Cate’s Stoke: Employee Picks Cont…

Part 3: Mason Klink

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing their best to stay healthy and think positive during this hard time. At Hobie, our hearts go out to those affected and are keeping them in our thoughts. Currently, all shops are closed until further notice and will keep you guys in the loop on our social media channels. Please continue to practice social distancing, and remember we’re all in this together!

On a lighter note, we have new employee picks, from Mason Klink of San Clemente! Mason is an ambassador at Hobie as well and enjoys surfing at SanO in his spare time! Here are his shop picks:

1) Legacy Surfboard

This board is Mason’s favorite because it’s not just for nose-riding. He feels that “…this board can help any surfer learn to approach waves in a more natural manner.” This board quickly generates speed and keeps its momentum all the way down the line. “Terry Martin designed this Hobie to be the legacy of his shaping experience, and board design talents should motivate any surfer to want to try this board.” Mason recommends this board for people trying to make their surfing smoother and take an organic approach to traditional longboarding.

2) Authentic Wave by Tatsuo Tekai

This book means a lot to Mason because it encompasses the era of traditional longboarding that inspired him at a young age. Now longboarding has become extremely popular, but in the mid-’90s to early 2000’s it was about pushing the boundaries of performance longboarding. This book was shot during this time, so you can get inside this community of surfers. “Having this retrospect and photo evidence of the surfers who challenged the move to more performance longboarding is nearly priceless, in my opinion.”

3) Patagonia R2 Wetsuit

This is Mason’s all-time favorite suit! “Where do I start…I grew up wearing hand me down wetsuits and whatever I could find that didn’t break my dad’s wallet. The first session I had in my Patagonia blew my expectations out of the water, “‘no pun intended.”’ According to Mason, the suit drys extremely fast, and its crazy warm. “You get what you pay for with this Patagonia product, just like their other offerings.”

4) Hydro Flask 32 oz Wide Mouth

Mason says that he has one of these bottles with him at all times. “It helps me monitor my water intake and decreases my use of plastics.” At Hobie, we aim to be sustainable whenever we can and have so many amazing products like this bottle, which can help everyone be sustainable.

5) Patagonia Baggies

These are Mason’s favorite shorts all the time. “They are great for surfing, hiking, and everyday use.” These shorts are made of 100% recycled nylon and also dry quickly, just like the wetsuits. Mason has tried a bunch of different swim and walk short brands, but he loves the Patagonia Products the most.

Thank you guys so much for reading this post and remember to stay inside!!

Let The Wind Howl

By

Andrew Cowell

It’s noseriding, the magic art of walking foot-over-foot on a traditional longboard.  You’re hanging five toes, maybe ten, off the nose with nothing except air and water before you.  You’re flying, Jonathan Seagull free, working without a net.

Born in the 1950s, noseriding a longboard – done while riding the front third of a surfboard — became an accomplished maneuver.  The greats: David Nuuhiwa, Corky Carroll, Lance Carson, and others tested their cat-like skills while balancing on a moving surfboard, propelled by a spirited wave.

In the mischievous game of surfing shenanigans, new tricks beyond the classic hang five and hang ten were added to the dance.  The Stretch Five, Hanging Heels, Front Foot/Heel Hang, Back Foot/Heel Hang, and the Crow Bar.

In 1965, philosopher, inventor and accomplished jazz drummer, Tom Morey (Morey Boogie Board fame) created a cutting edge surfing competition — the first of its kind — The Morey Invitational.  Morey’s concept was a timed noseriding event.  Whoever stood with both feet on the front third of their surfboard the longest would be crowned champion.  Two Hobie riders emerged triumphant that day.  Mickey Munoz won the men’s division, with Corky Carroll taking out all comers in the junior’s.  Both victors rode boards that were specifically designed and shaped for the event by the great Phil Edwards.

Today traditional noseriding flourishes worldwide, thanks impart to Donald Takayama and Joel Tudor.  This is not to slight any of the shapers and surfer’s who have contributed to the resurgence of longboarding and noseriding.  After all Herbie Fletcher proclaimed, “The Thrill Is Back” in the 80s.  I believe that history will show that it was Takayama’s Hawaiian linage and South Bay history of designing and shaping surfboards for the greatest of all noseriders, David Nuuhiwa, that foretold the rise of eminent world champion, Joel Tudor.  Traditional longboarding, like a hibernating bear, emerged to take its rightful place in the surfing pantheon.  Many dismissed longboarding and noseriding, labeling it retro, but Tudor, whose skills rivaled and surpassed those of the greats, passionately defended the ride, igniting an underground, grassroots movement that has fueled the imaginations of today’s young riders of the nasal passage.

