A really nice guy named Paul was interested in an Openface shape recently. He saw Mitch Coleborn riding one in the extra features of BS! RT originally prompted me to come up with this construction to get more flex. He’s 70 lbs. lighter and several inches shorter than this customer, so the dimensions had to be blown up considerably.  RT’s original dims of 5’6″ x 20″ x 2 1/4″ were changed to 6’0″ x 20 3/4″ x 2 5/8″. The rocker and foil were kept the same as the original design but the rails were plumped up a bit so the board can push back through turns. Thanks for the order Paul and enjoy. Toothpaste green is the new black.

When Ryan takes a break from making movies and gets out from behind his camera or computer its clear he’s equally good at surfing as he is at visually musing on it.  Here he’s putting his own Openface through its paces with style to spare. Photo John Slavin

Ryan Thomas recently sent me some images Tom Carey took of Mitch Coleborn riding his Openface at Restaurants during the filming of BS! The video footage of this session can be seen in the extra features of the movie. I love underwater barrel shots.

This is the latest foam and wood alaia I’ve made. There have been a few changes since the last one I posted. I brought the volume up a bit in the nose and tail for even better paddling and wave catching ability. The nose and tail are a bit wider, so the outline has a bit more curve in it. It seems the more outward curve you have in the tail, the better the board will set and hold in trim and turns. The rail stays stuck in the wave rather than curving away from it and releasing. The deck is bowed with reverse rocker to keep volume in the middle and allow the ends to flex. Also the wood on the deck has been cut in an hourglass shape to keep the panel flat. This avoids any compound curves in the panel that could stiffen the structure. I rode a similar board  recently at almost flat, high tide Rincon and had way more fun then I should have had. The board motored along great in the weakest of waves and I didn’t have to worry about nailing a fin on the rocks. Dimensions of this board are 6’8″ x 17″ x 2 1/4″. The widest points at the ends are 18 1/2″ and the rails are pinched to 1/2″ and squared off, with a hard edge almost the entire length of the board. The bottom has a full length single concave and 1/4″ of chine on the rail.The rocker is almost flat. This board is currently available at Wetsand surf shop. The one I rode is now my new favorite ultra small (I wouldn’t be going out otherwise) wave board.

This is recently finished board # 2 for Mitch Coleborn. Ryan Thomas let Mitch try out his 5’6″ RT Openface when he was here in the U.S. a few months back. He surfed it at Newport and liked it so much that he ended up ordering one. We made it an inch shorter and a 1/2″ narrower in the nose , width, and tail. I took the volume down in the rail as well, but it ended up being a little too much. So this is the second go around and hopefully he gives it a thumbs up. I’m pretty stoked and honored to have a surfer of this caliber feel the need to pony up the dough for one of my boards. Thanks Mitch! For some footage, check out Ryan’s stupendous new film BS!