I thought I would do a quick piece on Stewart Surf Shop, where I am employed on a part-time basis.
These are pictures of Geoff Madsen, the main shaper at Stewart's. He probably shapes 90-95% of all boards that we sell. Stewart Surfboards has distributors all over the USA, as well as a global presence. I believe we have 18 different models, from short boards to longboards, funboards, fishes, cruisers, starter boards, and every conceivable type of in-between board that will work in almost any condition that Mother Nature can dish up. Geoff's an excellent shaper and can average a board every 30 mins. Geoff was also a member of the Echo Beach Crew in Newport Beach back in the early 80's. So, needless to say...he's a really good surfer!!

This is how we receive the raw blanks. They come from a company called ProCam in Huntington Beach. They buy our basic uncut blanks from US Blanks in the city of Gardena. They then go to ProCam where each of our models has been scanned into a computer; then each model is cut on a CNC machine and shipped to us pre-shaped. Geoff or Bill then fine-tune the blanks, taking out all the ridges, refining the nose and tail, and expertly making the rails, bevels, and concaves to spec. There is always the option of buying the blank uncut, then having our shaper cut the blank by hand, plane, sand etc. This is a time consuming process, and costs around $100 extra. Definitely old school. Some older, crusty shapers only shape by hand. No machine for them! Kudos to those journeymen!!

 These are boards that have been shaped and are waiting for the fin boxes to be routed out by Ernesto, our Venezuelan router. He's a really cool guy, easy going, and pretty buff too. He is actually a personal trainer in his spare time.

These are blanks that are waiting for paint. They have already had their boxes routed. There are also some boards that have been shaped and glassed. The grey funboard also has had an acid resin wash done. Those particular boards have been glassed or hot coated, and are awaiting the painter, Tom, to paint pin lines on the hot coat. He can paint pin lines on the blank itself, but he told me that it isn't as clean and precise as doing it on the hot coat.

This is Tom, the resident Cuban and painter extraordinaire!! He lays down some cool designs, and has to be regarded as one of, if not, the best painter in the surf biz!! He also has to define a custom board order, which one of the salesmen writes up. As salesmen, we are required to draw out the design that the customer wants, with the appropriate Pantone color #'s, logos, artwork, and anything else they want, and take a deposit. I think the hardest part of Tom's job is extrapolating the information that we give him. There is so much information  each phase of the board requires, from fin location and boxes used, to which kind of leash plug to use, to the amount of glass that is used on the deck and the bottom, location of laminates for the glassers etc. The picture on the right is classic, because this guy is pretty stoic, cerebral, and efficient. So, for him to ham it up for my camera was pretty unusual. Not only that, he would make the members of the Geek Squad look silly. Tom is amazing with computers, software, and photoshop. His composites are legendary!! He also has many stories about surfboard factories he's worked at throughout his career, and it's fun to find out what some of the all-time greats were really like. Drugs, alcohol, dealing etc. Some of the stories are quite sobering.

This is Ernesto's bay, adjacent to Tom's bay. This is where the boards are routed, and the slurry is applied to the EPS boards. EPS are our epoxy boards, which are hand shaped, not molded plastic. Very light, strong, and buoyant. The polystyrene material is very, very porous. So, to fill in the gaps/holes, a puddy like material is spread over the board, almost like spackle. Once this is done, and the board is glassed, it looks pretty much like a polyurethane blank. I could go into the painting of EPS boards vs Poly U boards, but I won't at this time. The only task performed off site is the glassing of the surfboards. I may do a separate blog about Chelu Glassing. Needless to say, this is a soulful surf shop, and they are few and far between.  Until next time, stay stoked and keep surfing!!
Scooter Surfs

Got up at the crack of 8:30am to find a text from Mike. Quote, "It be tiny and kinda weak...but what a nice day....supposed to pick up...maybe tide push will help?" Looking out the window, I could see that it was indeed, a beautiful day! I packed up my van with 2 boards; my trusted 9'7" Regal and my 6'10" Funline 11. My board selection was based on Mikes surf report. To my surprise, the surf was bigger than I thought; clean, peaky, glassy, and just a couple of people in the water. I'd say the surf was running 2-4ft with an occasional bigger set, and the waves had some push. Perfect conditions for the Regal. I just prayed my back would not spasm and lock up like it did last Friday. Oh yeah, taking an 800mg IBUPROFEN doesn't hurt either, eh? The wave pictured above, is from last weeks swell. It was big all week.

I caught some great waves with my Regal. I actually did this resin acid wash color pallet to match my Frankenstein fin. I think it works well, don't you? It's a funny thing about riding a wave; as you stroke into the wave, you feel the wave gently lift you and the board up, almost like bread dough rising. It's subtle, exciting, and as it happens you know to pop up to your feet and draw your line and initiate your first turn. You can tell a good surfer from a beginner or intermediate surfer, based on how they paddle, turn their board, approach the wave, and think (or not think) a couple of turns ahead. Most people are content to make a turn then stand there like the Statue of Liberty, trimming until they fall off or try a cutback, where they usually fall off. Then there are others, usually short boarders who flail away like one of those blow up stick men you see at car lots. I've come to the conclusion that anyone who rides a molded epoxy board is of the statue variety. They want a board that doesn't ding, and floats them well. Huh? Really,, that's why you buy a board? I guess if you like riding a board made in China, with no intrinsic value, no soul, and no turning ability, and is like trying to ride a ping pong ball, then by all means, buy and ride them. Just don't expect to improve your surfing for the foreseeable future.

