Hi Beeline
Probably won't make the gathering on the third as it is a long way from Cornwall. But I did make the Hawaii gathering. I saw a lot of Blast boards while I was there. Bud puts a lot of care into each of them and they work well. A couple of the guys riding other boards (Mark McLoad AUS, Ivan and Karl Ward) gave them try and liked them in Hawaiian conditions. However, they and I have our doughts about them working in our waters. They are made to go down the line at speed. Most kneelos here surf top to bottom. The Hawaiian guys were more intent on making the wave.
There are a lot of nice boards out there these days. Flash Point look really nice. Also Chris Diplock's boards here in the UK. Chris will only make tri fins. He is no fan of the quad but I would argue that he is one of the worlds top shapers and that you are going to here a lot of this guy in as the sport grows.
Below I have placed Diplocks history. This normally appears on my site (
http://www.kneeboardsurfing.co.uk ) but I am presently rebuilding the sales page. There will be some pics of Chris Diplocks boards on there in the next couple of days so pay us a visit.
Chris Diplocks History
I started surfing in 1979 at the age of 13 on a board shaped by my father in the garage. Four years later I purchased a fibreglass bodyboard that I rode for 8 months until I saw the light and bought a kneeboard! After that it was full on – totally obsessed with kneeboarding, kneeboards, flippers – you name it - anything to do with it! I was heavily influenced by local kneelos Chris Cockett and Gwatti. Both were very competitively minded – I learned a lot very quickly.
In 1984/85 David Parkes of Friar Tuck fame, came to stay with Chris Cockett on part of his European trip. He shaped a few boards – of course we all had to have one! A 5’ 6” twin fin for me. It just went off! I was completely stoked with my new kneeboard – a Friar Tuck at that! I went surfing more than ever!
1987 saw me travelling for the first time, the destination was Byron Bay Australia – the home of kneeboarding. Here I met up with David Parkes at Friar Tuck Kneeboards – the only factory world- wide ever with its entire production devoted to kneeboards. I was in seventh heaven! It was here I also met Albert Whiteman, one of the shapers at Friar Tuck and started a friendship that was tragically cut short just a few years later, but not before spending a lot of good times together. Every kneelo over thirty should have heard of Albert Whiteman. He started his shaping career at Hot Buttered in Northern Sydney under the watchful eye of Terry Fitzgerald but hailed from the southside beach of Maroubra from where a huge pool of talent emerged in the late seventies – David Parkes, Dean Bulivant, Peter M’Clure to name a few – but not forgetting Albert.
:p> In the early eighties performance levels of kneeriders were going through the roof. Led by the likes of Michael Novakov and Simon Farrer who were the bench mark of performance at North Narrabeen – kneelos and stand-ups alike, surfing boards shaped by the master – Albert Whiteman of Knormal Kneeboards.
In the mid eighties Bert got at job at Friar Tuck and moved north to Byron Bay. Here he worked with David Parkes to form a formidable team unsurpassed at that time or since. On my next trip to Oz in 1990 I met up with Bert again, this time he had bought Friar Tuck from David and moved down to Ulladulla on the south coast – home of some of the finest waves in Australia. It was here I had a job sanding and foiling fins etc but he was also showing me the ropes to shaping and designing kneeboards – and that’s where it all started – taught by Albert at the height of his skill and mastery. On the way home I stopped off in Hawaii for six weeks. I stayed with Bud M’Cray of Blast Kneeboards along with Bert and Simon Farrer. I learned a lot there – being dragged out at Sunset when it was 10 feet + was scary! A very steep learning curve!
When I returned to Cornwall I started Diplock Kneeboards but also worked for Graeme Bunt at Local Hero surfboards. I stayed here until 1998 – shadow shaping in the latter stages. In the spring of 1998 I received a job offer from Ocean Magic to shape full time, so I moved my work to Newquay, shaping daily improved my skill and confidence. My designs draw from twenty years of kneeboarding experience and fifteen years of professional surfboard production and are tried and tested around the world in a variety of conditions.
See you in the barrel!
Chris “Bro” Diplock
