Dear Mr Systems.

I'm a fan of innovation. I'm a fan of invention. I'm a fan of the FCS concept. I like the idea of being able to change fins and travel with my boards packed tightly and efficiently. But since FCS introduced the MR twin fin series I have broken or lost 4 fins from 4 sets. The first 2 were the black carbon fibre fins that they no longer run for obvious reasons. These stiff and brittle fins just snapped straight off at the base in average size surf conditions. The next fin I lost was one of the expensive fibre glass laminate performance glass fins that snapped straight out of their plastic fin box converter that I had set up in an old Bruce Jones twinny. Today I lost one of the glass flex fins. Today's was the most upsetting and at the same time the most forgivable.
The story goes as follows, after watching a low pressure system intensify last night over the North Island of New Zealand (on TV not in person) I packed the car for a super early. I drove an hour south in the pitch darkness and was pretty stoked to be the first one out at a place I call 'Da Nang'.
I got 4 long 5ft lefts before I felt that familiar sensation of one of those piece of shit FCS twin fin fins shaping off at the base while during a bottom turn. This time it cracked the casing and tore out some foam and glass which meant at least it tried to hang on for a while. So I ask-
Dear Mr Fin. C. System,
I am a loyal repeat customer. But I need to know, why can't you make a set of twin fins to support 100kgs thru a basic bottom turn?
Have you never been surfing your self on a twin fin? Do you, like so many city bound plastic pop out surfers only surf 6'1" Chinese made thrusters in mushy surf under 3ft?
How is it that a technology used to stick a skeg to a surfboard in the 60's is more effective and longer lasting than that which you now employ.
On your web site you state that these Glass Flex fins were 'developed with chemical engineers'. Can I assume that these chemical engineers more often work with pheudo ephedrine and other precursor chemicals used in the production of 'Ice'?
You state you tested a number of materials with C. Brewer Co. I refute this and say you were obviously working at A. Brewery Co' when these twin fins were developed.
In future, when working on new products, please consider us, the massive army of wide fin based, 2 finned, 1 tonne surfboard riders who just want to go surfing on a nice 30 year old board.

sincerely,

The Board Collector.

Daniell's Diamond

One more from the collection. A very clean condition Peter Daniell's shaped 6'0" diamond tail, channel bottom twin fin from 1982. Daniell's is one of Australia's most experienced and productive shapers who is still pumping out cutting edge shapes today. This board is so nice even I'm stuck for words. A glorious wide tail set up with lots of lift and speed, 2 relatively small fins that make it nice and loose but a little skatey. What a lovely simple spray. This board is just such a neat package.

Mike Klein, I never knew thee.....

but we could have been brothers. I found these shots on Flickr.
I don't know Mike Klein but I surely share his taste in boards.

Mickey Munoz fish tail.

Adam from the US sent me these pics of an amazingly rare 7'1" 1975 Gerry Lopez Lighting Bolt single fin shaped by Mickey Munoz with this incredible fish tail. The stringer is signed Munoz and dated 75 and has a serial number 8932. I wonder what the theory was behind this design. It's unlike the crew a Bolt to push a concept that didn't work. I don't know how this tail was meant to turn as I imagine it would create a lot of drag when you dug the rail in to make a bottom turn and I'm guessing the guys in the glassing bay didn't much like it either.

Nose Channels. Nostrils perhaps...?

Craig from Gisborne, NZ sent me these pics of his late period Energy thruster designed and shaped by Simon Anderson.
It features a marvelous experimental innovation now common on many long boards, the nose channel. I've only seen this once before, on a Glen Winton shaped twin fin, except the Winton board the channel goes all the way from nose to tail. The other unique feature of Craig's board is the crooked tail fin, designed for turning left perhaps? I wonder what Simon called his nose channel invention, maybe the 'Nostril'. I'll be sure to ask him.

Home is where the Heart is....

Sydney in winter.


photo by frothers.com.au

Sad old Hot Stuff thruster...

I'm pleased to share with you my 6'1" rounded pin tail Hot Stuff thruster, shaped by NZ legend Al Bryne on the Gold Coast in the early 80's.Its nearly at the end of its life but its one enduring feature is its beautiful deck spray, comon on HS boards of the period. The history of HS shapers is well documented but who skillfully wielded the air brush is unknown to me.
Hot Stuff Surfboards began at Currumbin in the late 70's with Gill Glover in the Shaping Bay and John Allen in the glassing room. My favorite 80's surfers Chappy Jennings and Gary “Kong” Elkerton signed up in ‘81. By ‘82 Kong had joined the rest of the HS crew Rabbit and AB surfing the west peak at Sunset. Derrick Doerner became Hot Stuff's Hawaiian connection, building special rack’s that kept “AB”s classic bottom curves proportionately stable between Hawaiian seasons.
This board is not worth much. Not much to anyone but me.....

Is Peter Schroff shaping again?

YES!!

Camera phone.

Old boards are nice to ride but when its overhead and glassy sometimes you need something from this century. Its all about having the right tools for the job.

South African Thruster.

A reader from the US sent me these pics a while ago and they sent me into a spin. I could'nt work out this boards heritage. Its definatley from 81 or 82. I could tell it was'nt an Australian Energy thruster, so I assumed it was a US licenced design. But its clearly documented that Simon licenced the design to Nectar from day 1 as he discusses in the video below. There is no Nectar logos so I thought it was a fake till I saw the 'small print' A quality County Rhythm Product. A bit of digging revealed that Country Rhythm is a South African label from Durban.
Geez what a rare board, and so pretty too.

Sheep.

I flew into Bali the other day in time for a nice 6ft swell.
There were 150 people in the water at Uluwatu and 0 people out at 5ft Aiports Rights, one of the islands premier right handers. What has happened to the modern surfers spirit of adventure and discovery?

R.I.P Bon Scott

AC/DC's 1979 album Highway to Hell reached the top twenty in the United States, and the song "Highway to Hell" that Bon Scott, AC/DC's lead signer, cowrote with Malcolm and Angus Young for the album made Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, on 19 February 1980, Bon Scott died after a night of partying in London. Pulmonary aspiration of vomit was the cause of Scott's death, choking on his own vomit, but the official cause of death was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure".
So it must have been passionate and heartbroken fan who ordered this fitting tribute to the great man in 1980.
A Hot Stuff 6'0 double flyer, swallow tail single fin with pulled in nose and thin rails. Its shaped by legendary NZ shaper Al Byrne, pioneer of of the channel bottom. Its is amazingly modern looking shape for its age and is one of personal favorites from the collection. It was made on the Gold Coast, obviously with the long sand botton point breaks in mind.
I can see the original owner now on his new board in 1980, tears streaming from his eyes from the recent news of Bon Scotts passing as he pulls into a 6ft sand dredging Kirra pit, black tee shirt on, as he gets barreled off his head. Then as he emerges from the pit with a blast of spit he raises one arm and gives giving the devil's salute. RIP Bon Scott!