Summer Quiver

                                             Summer is here and so is the quiver

Alaias and how far we have come

                         I can remember seeing guys riding  Alaias just a couple of years back
                        and being amazed at the fact they were even standing on them. How far
                    we have come in such a short space of time . Imagine what level the ancient
                         Hawaiians must have been at before the missionarys got involved!!
                               Enjoy this clip from of Andrew serrano on his Lasca alaia!
                                                                  Its insired me!!

                                      

Big Boys Rockit

                                       Some larger versions of my Rockit Handplanes .
                                These Boys measure in at 17''(430mm) x 8 3/4''(225mm)
                  My regular Rockit handplanes measure in at 16''(400mm) x 8''(200mm)
                                 and have parallel rails right through to the tail
                 I have pulled the tails in a little on these slightly larger handplanes
                        in order to retain the manouverability of my smaller Rockits
                        but give a little more area to get you up and planing.
                       Perfect for the bigger guy or those new to bodysurfing
                They come sealed with Bio products all natural external timber oil
                  with a velcro strap or  a slot for your hand like the one pictured
                                         
                                           Contact ecoride@y7mail.com
                                                 or Steve on 0417 646 309

                    

Surfrider Eco Challenge

As part of the Golden Days Festival at beautiful Coolum Beach Surfrider are holding the following     event on Sunday the 18th of November .There is a whole bunch of stuff going on and we will  be
                                               there with a few handplanes and paipo

                                                          .Check out the link below
                                 http://www.surfriderecochallenge.com/#!home/mainPage
                                and while you are at it check out this clip from Korduroy
                                                         I really want one of these!!

                               

An Interesting Piece of Furniture

                                           Thats an interesting piece of furniture!!
This is how this board was described to me last week as i walked down to the steps to
                                   frenchmans Beach on North Stradbroke Island
This board has come about in an effort to to stop the sideways slide you get on finless craft when
                                              surfing waves with a bit of grunt

                                               
So far i have ridden it in good solid slightly bumpy beach break surf and some fast little sand bottom
                point break peelers over on Straddie and it has been heaps of fun
 I have overcome the directional limitations of asymetrical boards(one board for surfing lefts and another for surfing rights)   by shaping both a concave in both the top and bottom and making my rails symetrical above and below .I am able to do this because like most alaia and other paipo i have no nose or tail lift, no rocker .So that if you are surfing a beach break or at different point breaks you can just flip the board over and there you go. An Asymetrical paipo that goes Left or Right .

            You just have to decide before you take off as its a bit hard to flip it over on the move !

Wood Is Good

                     

Wooden Surfboard Day planned for the first weekend in August 2012

Another Wooden Board Day is planned for 2012

If you have built a wooden board of any kind , shape or style and would like to share the experience with others then bring it along. Also if you have a great looking board of any age or style to share bring it along , whether you built it or not. If you would like to know more about wooden boards of any kind and the various methods of building them. Then this is the day for you to meet some very talented people to talk to.

We will gather in the park across from the beach at Currumbin Alley on the Gold Coast once again. Remember it is a non competitive and non commercial get together.

There is also planned to be a night at the Gold Coast Surf Museum on the Saturday .

Ho Okano Paipo@Point Impossible

                                          Found this clip on You Tube and thought i would
                                       share It as I have been giving my paipo a good workout
                                      on some clean little ones  on the Sunshine Coast this winter
                                         Great fun when its small and clean. Hope you enjoy!
               

                                       

The Escape

                                       Shot taken of  Angela Schomann by Pierce Kavanagh
                                   during the shooting of his new film "What the Sea Gives Me"
                                              Below is a link to one of his short films
                                                                   The Escape
                                              Hope you enjoy. Now wheres my fins!!
                                                 I have time and she'll never know!!

Pierre Louis Costes

                                                                Check this guy out
                                                          And all on a piece of wood
                                                                        Enjoy!!

