magic board[s]?

K-man · Post by **K-man** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:45 pm

Don't have a major board collection.5 boards in total,one sold to a local,one resides on kauai,that leaves three here at home.All really good boards[hart...the wizard of OZ..

scotty macs doing,not mine!don't shoot the messenger..

]
One in particular though,is an absolute corker,magic,my go to board.5'10''X 23-1/2 X 2-5/8.turnaround at 16''? pulled into a small swallow.Fins...Occys with a 1000 in the center.Gets bigger I'll throw in a YU for the center.Supposedly for three and under..Seems to work to ''well'' overhead...I guess thats 3 ft...

Simple fin change,and it becomes a whole new critter...

Anyone else?

cheers

Johnboy Walton · Post by **Johnboy Walton** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:24 pm

Please excuse the indulgence below, the talk of magic boards got me all teary eyed.

I’ve had a few magic boards, but as I’ve been out of the loop (and the water) for much of the last 10-12years most of them are all but memories now….. Below are the boards that have given me that special buzz:

•mid 1985 - my first board. A friend of my Dad’s gave him a snapped San Juan swallow tail twin fin stand-up board. We chopped out the middle, stuck the nose to the tail to make a 5’0” by 20” kneeboard for me. I was 13 and rode the thing in up to 6foot – pure magic.
•late 1986 – my first real kneeboard. On a trip to the big smoke (Sydney) from the far south coast of NSW in Oz, me and Dad went halves in a 2nd hand Sundancer (5’6” by 23”) diamond-tail quad shaped by Wayne Hutch which had ‘Big Bad Bruce No.1 at Manly’ written under the glass. It was very cool at the time and surfed well too.
•late 1989 – 12months earlier Albert Whiteman had moved from Byron to Ulladulla and I somehow convinced him to give me good deals on my boards, despite the fact he’d never met me or even seen me surf. This particular board was a 5’6” by 23” diamond-tail speed panel twin-fin with a little hook fin stabiliser. It was my 2nd Bert board and this board was like an extension of me….. but I broke it flat landing an air.
•early 1990 – I needed a big board and Albert lent me a 2nd handy from the factory, a David Parkes FT 5’10” or 5’11” by 22.5” (either shaped for himself or Corban Pollard, it had a Buzzard painted on the deck). It opened up a whole new world. I could now surf 6-8-10 foot and feel confident I wasn’t going to sketch out doing a bottom turn.
•1990 – Albert had shaped a board for himself to surf in 1foot mush. After it attacked him, I had it for about 6 months and I haven’t ridden anything like it before or since. Whenever I rode it I felt like superman.
•1990 (and still have this one) – a 6’0” Albert big wave special shaped off a board (that Gav rode in Sparrow & Friends) he took to Hawaii the year before. Despite a huge ding in the tail, it’s hardly been used. Its a pretty special board, I still ride it occasionally and it still rocks like the day I first got it.
•late 1993 – the year I decided to do my own thing and I fluked a couple of good ones. I shaped a quiver of four fin rounded pins for myself, the smaller of which surfed so well it was scary. It was 5’6” by 23” with a flyer at 16” and clicked with a time when I was surfing well all the time. I wasn’t the only one who thought it was special - I went to the Phillip Island contest for the first time that year, as I came out of the water from winning my first heat at Express Point I noticed a huddle of crew around my gear checking out my other board and talking in excited tones. That board gave me goose bumps.

I’ve had stacks of boards by a few different shapers, but these are the pick. The 6'0" will be dusted off for Bendalong in a couple of weeks.

Steeno · Post by **Steeno** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:30 pm

look forward to catching up with you John....at bendy

W.G. Facenda · Post by **W.G. Facenda** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:07 pm

I have 4 Lis fish( 3 quads and one keel fin) , the 2004 5ft 6 keel fin that is on the light side is a very special board.I can't believe how fast it is and the places I end up on it sometimes.

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:32 pm

i never seem to end up keeping my magic ones.they die long drawn out deaths as i beat them to a pulp

my last magic one lives down i Tassie now at mum and dads place. which saves me draging one down on the plane.its got huge crease across the bottom and crack on the rail, so i'm thinking its only got a couple of waves left.

i had a 6'6" that now lives in Palos Verdes

that i rode some huge waves on during Cyclone Wati at the start of last winter.Although i think all your bigger boards become favourites because they get used in memorable waves and they tend to go on your trips away

And now i've got a 6'0" at the moment which is growing on me at a rapid rate

.

