The Cove

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Gary Hanel Twinfin Review

My birthday was a few days ago and I was lucky to get an incredible board from my family as a present. I've always liked the boards that GH makes. He's always making boards that are very practical and from reviews, seem to work great. I've ridden a few and have always had a positive experience. My wife rides a longboard that he shaped for her, and it's her favorite board ever. I saw this board on the showroom floor at Moonlight the day they finished it. I couldn't keep my hands off it. In my opinion, it's the nicest board I've seen in the showroom this year. Well, at least that fits me. Peter did an unreal job with the airbrush and I can't even fathom the amount of time it took him. Then, there are the fins. I've done alot of research on twins over the last year. This was the first time I'd ever seen this one. Something new, something different, something to try. Isn't that always the best reason to get a new board? Boredom. Plus, it was shaped to the exact dimensions that I would have ordered. 5'10 x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4." I dropped a few hints to Rebecca, and low and behold, she is now mine. Thanks family, JP, Pinliner, GH, and Marlin. Oh, and lets not forget Sally, cause whether you know it or not, she controls/takes care of em all.

REVIEW: All the elements for a good first surf on my Birthday were looking very positive. Nice weather when I woke, swell on the buoys, reasonable tide. Thats the one beauty about surfing, things can be looking good one minute, and go to hell the next, and vice versa. It leaves us constantly wanting. Well, by the time I got down to surf at around 8:30am, the wind had already started blowing out of the northwest. There was enough swell, but just not hitting the reef right. It was one of those closed out or mushy days. Head high. Really sectiony. I didn't have a great session. I would rate it average, mainly because it was summer, and there at least was some swell. Didn't really get a decent feeling for the board. The one thing that I did seem to notice is that it needed a little more drive. I had looked at the fin set-up prior to waxing it up. The fins were already in the boxes by the fine folks at Moonlight. They were pushed all the way up to the front of the boxes. Problem is, the bases of Twin fins are pretty long, so I wasn't actually able to locate the true shapers dot to set the fins too. I figured that I would just leave em all the way forward and give it a try.

Second session yesterday. I had absolutely no expectations about the surf. I actually brought my log just in case. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to the beach. Surf was solid headhigh to a few feet overhead and real good. I moved the fins to the middle of the boxes and paddled out. I was a little weary, as I was riding a twin fin, and the surf was not only solid, but actually dredging on a few. Plus, all lefts, meaning backside for me. So, I took off on my first wave and the board seemed to go well. Nothing special as I was just trying to get a feel for it. Next wave, little heavier top bottom combo. No sliding. Third wave was a dredger. Took off deep without much of a prayer of even making the drop. Pigdogged in the air and expected to be done. Fins grabbed, set rail, and drove for a long way. Didn't make it out, but by far the best driving view I've seen this summer. The board held so well. Next few waves was able to do some solid top turns. No spinning. This board is fast, holds well, pivots well, and overall I can say is probably one of the best boards I've had in a while. I had probably my funnest session this year. Wave after wave. I don't think it's gonna be a great groveler (course I have a fish for that) but it's gonna be a great performance board. I would highly recomend this board. I am stoked.

This Looks Fun

I always have a set of fins in the car. Rarely do I ever use em. This makes me want to use em more.

Can a good board be ...

Can a good board be more environmentally friendly. Well, personally I think we are getting closer. Check this out:

ENVIROFOAM CORE 09

The first 100% recycled surfboard core


■Marko was interested in taking their in-house recycling process to the next level and found a material process that will take all post-use EPS scrap material and reformulate it so that it could be re-manufactured into a solid blank again.
■In 2006 that reformulation process was being developed and in its infancy and now in 2009 the manufacturing process has been perfected. This innovative technology allows all types of EPS regrind to be made into a high grade moldable material for production again. The material is called Envirofoam, and is looking to be a solid choice for a sustainable blank material in the surfboard manufacturing process.
■Marko has tested this material for use in blanks and finished boards with some of our select customers. With positive results, Marko was granted an exclusive global contract securing the manufacturing and distribution of this revolutionary process for all water sports applications. Marko is proud to be a part of this amazing process and now introduces the first 100% recycled EPS blank into the market in May 2009.

