Wooden Spoon

This is the first spoon I have made specifically for surfing standing up.  The 5'0'' I could stand up on, but it is a much better paipo used with swim fins.  This 5'5'' should be enough to go without the fins and do some lalaing.

Paipoing a High Tide Corner.

Another fun session with an assist to the paipo.  This corner only works on a high tide small groundswell.  Everyone else is waiting at the coffee shop for the tide to drop. 

Freckles the Alaia Kiteboard

 Alex's brother, Dave has been kiteboarding a 6'2'' Peanut in Hawaii and says it is working really good.  The alaia has unmatched speed and can go over reefs.  He uses no straps or fins of any kind.  So Alex, here, now has a 5'9'' nose kick version.

Alex's board came from this piece of wood.  I re-sawed it into the boards on the right side.  The other boards are for paipos, handplanes and alaias.

Speed Squat

Browsing my archives I ran into some pics from 2008, the last time Tom was here. We got some epic waves this day. Tom is riding a 9'6'' toothpick and I a 7'2'' Anchovy Alaia.

The Modern Alaia

I just finished this board today. It has been in my head for a long time. I can't wait to get it in the water. It has a slight lift in the nose for critical drops. I added cork to the deck with the assumption it will add to float, which should help with paddling.

6'8'' alaia

This one is for Josh in Florida. A couple of planks of special wood are turned into a finely tuned speed machine.

Alaia Momento

A customer asked to make an alaia for their wedding. They asked the guests to sign the board while at the wedding. After the wedding, I finished coating the board with oil. They were very please with the outcome

6'6'' Stuth retired from duty

I brought a new alaia to Patagonia, Cardiff for demos. It is 6'8'' and wider by a inch then the board in the photo. The board pictured was there for over two years. It is time for a change and this one needs a tune up. I will take pictures along the way to show how I do it. A lot of people have tried out the board over time and it is still very sturdy, and once re -oiled wii look new.

Peanut Gallery

This is a picture taken out of Mickey de Temples new movie coming out this spring. The movie is called "sight Sound." This is Chris del Moro on a 6'0'' Peanut in Nicaragua. Chris said they did a lot of alaia riding there, and should be some really good footage in the movie.

Alaia Season is Here

This a 8'0''er inspired by Richard Kinvin. He got me to make the boards wider. This one is 18 3/4'' wide. This board can paddle really good for an alaia, and in this cold water gives me a little better float.

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.

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

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.

At the sacred craft

These are a few more of the items we will have at the Sacred Craft. Above is a 8'0'' orange foam bluegill with square tail. This one is looking like a classic Simmons, That guy really knew what he was doing. Below is a 6'1''. This board is pretty sick, shape and wood layout.

There will be various alaias. 5'10 Peanuts to 7'6'' Anchovies. Above, 6'7'' with really nice grain.

4'0'' Belly board. I will have a couple of blanks and some some hand planes, and the hollow redwood board from a post a couple of weeks ago. I kind of made these boards for myself and would like to keep them all, but it is hard to make a living that way.

All Yew from www.Korduroy.tv

http://www.korduroy.tv/2010/jon-wegener-all-yew

(vid wasn't working so here is the link until I can figure out how to fix it. thanks)

Here is a recent segment from www.Korduroy.tv. Cyrus Sutton and the Korduroy.tv gang are working really hard to bring fresh, innovative and organic ideas to the public. It is great to have an outlet for material that may not be immediately accepted by the mainstream, but will probably one day have an influence on it. This clip portrays what I am currently working on, and I am really happy with it. I'd like to thank Cyrus, James Campbell, who filmed the segment, and the rest of Korduroy.tv for what they are doing.

A Memorial Day on a Bluegill and Alaia

This is from Memorial day weekend. Torrance Beach has been having a great spring season, which has been good for doing research on the latest boards. This movie shows how great the Bluegill trims front side and backside and how an alaia can do quick position turns in the pocket. The Bluegill is the 8'er and the alaia is 6'4''.

We are back from Mexico, and had a great trip. The waves and wind were good practicaly all day every day. I will be working to make a few short movies. Luckily the Montezumas did not effect any surf sessions and did not kick into gear until I was about to board the flight home. The guy in the back row isle seat was not stoked to see me heading his way, which was often.

Fin, belly board, and alaia

This fin will be going on the sequoia, paulownia board. It is made with the same woods. It has a light smoke color bead.

The bellyboard, paipo,tombstone, etc. is 3'6'' with a concave deck, belly to vee out the tail, and Morey style rails. The anchovy is a 7'8'' with a vee bottom. A replica of my favorite board, just a bit wider.

Boards from last week

A 5'10'' knee board. 24.5 inches wide. I have not knee boarded in a while, 20 years, so I think I will give it a go. I really like the Wegg Model. I have not been riding one lately due to all the new models, the alaias and Bluegills, but after making this one, going to Japan, I am reminded of the loose rail to rail action, off the lips and cutbacks The Wegg does so well.

This alaia is a 6'10'' Stuth and going to Sean. He has been working on the "Hydrodynamica" movie and has been motivated to get into the slide.

11'00 Model A. This is a Tom Wegener design that I shape for Jacobs Surfboards. Most of thes have been 10' to 11' and get a lot of good feedback. They are great for trimming and nose riding. Often, we put nose, tail blocks, and large wood glass on fins.

8' Bluegill, Alaia, and Friends

The sand bars have been good at the beaches lately even with a little wind on it. The other day we brought down an assortment of boards including my new 8' Bluegill and a 7' long Alaia. These boards make small waves really fun. The Bluegill is fast and drives through sections, and as always, to ride a wave on an alaia is mind bending. Standard boards are fun too.

Visiuals From the Noosa Festival

The Noosa Festival of surfing just wrapped up. The surf looked pretty amazing. Tom had all his boards out for everyone to ride. Alaias, toothpicks, tunas, even a bluegill all the way from Michigan. I am pretty sure that is Cameron with a 20' long toothpick by Bill Wallace. At the festival this year they had a 20 minute long finless expression session during the contest and undoubtfully the funnest time of the event. This is Isaac Blyth on one of Tom's alaias, I am not sure of the size or model, during the session. It is amazing how these boards can slide down a wave but then engage to do a gouging cutback and then back into a lala down the line again.

All photoes by: Chris Stevens

More about the Noosa event to come