Derrick's Single - Korduroy Specials

Super cool - little Single Fin Clip!

Balsa Singlefin - Smooth and Sleek - The Merluza

The Merluza -

I've just finished this solid balsa and red cedar singlefin, I've named Merluza after a beautiful sleek and fast Chilean Fish. I designed this tri-planning hull 6 ft Singlefin for long peeling solid waves.

Her maiden voyage was an absolute joy for me, you can really drive through your bottom turns and set clean high lines. Effortless speed down the line, just let the board and the waves do the work for you.

Stay posted for some more photos and maybe a vid down the track.

For more info send me a message!

Big thanks to Ochroma Surfboards for supplying this recycled balsa - really high quality product and easy to work with! Check em out at: http://ochroma.com.au/

Loving working with Balsa

Hi All,

Sorry for the lack of cool and exciting posts of late, but I have just been really flat out with work. Upside is I've been working with some beautiful balsa for Ochroma Surfboards in South Oz. The timber is all reclaimed and recycled and is a joy to work with.

Boards are comimg together really well and I can't wait to get the 6'1 single fin in the water for a test ride!

If you are interested in getting a balsa board or any other hollow or solid board for summer let me know!

Enjoy the waves!

James

Balsa boards now a much more affordable option!

I have been dreaming of building a balsa board for some time now, but the price has always held me back.

All that has changed now with some very afforable reclaimed balsa from Ochroma in South OZ.

Check em out at Ochroma.com.au

Looking forward to building some balsa boards soon!

Great little clip on Geoff and his Dovetail Surfboards and the Upcoming Wooden Board Day - Wood is Good!

Freezing wind, lashing rain storms - but this board still blows my mind

This morning's surf was cold. It was 7 degrees outside, but with the wind chill it felt like -5...

It rained and hailed horizontally. The normally very cold water felt warm compared to the open air. The swell was a long range winter swell pulsing in from the South West.

I found a nice left left bank that not surpirsingly was deserted in the early dawn grey. Paddling out with the rain stinging the back of my neck and an icecream headache after duck diving every wave, I questioned whether this was such a good idea.

Three waves later I was blissfully unaware of the cold freezing wind, or the horrizontal hail lost completely in the unique euphoria that only a good surf can bring.

My intention was to test the Flounder in some decent waves, well I achieved that, the set waves were overhead and were wrapping perfectly around and unloading on the shallow bank. The Flounder performed exceptionally well. By far the best board I have shaped to date. Its speed is fantastic, I am yet to discover the limitations of its hold in hollow waves and its control through turns is good. I love this shape.

I'm planning to do another batch of boards at the end of this month. If you are interested shoot me an email.

Cheers
James

Ride Report for the Flounder

Disclaimer: It had been over a week since my last surf – so I was stoked just to be in the water. It was a perfect day for alaias – head high, glassy, hollow and fast peeling waves. I have been dreaming about this board and how it would work for months and I had visualised every line I could ever hope to draw on a wave long before I ever paddled it out.

     

But seriously it was SUPER fun! I didn’t really have too many opportunities to test it on my backhand (I struggle on my backhand with alaias, in fact I normally choose to ride rights on my knees), but for the couple of rights that I did get, I was happy to be able to take off and hold a line and even pull a little floater.

On my forehand it was crazy good. The Flounder held its line so well, had heaps of speed and glide and doing the LaLa (a kinda vertical climb and slide in the pocket of the wave) was a lot easier to control.

All my freshly oiled boards tend to feel fast at first and this was no exception, but this board also felt different, the hold and control through the bottom turn as I set my line was not something I had felt before.

On my third wave despite my best efforts to paddle wide, when I took off I was still about 12 ft behind the peak, but it was a small day with long waits between sets so I thought I’d have a go. I took off fairly early and immediately pulled the Flounder into trim setting a fairly high line angling down just a touch. The lip hadn’t quite folded over as I approached the peak. Just as the Flounder reached the bottom of the wave and I straightened up, the lip folder over my head and for the next few moments I was locked into a perfect little barrel travelling really fast and really smooth across the glassy wave. These moments are rare in my surfing life, and tragically I often slip out at this point on the traditional alaias, but not with the Flounder, this time the Flounder held its line perfectly and even seemed to accelerate as I tried to pull up the wave a little. It was all over in another second or two as the close out section approached I tried to squeeze out at the last minute as the wave crunched shut. I lost it at the last moment getting clipped, but I had all that I needed. This strange looking board worked even better than I had expected.  

If anyone is interested in testing or ordering a board – shoot me an email. Costs vary on what you are looking for:

Standard alaia starts at $325 AUD

A hybrid alaia with mini keels starts at $375 AUD

A hollow fish or funboard can be estimated upon requested.