Mega Shortbus

Introducing the Mega Shortbus 6'2"x22"x3".

This shape was commissioned by Sean at Trunkplayer Surf Shop in Cherry Grove, SC. He is focused on carrying boards that work well for the average guy or gal in our local waves. It wasn't in the shop too long before Kelly Anne came in and snagged it. 

 

And now a brief description of this shape:
 
This Mega Shortbus blends modern surfing with the speed and glide of a retro fish. This board was designed to catch a lot of waves, supplying endless amounts of fun and copious quantities of stoke. It's designed to not only race down the line but also turn in the pocket. The beveled rail, wide outline and flat deck allow for a lot of volume which promotes speed and glide while the bottom contours allow for sensitivity and responsiveness rail-to-rail.

This chunky split tail shred sled is hands-down the most fun Fishy/Mini Simmons type board you will ever surf. This design is a perfect blend of front foot speed and back footed shredding. It loves clean lines, but can make even the summer slop fun. Full rail turns, soul arches, cutbacks, speed floaters and cheater fives are a few of the things that can be enjoyed on this wave hog. It has a wide range and will shred on anything from ankle high to head high hurricane waves.

When everyone else says it's a longboard day you can still catch as many waves as the loggers without the hassle of hauling your log out.

This board could be the answer for surfers who want the volume of a longer board, but still want the shredability and freedom of a shortboard. 

Stay stoked!

-James

"Somethin' Fishy " - Split Arc Tail Fishy Mini Simmons

This board is another version of the Shortbus, just a little fishier.

Pictured here with my Dads 1971 Cutless 442, he ordered this car brand new from the factory 45 years ago.

This was a fun one to shape, added a beaknose inspired by McCallum Surfboards which turned out to be very tricky, not sure I got it completely right but it looks kinda cool at most angles and gives more volume and float to the nose. Also made the swallow cut out deeper and shaved a little off the back corners, something I've seen done a lot on Mandala surfboards.

You can see here the new tail and the old tail for comparison.

Right before she was sent off to glass. Came out at 5'9"x22"x3"

Final product. #1960stimemachine

Rocker shot...

I decided to play around with the fin configuration on this one by bringing the back quad fin in from the rail 1" 3/4". my past models were only 1" 1/4". As I spent some time at the Instagram University studying other wide tail shapes I started to notice a lot of guys are bringing the back fin in quite a bit. I got to chat with legendary shaper Gary Wilson after a fun sesh at Dunes Club and learned he brings his in around 2" give or take, so I feel pretty good about my decision to bring it in this time. Hoping by tweaking the tail and fin setup I'll get more maneuverability and top to bottom surfing without sacrificing down the line speed and glide. Speed and glide are the two main things I want my shapes to be known for, (as well as catching waves easily and radical fun colors/art). 

Terry Fitzgerald, "The Sultan of Speed" says " There are two types of surfing today, there are people who ride surfboards and there are people who ride waves. The world tour guys, the guys who do stuff you've only dreamed of, are focused on riding their surfboards in an athletic fashion. The other kind of surfing is when you focus on riding the wave, and picking the line that gives you the most speed. You almost can't compare the two. It's a different brand of surfing." 

The average guy will probably have more fun on a board that promotes speed, which will probably end up being fatter, wider and flatter. On this type of board you will catch more waves, go faster and the ride will last longer. Depending on your area you might be able to go shorter, but in Myrtle Beach our waves are typically small and slow so for the average guy you might be surprised how much fun you can have on a mini Simmons type board the same length (or longer) as your usual shortboard. When everyone else says it's a longboard day you can still catch as many waves as the loggers without the hassle of hauling your log around. 

I'll end with this quote from finless frontier pioneer Derek Hynd "Speed is the beginning and end of surfing." 

Stay stoked!

-James

The "Fun Czar" - A Bonzer/Twinzer Inspired Diamond Tail

Just picked up my latest creation from the glasser!!! Colors came out Siiiick! Went with a heavier glass job again so the weight feels like a poly board. Did the same on the previous shape and its holding up great, no real heal dents or dings and I've been riding it for about 7-8 months.

