mentawaiis boards

mark ricketts · Post by **mark ricketts** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 5:40 pm

It would be nice to hear from Simon, and the others who were priveleged enough to be there, about the different boards being ridden in the movie - how the different shaping styles went in those waves and what was learned.

I didn't see any board swapping going on - that's always high risk in hollow waves a long way from home - but maybe there are some observations. there certainly was a diversity of shaping and riding styles but sometimes its very hard to tease the two apart. we all tend to end up favouring boards that favour our styles.

remember - i'm not talking about which was better - no such thing at that level of shaping and surfing - but more which did what?

over to the Inside and Out crew.
ps a public thank you to all of those involved in putting it together

kneelingBROTHA · Post by **kneelingBROTHA** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:02 pm

I just watched the movie. Review is pending on my blog! aswelltime.blogspot.com

Sparrow · Post by **Sparrow** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:14 am

Hey Mark,
First off, thanks for the e-mail & your comments about the movie. It made my day mate. Say sorry to your boss for keeping you from doing your work

I can start this off Mark.
I went a little over board with the amount of boards I took but for good reason as we were making a film in a very remote location & some of the equipment I was using was un-tested (board-cam) & had no idea whether it would hold up, so back ups were required.
I brought with me two 6ft boards both being rounded pin thrusters though old & new bottom curves, rockers & thicknesses were incorporated allowing different experiences . One was to be used for board cam & the other being the red & white board that I ride in the Macaronis section.
The red board was perfect for Macca's allowing high performance riding in small waves which normally I would have ridden a 5'10" or less.
Macca's, the wave, is impossible to not attack it as it is just ramped perfectly but delivers that extra power that Indo does so well so I'm sure that all the short boards came out from everyone on board.
I personally found a 6ft board was perfect for the smaller days at Macca's & Telescopes (the first few waves of my section).
I also brought two 6'3" boards, again one for the board cam & the other solely as my mid to large wave board (4-8ft).
This board was built for Indo waves. Still in the range (length) of a high performance board though slightly more drawn out dimensions giving that extra rail track grip allowing full power turns in waves of more consequence with out any doubt in my mind of releasing.
This board was used the most on the trip. Hideaways, Lances left, Ulluwatu, most of helmet cam & board cam.
I also brought a 6'10" which was used partly in the helmet cam footage & as a back up for board cam. The main reason for it coming on the trip was for board cam more so than huge waves which is not what the Mentawaiis is known for. The board cam was something so different than anything ive ever done before so I brought a full range of boards to cover all possible scenarios. (6'0, 6'3", 6'10")
Putting it on a larger board gave me some

piece of mind that it was that little bit further away from my face. As far as the results go, I didn't get what I was after as it was created more so for footage riding inside the tube but I never got a good crack at it in the right conditions to test it out & me

In the end it gave me something I was not expecting, which was a look into body & weight adjustment from feet to shoulders. Though the footage shot is slightly conservative due to me over compensating for the weight of the board cam sitting on the nose. Approx. 8 kilos

It gives a great insight into kneeboardings low centre of gravity combined with body & weight adjustment. It did for me anyway

As far as swapping boards went between one another it did happen & it is in the movie but until now no one has picked up on it

I asked Gigs to ride my red 6ft board out at Telescopes towards the end of the trip. The footage is the underwater shots in the section "Inside, Outside, Beneath & Behind" Its given away with the last shot of Gigs duck diving in the red tinted ocean

Also the last surfing shot of the opening section as the red board goes flying over the top of the camera & my head

you get a glimpse of a flipper (fins) hanging over the edge of the rail. That's not me

I think the trip was a real experience for every one of us who went on it & one that everyone really wanted to tap into there own equipment some of which was new equipment.
The trip was rewarded with some amazing waves at the first half of the trip but was cut dry the 2nd half. I think if the trip had of kept the same pace up as the 1st half we all would have started experimenting more on other peoples equipment. The only other sharing of equipment was my good friend Barry who stepped up to the plate with the helmet camera & had a go at No Kanduis

I think the surfing gave a good mix of styles & board design especially fin design. I feel the movie showed no matter what the surfer had under their board as far as the number of fins goes everything worked.
I've had enough of typing & hope some of the other lads can jump on & give their input & perspectives

mutiny · Post by **mutiny** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:22 am

so cool to hear about this stuff

tomway · Post by **tomway** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:27 am

Just watched the film - great job and some mind blowing surfing. I wondered straight away about the contrsts in how the boards went. In the ebay and lances section where the camera is from the land it's really noticeable. Someboards looked very smooth, while some looked much more 'fiery'. I noticed one surfer switch boards mid sesh (maybe barry?) and surf quite differently. Please correct me if I'm mistaken, will have to watch again later this evening.

Good thread, hope some others comment too!

Did you guys get no rights on the trip??!! I think there was only one clip of a right in the whole film.

