i don't care a whit what board anyone else surfs. however,if this thread leads anyone to consider having a board hand-shaped custom,in my opinion that would be a good thing for everyone...
Agreed. I hope all local shapers can prosper. I just think there are some misconceptions about both hand shaped, and mass produced boards. One more thing about Merrick, just because he is being used as the large example. Ive heard numerous guys on this thread mention that they dont hink Merrick shapes would work for their body type. Again, I kinda disagree. Merrick and CI has literally made a board with every size/dimension/rocker/rail combo possible. CI still makes custom boards. You can order a custom stick, and it would probably be insane.... CIs come in all shapes and size. He makes 7'4 mini guns, he makes quads for big guys. My buddy is like 230, 6'2 and he LOVES his CI 6'5 wuad fin fish hybrid thing... Im just saying, there is probably a mass produced board out there that is the EXACT specs that you need, even in your local conditions. Everywhere has conditions like the midatlantic sometimes. All of socal dribbles on the beaches all summer and we have tons of off days, where its all about mushy little beach breaks and weak surf... So for those days, we have the right boards. And on the other hand, when OC MD gets good, the waves require the same high performance shortboards I ride anywhere. I use the same 6'0 squash at 48th st as I do at Blacks where its OH. So no matter where you live, you will encounter conditions that everyone else does, and you will need the right board. And everywhere, everyone else lives, will eventually need a board that suits your day to day conditions better. I spent 10 days in Maui, and needed only a Fish hybrid and a long board. Every dog has its day. Everywhere gets good. Everywhere gets bad. But local shapers know whats best for you as a local. If you can only afford one board all year, your local shaper will know what size, and kind of board to get you the most water time depending on who you are... If a guy says look, im a ripper who lives inland now, I only want to surf when its chest to HH, so he needs one kind of board. Then the next guy walks in and surfs the same place, but wants to be in the water, everyday, even when its small, even when its big. Each guy needs one board... Thats where local shapers come into play. Most people dont know what they need. A local shaper will. But if you have been surfing for a decade+, you know EXACTLY what you need, and it really doesnt matter who makes it. I know erxactly what my dimensions are and what I need.
And I love the hand shaper process, the anticipation. The meaning it has, because you had input into its creation... But on the other hand... One of the BEST experiences ive ever had in surfing, is a few birthdays ago, I think in 08, my GF at the time, now the wife, woke me up and said look, I didnt want to call Micah and ask him to shape you a board, cause although he knows how you surf cause he shapes for you all the time, I wanted YOU to get the EXACT board you want... So we drove to like 4 of the major shops in San Diego, and I walked down Isles, down rows in warehouses, putting my hand down each rail. Holding them all up and comparing rockers, tails, fins.... Feeling EXACTLY how thick every contour is... The weight distribution... The art... And in the end, i got THE PERFECT BOARD.... I mean, i looked at 1000s of them. And since the day I bought that board, it has been the best board ive ever had... I analyzed every aspect of what I wanted, how I surfed, where I surfed... No one that worked at any shops gave me any input... any help. Nothing. I just walked down the isle, looking. feeling. There is no feeling quite like that. You KNOW what your getting. THere is no guessing. THere is no, well I wonder EXACTLY how this custom board will feel. I can hold a board up in a store, look at it, study it, and i KNOW how i would surf it. You just KNOW> So, there is nothing wrong with that. Its like Christmas morning when you have a pocket full of cash with every intention of walking out of a shop with a new stick.
zach,you are very wise,yes,stock boards are hot,but i disagree about your point that there are boards for everyone that are stock,because i don't fit that mold. for example,ricky carroll is a fantastic shaper who has every imaginable design shape available on his stock brochure,but i am too big and i don't ride bigguy/fatguy/oldguy boards,plus i surf all conditions all year and ride shortboard,fish,and egg. no one makes a stock high-performance shortboard or fish or egg for my 6'5"/250 size that isn't somehow compromised with the bigguy/fatguy/oldguy specs fed into the design. working with Scott Busbey in Hatteras for a few years,now,through trial and error,we've gotten really close to completing the entire quiver to suit me. His boards are better for me also because he's gotten to know how I surf and how I want to surf and want to improve.Besides that all of the Merrick fish,egg and longboards are garbage pop-out shapes in comparison.You cannot compare,the Merrick fish might as well be an nsp,where an In The Eye fish is fantastic,his shortboards are just as good as Merrick's,and the guy can just shape anything to work for your specific desires. compare a calvani bing or jacobs to a ci longboard;it's a joke! it's not even funny! and they cost as much! a waterhog? please stop,it's painful,they are popout crap,you could get a Harbour Spherical Revolver or a Bing Good Karma for the same price! or an In The Eye egg for less money,of course. these are 'waterhogs' that you can totally rip on,awesome designs. Ok, if I was smaller,then Merrick High-performance shortboards are good,but that's it. Yesterday the waves were totally perfect,but I used to have some issue holding me back in those conditions;not anymore! I was surfing waves like I always dreamt of,like doodling in class imaginary surfs when I'm supposed to pay attention,like looking at photos in mags and imagining surfing them,and now my 6'5",230 lbs. had the perfect board for once,a custom In The Eye 6'6" double wing swallowtail quad fish with a raised deck for volume keeping the thin rails to slice through the wave.Merrick small-guy boards,ok,but all the mini-mal,longboard,retro junk is just persuasive advertising with an Al Merrick decal on it,you may as well get nsp's.
