Dead Kooks

Eden Saul is a paid lifeguard here on the Gold Coast. He loves to ride anything from micro simmons to heavy old logs. And now he is shaping these for all sorts of people with the same passion. Great resin tints and artwork are the hallmarks of his boards. He is the epitome of what the Fish Fry has become. Guys willing to experiment and express their passion for surfing in the water or in the shaping bay and having a go themselves. The nice thing is lots of them are hand shaping. Here is Eden...

Check him out at : www.deadkooks.com
or swing by the park across from the beach at Currumbin Alley this Sunday and see what Eden and many others are up to.

 

The Mc Tavish spoon

 Bob has always seen things a little differently from most people.

 George Greenough a good mate of Bob's was the originator of the spoon of course. George is quoted as saying " The best thing about two fins is to keep moving them closer together until they become one fin" Not a twin fin man.

" Back in 1974 when winters were long and surfboard sales were slow, I decided to make a small fleet of Greenough spoons to feed the growing family. Lots of labour, with not much materials outlay. 

There are 16 layers of fibreglass cloth in each one, with the original blank being ground away to almost nothing, just that thin rim of foam around the front end and rails.

All four sold fast, as these were as original as anyone could get. I’d lived with, surfed with, and shaped with George for most of the previous decade, and George never made a spoon for anyone but George. I made them in my little shed/shaping room in our farmhouse front yard on the edge of Lennox.

One of these 4 spoons is now on display at Surf World, Currumbin."

Bob Mc Tavish 

All 4 of these photos courtesy of Peter Green.

 Back in 1977 Bob made a batch of spoons just like he is today.

Spoon Part 1 from McTavish Surfboards on Vimeo.


Spoon Part 2 from McTavish Surfboards on Vimeo.

Inspired , is what we like to see.

Stephen Taranto from Victoria has been bitten by the bug.

 

 " I was inspired to make my own board after last years visit to the Fish Fry.
I'm coming up again this year and I'm bringing the first board I've shaped in 30 years!!!
Nearly finished it. Should complete it by Thursday night.
Got into it so much,I've started another, and now I'm afraid  I've been bitten by the bug.
Here are some pics. Hope to have some more Thursday night."

This is something that is happening all over the place and just great to see. It is also why the Fish Fry has evolved to include other boards such as hulls, simmons and old school logs as this is what people want o shape and ride. Looking forward to catching up with Stephen on Sunday. Thanks mate for sharing.

Start to finish, what's involved...

Ordering a custom McTavish from McTavish Surfboards on Vimeo.

Check this out and you will see the whole process and have an understanding of what is involved and the man hours and skills involved in building your board. Or if you want to do it yourself , what you have ahead of you. In my mind one of the best , most complete videos of this whole process. Now you will understand why a board costs what it does , when you see how many man hours goes into building a board.

The colourful Thomas Bexon

 Thomas is typical of the young guys that are out there that are hand shaping and creating great looking boards based on traditional lines and flow. He has teamed up with Jake his glasser to build these boards here in Australia and a stint in Bali for Deus as well. A passionate man who is a very stylish surfer as well.Hope to see Thomas with his boards on Sunday at the Alley.

Check him out at : www.thomassurfboards.com  or  surfersgarden.blogspot.com.au

Tyler Warren dropped by

 A couple of years ago Morgan Maassan and John Smart dropped by the Alley Fish Fry with Tyler Warren to check things and and be part of the day in the park. I must say we didn't see much of Morgan as he was in the water most all of the day for hours on end. He was only young then and now this is what he does all day long. Great eye and a great guy.

 Tyler chilling with Paul Mc Neil from Byron Bay.

 

And this is the result the movie a number of us have been waiting for. Check out the site to find out more HERE

Tyler is a very talented person in many fields , from art , surfing and shaping.Here he is with one of Tom Wegener's Tuna finless hollow wooden boards. He is willing to try anything and that is partly what the movie is about. The Fish Fry over the years has attracted all sorts of people and truly is a melting pot of ideas and innovation that sees hardened shapers going home with things to think about. And more and more we are seeing the young guys checking it out and having a go at shaping themselves , which is very healthy for us all.

Here is a link to the trailer for "The Tyler Warren Experiment"

I look forward to the full release of the movie and have asked if we could show it at next years Fish Fry. Not heard back on that one yet. But that would be nice.

The 3ft 9" Piglet

Now we are getting funky. This must be the bastard single fin child of the Bar of Soap Simmons.

The Wellsy Simmons

Andrew Wells from Lennox Heads is a wooden board builder of note , and has turned his hand to a few foam shapes of late. This is a recent simmons with hand foiled Paulownia fins. Look out for this and others at the Fish Fry next weekend.

www.grownsurfboards.com.au

S / Double doing his own thing

Shawn Stussy at his Studio from Seth Epstein on Vimeo.

Great to see anyone willing to get in the shaping bay and experiment. Make old new again. Blend ideas , express long held dreams and create. We are certainly in exciting and adventurous times.

Build your dream,  ride your own.

Very innovative kneeboard bound for the Fry.

 Alan Bruce is a sparky by trade and a very keen knee boarder. He is also a very handy shaper. Here is his latest board that hopes to have at the Fish Fry. Styrene blank , hand shaped to perfection.

 Hull entry to a flat and then a concave out through the quad fins.

 Slight concave deck with recess for knee pad to be inlayed

 The Hull entry blends into the fairly rounded rails that then become 60 / 40 as per a body board. This ends as a flyer where one fin set will be.

As I said a very complex shape that will be very interesting to see finished on the day.

The boys at Rake have been busy

A nice lineup of candy bars from the Adrian at Rake.

Bob is into spoons

Bob Mc Tavish has built spoons in the past when Greenough was doing it as well. But he has always wanted to find some time to do it again. Well folks , the time has come and he is in the throws of building a limited edition run of them. Check it out on Bobs Blog