Hey John! was one of those boards from 89 into the 90's, the one with a blueish/greeny artwork on the bottom of it(one of Berts)?

if i'm correct, you did turn into fricken super man on that board

.i remember watching you free surf at Old Bar on that board before the contest and realising you were about to unleash a large can of woopass on the rest of us

Johnboy Walton · Post by **Johnboy Walton** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:53 am

ross wrote:Hey John! was one of those boards from 89 into the 90's, the one with a blueish/greeny artwork on the bottom of it(one of Berts)?

yep, that was the one.

it had a very interesting design feature courtesy of Bert's dog. in the rush to the hospital after the board attacked, Buddy skidded back and forth across the bottom of the board (which had very light glass job) in the back of the 4wd leaving random dog claw scratches which indented the surface without cracking it - a weird golf ball dimple like effect, but with scratches. I got it with scratches, never did anything about them and it still went awesome....always wondered why the concept never took off

T Hall · Post by **T Hall** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:25 am

Got a couple of good ones slowly refining over the years. 5'10"round pintail single flyer quad. nose-16 3/4", width- just a little under 23", tail- 17". The bottom is slight V in the nose to a single concave to a slight double concave I'm using concave front fins and double foiled back fins. Super solid in double overhead waves, does everything well. 6'0" the same as the 5'10" except just a little more pulled in. These boards will do the job in anything within my size range. Thanks Bud.

waka · Post by **waka** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:48 am

Johnny Rotten...

....well can i qoute the 'paddle-pop lion'...Justin Banks

Old Bar...State contest.....was Simon and me in your first heat.......looking forward to catching up

KneeBumps · Post by **KneeBumps** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:11 am

Had a Lis fish in the early 70's, 5'11", super wide and fishy-tailed, probably the first one in southern NC at the time. People thought it was a gimmick but it flew. Fin setup must have been perfect for those times because, unlike successive twin fins I have owned, it absolutely did not track. I imagined I was GG himself riding that thing in '73.
Broke it clean in half in a big swell getting too close to third jetty at Hatteras. Tried to mend it, didn't work, it's on my bedroom wall....

KAVA · Post by **KAVA** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:00 am

My 6.0' Flashpoint I got from Syd Is my magic board I love that thing! I may be an opinionated person but by all that is Magic! Bruce Hart is a shaping God!

but you know that!

halbs · Post by **halbs** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:41 am

I have two truly magic boards currently, with another on the way!!! My 6'2" Flashpoint pintail is just an awesome board it can surf small stuff but really excels in bigger surf, every time I ding it I cry a little. My other magic board is a 6' Flashpoint swallowtail, I have ridden my best wave ever on it and so it will always be up there in the magic rankings!!! It absolutely loves the face of waves with a crisp offshore on it, and it truly provides that magic carpet ride, these boards will never be traded or sold but perhaps mounted!! [in the clean sense of the word]. Bruce will be commencing work on the next masterpiece very soon and I'm sure this 6footer will also be magic!!

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:23 am

Have been riding good boards for a while. Magc????? Well let's just say KAZAM.... thanks BUD.... Will be ordering a new one soon.

C.P.Odom · Post by **C.P.Odom** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:27 am

I have four flashpoints; three great and one magical.

1. 5'10" round pin : Magical (rips in everything).
2. 6'0" round pin : Great (made for softer waves).
3. 6'0" swallow : Great (New; needs better surf than we have had this winter; may be magical).
4. 6' 2" pin : Great (needs overhead surf).

skansand · Post by **skansand** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:09 pm

6'2 x 23 1/8th flashpoint......`rips anything 2' - 12'.....mushy or sheet glass...stoked

Bryn · Post by **Bryn** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:22 pm

I found out recently that no matter how magic a board, another one can be even more magic!

My all time favourite 5'10" round pin which i thought would never be beaten, suddenly lost its magic after riding my new 5'11" for 3 months or so straight. Decided to take old faithful 5'10" out one day just to see and.....it almost bought a tear to my eye, it felt sluggish and twitchy and not very magic at all.

As gutting as it was at the same time i know i'm on the right path with my board development

Each one getting better and better is pleasing to say the least

I'm sure at least a little bit of that magic would creep back in to old faithful if i rode it for any period of time again but it sure is good to bring a new magic board in to the fold