North Atlantic Right Board

This is my new Long(ish)board… it finally graced the waves last weekend and what a baptism. I LOVE this board, everything from the shape and tint to the accidental resin bleeds on the nose concave panel.

I was surfing a right hand reef at about head-high. This is probably the easiest wave catcher i have ever had and the board was so manoeuvrable and drivey i really did wonder whether I would ever bother with a shortboard again (which i did later this week but that’s another review).

It delivered in  every area. Even roundhouse cutbacks, which on an 8’10 for a shortboarder is saying something. I even had a few cover-ups as the board rode so beautifully high and tight in the pocket. I guess it further reinforces my belief that asymmetrics really are the best way to go.          

Fin asymmetry

Jiggy jiggy

One of the thing about bonzers is that all the jigs made to fit standard fins and boards just don’t want to work with bonzer concaves unless they are really shallow… just another reason why they have never been popular mass production boards, factories can’t churn as many out.

Fortunately Daz, Adam and I usually always find ways around the problems they present.

This is Daz fitting the mini-boxes for the LokBox system with new bottom contours I designed to make the production a little easier and the end result stronger. Pleased to say it really made a difference and LokBox bonzers are now back on the menu, which means more direct transfer of energy through the board and the potential with an extra set of fins to ride the same board as a thruster or even a fish. Charlie Rs board here will be the first to be able to enjoy the benefits and we look forward to hearing how it goes.

 

fins Shelter

“Give me Shelter” paulownia good vibes

Heading for Italia very soon…

Gloss’n polish

 

Paulonia good vibes…

First set of paulonia good vibes bonzer runners… weird stuff to foil compared with hard American Ash… super light and very soft…

Le Freak

Paulownia good vibes…

Got some Paulownia wood endowed with huge amounts of good vibes… this wood has done the rounds and will shortly be making fine sets of bonzer sides. Not sure of the original source but they were sent to Rob Lion, Royal Surfboards, who left them with Chris Hartop when he left the England, who felt the wood was well suited to some of my bonzers… so thanks to the source for sending them to Rob, to Rob for giving them to Chris, and to Chris for giving them to me…

Oh and that is Chris’s hand-plane he has lent me to get me back in the water doing something until my knee gets fixed.

Foils of The Rising Sun

These are Hajime’s fins for his Rising Sun FreakFish. American Ash bonzer runners together with aircraft ply and glass layup for the rear FreakFish cut-aways… 

A complex foil to hand shape, but rewarding.

   

New Porpoise

FOR SALE: The New Porpoise which I shaped for the Fish Fry. 6’0 x 22” x 2 5/8” Bernoulli single into double concave with bonzer feeder concave channels. New EVO4 Fish set up with American Ash Medium front runners and the new TS Foil LokBox cutaway keel-fish fins… the fins will add a huge amount of extra drive through the tail and when combined with the flatish tail rocker this board will really fly. Gloss and polish, double pinlines both sides.

The artwork reflects some things on my mind I guess… this March I was about to get on a plane to the Mentawais ; Ant and I had just got to the airport at 5am after driving through the night… and thought (obviously) “why not, we’re on holiday…beer!”… and then the disaster unfolded on the screens in front of us as we sat at the bar, later with Fukushima. It had a profound effect on me… and I guess this board was just my acknowledgement of this. The orcas crept in as I had recently found out that dead Orcas have to be treated as hazardous waste when they die as the blubber is so contaminated… So my thoughts are with all those in Japan… and with our cetacean friends.

       

Get it quick before I can’t resist waxing it up for a wetting… show price of £650 with an extra discount if it is going to Japan or to anyone with anything to do with cetaceans. Looks like this one is on its way to Japan, which is so perfectly fitting. But if it falls through for any reason express your interest now and I’ll get in touch.

Feeling fishy… bonzer fish fins

Just got my LokBox fit special foil fins from Rainbow Fin Company for the Sprat Fish just in time for the Fish Fry. This 80/20 foil is unique to me and features a cut away base to allow the fin to act more like a rudder, twisting around the base, initiating a quicker turn and overcoming some of the “trackiness” often associated with keel fins.