Now, many complain of the ride characteristics of EPS. It's not the gold standard ride that Polyester Resin and a Polyurethane blank provide. I'm the first to admit that. I personally like the EPS/Epoxy combo on small wave boards. Though, if I had to choose, my ride choice would, without a doubt, be the PU/PO combo.

Resin-X was introduced to the market about a 18-24 months ago. Many people were very excited about the product, as it had great flex characteristics, a real good ride, and has very little harmful effects on the environment, as well as the manufacturer. Despite great ride results, It pretty much failed when used with Polyester Blanks due to inconsistancies in Polyester blanks, as well as inconsistant melt temps. Plus, it provided a hurdle during production. It takes a little more work, and some different techniques need to be used during the application and finishing process. This didn't flush well with the already struggling production glass shops. Plus, it is more expensive than Epoxy, which is already twice the cost of Polyester Resin.

One place that Resin-X has thrived is when it is used with EPS. It provides a light board, with a good flex pattern, and also a flex pattern that doesn't deaden over time. This combo has been tested all over the world with good results from top surfers. Including extensive testing in Hawaii by Mikala Jones.

So, with the Marko Enviro-foam blank and Resin-X, it think it is a possibility to make more earth friendly boards that might work as well as PO/PU. It might take some time of development, and might make boards more expensive, but I think it's time.

I've been toying with starting to try and make boards that work, look decent, and are more frindly to Mom Earth. I've got a gallon of Resin-X in the cabinet and a Marko blank (granted it's not an enviro-blank). Nonetheless, I should be able to get a few boards out of this gallon. We'll see how it goes.

Good Eyemages

Last weekend I was talking to one of the early morning guys while he was snapping a few shots. Usually he gets to the reef early, parks near Rebecca, has a surf, snaps a few pics, then moves along. I usually say hi, exchange a few sentences, then take his parking space. I got their early last weekend, so I was already on the beach with the kids. He told me he got a shot of Rebecca last weekend that was pretty good. He said he'd leave his blog info on my window. So, I go to check the blog, and am really impressed. He's got some really good shots, of all types of surfing, on his blog. No links, no titles, no commentary. Just pics. It's pretty cool.

Rebecca, South Swell, August 1, 2009


John Carlston (TinyUniverse), South Swell, August 1 2009


Micah Carlston, taking after Pops

all photos courtesy of http://goodeyemages.blogspot.com/

Calling Hong Kong

So, how does this relate to surfing? Well back in the day, my buddy chuck and I used to hang out at Canyon Surf Shop. You know the one, where RP got his start shaping. Juan Grande owned. The same space Pavel now uses as the Greenroom. Well, since Juan was pretty much never around, JK would be manning the counter. It was usually pretty slow, so we'd just go in and BS. JK was really into music, he turned Chuck and I on to this band "Supernova," out of Costa Mesa. So, we'd pretty much go see them everytime they came down and played in San Diego. They were probably some of the funnest shows I've ever been too. This, for the record (no pun intended) was the last band that I owned a cassette tape from. They used to sell cassettes at their shows. So, I was talking to a friend the other day that lives in OC, and they said they worked in Costa Mesa. My reply, "Costa Mesa Hates Me," which is one of the songs Supernova used to play. It kinda flew over their head, which was understandable, but reminded me of those fun times JK, Chuck, and I used to have. Supernova broke up a few years later, and other than that stoopid Supernova reality TV show, I never really heard much about them. So, Today, I'm watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" with my daughter Rella, daizing in an out of a nap, and what comes on, "Supernova" singing one of thier songs. It was pretty cool. So a little research, and apparently they still play. I was looking for "Costa Mesa Hates Me", or "Hippi," but "Calling Hong Kong," will do just fine.

Lucky Jay

While all of us continually brag about how good our local spot was last weekend. Jay jumped through some hurdles and scored this place with just a couple other heads out. This was one of the smaller ones. Wave after wave after wave. He recently messed up his knee and had to take six weeks off of surfing. Doctors orders. He was pretty good about his rehab. I think this was his reward. Stoked for you Jay.