>>> i refuse to surf with a leash. sure, i have them.. for those rare > death-rock situations. or the times im really sick and cant make the swim > (but just have to get in the water anyway). aside from that. i dont use > leashes. however most of the places i surf don't require them. san-o, > churches, doheny, newport pier, etc. i still go up to 50-65 streets in > newport and pull in on a longboard once in a while (leashless of course). > but for the most part, when i surf the bigger, faster, hollower waves i > tend to use a shorter board. another good thing about no leashes is: when > the kooks find that they dont like to swim, they stop surfing... a weak > form of crowd control, but a form of it nonetheless. when i say surfing > without a leash though, i mainly refer to longboards. shortboards it > doesnt matter all too much because you dont move around on the board. i > just prefer the clean feeling with nothing on my leg getting in the way. > and there are a few of us who can handle their longboards in all types of > waves and dont lose them (hence, no leash needed). anyway, i think part of > the question was what types of boards i ride.. well, here's my quiver: 9'6 > Model T Surftech, 9'4 heavy Midget Smith, 9'2 Robbie Dick, 9'0 Robbie Dick > performance board, 9'4 anonymous from the 60's, 9'3 Herbie Fletcher, 7'10 > E.T. singlefin funboard, 7'2 South Coast singlefin minigun, 6'7 singlefin > minigun, 6'4 surfside thruster, 5'11 Wisz thruster, 5'10 singlefin that i > made, 9'1 singlefin that i made, 9'6 Vardeman, 4'2 thruster i made, a > broken Yater Surftech, and a couple of boards to be or boards that i am > fixing for friends>>> -STEVE PAGE YEs,I surf wiyhout a leash.I figure if I can,t manage the swim in, I don't belong out there.I lived on the central Cal coast for several years and didn't wear one there either.However, if I were in the Red Triangle area, I might reconsider.OH, by the way, I surf where there are lots of rocks.
rocks shmocks, i surf with rocks... but i said DEATH ROCKS.. haha. actually there's this little cove by my house, rocks everywhere, its about 2 feet deep and breaks like a miniature teahupoo... scary, especially when its big. i dont use a leash there... oh yeah... i dont even put leash plugs on the boards i make... now that is commitment to not wearing a leash -steve
What about that Midget Smith- would that be a Smugly model? If I went out to buy a board right now that is one I would love to own (and try to copy). aka the Con Ugly- right? TS>>> rocks shmocks, i surf with rocks... but i said DEATH ROCKS.. haha. > actually there's this little cove by my house, rocks everywhere, its about > 2 feet deep and breaks like a miniature teahupoo... scary, especially when > its big. i dont use a leash there... oh yeah... i dont even put leash > plugs on the boards i make... now that is commitment to not wearing a > leash -steve
>>> What about that Midget Smith- would that be a Smugly model? If I went out > to buy a board right now that is one I would love to own (and try to > copy). aka the Con Ugly- right?>>> TS Tom, Con "Ugly". Stirring up some fond memories. I had one. Back around 66,67,68 & 69. I surfed for Con.Back then it was called The Con Competition Team East Coast.After all these years I still have the original Team jacket and a shortie wet suit with the Con emblem emblazed in the rubber.A very good friend of mine has my old ugly and on occasion I'll take it out. Do you remember the Con wing nose? About a year ago I had heard that Con's wife was running the company. Tried to get in, but it was under construction. After I saw your post, I went back to it and see it is up and running. Thanx for the memories. R.I. surfer
Many are high performance surfmats weighing > an average of 18 ounces...imagine something like that breaking loose and > rocketing sideways toward you in the whitewater! I thought I'd riff off Dale's comment above. When sit-on-top kayaks hit the beach a few years ago my local longboard spot was festooned with riderless yaks whenever there was swellage. Imagine a 12 foot white Ocean Kayak tumbling sideways right for you when you were paddling out... Beinga semi-old geezer, I had learned the tricks about catching boards so friends wouldn't have to swim in and rock dance, and was able to grab the boat without dinging the board or getting my teeth knocked out. But around that same general time I was surfing this same break without a leash, and on a nothing 2-3 foot day on a lowish tide I slashed and plopped and lost my board. I immediately stood on the rocks and could see the wave still had the board, and I could see a couple of young guys paddling out in the line of fire. I yelled "Loose board" but they just sat up on their boards like bumps on a log, so to speak, waiting I guess for my board to snap back. Nothing happened fortunately but as I swam and waded in I heard one say to the other something about "that dude's leash broke", and I realized that they couldn't concieve of someone not wearing a leash. I guess if it was a bigger day and the board made a beeline for them they would have sat there until they got whacked. Reluctantly, since then I've been using leashes when other people are in potential harms way. Everybody wipes out once in a while.
the midget smith board i have isnt the ugly. in fact, im not really even sure what the ugly is, or was. actually wait, i think i saw an old ad for it in a mag somewhere.. just a huge piggy thing with a 20 inch nose? was that it? so now that i sound like a jackass... my board is custom. it's a copy of the Model T with a few elements of the Nuuhiwa Noserider mixed in. i was in the shaping room when he made it to make sure it was perfect. it was made out of the supergreen 10'1 Y blank with a 1/2" cedar stringer. 9'4 length, 19 nose, 23 mid, 16 tail, 50-50 rails, very minimal nose rocker, a little extra kick in the last few inches of the tail, nose concave back 43 inches, 7 inch tail block, glassed in 7.5 volan all around, with the Model T fin. i got it about 3 weeks ago. It's my new fav.
