What was your favorite or best ever board?

Mine was a 6'3 Jason Hoko shape from here on the Gold Coast. Got it in January, surfed the cyclone season at home. Quit my job to head for England, spent time with the family in Far North QLD and rode it in waves generated by a very close cyclone. An amazing surf as usually it's flat as a biscuit. Every wave I got the cars lined up on the foreshore carpark were honking their horns. Not many people get to surf at that beach.

Next I went to England and rode the same board in the North Sea, 3 degree water in winter, some Summer action with 12 degrees.

Following this, moved to Cornwall. The board went insane here as well.

Then followed by 3 months in Indo, the same board worked here amazingly. Ulu's to Kuta, East Coast to Bingin.

Then back to Australia for a short stay in Scarborough, same board, still going strong worked on the beachies and Trigg. Then a move to Sydney, Narrabeen, Avalon, Manly etc

A few weeks on the Central coast and some amazing Soldiers beach and point.

Then finally back home to the Gold Coast and another cyclone season.

After all of this it had been creased across the middle, snapped nose 1 foot down and 6 inches down. Snapped tail, 2 of the 3 glass ons snapped off and repaired. The board still went well but soaked water, if you didnt ride it for a few months it was fine for about 30 mins.

15 years later it's still under my house and I went to Jasons funeral a few years ago and paddled it out on the paddle out for his wake.

Best board ever. Worked everywhere in so many kinds of waves, shaped by a legend!

Mine was a 6,7 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4 Warren Tomson.

Could surf that board in anything from 2ft to 6ft +

Was made as a custom for a mate but had a bit too much volume for him so a swapped an Al Merrick for it, best swap ever.

I ended up selling it to a keen grommit from work a few years ago and he loves it

It went to a good home

The channel bottom still is one of the best Ive ever had <<late edit

A 6'4 Eric Arakawa swallowtail. In my naive pride, I bought it while still pushing myself into waves but my, it was a beautiful board and would just go. The first wave I caught going along the face was on it. Was a sunny day and I somehow managed to push myself and go down the line. The wave curled over and breaking on my head as I was tucked tight. I can easily close my eyes and still picture seeing that little wall of turquoise and the nose of my board which I was still staring at at the time. Sold it to another beginner and have watched it pop up on gumtree over the years. Regret not re-buying it.

My other was a 6'6 that I picked up off our resident canine pal here That board went through a lot with me. Great memories paddling out in anything from onshore storms to offshore perfection and I credit it with building my paddling fitness as had I bought a long board, I'd still be struggling! That board though is now donated to a talented grom's father over in Bali whom wanted to surf with his kid but could not afford a surfboard.

Great thread CMC!

My best sb was a Maddog I think with a round tail.
Fark is was 25 years ago and wouldn't have a clue the dimensions.
Snapped in 1/2 on me.

Best SB a 5'11 Surf More a little local manufacturer on the GC closed sadly many years ago.

Best LB 901 McTavish Fireball

Best STAND UP PADDLE board 1006 PSH

Its my current board Katana version of js Kingpin, shortest board ive had
At 6'2 x 20..lovn the quad in local waves, beachies, smokin mid size strickos and bali.
Nostalgia wise 6'6 Chaos by Benton Moran about 20yrs ago! Remember it as a
Wave destroyer (like me as a grom hehehe!!!)
At scabs and in europe (cornwall, portugal, spain and france) then sold for ferry fare back to england and a pint or 6 of guiness

a modern version 6'2 x 19"x2 1/4 dia's i think, twin fin i got murry burton to do. looked like it slipped on the machine to me when i got it. surfed it solidly for a year and a half. just about fell to bits under my feet.could surf at d bar, but was at its best at palmy. very fast so i could make all those slop sections, but still surfed great

we had 3 or 4 goes at trying to reproduce it to no avail.

Mine is my current board, works well in anything up to 6 foot and is fast, responsive, loose, can hold a rail through a turn and rebounds well. he has been my shaper since i was 16, so for 16 years! hell board and well suited as an all rounder. It is cut off a shaping machine and is a refinement of the boards i have been riding for years, each one keeps gettin better. 6'1 18 5/16 2 1/4. rounded square. Loves a barrel, and holds tight thru turns with good release off the top. Love it!!

An Aloha 6'4, 17" wide, single into a huge double concave, brought it off the racks in Hossegor cheap, as no one wanted it, had glassed on fins and looked like a gun for a midget (I'm pretty close), rode it a few times and hated it. Then cruised Sth America for a year, long points and heaving reefs, had to learn to use the rails properly instead of flicking the tail around like I had learnt to do and surfed the best I ever had, that thing would not slide ever. Power carves, did it as deep as you could and it would hold, and pick up speed.
Had to sell it cheap to a chilean dude in Iquique as I was crossing the Andes and the Atacama desert on bus and really couldn't be fkd taking it with me. Hope he enjoyed it as much as me.

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soleman said...

Mine is my current board, works well in anything up to 6 foot and is fast, responsive, loose, can hold a rail through a turn and rebounds well. he has been my shaper since i was 16, so for 16 years! hell board and well suited as an all rounder. It is cut off a shaping machine and is a refinement of the boards i have been riding for years, each one keeps gettin better. 6'1 18 5/16 2 1/4. rounded square. Loves a barrel, and holds tight thru turns with good release off the top. Love it!!

