Philippe's project

This board is for Philippe. He has been mounting cameras on boards and surfing the reefs in Tahiti where he lives. This asymmetrical bluegill is for Goofy foot front side tubes and cutbacks. Hopefully we will see some pictures soon. http://philippelallut.blogspot.com/ Check out his blog to see what he is up to.

Lars and His Alaia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJfZuxcORlA

Lars shreds on his alaia up north. He says since he picked up his 7'0'' Stuth about a year ago he has barely ridden anything else. Lars is a great surfer, especially on a longboard. Check out this video of him.

4 Fin for good waves

This 7'2'' by 21'' wide board has a semi full template but still honed enough for critical waves. It will ride small waves, but still be confident when the waves get double overhead. Jeff and I designed this model, it does not have a name yet. This one is for Dr. Mark.

Around the shop

Gabes' board.

6'1'' twin fin, glass on

9'5'' Rehab Model. Jessica is getting this board for Joseph, her boyfriend for his birthday. Sam Cody doing the airbrush.

alaias

I like the Anchovy with a Vee bottom, this one 7'6''. Dan Malloy enjoys a 7' Finley.

A 7'6'' is a little harder to make the drop but trim in the pocket at high speeds.

Mike is on a 6'2'' Peanut and about to spin a 360.

All photos by John Smart

Can't slow down, Cloudbreak

Bula Jon and Alex,

Happy to report that the test trials of the Blue Gill at Cloudbreak were completed today with great success. Awoke this morning at 5am, drank coffee, and headed to Cloudbreak for session #1. Surf looked small (headhigh) but perfect and decided to take out the magic sled. As soon as I reached the peak bigger sets started coming in but I was committed! The board performed beautifully even in hollow waves way overhead. My favorite part is the sideslip when you flatten the board out coming up to the lip. The board handles the bottom turns beautifully as long as you stay centered and I was blazing down the line making even the fastest of waves (haven't figured out how to slow it down yet) Hope to have the opportunity to ride it again at Restaurants. Broke my 6'4" on my third wave the first day so I have been riding the Blue Gill and my 6'0" kiteboard (straps off) exclusively.Surfed 3 sessions today with 3 different boatmen. No other surfers on the island today so we had way too many waves. Left the break this afternoon empty with perfect 4-8 ft face waves coming in.

David

Tales from Restaurants

Long time family friend, Dave, ordered the wood veneer deck peanut Bluegill (pictured a couple of posts back). He took it to Tavarua to ride for the first time. Here is his first report.

Bula from Tavarua!
Arrived yesterday on island to fair sized surf. Broke my 6'4" Firewire quad on my third wave a Cloudbreak. Went for a second session at Restaurants low tide on the Bluegill crashed and burned. Handed the board over to one of the boatmen, Mike, from Kailua who slotted the thing perfectly and then Dustin, another boatman, from La Jolla caught probably 12 waves on the Bluegill and came out of the water just smiling ear to ear. Encouraged by their success I woke up at 5:15 this morning, had a cup of coffee, and headed back out to Restaurants where I dialed it in and caught probably 20 of the longest rides of my life riding the board off the front foot down the line and stepping back to stall and turn off the bottom and top. The board is a success! All of the boatmen are clamoring to take turns. Haven't tried it a Cloudbreak yet as the surf came up bigger today.

Many thanks!
David

Gabe's New Shortboard

Gabe wants a shortboard that will float him. He is 6'4'' and not waify, but wants maneuverability. We took the Wegg, a design he likes and mixed it up with the knee boards I have been making. The result is a 6'2'' 24wide and 3'' thick. He wants to be able to tube ride and the ability to have a vertical lip assault, so we shied away from a twin fin. This board will be a 2 plus 1 like the Wegg.

Mr. Peanut 2

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F16053596&h=7d12a

Check this out. Yes, Rob is a better surfer than us, but he can show us what can be done. so get out there.

Another Sunny Day at the River

We are spending Thanksgiving at the river. This movie is from the past summer. Curt, my brother, made this little boat. It was just big enough for a small adult to sit in and a little tough to paddle. I think we will work on another one for next summer. I forgot to give credit to Belle and Sebastion for the music. "Another Sunny Day" is the song title.

Demo Day. Montauck. Hurricane Bill 2009

Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving. We are up in the mountains. These shots were from New York. It was supposed to be a day for people to demo alaias. It is a lot easier to to demo when it is small. I caught some good size waves on the 6'7'' Lightening Bolt board. Unfortunately the waves were breaking so far out I do not think anyone noticed. I had fun though.

All Points Bulliten

The board on the right was snatched out of the back of Tony Alva's truck in Oceanside a couple of days ago. It is all foam except a ding repair on the corner. I repaired it with wood. There are only two boards like this, so if you see any body with it, please apprehend and stage a citizens arrest. Tony really liked the board.

