Tag Archives: foam

Masculine Ferry and Foam Boards

In wandering around Sydney and its glorious suburbs, I have been advised many a time to take the Manly ferry from Circular Quay. To MANLY. Seriously, everyone I’ve met has told me to do it. So today, I finally did. I did not bring my board because, quite frankly, I didn’t feel like lugging it on the bus and the ferry and for a walk of indeterminate length. When I got there, I learned that you could rent a foam board for $15/hour, which would be roughly equivalent to the cost of eggs on toast. Worth it! I love to Wavestorm! Who doesn’t? It’s like all the best things about surfing, except being able to turn your board and duckdive. Today, on my pink BZ, I was reminded how much those things occasionally matter–especially when there’s some freaky rip-roaring current and the sea is suddenly composed entirely of whitewater. And not to be a whiner, but just about every time I find myself on a longboard (or carrying one) I say, “Ugh. This is why I’m a shortboarder.” Not because longboarding’s not fun; just because I’m lazy. The boards themselves weigh about as many stones as I do, and paddling out is a bitch. Anyway, I have also decided that while BZ may be the Escalade to Wavestorm’s Suburban, Wavestorms are lighter, more maneuverable, and generally, better. In my opinion.

Stay tuned for the wallet debacle that is WAX in the land Down Under…

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A Board is Born

I was lucky enough to watch Rich Luthringer rough shape one of his beautiful boards a few weekends ago.  It’s crazy to see a perfect, little swallowtail emerge from a pretty primitive blank.  Luthringer has made thousands of boards- literally, he stopped counting at 3,000.  Sawing and sanding are second nature to him now, and he can (amazingly) feel imperfections in the boards by running his hands over the foam.  Then he simply smoothes them out.  No big deal.

“I could probably shape a board blind,” he says.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I just wouldn’t use a planer blind.”

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