Traffic Jam in TO

This shot is courtesy of GCS, in the foreground on a Willer Surfcraft Big Fish.    This was a board that I made for him, purpose built for this particular break.   Looks like he is using it to good use.   The shot was from the recent Surf Ontario-sponsored "Freshest Wave" contest this past weekend in Scarborough.    Starting to look like the traffic on the DVP at run hour.     I wasn't at the event, but it sounds like turnout was good and the event was a big success.   Congrats to everyone involved.   Glad the forecast held up and produced some useable waves.  

Surf Ontario's - Freshest Wave Contest is a GO!! Sat Mar 31, 2012

After weeks/months of waiting for the weather to drop some wind our way on a weekend, mother nature seems to be finally listening.

Surf Ontario is sponsoring "The Freshest Wave" contest this coming Saturday morning (Mar 31, 2012) at Bluffers Park (The Cove) in Scarborough, Ontario.  

For more information, check out:
http://www.surfontario.ca/events.htm

Big thanks to Mike and Grant and the rest of the gang at Surf Ontario.   Lets hope the forecast holds!

Forecast is looking GOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!!

  Be safe, wherever you are this weekend!!    Its NOT going to be small.

The Raven

Heres another example of some Haida-style pen art that I did on a custom board last year.   He gave me a photo of a bird in shadow profile and I drew up a sketch and then made it a reality.   I love this style of art but its pretty time consuming, but very rewarding at the end.  The colours match the abstract resin work that was done on the board too.   (pics to follow)

Future Fins Releases Signature Dave Rastovich Quad

Check out the links below for Dave Rastovich's latest signature fin set from Futures.   

http://vimeo.com/36169197
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=c603a930e1b5c110025c52cfc&id=8fb660dc57&e=7d72e2d547
http://www.futuresfins.com/fin-detail.php?id=217&largeimg=quad_rasta_full.jpg

Futures is proud to announce the release of the new Dave Rastovich Quad for 2012. This release marks the second signature release from Dave, following his Sea Shepard Keel twin-fin from 2010, and expands our ever-growing range of non-thruster sets, further evolving our team’s experiences.

Rasta, as he’s affectionately known, hails from the Gold Coast of Australia, but now spends most of his time an hour south, surfing the points around Byron Bay. He spent the better part of 2011 fine-tuning his new fins on trips to Indo, Tahiti and at home in Oz.

“To me personally, they feel perfect. I’m stoked to have a set like this with the flex, the outline and the materials that make it a really alive, sparky set of quads. The template we came up with is of course a hybrid of designs, influenced by other fins that are out there in the world. I wanted something that had a little less tip and a bit more upright and had a little more flex in some ways.”

The Rasta Quad features a layer of Bamboo at the base of the fin, and a very Rasta-esque geometric pattern graphic.


“Incorporating bamboo into the base of the fin is a really good feeling. It’s stiffened it up, but the tip still has a bit of twang. Which is a good balance.” Dave also provided the artwork, “I love sacred geometry and patterns. The pattern that is on the fin is just one of those. It’s a linked up pattern, and just like with the fin and how we designed it, it’s interconnected, will all other fins done before it, because they all influence each other.”

A percentage of the proceeds from sale of the Rasta Quad will be given to Dave’s foundation Surfers For Cetaceans, in support of his passion for the ocean and its inhabitants.

Sticky Fingers Simmons Model

Before closing the shaping studio at my old location, I finally found some time to make myself a little treat.    This is a new Simmons template that I am trying out, and instead of the usual twin keel set-up, I experimented a bit and this baby is set up with quads from Lok-box to take advantage of some seriously sick fins sets (eg. woody Twin Keels double foiled, Pavel Speed-Dialers, and the seriously wicked 757 set).    My usual S-deck, belly nose hull, and rocket booster tail concave.   Custom Resin Swirl, pin-lines, gloss and polish, and all that other good stuff.

"Sticky Fingers Model"

5'9" x 23" x 2 1/2"

EPS + black PVC stringer

2 x 6oz deck and single 6oz hull

Resin Research Laminating Epoxy

Spreading the Love

2012 New Years Resolution for Everyone - Shape Your Own Board

2011 was a great year for interest in clients shaping their own surfboards.    I find it especially rewarding to pass along what meager knowledge I have attained throughout my own shaping experiences.    There is something very fulfilling about shaping and surfing on something that you yourself have created.  I encourage anyone and everyone to give it a try sometime.   You may only make one board or you may succumb to the power of the planer and take it on as a hobby or job.  Either way it will give you an deaper appreciation for the art and what you are riding on and get you thinking  a little bit about your plank.

Here is a pick that "DB" just sent me of his first attempt at shaping.    Nice rail band buddy.   Keep it up!