Cate’s Stoke: Favorite Hobie Surfboard Models

Two things that will help you improve your surfing are lots of practice and a good board. Some of my favorite boards have been shaped by Gary at Hobie and have helped improve my noseriding immensely. I’m here to break down some of my favorite Hobie shapes that will get you having major fun in the water!

Longboards:

Uncle Buck II:

My all-time favorite shape is the Uncle Buck II, a reimagined version of Bucky Barry’s original, Uncle Buck. This board has more tail rocker than the first so that the surfer can turn easier! This has made an enormous difference in my surfing! I’m 5’3” and ride a 9’2”, so frequently, if I don’t have enough tail rocker, boards are super hard for me to turn, and I end up just making super small cutbacks, with no power whatsoever. With my Uncle Buck II, I am now able to turn easily and not sacrifice being able to noseride, because it can do both!

Uncle Buck:

This is another one of my favorite boards, mostly because it’s a total wave magnet! I can literally catch as many waves as I want on this board, because of its flat rocker! It is the perfect nose rider with its super-wide nose, which helps me hang ten all day long! Above is a beautiful Uncle Buck that Gary Larson Shaped for me back in 2017!

Midlengths:

Farside

Full disclosure, as soon as I gave up short boarding competitively, and started longboarding full time, I became the worst paddler! I got way too lazy after learning that you only have to take about two strokes to get into any wave on a longboard! But then came a time when I decided I should probably broaden my quiver and so I turned to Gary and Kris Carlow for help. I got lucky because they had just created a new version of the retro egg, called the Farside. This model is super similar to the retro egg, but one of the main differences is the nose is a little bit more pulled in, making it way easier to duck dive! It’s perfect for those head-high winter swell days when it’s too big to take out my trusty log! I recommend this board to anyone who’s trying to make the transition from longboard to shortboard, it makes it way easier! Pictured above is a fantastic Farside that was shaped for me in 2019. Shoutout to Reyn Spooner for getting me the coolest fabric!

Shortboards:

C-4:

When picking a shortboard, I try to go with a fish or twin fin, since I can usually make it wider and thicker (easier to paddle and stand up)! The C-4 is a more progressive take on a 70s style fish. What’s neat about this board is it can also become a quad, so you have more options for fin setups depending on how the waves are looking. Another notable characteristic of this board are bumps that allow the board to break the water, to have a greater turning radius. This is such a fun board and is an excellent take on the fish style that we all know and love!

Hope you guys enjoyed my Hobie board picks, hope to see you out in the water soon!

Temples of Stoke: A Tribute to Surf Shops

Surfers and surf shops, one can’t exist without the other; theirs is a symbiotic relationship. From grommethood to adulthood, from working-life into marriage and parenthood, legions of the truly obsessed continue to visit surf shops. Like the growth rings of a tree, significant moments in the life of a surfer can be marked in these “Temples of Stoke;” a framework of existence made up of freeze-frame moments. Surf journalist, Sam George likens the surf shop experience to a “mirror into which surfers have gazed, searching for self.” And historian Matt Warshaw suggests that the surf shop is “a time tested cultural stronghold,” functioning as a channel for information, gossip, and propaganda, a supply center, workshop, and quite often as the theater of the absurd.

Historically Dale Velzy is credited with creating the surf shop ideal, when opening his 1950s factory and showroom in Manhattan Beach, California. Rudimentary at best, the first surf shops were little more than small, one room operations producing a single product: the surfboard. You, the customer, upon entering would likely find a pair of sawhorses, and a single, bare light bulb suspended from the ceiling, with balsa wood shavings, inches thick, carpeting the floor.

With time, and surfing’s cinematic popularity, the surf shop morphed into a factory/retail operation. Hobie Alter is credited with being the first to construct a purpose-built operation at Dana Point, California. By 1961 surf shops were becoming full service emporiums with silk-screened tee shirts, trunks (today’s boardshort), magazines, wetsuits, and board making supplies. By 1963, according to Peterson’s Surfing Yearbook, surf shops were exploding nationwide. There were 41 in Southern California alone!

