FLASHPOINT

[willli]

is there comparison to where we are now vs where we were in the 70's?

Look at a 70's board. down rails, flat bottom. the best thing they had going, hi aspect skegs, were a direct result of GG. as the fully foiled skeg began to be translated into fully foiled boards, performance increased. surfers began using more of the wave, barrel rides became deeper and controlled, boards better fit the shape of what they were riding.

The only illusion in wave riding is that a board travels straight. everything is relative. Einstein would have LOVED surfing.

[stevea]

howzit bruce or do i mean apa kabar life in bali is great couldnt be better ive come accross afew kneeboard surfers since arriving in january mostly at ulus (just love those lefts )theyve been from all over and checked out a few of their boards i must say bruce i would get one of yours before any of the others without mentioning names australian kneeboard design is about as far ahead as simon farrar is to the best international surfer around also seen a couple of parksys boards and neil lukes that were similarly advanced sorry to any euro or seppo shapers its only my viewpoint and doesnt count for much so long as your customer is happy besides that im biased .also here is stewart irwin working hard and still surfing as tight as ever i will try and put some shots on the site meanwhile ive ben getting some good video footage of a few outstanding surfers as well as a bit of the nightlife activities . bruce any kneeboarders coming to bali are welcome to contact me i wouldnt mind videoing them or arrange for them to have surf shots taken 80000rp a shot heres my mobile 081338272024 catch you later ps my next board looks like its going to have 5 fins

[hart]

And remember that a curve is purely a set of straight lines joined together.

And then, that a curve can demonstrate straightness..should the straighter lines possess curve

Now tell me, SVP, how does a turn increase our speed?

Harry, did you ever see Fantasic Plastic Machine?

McTavish discussed how a vee principle could generate speed..not the vee itself, but rather the fact it could put you in a faster section of the wave as a result (read the pocket) creating more potential for speed fullstop.

Rely on the wave first..not the tool

In surfing, the tool is supplementary..never sublime

But that hasn't answered your question..

If you can generate the same degree of lift over your rail that an aeroplane wing experiences (even at low speed), then I truly believe that you can convert that lift into speed..

Even if it means the sheer maintentance of speed itself

Surfboards that can only go fast in straight line were sussed out a long time ago

hart

McTavish's quote was c.1969

[john -]

And I'd have to disagree with the tool analogy. A good board can make a crap wave seem great.

.

yep but...no horse ever won a race without a rider

[stevea]

hi harry ive just been given a few photos of arr design( for want of a better name) in action and ive also been thinking about your mentioning kneeling closer to the tail which i guess i do. in truth i still havent figured out out why i made this board flater and consequently thinner as well as shorter than my prevous board but im glad i did initially i thought id be surfing it in the beach breaks here but so far its mostly been ridden at ulus why did i write about it since its only a one off i think because one of the things that i most enjoy about kneeboard surfing is the diversity in design and the individuality that exists not just in oz but world wide anyway once i work out how i will post a couple of pictures

[hart]

Maybe in truth it lies in the aero wing analogy-

but you'd have to explain that further if you're not reffering to/assuming that differential pressure between the top and the bottom of the board.

And if I were referring to the differential pressure, would that mean that I didn't?

Mate, I am not offended by anything kneeboard..

If you choose to talk about race, culture, politics and a miriad of other topics that I can think of however, I potentially could be..

But this site is about surfing and riding kneeboards and no 'offence' could ever be committed by this in a positive sense.

On Topic:

Your knowledge of McTavish outweighs mine..nonetheless:

I am more interested in his vee principle in practise, than listening to him talk (no offence to anyone..gee, we use that word a lot!)

Bob is a Master at the lyrical dynamics of surfboards (and a Master Shaper)..and what he says about the stall effect of a bottom-turn is true.

But while his vees were advanced for the time, his bottoms were not. All the late 60's S-Decks, stalled off the bottom (because their bottoms were too straight in comparison to their decklines)

Modern bottom curves (and decklines..read foil) can negate that stall however and combined with vee..will take you to the speed available..

If your board has it all together, it will DIRECT you to the place to find it.

hart

Notice how often we don't bottom turn nowadays?

Could be we are finding more push off the lip..or at least in the top third of the wave..and getting all the accelleration McTavish talks about that single fins found so hard to deliver..given the fact we are riding multi-finned boards (another thread altogether)

ps

The only time I used en passent, I won the game

stevea thanks mate

You know..Brookvale just aint the same (just ask Goody)

[surfhorn]

Add to that the late 1960's templates with the wide point way in front of center. That was a point at the template/wide point which created an 'ear' which would always catch water and not release water.

[red]

stevea

What do you think the thinness of your new board has added? Is your thickness at rocker similar to that at (say 1.5" in from) the rail or is the top domed?

Hiya, Bruce. Must chat soon.

[Anthony B]

Hi Bruce hows it going?

Just wondering if you know whether OAM have any new fin shapes out to get hold of,getting quite used to the board now so i thought it would be good to have a play with some diffrent shape fins if they are available.

The board is going real fine thank you.......

[hart]

AB

All good mate..

OAM have a range of fin sizes (just not as large as FCS)..

As a fully imported system however (USA), it is difficult to split the sets up.

So if you want to get a whole new (albeit different) set, then all cool.

If you want to get a single fin but, it will be more difficult.

Red

Hi mate, talk soon

Harry

Your older posts seem to have disappeared when the site got hacked!

Hope I haven't been apparently overly conclusive with my answers..to quote Terry Fitzgerald 1977:

"It's better to be positive in one direction than mediocre in all.."

So I do feel its important to stay focussed and consistant in what ever work we choose to do..

and for the hell of it:

footnote to a full-page Earthrise advert in Surfing World c.1979:

"Don't go home with a clone!"

(with thx to Artis for reinforcing the concept of individuality)



hart

[Harry]

Bruce Hart.

Could be my fault. Changed my email to a friends that he had forgotten to tell me no longer existed.

Did someone mention foil a while ago.... that it was active and not passive?

Is it, in your opinion, active on its own?

Or only with the application of a rider's, shall we say, directed "active" input?

For example, squeeze a water melon seed between your fingers. If you squeeze the thinner end then the water melon seed will fly from your fingers at a great speed. If you squeeze the thicker side, it will still fly, but slightly less distance.

But hold it in the palm of your hand, and it does nothing.

It remains a watermelon seed, one of nature's own foils, but remains passive all the same.