The Surfer's Journal has minimal advertisements. The inside of the front cover, both sides of the back cover and one or two other pages tops.
Ive never ridden an NSP, but ive ridden a friends CI fish and and had a 6'10" waterhog a few years ago which was really fun in the right conditions. They both seems like pretyy good boards. Others i know who have ridden CI boards like them a lot for what they are (not a local custom)...Why do you think the CI's are so bad as to compare them to NSP?
I call BS. Skis and snowboards are all machine/factory produced. They continue to evolve and improve. The early snowboards and skis were handmade, and once machines took over they evolved exponentially. Parabolic skis and snowboards were computer designed and revolutionized both sports, and they're now all made in China.
I feel you. I do not have one CI in my quiver. I never have. I was just speaking on the topic. To each their own. I understand that you have had much better luck with shapers that you know and trust, so I would always stick with that. Now with that being said, if you call Al Merrick tomorrow and explain to him what you just explained to me, you would have a dream board in about 2 weeks. I'm just saying, you are not the only guy who is 6'5, 230. I agree that if you walk into 5 surf shops, you probably wont find a Merrick that fits your needs. But if you fly to SB, go to his warehouse, walk the isles, you will probably be stuck choosing between 30 sticks that you might like. Most surfers are of a smaller stature, so most of the board marketing is dictated by that. My neighbor was 6'0 and about 300, but surfed all kinds of boards. He was hard to float, but he could ride all kinds of stuff.
old boy,very good point,but i think i disagree,because skis and snowboards are not comparable to surfboards,nor is skiing or snowboarding comparable to surfing. there's endless various infinite different possible ways to ride a wave,and a lot of different surfboard designs,so a machine can't do what a shaper and a surfer can.if there were no more shapers surfboard design would stagnate and stand still,we'd be riding 2010 advances in 2020,2030,etc.,etc.,etc.. people,not machines, have advanced surfboard design.surfers and shapers,and surfers who are shapers.
zach,yes,merrick could shape me a perfect board himself,but i repeat, i ride 4 different types of boards,and his stock retro,mini-mal and longboards are popout crap,and he doesn't make a stock shortboard to suit me that isn't fatguy/oldguy/bigguy.
lee,sorry,you are correct,i am not at a loss for words,but i was 230 yesterday in a 3/2 and in january i'll have eaten holiday roast meats with gravy and potatoes,christmas cookies,homemade pies,plus ales,it's winter,i'm not as active,and a 5 mil suit for a 6'5" guy is heavy with 7 mil boots and 5 mil gloves,so i'll be 250 then,and i get my boards shaped based on that.
scotty,the waterhog and fish will work adequately,as will a popout nsp,but you could get a board a million times better for the same price,just without an Al Merrick sticker. his shortboards work,the rest is just rippin' you off.clear sanded finish crap longboard/waterhog for the same price as a beautiful Bing,Harbour,In The Eye or RC.
Oh yea!!! My current Merric Rookie (6'6") is one of the best power boards I have ever owned. It works well if you surf hard off your back foot. Great for paddling as I am about 200 lbs. 2 well traveled and experienced friends who use the Dumpster Diver say it is the best board they have ever used. Another guy said the Whip rode a bit funny & he did not like it. Merric tells the truth when he says there is alot of hiidden foam in the boards.
Gotcha... I wouldn't want to ride one of those boats either. I'm sure the customs you get are a perfect fit since the guys know you.
the literary content is above a 4th grade reading level, too. the said, back to the topic. i've had 3 CI's in my life. 1, a 6'3" black beauty that i had when i was in san diego. the board was great! the best thruster i had up to that point in my life...i rode it a lot at head-high black's, etc...sold it when i moved back east, b/c it would've just collected dust. i have #'s 2 & 3 now. a 6'4" ft. knox, which has become my go-to board for good shoulder high + surf. it's fast, paddles well, & catches waves easily. but it's a board for good waves. the other is a 6'0" dumpster diver in eps/epoxy. i got this after the ft. knox b/c i got into surfing thrusters again. this is now the board i grab 90% of the time i surf. i can easily see how people will call it the best board they've ever ridden, esp. on the east coast. it's great in gutless surf. these 2 boards are now the best 2 thrusters i've ever owned & i've effectively downsized my quiver to 3 boards: 6'0", 6'4", & 9'6". i have a couple other boards, but they've barely been ridden since the CI's joined the bunch. IMO, CI has become the world's largest (& most well-known) surfboard brand for a reason. quite simply, their boards work. the company has some of california's best shapers working for it as ghost shapers (russ hoyte & malcolm campbell, amonth others) it's got the many (most?) of the world's best & most high-profile surfers riding their boards. i do, however, agree w/ beachbreak's assessment that it will be the backyard/small-scale/underground shapers that move design forward in surfing. just look at CI's catalog of boards. the dumpster diver is based off of robert weiner's white diamond model. the ft. knox is a bonzer bottom thruster. i was riding a scott busby shaped twin w/ a trailer in the late 90's, around the time the CI mtf became popular (not saying the design is based off of scott's, but if scott was making them, then i'm sure others were). slater rides boards from other shapers all the time. i'm sure that if he really likes the board, it gets scanned into the system so it can be tweaked & reproduced. every major design break thru has come from the backyard or underground-the shortboard, the thruster, fish, bonzers, flex fins, the list goes on. heck, most of them came from kneeboarding! basically, we (surfers) need the backyard guys & the small scale pros to help keep surfing from becoming stale. b/c w/out them, we really will be riding the same things in 2040 as we are now.