 This is similar to the Bing Synchronizer with a fishier nose, the same nose as the Shortbus model, my last shape. 
With the 5 fin box configuration and the deep double-concaves, there are tons of options to play with. First test ride was on a small weak day so I tried it as a twinzer  and that setup seemed to give me plenty of speed. It was very responsive and I got a couple nice close out turns that felt really good. 

It has a lot more hull in the entry than the last shape.

I gave it a little more rocker and kept it a little thicker in the tail since I narrowed the tail down a bit to work better with the single fin option. 

My little bubby Asher helped me every step of the way. 

Here's a vid of the shaping process and some of the first test rides.

Stay stoked!!!

James 

Shortbus 2.0 - Part 3

Just picked up the tasty Shortbus 2.0 from the Maya Shop a couple weeks ago. Jamie Tuttle did a sick job with the resin work, pretty much got the colors and swirl exactly right. He put a 6oz layer on the bottom, 2 layers of 6oz on the top and a 4oz deck patch on the top as well. It came out weighing 10 pounds, which is 2.6 pounds lighter than the first Shortbus I made a couple years ago. There's roughly 3.5 inches of rocker in the nose and 1.25 in the tail, slightly more than the Uber Plank by Lost. Super stoked on the final product!

First test ride was an early dawn patrol sesh, and it was a magical experience...

Second test ride was during Hurricane Joaquin. It was super fun and performed great even in the big stuff...

First few sessions I've had it setup as a quad with the nubster in the back middle. Seems to work great. Next I'll try it as a twin fin with nubster. 

Here is a video following the Shortbus 2.0 from the shaping bay to the sea. Enjoy!

 

Stay Stoked!

-James

Shortbus 2.0 - Part 2

The Shortbus 2.0 is done! Ended up at 5' 11" x 22" x 2 7/8" Just dropped it off at the Maya shop yesterday for glass! He said it should be ready in a couple weeks.

Picking up where the last post left off after mapping out the rail bands I got to work mowing foam in my new sideyard LaBoardatory. I found a lot of helpful info, drawings and diagrams on http://greenlightsurfsupply.com/pages/greenlight-surfboard-building-guide-a-z 

I used their boxy rail band instructions as a guide as well as some advice from Malcolm Knight of LongToe Surfboards based out of Charleston, SC. I found him on the Instagram a while back and really enjoy seeing the shapes he creates. He recommended drawing rail bands on the deck at 2 and 4 inches in from the rail. Really stoked on how the rails turned out. Here's a few shots of the process...

Slight hull on the underside...

Rails all done...

Had a little fun with the tail. My version of the "Arc Swallow Tail" that Manuel Caro puts on a lot of his Mandala shapes. Check out his website: http://mandalacustomshapes.com

Mapping out the fins and concaves...

Lots of sanding...

Finished product:

Deck is flat and rails turn down at 4 inches from each rail.

Rocker...Tail thins down quite a bit.

Bottom...subtle double concaves. 

Hull entry...

Outline...

Can't wait to see how the glass job turns out. He's going to have some fun with these colors...

Until next time.

Stay stoked!

-James

Shortbus 2.0 - Part 1

A lot has happened since the last post on here. Moved to a new bigger house (which came with a reeeeally nice big shed)...

2 weeks after moving in our little man Asher Kelly Samaha decided he would come a few weeks early...

So needless to say life's been crazy busy... We love this little guy soooo much! 

After painting about every wall in the new house, updating the kitchen and countless hours of unpacking and organizing I finally got around to setting up the lights in the back of the shed so I can shape again. 

Picked up a stringerless EPS blank from a local shaper and starting mowing foam the other night. Making another Shortbus for meself but this one will have a different thinner tail, a split arc tail to be exact, hoping to add some more maneuverability and hold, the tail and rails on the old one were too fat and sometimes it would slide out the back of the wave. Here's what I've done so far...

The blank...Nice and thick!!!

Outline...

Cut out...

Thinned down the tail...

Rail bands mapped out...

Rocker shot.

That's all for now.

Stay stoked!

-James