Cheers Simon and everyone involved

judd97 · Post by **judd97** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:58 am

Simon GREAT MOVIE....GREAT POST

as always setting the bar HIGH

mark ricketts · Post by **mark ricketts** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:45 am

Thanks Simon
i noticed how high your board cam board tail sits in the water without you on it and figured the apparatus is heavier than it looks. the shots of your body torque is fascinating for the rest of us cripples. very different to the hip and thigh whip of some of the others or the upper body twist of the simpsons. its all good!

the diversity of wave types in the mentawaiis is amazing - you don't really get that from the film how soft some are and how brutal others can be. would have been a mind spin to decide on which board for what wave - sometimes you can have too much choice!

what do you mean when you say "both old and new bottom curves" without trying to steal any of Bruce's secrets.

barry · Post by **barry** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:46 pm

Well I ended up taking 4 boards with me.
they were 5'10", 6'1", 6'3", and 6'6"
I didn't end up riding the 6'6" didn't seem to need the extra length
even on the bigger days. I have used it a few times in Cali and also
around Buds place on Oahu.
The other 3 boards were all epoxy. I had the 5'10 made in May
(1st epoxy board for me) and really liked it so I had the other 2
built for the trip.
The 5'10 was the board with the green paint and was ridden at most places
it was very responsive and I felt it handled fine (until it buckled)
I even rode it at Hideaways in the morning before the swell really started to pump but by midday it was all about the 6'3

The 6'1 and the 6'3 I didn't get to ride until being on the trip. They both worked fine but I really became fond of the 6'3" for the way it handled, turned and of course paddled.
I still enjoy riding it and it is one of those boards that I wont be selling.
the bottoms on these 2 were built with single and double concave with some vee thrown in where appropriate. I also had the tails pulled in some for a gunnier feel. They were built for speed and riding the barrel.

As for changing equipment, what I choose to ride is very different than what the other guys were riding. So at the time, I didn't feel the need to
do much of that kind of experimenting.
I was fortunate enough to have a surf while wearing the helmet cam.
And I am relieved to see that Simon found a few things worth using from that session

I got my biggest thrashings of the trip with that thing on

tomway · Post by **tomway** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:37 pm

Could someone give a run down of who shaped the boards of everyone in the movie?

Watched the dvd quite a few times more now, and both simon and barry's posts on their board choices really adds to it ...noticing loads of stuff.

Sparrow · Post by **Sparrow** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:43 pm

Hey Mark,
Another little insight or trivia into the movie. That shot of the board cam you are talking about is actually minimal as the housing is empty. No camera inside. When the camera is inside the fins are almost out. The actual camera & the large battery weigh more than the housing itself! It was just a general shot of the mount & what it looked like on its own floating around. You may notice when watching from the mount whilst I'm riding a wave the camera is swinging from side to side. The housing is suspended by some thick industrial rubber that allows the housing to counter-act the turns swinging from side to side & give less of a dizzy experience. That was the intention anyway

The comment on the old & new bottom curves without getting into any specifics because I've always been up front that I don't know a great deal when it comes to this was that the red board was designed off the other 6ft board I brought along. The older board had an amazing ability to generate speed away from the pocket & I wanted to incorporate that aspect of the board into the new red board with some new added dimensions to the rocker & rails. The end result was the red board is one of the best boards I've ever ridden

Tomway,
Our trip did consist of some rights but it was pretty much lefts only due to the winds. Nipussi, 4 bobs, Lances right, & another that I cant remember the name of. Just around the corner of E-Bays. All the pros go there to do airs & tricks.
The shapers were,
Gavin rode Bruce Harts & a Neil Luke design
Myself, rode Bruce Hart designs
Gigs, (I will get back to you on that one)
Barry, Eric Schoelkopf designs
Bill, Buddy designs
Steen rode Parkes designs
Robert rode Bruce Hart designs

Hope this is right

Simon

BillL · Post by **BillL** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:23 pm

Hi Guys,
I brought 4 boards on the trip, all shaped by Buddy. They were a 5'7" f2k fish, a 5'10" double wing round pin, a 6'0" f2k fish and a 6'3" double bump swallow tail in case it got huge. The boards were all four on the floor with fuel injection.
The one that was filmed the most was the 5'7" F2k fish with a slight vee bottom. I usually ride double concave into vees but Buddy shaped this one for more island style waves that might have a bit more bump on the surface. The problem that I have with too much concave in big waves is that you start getting too much air underneath the boards and then you start getting airborne on all the drops and then wind up spending the whole wave just trying to stay on the face as opposed to enjoying the ride. Anyway this board worked really well on trips to Hawaii and Fiji before and could handle sizable waves without a problem and it worked great in the Mentawais too. I rode it in small waves at Teloscopes to that beautiful day at Hideaways. I also rode the 5'10" rp and at some of the smaller waves that we surfed, it's about 4-5 years old, has more floatation than the 5'7" and can skate over the flat spots pretty well, it's a really versatile board that I refuse to let die.
I rode the 6'0" once at Lance's lefts when it was big and a bit bumpy and I was bit sea sick after a radical crossing. You all should have seen Simon and Gavin destroying these waves, full on snaps and roundhouse cutbacks on at least doh waves. Unfortunately it was too choppy to shoot from either the boat or the dinghy. I never got the opportunity to ride the 6'3".
It was an amazing opportunity to go on this trip with such talented kneeriders, I learned so much watching these guys surf. Do you see where they aim for the lip and where they begin to carve mid face? Barry was doing it as well as the 3 fin riders. The guys on the 3 fin boards always kept a lower center of gravity in their bottom turns and then exploded out of them putting the board on the rail and up the face. Watch Simon and Gigs especially doing this, they have an amazing amount of control. It's all a lot of fun to watch and try out. Cheers, Bill

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:14 pm

Great descriptions, Bill. Neat to hear your perspective.

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:14 pm

Great descriptions, Bill. Neat to hear your perspective.

judd97 · Post by **judd97** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:51 am

Bill & Barry nice job on the posts & your surfing in the movie

think that no matter who's boards you guys were riding

you were pushing them to the limits

let's hear from the rest of you guys on the trip

mark ricketts · Post by **mark ricketts** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:20 pm

Simon, Bill and Barry - thanks for the interesting insights. as always, there is more than one way to skin a cat!

barry - just be glad you only used the helmet cam and not that wicked looking board cam. maybe gath will have to start making a full face to protect from that beast.