The Seed for a Surfboard

When I got my last board, a 5'8" quad, it was a real awakening for me. For the first time, I was riding a surfboard that was the right size for my height, weight and the waves in Oregon. The feeling of speed and manueverability that came along with my first ride was just as stoke-inducing as the first time I rode a board down the line.

A light went on in my mind.

I quickly considered liquidating my old 7'0" speed egg and 6'6" hybrid, and replacing both with a smaller board that could handle waves that the quad might not be able to ride as effectively. My first instinct was to buy a "traditional" thruster, somewhere around 6'0", because it seemed like the most essential board of the last 30 years. Everybody has owned a tri-fin, and I thought maybe I should have one as well, for those bigger days or for pushing my surfing in a more vertical direction.

I tried a couple rental boards (a 6'0 JC Stingray and a 5'10 Olea swallowtail) and was immediately unimpressed by the lack of speed and paddling power the boards provided. So instead of plucking a Merrick off the racks or pulling the trigger on a used Parmenter (which was an awsome deal, Porky), I waited, scouring the Surfer Magazine message boards for more information on alternative waveriding vehicles. The Surfer Forum has become a haven for bonzer, quad, fish, twinzer, and single fin enthusiasts, who swear that surfers have been programmed by the surf media to ride what pros ride instead of what rides best for one's skill level. (Ironic that Surfer has perpetuates that paradigm).

Then, I saw a used 6'2" Jobson twinzer pintail offered for sale in the classified section of the same message board. It was the personal surfboard of Manuel Caro, the shaper/artist behind Mandala surfboards. It seemed like the perfect combination of performance board and alternative shape, so I gave him a call.

When Manny picked up the phone, I expected the board to be sold. If the board wasn't already sold, I expected him to be happy that I was taking it off his hands. But, to my surprise, Manny suggested that this wasn't the board I was looking for. He said that even at his size (5'5" and 150), the board was pretty difficult to get into waves. Also, the twinzer setup wasn't going to be significantly easier to get vertical.

He said he was developing a surfboard for people just like me, who wanted to step up from fish, but also liked to get into waves earlier and easier. It was also a board that would be snappier off the top, but also easier to get back in the pocket.



The board was a winged pintail with a 2+1 setup.

I told him that I would call him back after giving it some thought, and in the meantime he sent me pictures of his own personal 2+1. They are the pictures of the board in the shaping room in this post. On Sunday, I called him back and placed my order.

Manny and I talked for over an hour, not only about my surfboard (which will be 5'11" x 20.5" X 2 5/8"), but also about how he got started shaping, why surfboards should be beautiful, how he met Toby Pavel, and parallels between shaping and painting. At the end of the conversation, he ensured me that my decision not to get a "potato chip" surfboard was the right one:

"When you're catching waves way outside of your friends on their traditional tri-fins and spraying them from 50 feet away, you'll know why this board was the right choice."

Broken Social Scene - Shorlines