Mr. Peanut

Greetings

This is my new asylum. I took a picture of the room in the beginning, because it will probably never look the same. I am stoked. The room has been easy to adjust to, and I believe, have shaped some nice boards.

Edible Bluegill

6'2'' Bluegill wood veneer deck (alaia flex), Recycled foam, bio resin. I wouldn't want to eat it, but in a pinch, maybee.

This board is strong, kite board able. It is going to Tavarua to be tested out.

Alaia pockets

This is a photo of Jay Nelson on a 7' vee bottom Finley Model at Ocean Beach, S.F. Jeff Den Broeder took the picture. Jay may not like my airbrushes but he has taken to my alaias.

Finished FlexerHere

Here is Will's flextail kneeboard. He rode it last weekend and said it flies. I will have more info later.

I shaped my first board in my new shaping room at the new Bing factory in Encinitas today. Stoked. I do not have my computer operating yet. This is the reason for the scant posts.

Alive and busy

Sorry abou the delay in update. We have been swamped with pacling and unpacking our house and my workshop.. We are relocating to Encinitas. It has been insane. Check out our latest #5 wood longboard. It is going to Paul.

reviewsurfboards.com

http://www.reviewsurfboards.com/index.cfm?page=story1&story_id=75
Tony tried out a 8' Bluegill. Above is a link to his a post on reviewsurfboards.com. He had never ridden a alaia or any other finless board. It took him a little time to adjust, but once it started to click for him he had a great time. Check out his website. There is board reviews of many makes and models. Also, It has videos and other entertainment.

New Quad

Here is Jim's new quad; full template but much smaller than his longboard.

boards and fins

Amir picked up his olive. He proudly states no holes for a leash.

This is my first thruster set of wood fins. They are for a board shaped by the great John Lessing.

Riding Clouds on the Lake in the Sky...

This was in our inbox recently, and just had to pass is along...

Dear Jon,

I have been having the best time surfing the alaia on Lake Tahoe! I have been getting incredible sessions in the clear lake water tht gives me the sesation of floating in the air. The water is so clear at times that you see shadows from breakers on the sand underwater- that make the breakers look like clouds in the sky. It amazes me how good the boards work and how I can surf the smallest wind chop. I needed to retrain my mind to what is a surfable wave size and have been riding the lake on a consistent basis since. I have only ridden a regular board once since I got the alaia and the foam board now seems akward, foreign, and slow. There is a picture of me riding the alaia on the lake at

http://www.surf6200.com/nv/index.php/tag/surfing

the post "spring sugar and sweet surf". I got my brother on the alaia and he also became a quick convert- he got an alaia from the Patagonia shop and is surfing the north coast on it.

Thanks for the great alaia! Hope to surf with you in LA.

Sincerely,
Mark

Note: Mark is riding a 7'2 stuth model alaia.

tail-flex wood enhancement, bluegill technowledgy, kneeboard

Will came by with a 70s knee board with this flexy fiberglass tail. He wanted to make something new utilizing a flex tail. I recommend using wood as the flexer. I think wood has better flex characteristics than resin and fiberglass.

The question was how to get the wood on the tail. Answer, laminate a whole sheet of wood to the bottom of the board. Note, the Bluegill rails on the foam board.

With the help of Tyler Olsen, we vacuumed on a thin sheet of wood.

Shaped up.

Cardiff Classic and Green Fair

We spent last weekend at the Cardiff Classic and Green Fair. The waves were good the whole time, the event was attended by a lot of people, and the info booths were inspiring. Our booth was practically on the rocks in front of the surf and across from the stage where really good music was live from morning to evening. The event is put together by Cardiff 101 and its purpose is to inform the public to be conscious about the environment and have fun. We must thank Betty Steele for inviting us to be a part of the event and her hard work putting together the event along with the rest of Cardiff 101. I believe these events are important, and should happen often. If people are around the message all the time it sinks in. For those who remember, nobody wore seat belts in the 70's. The seat belt campaign was heavy for a while. Now almost everyone wheres a seat belt. One feels naked with out one in a car. This is the Marko recycled foam blank glassed with Super sap bio resin from Entropy resin. The board came out super light and felt great. It was super buoyant and was incredibly fast. I brought it down , waxed it up, and let people demo it. People really liked the board and what it was made of, and all who rode it were stoked. Unfortunately, the board did not come home with me. Fortunately, Taylor Steele has it now. Without much alaia experience, he paddled out and got some really nice long rides and wanted a board.

You tell me.

Flat Stanley flew in from Seattle for the event.

Wood, bio, and recycled boards work insane. All these products will get even better if people support manufacturers who use ''greener materials.''

New wood multi-fin fish

A tree fell in the front yard. A little sawzall action, some fine sanding and voila! My brother, Curt has been making a few of these. First one to name what type of fish this is wins.