Steve: The Smugly is Midget's version of the the original Con Ugly (60's era, also featured in a Longboard Magazine isssue). The dimensions of your custom are very similar to the the boards I've seen with Midget's Smugly logo on them. I wouldn't be surprised given Midget's long history to find he worked with Con Colburn at one time as a young shaper. The "ugly stik" really isn't ugly to me but it's function is noseriding. With the blunt, wide nose, parallel rails and a flat rockered 50/50 rail design it can't be called elegant. Yours sounds great, particularly with the heavier glass job. TS>>> the midget smith board i have isnt the ugly. in fact, im not really even > sure what the ugly is, or was. actually wait, i think i saw an old ad for > it in a mag somewhere.. just a huge piggy thing with a 20 inch nose? was > that it? so now that i sound like a jackass... my board is custom. it's a > copy of the Model T with a few elements of the Nuuhiwa Noserider mixed in. > i was in the shaping room when he made it to make sure it was perfect. it > was made out of the supergreen 10'1 Y blank with a 1/2" cedar > stringer. 9'4 length, 19 nose, 23 mid, 16 tail, 50-50 rails, very minimal > nose rocker, a little extra kick in the last few inches of the tail, nose > concave back 43 inches, 7 inch tail block, glassed in 7.5 volan all > around, with the Model T fin. i got it about 3 weeks ago. It's my new fav.
The Smugly sounds like my kind of board>>> Steve:>>> The Smugly is Midget's version of the the original Con Ugly (60's era, > also featured in a Longboard Magazine isssue). The dimensions of your > custom are very similar to the the boards I've seen with Midget's Smugly > logo on them. I wouldn't be surprised given Midget's long history to find > he worked with Con Colburn at one time as a young shaper. The "ugly > stik" really isn't ugly to me but it's function is noseriding. With > the blunt, wide nose, parallel rails and a flat rockered 50/50 rail design > it can't be called elegant. Yours sounds great, particularly with the > heavier glass job.>>> TS
>>> i refuse to surf with a leash. sure, i have them.. for those rare > death-rock situations. or the times im really sick and cant make the swim > (but just have to get in the water anyway). aside from that. i dont use > leashes. however most of the places i surf don't require them. san-o, > churches, doheny, newport pier, etc. i still go up to 50-65 streets in > newport and pull in on a longboard once in a while (leashless of course). > but for the most part, when i surf the bigger, faster, hollower waves i > tend to use a shorter board. another good thing about no leashes is: when > the kooks find that they dont like to swim, they stop surfing... a weak > form of crowd control, but a form of it nonetheless. when i say surfing > without a leash though, i mainly refer to longboards. shortboards it > doesnt matter all too much because you dont move around on the board. i > just prefer the clean feeling with nothing on my leg getting in the way. > and there are a few of us who can handle their longboards in all types of > waves and dont lose them (hence, no leash needed). anyway, i think part of > the question was what types of boards i ride.. well, here's my quiver: 9'6 > Model T Surftech, 9'4 heavy Midget Smith, 9'2 Robbie Dick, 9'0 Robbie Dick > performance board, 9'4 anonymous from the 60's, 9'3 Herbie Fletcher, 7'10 > E.T. singlefin funboard, 7'2 South Coast singlefin minigun, 6'7 singlefin > minigun, 6'4 surfside thruster, 5'11 Wisz thruster, 5'10 singlefin that i > made, 9'1 singlefin that i made, 9'6 Vardeman, 4'2 thruster i made, a > broken Yater Surftech, and a couple of boards to be or boards that i am > fixing for friends>>> -STEVE PAGE YEs,I surf wiyhout a leash.I figure if I can,t manage the swim in, I don't belong out there.I lived on the central Cal coast for several years and didn't wear one there either.However, if I were in the Red Triangle area, I might reconsider.OH, by the way, I surf where there are lots of rocks.
