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Let's get simple


Photo courtesy of Daly Bread.

It has come to my attention that everyone I know is broke.

Of course the people I come in contact with the most are unemployed and or retired surfers at the local beaches.

But assuming that you have a mat but are still interested in other surfcraft, how about these relitively cheap options.

Alaia - I road Clay Fin's a few weeks ago. An amazing amount of fun!
Here is Cyrus Sutton at Cardiff Reef

Take a board off the side of the house shape in some belly and rails and give it a go!

Hand Plane - another fun way to spend some time and increase your knowledge of the advanced hydrodynamics that make up our surf craft.

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Check out this video over at Shakas and Singlefins

Single fins - Not to take anything away from two, three, four and five fin surfboards. No wait a minute that's exactly what I'm saying! But shape your own clean line single fin, glass it in the garage and surf it!
Extra points if you include a hand drawn pen and ink decal!

(PS - your wife / husband will hate you after this. The process leaves a huge mess in the garage! But well worth the experience)

Body Surf - Or should I say body surf more? If you ride a mat you probably body surf quite a bit already. Trade fins with your buddies and compare and contrast!

Just a few things to keep your mind and body nimble between mat sessions.

Comments

Jamie said…
Prana, You're reading my mind with this post. While living in the Outer Banks I hadn't ridden a foam n glass surfboard in probably two years, save for the occasional go-out on my flexspoon [rarely getting proper surf for a spoon :(]
Before I left I sold my 4'10 quad fish, and put my 9'9 and 7'0 singles in a storage unit. I packed my 5 mats and 2 pairs of UDT's and left for Oz. At present I have no interest in doing anything else but bodysurfing and matsurfing. The past few days I've been talking with Tom Wegener regarding his alaia designs. I'll be heading up to Noosa in the next week or two to watch him shape me an alaia specifically for me to ride prone in long, hollow points, beachbreaks, and other instances where i need to duckdive and the mat isn't the best option. Keeping it simple is the only option at this point. Travel light, stay deep in the tube, do the Side Slip Boogie, and love every minute of life in Oz!
January 20, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Jamie said…
Side Note: The word verification for my last comment was " waterey "
Coincidence? not a chance...
January 20, 2009 at 3:44 PM
pranaglider said…
Jamie, you said it all,

"Travel light, stay deep"

Quite a few parallels between the alaia and mat doing the lala or Side Slip Boogie.

Your job is to do the research and report back.

Enjoy!
January 22, 2009 at 7:08 AM
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