It all started with the fish when the innovative shapers and board builders out there decided to revisit the past for some inspiration. In doing so they brought back some lost skills such as resin tints and hand foiled fins.The Fish Fry has been a place for these fine craftsmen to showcase their skills. We have seen some amazing boards as shapers have pushed the boundaries over the last few years. As this new look at the fish has evolved to its many forms, it has influenced other shapes and designs along the way.This has spawned a renewed interest in other board forms by this same group and a wider following.Notably the Mini Simmons, Hulls, old school Logs and Pigs. It is pleasing to note that there are an increasing number of people building their own boards as well.All of this is to be applauded and celebrated as a positive for surfing.So it is only natural that these shapers and board builders continue to share their skills with us and include these other shapes at the Fish Fry.It has truly become a melting pot of ideas for like minded people.

Fish or not , there are some things going on here


A friend sent me these pics of Derek Hynd with one of his fin less creations. He was riding it at 8ft plus Bells Beach . Some interesting things to ponder none the less. Let a lone a glasser and sanders nightmare.

Shapers night at the new Gold Coast Surf Museum - Wednesday 9th September

The legendary Bob McTavish will be amongst the line up of guest speakers at Surf World Gold Coast’s “Shaper’s Night at the Museum” that will be attended by the who’s who of Gold Coast surfboard shapers on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 from 6.00 pm.

The event will give shapers the chance to come together for a relaxed night at Surf World where shapers and the general public will get the chance to interact in what could be the first of an annual event for the recently opened museum.

When asked to be one of the guest speakers, McTavish replied: “I’d be stoked and honoured to speak about shaping at the museum. I’m keen to support your museum. It’s really cool.”

Bob McTavish started surfing when he was 12 and began shaping at the age of 17 and was the inventor of the vee-bottom surfboard. He was Queensland state champion in 1964, 1965 and 1966, and was runner up in the Australian National Titles in 1966. Bob has appeared in about 10 surf films. Australia’s Surfing Life magazine selected Bob as the “Most Influential Shaper of All Time” in 1992. In 1996 he was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

The night is being held as a non profit event and all proceeds will go towards Surf World Gold Coast. Guests will get the opportunity to hear first hand how shaping and surfing evolved over the years and where the industry is heading and will take a tour through the museum’s big surfboard exhibition.

It promises to be a night not to miss. The public are urged to book their tickets quickly as numbers are limited and should sell out quick. Tickets can be booked by sending an e-mail to shapersnight@hotmail.com. Tickets are on sale for $10 each and will include snacks and refreshments.

The event is supported by Southern Cross University through their Diploma of Sport Management (Surfing Studies) course.

For further information contact:

Nikki Jackson Ph: 0432 743 599

Karen Hutchinson Ph: 0439 226 057


DVS rocket Fish hits the cool waters of NZ



Dave Foulds from Christchurch in New Zealand was over last week to the Gold Coast to pick up his Dick Van Straalen Rocket Fish. He's home and hit the 8 degree water for a rubbered up sesh.

Balsa Simmons


How is this sweet little board ? 50" x 2 1/2" x 2" shaped by Terry Martin , fins by John Cherry and glassed by Moonlight. It weighs 18lb .

A new board for Ruy




Ruy Nepomuceno Neto from Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, sent me these pics of his new board shaped for him by Filipe Hage. He had it made for his girlfriend and one fin represents him surfing a short board and the other his girlfriend surfing her longboard. Nice touch. Thanks for sharing.

Fish Fry 5 Oceanside Sunday Sept 13th

Yes I have the word from Sean Mattison that the Fish Fry is back on the agenda. Not AB3 or something else but a Fish Fry - just FISH . Like it was when I was there for Fish Fry 4 in 2006 at Oceanside. The fish isn't dead guys . So it is Sunday September 13th. More details when they come to hand. We had some 35 + shapers at the Alley Fish Fry and the Japanese one was a huge success . The fish is influencing a lot of the shapes that are out there now. Too soon to pull the plug guys.

The fish will be schooling at Oceanside again.

An agro fish to carve some nice lines

I found this and had to share it as I think it is a great piece. Nice to see different art on boards

Kiwi artist, surfer and shaper...




New Zealand has some great waves and some great artists. Daryn Mcbride just happens to be a former pro longboarder that captures the beauty of his homeland and the sea in a magical way.
Check him out at : www.freedomartstudio.blogspot.com

Chambered speed dialer




Here is some fine wood work for sure . Five or six mixed woods all chambered and shaped . Beautiful gloss finish . Click on the image for a bigger view of the detail. As you can see it has become one of Rogers regular rides. So it is no show pony , but a great performing board. Roger is a little rugged up for the New Zealand winter .

The fish be flying

I found this great shot by Jim Martin of Keith Malloy bustin the move and just had to share it with you.

The Bobsled by Bob Mctavish




After nearly a decade of FISH boards getting us long boarders back on shorter equipment, there is a new solution on the horizon… The BOBSLED!

Fishes are fine if you surf them flat, and are happy to move your back foot around between manouvres, so you can get power into those fins right out on the rail. But if you wanna jam more VERTICAL, the fish doesn’t really wanna go there. The BOBSLED solves this problem by pulling the tail width in, and closing up the fin-spread, allowing you to snap from rail-to-rail instantly without moving your foot to find a point to dominate your fins. In other words, the Bobsled surfs like a regular board, but with paddle power supplied by a wider mid and nose template, like a fish.

But how do you make a wider board roll fast onto it’s rail so it can go vertical? The answer there is the classic McTavish bottom shape: Concave down the centre for LIFT, then BEVELS along the underside rails to soften it’s feel… instead of a cranky flat or full rail-to-rail concave, the bevels make the board feel NARROWER, and allow easy banking onto the rail into the turn.

The RAILS are boxy, carrying more paddling VOLUME out to the edges where thay can displace some water. No point in having a board measure 3.5 inches thick in the centre if the deck is heavily rolled, shedding all the volume and creating an uncomfortable rolled feel underfoot.

The fin set-up is pure QUAD, the fastest, best feeling combo on the planet! (But only if you get the fin-spread right, as we do. We’ve tested our quad spread on our team, from young short-board shredders all the way to us older vast experienced surf designers.)

LENGTHS are ranging from 5’5 (like the one I made for Slater) all the way up to the mid sevens. It’s that VERSATILE.

The BOBSLED… The new bankable, fast reactive high-speed shorter-board from the McTavish Team.

Fishie kind a day

More Japanese Fish Fry 2009 pics

Gold Coast shaper Woody Jack had a range of boards he took with him




















A big thanks to Yutaka Ono for sending these shots of the Japanese Fish Fry 2009. A wide range of different craft as well flex tail longboards, spoons and a see through longboard.