Back to Surf City-- (*No doubt it needs a Missionet outpost as their's 2 two girls for every boy<G>) *I'm an old dude...<G> So I wandered into some Surf shops looking at used longboards.. Josh was with me and we were about equal in what I had forgot and what he didn't know<G> *So we asked... the surf dude for a tour of the longboards<G> "'*Whoa...Like this one I can deal yah.. 9'0 and tight end.. shallow rock 50/50 rail like vintage..." *Cool... (said -=A=-) *coool.. (said Josh) *groan... said Cdr.Jen<G> It turns out that "Old boards" have yellowed and are used as coffee tables and wall art... their decals and logo's are sought, and that's ok ... said the surfdude "They were just pop-outs" *The Oldie boards from the shapers... are still good." When SurfCity was young<G> like 1963, Surfing had a wave of manufacturing foam surfboards and they used several molds... This would give each board a close shape to what was needed and then cut down on the craftsman's time in "shaping" the board by hand. A quickie glass job and out the door! These boards were bought by novice surfers and banged around in old station wagons for mostly one summer before being hung in rafters for 40 years<G> *Pop-outs... *Logs... *Pier debris... *Gemmie grinders... Shaper boards were different--- each was made by hand, the foam was cut with a knife to a size with a template and then graters- planers and handwork brought the right shape to the board for Big Hawaii surf.. or small Malibu noserideing...rocker or a slight "bow" for weight transfer. Names people might know are *Hobie Alter *Greg Noll *Bing *Hap Jacobs *Velzey *Hanson all were youngmen who built surfboards by hand. They surfed.. and thought about what shape would do to the wave... they thought about control- speed and *glide.. they made something that moved easy through the water.. >From a distance.. to those who didn't understand... All Surfboards looked alike and the color was more important than the shape in making a buying decision.. *If you watch a Movie like "Big Wens day" by John Millius or the Bruce Brown classics of "Endless Summer" you get another insight into shape and the shapers.. The "shaper" had a knowledge-- a kind of Surf "wisdom" and could size you up and build a custom board to your body weight and skill level. *Today...I'm a Royal Ranger<G> And I've seen lots of "Pop-out" Rangers come for a while and then hang it up... They look the part a new uniform.. but they lack "soul" When you line them up... the "soulful Rangers" always shine.. What is the difference? Maybe it's the time spent with the "shaper".... Maybe if the "Pop-out" would allow some of the ruff edges to be smoothed.. he could become a smooth clean shape.... ...and show the touch of the Master Rangers hand! -=A=- _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks! - A#1's mule" RTKB&G4JC! http://rangernet.org Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