rocks shmocks, i surf with rocks... but i said DEATH ROCKS.. haha. actually there's this little cove by my house, rocks everywhere, its about 2 feet deep and breaks like a miniature teahupoo... scary, especially when its big. i dont use a leash there... oh yeah... i dont even put leash plugs on the boards i make... now that is commitment to not wearing a leash -steve
What about that Midget Smith- would that be a Smugly model? If I went out to buy a board right now that is one I would love to own (and try to copy). aka the Con Ugly- right? TS>>> rocks shmocks, i surf with rocks... but i said DEATH ROCKS.. haha. > actually there's this little cove by my house, rocks everywhere, its about > 2 feet deep and breaks like a miniature teahupoo... scary, especially when > its big. i dont use a leash there... oh yeah... i dont even put leash > plugs on the boards i make... now that is commitment to not wearing a > leash -steve
>>> What about that Midget Smith- would that be a Smugly model? If I went out > to buy a board right now that is one I would love to own (and try to > copy). aka the Con Ugly- right?>>> TS Tom, Con "Ugly". Stirring up some fond memories. I had one. Back around 66,67,68 & 69. I surfed for Con.Back then it was called The Con Competition Team East Coast.After all these years I still have the original Team jacket and a shortie wet suit with the Con emblem emblazed in the rubber.A very good friend of mine has my old ugly and on occasion I'll take it out. Do you remember the Con wing nose? About a year ago I had heard that Con's wife was running the company. Tried to get in, but it was under construction. After I saw your post, I went back to it and see it is up and running. Thanx for the memories. R.I. surfer
Many are high performance surfmats weighing > an average of 18 ounces...imagine something like that breaking loose and > rocketing sideways toward you in the whitewater! I thought I'd riff off Dale's comment above. When sit-on-top kayaks hit the beach a few years ago my local longboard spot was festooned with riderless yaks whenever there was swellage. Imagine a 12 foot white Ocean Kayak tumbling sideways right for you when you were paddling out... Beinga semi-old geezer, I had learned the tricks about catching boards so friends wouldn't have to swim in and rock dance, and was able to grab the boat without dinging the board or getting my teeth knocked out. But around that same general time I was surfing this same break without a leash, and on a nothing 2-3 foot day on a lowish tide I slashed and plopped and lost my board. I immediately stood on the rocks and could see the wave still had the board, and I could see a couple of young guys paddling out in the line of fire. I yelled "Loose board" but they just sat up on their boards like bumps on a log, so to speak, waiting I guess for my board to snap back. Nothing happened fortunately but as I swam and waded in I heard one say to the other something about "that dude's leash broke", and I realized that they couldn't concieve of someone not wearing a leash. I guess if it was a bigger day and the board made a beeline for them they would have sat there until they got whacked. Reluctantly, since then I've been using leashes when other people are in potential harms way. Everybody wipes out once in a while.
that's true, everyone does wipeout, even the great steve. fortunately, even when i do, i dont lose my board? how you ask? magic.
the midget smith board i have isnt the ugly. in fact, im not really even sure what the ugly is, or was. actually wait, i think i saw an old ad for it in a mag somewhere.. just a huge piggy thing with a 20 inch nose? was that it? so now that i sound like a jackass... my board is custom. it's a copy of the Model T with a few elements of the Nuuhiwa Noserider mixed in. i was in the shaping room when he made it to make sure it was perfect. it was made out of the supergreen 10'1 Y blank with a 1/2" cedar stringer. 9'4 length, 19 nose, 23 mid, 16 tail, 50-50 rails, very minimal nose rocker, a little extra kick in the last few inches of the tail, nose concave back 43 inches, 7 inch tail block, glassed in 7.5 volan all around, with the Model T fin. i got it about 3 weeks ago. It's my new fav.
Steve: The Smugly is Midget's version of the the original Con Ugly (60's era, also featured in a Longboard Magazine isssue). The dimensions of your custom are very similar to the the boards I've seen with Midget's Smugly logo on them. I wouldn't be surprised given Midget's long history to find he worked with Con Colburn at one time as a young shaper. The "ugly stik" really isn't ugly to me but it's function is noseriding. With the blunt, wide nose, parallel rails and a flat rockered 50/50 rail design it can't be called elegant. Yours sounds great, particularly with the heavier glass job. TS>>> the midget smith board i have isnt the ugly. in fact, im not really even > sure what the ugly is, or was. actually wait, i think i saw an old ad for > it in a mag somewhere.. just a huge piggy thing with a 20 inch nose? was > that it? so now that i sound like a jackass... my board is custom. it's a > copy of the Model T with a few elements of the Nuuhiwa Noserider mixed in. > i was in the shaping room when he made it to make sure it was perfect. it > was made out of the supergreen 10'1 Y blank with a 1/2" cedar > stringer. 9'4 length, 19 nose, 23 mid, 16 tail, 50-50 rails, very minimal > nose rocker, a little extra kick in the last few inches of the tail, nose > concave back 43 inches, 7 inch tail block, glassed in 7.5 volan all > around, with the Model T fin. i got it about 3 weeks ago. It's my new fav.
The Smugly sounds like my kind of board>>> Steve:>>> The Smugly is Midget's version of the the original Con Ugly (60's era, > also featured in a Longboard Magazine isssue). The dimensions of your > custom are very similar to the the boards I've seen with Midget's Smugly > logo on them. I wouldn't be surprised given Midget's long history to find > he worked with Con Colburn at one time as a young shaper. The "ugly > stik" really isn't ugly to me but it's function is noseriding. With > the blunt, wide nose, parallel rails and a flat rockered 50/50 rail design > it can't be called elegant. Yours sounds great, particularly with the > heavier glass job.>>> TS
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