Thursday, 04 July 2019 - Posted by Roger at 7:29 pm
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How Did We Get Here – Part I
My Hot Curl evolution in pictures (abrieviated version):
It all started with this 6’2″ Dec 2010.
Colours by Emma Cox. At first I found the board almost impossible to ride, untill one day it just sailed across a long left just like a paper dart.
At that moment It occurred to me that maybe it wasn’t the board at all but actually me the rider that was the problem.
The learning started!
This 10’0″ was made around the same time as the previous board with the idea that this would be based more on the original Hot Curls from the 1930’s to try and capture that traditional feel in a longboard format.
This board made the Hot Curl experience easier to access and between learning to ride the 6’2″ and lots of small wave time on this board, I was able to learn more in a shorter time frame, particularly on exactly “HOW” to ride a finless surfboard.
The large tail block was part of the hydodynamics of the design not just part of the visual presentation.
The next 6’2″ mixed the concaved wing concept of the first 6’2″ with a straighter rail line and some extra bottom channelling.
While some improvements to ridability were made, the main result of this board was to high light the lack of verical component that all three boards suffered from.
Vertical component equals hold in the pocket and this became a major area of focus.
Sharing my riding time between a 6’2″ and a 10’0″ lead me to the realisation that a Mid-length would help me cover the bases even quicker and this 7’0″ emerged as a simplified no frilled version using more vertical component.
Bingo! with an increased awareness of stance/riding technique plus the shape and length of this board.
Hot Curling became an every surf reality.
7’0″ Mrk 2. I reworked the first 7’0″ in shape3d design software to reproduce the shape in the smoothest possible flow from nose and tail.
The feel underfoot was significantly enhanced.
The ride was silky smooth and section beating at warp speed became a highlight of the Hot Curl experience.
For the next 7’0″ I took the same design file and reduced the planshape area in the tail, pulling the pod into a narrow square with more vertical component.
BINGO stuck again! Suddenly with far more hold in the pocket this board was by far the easiest to ride and proved to me that the water flow over the tail would hold the board securely in the pocket paving the way for the rider to simply get on with surfing the wave.
Two 7’0″ Hot Curls that both surfed well and taught me alot. By now I was well and truely on my way!
An all Hot Curl quiver was evolving using boards of different lengths to cover as many surf conditions as possible and to learn how to apply design ideas in boards of different sizes.