Today the surf shop means many things to many people, but, as Justin Housman explains, writing on the Surfer Magazine blog, “the anchor of the surf shop is still the surfboard… you’re sure as hell not buying surfboards online…. We still insist on holding a board in our hands before buying it.” Houseman again, “… from the very beginning [surf shops] have always been about much more than just commerce…. [They have] functioned as a ‘third place’ – another place to gather and socialize outside of work, or school, or home.” For those of you who may be new to surfing and the current expression of the surf shop, there are still a few old-school “Temples of Stoke” around. Places were the guy or girl behind the counter can actually talk about the nuances of surfboards, and sell you the latest beach-lifestyle fashions, all while telling you about how the waves were that morning — because they surf. But you’d better hurry, they are an endangered species in today’s e-commerce, big-box, mass-produced society.

For more on the “Temples of Stoke, A Tribute to Surf Shops” experience visit the SURFING HERITAGE AND CULTURE CENTER (SHACC) at https://shacc.org/temples-of-stoke-on-display-through-october-29-2019/.

Andrew Cowell for Hobie Surf Shop and SHACC.

Hobie Surf :: Big Trees in the Surf by Josh Martin

From Josh Martin at martinshapes.com ENJOY!!!! 

Big Trees in the Surf January 08 2015

Wood is orthotropic – the strength is predominantly along one axis. Parallel to the grain, tensile is very high and compression strength is good. Perfect for a core material in surfboard construction. Particularly surfboards designed for big surf. Wood provides for superior control, a smooth ride and durability. The “cadillac” of surfboard materials.

Far West Forest products provided me with some very special surfboard wood… Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) greatest of the redwoods, the earth’s largest tree and largest living thing by volume.

Giant Sequoia

This wood came from private property in the Sierra Nevada. Three Sequoia giants had fallen in a windstorm. These trees were estimated to have been between 2,000 and 3,400 years old when they finally succumbed to the forces of nature. Far West secured the rights to harvest the wood from these trees.

 

California Redwood is rooted in early surfboard construction. Redwood logs washed down rivers out into the Pacific Ocean. Occasionally a log would find its way to the shores of Hawaii. The islanders prized this wood for its relatively light weight, resistance to decay, workability and beauty. Far West Forest Products just so happens to be a dealer for Wood-Mizer sawmills. They made short work of a “log” slicing a portion of it into manageable size pieces for me.

 

  

I cut the lengths of wood putting proper rocker (surfboard curve) into them.

The wood is assembled in order and numbered. Index lines are drawn for maintaining proper placement. The priceless nature of this wood calls for the utmost in careful planning. One misplaced piece, and a wrong cut would be costly.

Not all surfboards work well when built from wood in the traditional fashion. “Gun” type surfboards used in large powerful surf, however, are perfect candidates for redwood construction. The weight and lack of flex provide for smooth and desirable control when attempting to successfully ride big waves. Several boards I own inspired the template used in this board I built for Far West. All built by my father Terry Martin.

It was fitting that this particular board be branded as a Hobie. My father shaped Hobie surfboards for 50 years; I shape for Hobie and the boards inspiring this one are of Hobie design. I’d like to add that much of this design was influenced by Gerry Lopez and his Lightning Bolt Model. Many of his boards were shaped by my father and built at Hobie’s Capistrano Beach factory during the 70’s. I own and have surfed a redwood lighting bolt style single fin my father made. It has incredible wave catching ability and is exceptionally smooth riding.

Each piece of wood is partially hollowed out to reduce excessive weight. These “chambers” are staggered from one piece to the next for structural integrity. Premium wood glue is rolled out onto each side in preparation for clamping.

  

The board is then assembled, clamped, allowed to cure, and outlined for cutting.

Far West Forest Products specializes in supplying California native woods. They asked if I could incorporate some especially beautiful native White Oak into this board. I milled three pieces to serve as “stringers” and built a fin for this board out of the oak.

 

Hand shaping a surfboard is where it’s at for me. Vintage tools utilized in a craft passed from father to son.

 

The shaped board was delivered to The Waterman’s Guild for glassing where Greg Martz and his crew did a beautiful job. Many steps go into the process of glassing a wood board. Great care is taken at each step resulting in a durable, mirror-like and waterproof finish. Fine extras like a traditional “glassed on” fin and glass leash loop are a wonderful form and function.

  

Hobie Alter founded his brand with the wood surfboard.

The finished product is incredibly satisfying to me. It’s so much more than just a surfing board. It’s about the majestic tree it came from. The family craft I get to live. The extended family of craftsmen I work with. The blessing of talent from the Creator of all things. There’s pure joy in this board. And it’s ready to ride, lasting for generations to come.

So thankful… -Joshua Martin