I like them.

John Wayne actually came back from the grave to sign every single pair himself!

New Allison Longboards

For this batch it looks like Will looked to the east for inspiration and this Hokusai'esk inlay.

Seems like there is a lot happening on the deck of this board...

...which creates brilliant contrast when compared to the clean white bottom.

Dimensions: 9'4" x 23" x 3 3/8"

$800.00

New Board...

...It's not for me though, in fact it belongs to everyone (if you happen to work at Mckevlin's or surf on the team).

This board is made by a company called Green Room Board Co. out of Wilmington, NC and shaped by Jimmy Keith.

Tim is always searching for new companies that offer something a little different then what we already carry. Green Room offers custom epoxy boards, like many companies, but they actually have developed their own epoxy resin, you can read more about it here. Their custom epoxy resin complements the 100% recyclable Marko EPS blanks they use because as responsible board builders they don't want a bunch of broken boards or foam scraps sitting around in landfills.

So far the board feels significantly lighter then my Round Nose Fish of the same size. When I apply pressure to it, it seems relatively harder then my RNF as well. I guess the real test will come tomorrow morning when I see how it rides.

Quickie Pro Finals on Now!!! 7:30PM EST

6-8 foot sand tubing with Mick, Parko, Taj and Adriano. Winner decided tonight!

www.quiksilverpro.com.au/eng/Live.aspx

A Trip Through Folly

O.k., At first I thought this guy may be a Native American using his clothing as an avenue to his ancient heritage, but after talking to him for a moment it was clear he was on a different kind of journey.

Why is he looking so intently at that Surfers Journal ?

Because, to him... it looks like this.

Charleston's Best Party

Well, the results are in and Mckevlin's has been named by the City Paper as Charleston's Best Surf Shop. This is our 10th year straight (we think) and want to thank everyone for their support. Besides an awesome plaque, the best part of receiving such an honor is the party. This year's party was held at the Joe last Wednesday, and in the spirit of twenties baseball mustaches were the theme.

Despite the cold temperatures plenty people managed to make it out to enjoy some free food from several of The Charleston's Best Restaurants.

That guy in the hat's mustache is real.

Keep'n It Classy With This Classic 3 Stringer

One of my favorite boards in the shop, this Bing Classic 3 Stringer.

Classic from nose to tail with a rolled V throughout the bottom. What does that mean for you? Speed and ease from rail to rail.

Board Dimensions: 9'4" x 22 3/4" x 3 1/8"

$1,015.00 but if you ask real nice we might could give it to you for a cool grand.

this is how retro should be going...

...this guy is so metal, just like surfing used to be. I'm talking the good ol' F.A.B. video Aloha from Hell days. He's got his brown bagged 40 oz., black leather trench coat, walking the wrong way down a one way street with his headphones on probably listening to the new Lamb of God album (which, is awesome), while the rest of the sheep are being brainwashed into going straight down the line on an under-performance surfboard. Retro would be way better if this guy was in charge. You could still have your tight pants, but hitting the lip would be in style too. If given the ultimatum, I'd shop at Hot Topic before Urban Outfitters anyday.

Here little piggy...

Take a look at this new fish from Sharp Eye.

They call it the Twin Fin Pig Fish. Pig Fish because it's a fat fish, twin fin because...well if you don't know...

The new Twin Fin Pig Fish is also a perfect match for these FCS performance core FK-2's.

Check out those channels.

A perfect example of a waist high wave killer.

Board Dimensions: 5'6" x 19 3/4" x 2 7/16" $530.00

FCS FK-2 Fins: $67.95

I'm going to tinkler all over your surf tek.

Does your crappy epoxy pop-out not surf like a real board? If so, Bob Tinkler has just the tail for you.

The Tinkler Tail.

Rarely do you see sneaker technology applied to surfboards, but I guess if they are both coming from sweat shops in Asia it's not too much of a leap.

The Tinkler Tail (according to Bob Tinkler himself) "is basically a false bottom. The deck is part of the board and when you apply pressure during your turn, the tail will move from a straight rocker into various curves. It actually makes turning easier, and with the springs in there you can actually change them out to ‘load up’ the tail in order to get more thrust out of your turn."

O.K. Bob sounds like that makes a little sense, but why pop-outs?

"The original design was always centered on mass production and it continues to be that way. With the flexible tail, you can now make those stiff epoxy boards flexible and easier to use. It improves what a molded board was lacking."

Seems to me that it would be easier to just avoid "those stiff epoxy molded boards." Oh well, we'll see how hard this gimmick sticks.