Wish List

Number 2 on the wish list is a board from Ellis Ericson under the brand name 'Sun Flower Surfboards'.

Through the evolution of the 'Hipster' trend has come the revival of hand shape's, single fins and long hair. At the forefront of this movement years before it had become popular was Ellis Ericson travelling throughout Indonesia shaping his own single fins and having the time of his life. Having the backing of RVCA behind him to chase perfect waves around the world all while shaping and having a good time has given Ellis's hand shaped board brand 'Sun Flower Surfboards' a world renowned name with former pro surfers Rob Machado and Tom Curren enjoying his shapes as much as the next hipster.

Spending most of his time in Bali if he is not travelling around the world it can be quiet hard to nail him down and get him to shape you a board.

This again like most that will be on this list is the kind of board you will never want to let go. Having a single fin is a must. Perfect for a nice summers day on a fun beachies or a firing point break in winter. It is always a good board to have in the quiver and a Sun Flower surfboard should be the top of your list if you are in the market for a single fin.

Ellis surfing his own boards on the East Coast of Bali

Enjoy.



Ellis Ericson | Bali from RVCA on Vimeo.

Wish List

This is a new segment on boardDoctor. These are the boards that are good enough to take a loan out on. Well lets be serious you wouldn't really but you would think about it, hence the idea of the wish list. If you are to get your hands on one. Keep it and never let it out of your sights, these boards are timeless.

Number 1 on the list a Campbell Brothers bonzer.

The 4 plus 1 set up on the board looks divine and surfs even better. Taylor Knox in Mexico gives you a lesson on how to ride one.

Watch and learn.

Enjoy.


 
Taylor Knox - 5 Fin Bonzer - Mexico from Campbell Brothers Surfboards on Vimeo.

Channel Island's Neck Beard

Neck Beard

Intro

Just like the rest of you I too have had a Al Merrick obsession, I mean it would be rude not to all the best surfers in the world surf his boards. Slater, Reynolds, Curren just to name a few. Stranger than fiction and Modern Collective where on repeat on my computer and I needed a new groveller. Dane Reynolds had just bought out the dumpster diver and the neck beard after it. Dane's end section in Modern Collective blew my mind with the tweaked out airs he was throwing down in mexico on a NECK BEARD. I needed one. Weeks went by and it just so happened the town Al Merrick froth lord himself Timmy Wright had a neck beard that was a tad to big. Perfect I didn't need to fork out for a new one. Strapped for cash at the time I saved up and bought the beast. The wide chop tail and the straight outline was so ugly that I loved it (this board starting my craze on alternative shapes) not only did it look good it also went amazing in the small surf exactly the kind of board that I was chasing. I was sad to let this board go but over time you fall out of love with boards and starting at Torquay Surf didn't help with my relationship with the Neck Beard. 

How it goes

Let's just get this straight a wide tail on a surfboard means more area between the fins which in turn means more room for the water to get between the fins and makes it easier for the fins to release. in small waves you can't go wrong with a wide tail. The board gets picked up by the wave earlier and easier because of the surface area of the tail hitting the tail nice and early and then it makes it easy to throw the fins around in turns as in small waves there is not as much push as a larger wave. Hence why the Neck Beard couldn't really handle anything over 4 foot. Too much water would be getting between the fins and with the power of the wave it would create the fins to slip and slide without the surfer wanting this to happen. This is why many people surf wide tailed as quads but that is a whole different story for a whole different board which is coming soon stay tuned ;) I found with the wide chop tail on the neck beard with a thruster set up and the right fins this board how a lovely amount of drive and release. However as stated before once the wave got a bit of power and size it became very skatie and hard to surf. I would often find myself skipping out on bottom turns and top turns just because there was way to much tail area for the waves I was surfing in. The wide forward outline mixed with the wide tail is perfect for small waves though, this board will grovel 1 foot mush without fail and make you feel like your surfing a short board on a 3 foot wave with the amount of lift and speed you get out of the tail. I found it went the best out 2 to 3 foot Rincon where its hitting the reef perfectly so you have a perfect wall running all the way to the beach. It was those conditions I had the most fun on this board.

Whose it for

Do you skate? Do you like to fly down the line and throw fins and reverses? This is the board for you in small waves. With the wide tail giving you so much lift and drive you can get a amazing about of speed down the line. The width of the board also then gives you the perfect landing platform so if your feet do happen to move around throughout the manoeuvre (which they will) you have plenty of room to make a mistake. I am not much of a air guy but this is the one board I came even remotely close to stomping a air. Don't get me wrong though this board also carves really well much better than you would expect. The 'V' out the tail gives the board this ability because generally a wider board can be quite hard to get rail to rail without the 'V' but with the 'V' out the tail this board is quite the carver and for myself as more of a rail guy it worked perfectly as a groveller.

Ideal fin set up: EA side fins with a AM2 rear

Rating: 7

Ideal wave size: 1 to 4 foot

Conditions: Onshore to glassy conditions