Monday, 05 March 2018 - Posted by Roger at 6:54 pm
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My Hot Curl Story Part Two: A Change In Tack
After several months of riding the 6’2” and the 10’0” I decided to shape a new version 6’2” as well as a mid length option which would be 7’0” and inspired more from the Longboard point of view with emphasis on simplification to the outline and bottom contours. I have always found that a mid length version of any design I’m working on tends to bear fruit which helps to facilitate and translate design tweaks to either shorter or longer versions.
The new 6’2” had some improvements in the areas of turning and drive yet was still problematic to ride, especially backhand.
The 7’0” Mid however was an immediate step in the right direction and was by far the easiest Hot Curl to ride thus far. Being easier to ride simply meant that I was learning at a faster rate and slowly but surely my Finless vision was coming into focus.
One day on a trip up North I decided last minute to include the 7’0” in the van along with my go to quiver of Finned boards . . .just in case. As it turned out I had an empty evening session on the 7’0 at Shipwreck Bay and caught a good number of peeling left runners in quick succession. 
The chemistry was there and an inspired session followed. After an exhilarating surf in which I had connected with the board like never before and learnt more than all the other surfs to date, I declared- “That’s it! I’m only riding Finless until I get to the bottom of the matter” On the drive home I formulated a plan of attack.
I got to work on the design of a tweaked 7’0” Mid the very next day. My approach was to stick with the original design file and enlist the help of the design program to help me redraw the same board in the smoothest blend possible. I wanted that board to slip through the water like a bar of soap.
Wow! You could feel the silky slickness of that board from the first wave. On that board you could beat sections by just looking past them and in a flash you would be there!
The design mind keeps working and pretty soon I had a new 7’0 drawn up in my laptop, essentially the same board with a much narrower tail pod and increased vertical component. I called it the Fast Back; it changed everything from the first surf and changed it for the better. Years down the track however I still think of that 7’0” Mid and hope to one day revisit that shape . . .
Stand by for My Hot Curl Story Part Three: The Fast Back.
PS: The 7’0” Mid turned up to be Tren’s 40s birthday present! Very special for me to know it’s in very good hands…