The tab position is also further forward than the traditional LokBox fish fin templates, (the fin is therefore further back on the board) so they will add more drive with more manoeuvrability…

Only available from me at the moment due to the costs of limited edition runs (only 12 sets made). Prices are £90 a set + P&P, and they come in their own RFC wallet.  Email me if you are interested, tim@timstaffordsurfboards.com

fishy…

Designed for the new Sprat-fish… The narrow base allows the fins to twist and act like a rudder, dramatically increasing the initialisation of the turn, and helping the water stay attached for tighter arcs without losing drive.

There will be a limited edition run of 12 sets in smoke glass, Lokbox fit. Two sets already spoken for. I’ll have them at the Fish Fry for anyone who wants a set, or drop me an email to order in advance to make sure you don’t miss out.

EVO6 bonzer rear fins

for Peter. 

Roachy’s EVO6 bonzer rears

Well just before the docs said no power tools for 2 weeks whilst my tendons, blood vessels and ligaments repair… I had foiled Roachy’s rear FCS fit EVO6 bonzer set cores… and was just about to glass them when Frosties delivered its dawn blow. Here’s the story so far… wood cores in American Ash ready for glassing. They will have a 1/2” halo after re-foiling with a lacquer finish. 

I’ll be making more sets of these for anyone who is interested in a light, wood core (positive buoyancy), dual foil fin of this unique planshape. FCS fit or Lockbox, you choose. £80 a set.

FreakFish FCS EVO6 bonzer review

The Mentawais FreakFish was set up with FCS bonzer fronts and a set of FreakFish FCS fit rears… and i am pleased to say the board flew and the FCS system handled all the torque with no problems at all. The board was incredibly fast down the line allowing sections to be made with ease, whilst still allowing for sudden changes of direction with full power being transferred through the rail. They say the proof is in the eating and the FreakFish certainly proved itself being ridden more than any other board. The conditions were small so sections were more frequent and the FreakFish allowed these to be made with ease. A really flexible design that has become the board i ride more than any other, whether it is beach breaks in the UK or reefs and points from Mexico to Indo.

The Riddler – REVO5 bonzer

This board was inspired by some of the most significant influences on my shaping… Malcolm Campbell’s bonzers of course, a little bit of McCoy’s loaded dome Nuggets and a healthy dose of Cheyne Horan’s boards and the spitfire theories from Revolution...

6’2” x 20 1/2” x 2 7/8” – rolled deck with pinched rails. Rolled V boat-nose into vortex channel inside rolled V, exiting into a panel V through the tail. REVO bonzer spitfire sides and  a McCoy gullwing centre fin. Can be ridden as a Single fin or as a REVO5.

The REVO sides are using the fluid dynamic theories more popular in sailing after the Ben Lexcan keel led the Australia II to the America’s Cup victory in 1980. One part of the theories is that a vertical keel has less resistance than a sloped one due to its reduced initial contact area. Anyways thought it was time to apply some of this to a board and inspired by something similar on a Revolution Board and with encouragement from Noel Whitman of Revolution the Riddler was born. Watch out for tweaks in the near future after its first wetting.

Hope you enjoy.

     

Atlantic POD with twin-CRV symmetrical foil rears

Had the Atlantic POD EVO6 bonzer out in some fun surf the other day and it flies. Waves were overhead and clean with almost no wind… some lovely peaks with long rides and plenty of wall. The board has really quick wave entry with the fins offering low drag and heaps of drive off the bottom. Faded bottom turns no problem with excellent hold; cutbacks kept a decent amount of speed through the turn. These fins seem to be really neutral handling, predictable and have a great balance between drive and hold.

Rode them another day at another spot, a little more hollow and quick and the fins were equally good but perhaps a little less control in the steeper stuff. A conventional shape would have offered a little more control and less drive – which would have worked well on that day as the board was outrunning the curl a bit too easily.

More reviews on the other set-ups when the surf comes back.

fREAKfISH… wooden EVO6 bonzer gets stained…

Just a little wood staining to finish off Pete’s FreakFish EVO6 bonzer 5’11”. Now back with Mark of Glass Tiger for the final varnish and fin- glossing before it heads up to Scotland for some real juice.

FreakFish EVO6 bonzer gets woody..

Ready for burn pen, stains and varnish before it heads north for some Scottish juice. Great work by Mark at Glass Tiger on the construction as always…