Who is your shaper?

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DrD said...

An Aloha 6'4, 17" wide, single into a huge double concave, brought it off the racks in Hossegor cheap, as no one wanted it, had glassed on fins and looked like a gun for a midget (I'm pretty close), rode it a few times and hated it. Then cruised Sth America for a year, long points and heaving reefs, had to learn to use the rails properly instead of flicking the tail around like I had learnt to do and surfed the best I ever had, that thing would not slide ever. Power carves, did it as deep as you could and it would hold, and pick up speed.
Had to sell it cheap to a chilean dude in Iquique as I was crossing the Andes and the Atacama desert on bus and really couldn't be fkd taking it with me. Hope he enjoyed it as much as me.

Sounds like around 1995??? Webber, Herring, CI and Slater Banana board ERA.

I had a Webber Insight at that stage, super deep concave heavy rocker and worked in good clean waves but apart from that kind of hard to ride well. I'm sure that era destroyed a lot of peoples surfing.

My favourite board was a Bruce Montgomery Custom 6'4" when i was about 14 years old. Surfed it at Stricko in big heavy conditions and got some of my best back hand rides still to date. Thinking back makes me wonder what i was thinking

My favourite is a 6'2 clearwater from Steve Del Rosso. It is 18'3/4 x 2'1/2 I think. I goes so well. It got smashed up and I've bought a custom that has the same dimensions but so far I haven't been able to ride it as well as the old C.W.

this one 6'11 by 19 1/4 by 2 1/2 shaped in 2001
I still have it but it only gets pulled out for my fav offshore reef trip most years

heres another thats a cracker of a small wave board - webber.

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swalkington said...

heres another thats a cracker of a small wave board - webber.

Is that an afterburner Swalk? If only you'd just pan the camera a bit higher so we can see the surf break you were at Dunno why for some reason swallow tails really sh**s me

^^ I must admit I have never had a good relationship with swallow tailed boards either. Each to their own I say

I've not had a problem with the feel of a swallow tail, they just seem to gravitate damage towards them

All my boards have been good fun. I've either grown out of them or they have ceased to exist in a single piece.

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swalkington said...

this one 6'11 by 19 1/4 by 2 1/2 shaped in 2001
I still have it but it only gets pulled out for my fav offshore reef trip most years

Jeepers you must be tall as you appear slouched over in that photo

The most fun board I have owned is my firewire sweet potato - love it even though it has a limited range and people laugh at me....when I was younger and fighting fit I had a nice banana board similar to DrD's (but it was 18 wide) that a mate shaped me whilst he was doing his board making apprenticeship....that board went unreal. Took it on my first trip to bali and then onto Europe. We had lots of fun together and I sold it in Morocco for more than I paid for it 18 mths later to a bloke who had just snapped his board and was desperate - I was heading back to London the next day

Yep it's an afterburner, but was a custom direct from the shaper.
Only really works in waves that don't have to much of a barrel on em.

5'10 JS Black Box as an allrounder for me. really fast and holds up to 4-5 ft without to much skippage with K 2.1's in. put my foot through it a few times so i added kevlar sheets for strength. when it's finally dead, I'm pretty sure il get another one. tried the twin fin 5'10 firewire fishtail and really liked that too!

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CMC said...

DrD said...

An Aloha 6'4, 17" wide, single into a huge double concave, brought it off the racks in Hossegor cheap, as no one wanted it, had glassed on fins and looked like a gun for a midget (I'm pretty close), rode it a few times and hated it. Then cruised Sth America for a year, long points and heaving reefs, had to learn to use the rails properly instead of flicking the tail around like I had learnt to do and surfed the best I ever had, that thing would not slide ever. Power carves, did it as deep as you could and it would hold, and pick up speed.
Had to sell it cheap to a chilean dude in Iquique as I was crossing the Andes and the Atacama desert on bus and really couldn't be fkd taking it with me. Hope he enjoyed it as much as me.

Sounds like around 1995??? Webber, Herring, CI and Slater Banana board ERA.

I had a Webber Insight at that stage, super deep concave heavy rocker and worked in good clean waves but apart from that kind of hard to ride well. I'm sure that era destroyed a lot of peoples surfing.

Its a funny thing as it was actually after that, I'm thinking 2002 roughly, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a few years old. I only brought it because I was skint and needed something to ride. But your right, in anything sloppy it was hopeless, I was just lucky I took it with me to Sth America, it was just the perfect board for the place, long enough to paddle into anything, fast on the long walls of Peru, it just worked there, I am pretty sure it would have been a great indo board.

I recently rode a Firewire 'Lost' Stealth in some small beacies and was really impressed with that, the mate I borrowed it off said it wasn't much good in anything over head height, but it seemed like a lot of fun

6'4" Simon Anderson rounded pin that was based on one of Ritchie Lovett's boards and was intended as a step up board as I was moving to the Goldy and wanted a board for the Cyclone season. turns out it worked great in any wave with a bit of punch. funny that I actually thought it was a dog for about 2 months as it was my first board with FCS fins and the first few sets of fins I tried just sucked. Got three different shapers on the Goldy to try and replicate it and Jack Knight did a pretty good job.