I shaped my first board in Texas, when I was 15 or so, probably ’79 or ’80. I’m pretty curious person, so it all stemmed from that. I remember looking at my first board (a used Aipa single fin) and thinking what is this white sparkly stuff inside? What is this clear hard coating on the outside? How did they get the logo on there so clean? I had no idea how they were made..or what materials were used. Never heard of blanks, polyurethane foam, shaping, none of that. A family friend knew that the cores were foam, so he gave me a 6′ x 3′ x 2′ thick block of foam he was using (he was building an airplane in his garage). It was very, very soft, and took me forever to shape. I used only a surform on that giant chunk of foam!! So, things kind of progressed from there, got my hands on some actual blanks later and had a lot of friends who were willing guinea pigs…and by ’84 or so I was doing it more or less full time.
You have been making big-wave guns for Mark Healey and Dave Wassel for a while now, tell us about some of boards you have been making them for Pe’ahi?
Both Dave and Mark are riding thrusters there…which goes against the grain for guns, especially at Pe’ahi. Dave has never really taken to quads at any length, be it shorties, Pipe boards or guns. He just does not click with them. Dave’s 10’4” he’s been riding there is 22 1/2” wide by 3 3/4” thick. Marks is 10’2” is 20 1/2” wide by 3 1/2” thick. Mark’s is unique in that the wide point is 7” ahead of center, and it has an extremely wide nose. Mark’s reason for riding thrusters at Pe’ahi is (according to him) my 10’2” rides like a 8’0”. Very maneuverable, yet very stable. They both tell me the one characteristic my guns have (that most guns don’t) is they paddle extremely well, and are maneuverable. Their guns both share traits typical of the guns I shape. Fuller rails, foil carried out to the ends a bit more. Slightly wider noses. Very forgiving edges in the front half.
Who are some of the Pipe guys you make boards for and what they are riding?
Aside from Wassel and Healey, The other guys at Pipe are Kaimana Henry, Tai Vandyke and Jason Frederico. Coincidentally, they are all above the 200 lb. mark. Kaimana just won the DaHui Backdoor Shootout on a 6’8” which is pretty typical for all 3 of these guys, especially in their mid range Pipe boards.The mid six foot range. Kaimana’s winning board was 6’8” X 19 5/8” x 2 3/4”. Wide point ahead of center and slightly wider nose. Tai’s and Jason’s boards are very similar, but with some differences in width and thickness. Tai’s are a bit wider and thicker, and Jason tends to favor thicker boards with slightly less rocker.