That's Mike doing a nice bottom turn on a solid wave last week. Don't know which day it was, but I do know that it wasn't a big set wave. Mike will take off on anything, so if the wave jacks up in front of him, he's going!! I can't wait until I buy another DSR Camera so I can zoom in and stop the action better. My point and shoot is nice, but not for action photos. The other photo was taken on Thursday. I didn't go out as I thought it was too windy and not good enough. This wave says different......what's funny is this day, these conditions, the size, and the crowd (3 guys) would be considered an epic day in Florida and Texas. I guess I'm a little spoiled, and being 60 years old, with back and knee problems makes me a bit jaded when it comes to mentally committing to a surf session. A set wave today, is pictured below.

 I will relate one other incident that took place prior to surfing today. I had walked down to look at the waves, and there were a few people and dogs checking out the surf. Everyone had left except one guy and his dog. He happened to leave the bluff a minute or two before I started walking back to my car, to suit up and have a surf. As I approach the guy and his dog, the dog stops to do it's business, where I slow down to make sure the guy picks up after the dog. Well, guess what? The guy starts to walk off with his dog, and I say "hey wait a minute, aren't you going to clean up after your dog?" "There are no bags", he says. "Look behind you, there are blue bags right there"! He says, "I'm going this way", and I say, "there are bags up at the parking lot too". I then say I surf here all the time and he says he does too. I tell him, "you'd better pick it up or I'll report you to the state park officials and if that doesn't work, I will take care of you myself"!! As I walk away, I'm shaking my head and wondering why there are such assholes in the world. Both Mike and I have almost stepped in dog doo on the beach. My patience runs thin when it comes to trashing our beaches and trails. Oh, and I did look to see if the guy had picked up his dog's crap, and it was gone. I don't like to threaten people, as it's not my style, but someone has to call people on their bad behavior. Until next time?

Ciao for now,

Scooter Surfs

My best friend Richard, ordered a new board from me at Stewart Surfboards, a few weeks ago. It is the newest model from Bill Stewart, the Redline 11, 9'0". I don't say this about many boards, but this board does it all; we only make 9ft Redlines, and they turn like an 8'6", paddle like a 9'6", and nose ride like a 10'0". The nose riding of this board is nothing short of astonishing!! I made Richard jump thru lots and lots of hoops, in order to get to the finished product. Lets just say I pranked the hell out of him thru the entire process, and it was really fun. We've been friends since the 9th grade, so pranking each other comes with the territory; just ask him!!

First off, after we agreed on the color you see above, a nice seafoam green fade, I sent him a text,  changing in colors....I changed the colors to hot pink and black. Then sent him a picture of the new design, which kind of looked like a maze. His response was, "you're kidding right"? Yes, I was kidding, but that was only the start. I did send him jpegs of the finished shaped blank, the paint job prior to and after hot coating; then sent him pictures of the logos and pin lines, which are painted on the hot coat, not on the blank itself. The real fun started after his board was delivered by our glasser, Chelu glassing, in Talega, SC.

This is me, pretending to wax his new board. I texted him the following: "I'm going to wax up your new board, and take it for a surf. I will let you know how it rides." Richard says, "you'd better not!" The next thing I did was send him a picture of his board in the sales rack, not the private, roped off, custom rack, complete with price tag and dimensions. I really priced the board to move, and told Richard the board may be sold before he comes to pick it up, ha!

Such a deal for a $900 surfboard, eh? I came to find out that someone actually tried to buy the board, and that created a bit of a brouhaha. The price had to be explained by our main shaper, Geoff. Luckily, I had already gone home, knowing that Richard was picking up his board at 10am the next day. So, I missed all the excitement. Geoff wasn't too pleased with me, but the guy ended up being cool about the price and the events that led up to the discounted price tag.

Here is Richard's board all finned up and ready to go.......nowhere!! This is what he saw when he first focused eyes on his new board. Whoops, my bad!! A good laugh was had by all, and that was the end of my pranks. We are surfing this Friday, he on his new board, me on my Redline 11 Yellow. Ed Bradley(another very close friend), and my son Justin, are also meeting us at Lloyd's Spot. Justin rides a Stewart California Noserider, another great board from Bill. Eddy rides a Becker 10'0".

You might be wondering why he chose to have DRAGMASTER logoed on his rail? The story goes back to the early 70's, when Richard bought an orange Datsun pickup truck. I had an earlier model that was red, complete with camper shell and bedding. Anyway, the tires he had on his truck had white raised lettering, and DRAGMASTER  was what it said on the tires. The name kinda stuck. I also was lucky enough to find a fin, that came with a much bigger fin order, in the exact color of Richard's board. That was totally cool, and rare.

I know he is going to really, really like his new board. We went with 24"W X 3 3/8" Thick @ 9'0".
The board should float him well, paddle amazing, and if he ever finds himself on the nose (when hell freezes over), he will be smiling!! I think I had more fun with his surfboard order, than I've had with my own personal sticks. Now, let's hit the surf, so I can drop in on him, cut him off, and hassle the crap out of him. I'm here to expand the experience for him:-} Until next time, this is Scooter Surfs, bidding you all a happy 4th of April.

Ciao