Handplanes and Protection Sharks

                                                 I have just finished a nice little Rockit
                                            With a hole in its nose for you to hang on to
                                            and a Tahitian Protection Shark on the deck
                                          Its been sealed with Bio Products Bio Varnish
                                         and will go just as well in the water as it would
                                          hanging on the wall. If your interested in this
                                        little board or if you would like one of my other
                                           handplanes with similar  artwork contact
                                     Steve at ecoride@y7mail.com or call 0417 736 111

               

Enter the Paipo

I shaped an Alaia a few years back . Took it out and struggled to get to my feet and when i did it didnt last long . I thought it was the board until a good friends son took it for a spin and showed me how it is done . Mixed emotions, board works old guy doesnt. I then started riding my Alaia prone
and realised how fast it was . Enter the paipo ! I have been shaping these boards for some time now and like the Handplanes i am completely addicted . When the surf gets small and everyone is pulling out the high volume mals or S.U.P.s i pull the paipo out from the back seat of the car and don my fins . The views and the speed i am getting on these little boards are a blast  . Wish i had discovered them years ago . While it is waist or even knee high its overhead in paipo land . If you are interested in one of these enviromentally friendly speed machines get in touch at ecoride@y7mail.com or  call Steve on 0417 736 111 .

Whats he building in there?

                                                 I love this clip from Chad Waldron
                                                 Fairly sure my neighbours have asked
                                                        this same question of me

                                                                    Hope you enjoy
                                To see how well these little paipo go check out the link below
                                   http://korduroy.tv/shows/all-yew/chad-waldron-pt2
                                      

Pintail ( The Pinnie)

                 

                                      These Handplanes are proving very popular .
                    One of my customers nailed it when he said "The shape just looks right"
                    I dont generally do these boards with a strap just a slot for your hand
                    as they have enough area to handle the hole in the nose and the hand
                    slot makes it easy to hang on the wall . Which will be handy as i have
                         a few Pinnies with some artwork happening at the moment.
                         If you are interested in one of these Pintail Handplanes get
                                           in touch at ecoride@y7mail.com

 

Surf Rider @ Just Us Gallery

Went along  and lent a hand to the local Sea shepherd guys who had a stall at this event for Surfrider last night here on the Sunshine Coast http://www.justusgallery.com.au/ if your on the coast on this rainy weekend its really worth a look. Some great art and functional art in the way of surfcraft from some very talented locals . Oh yeah grab a coffee from the guys out front at Caffiene Culture .
                                      Good Coffee and a good spot to chill out!!

 The  King Fishie  

 These boards have a single concave running through to the single flyer where it flattens out before exiting out the swallow tail in a subtle vee . Dimensions are 490mm(19'') x 220mm  ( 8.5'')

The one above has been sealed using Bio Products Exterior Natural Timber Oil but can also be sealed with Bio Varnish .  If you are interested get in touch at ecoride@y7mail.com

Lil Rockit

The Lil Rockit is proving to be a worthwhile addition to my quiver of  Handplanes

Having less volume than my standard Rockits makes it easy to manage in larger or more powerful surf and i am finding them more than capable in smaller surf  . Measurements for the Lil Rockit are 300mm(12'') x 200mm(8'') and they have a nice deep single concave running from just shy of the nose through to the tail . At this stage we are only offering them with the velcro strap system  and of course you can have one sealed with Bio Products Natural Timber Oil or Bio Varnish

If your keen email me at ecoride@y7mail.com for a price and availability. 

Rockits With Options

 

Eco Rides allround handplane is the Rockit . It measures 400mm(16'') x 200mm(8'') and works well in all types of surf .  The one above is sealed using Bio Products Natural Timber Oil and has a velcro strap. While the Rockit below is sealed with Bio Varnish and has a slot cut into the nose as a hand hold  . Regardless , they fly in all types of surf !!

If your interested in a Rockit for your quiver email me at ecoride@y7mail.com for pricing and an ETA on delivery .

Minds In The Water

                                               Keep an eye out for Rasta's latest venture
                                                              " Minds In The Water"

                                                  I love the line from Howie Cook
                                         " Surfers not only have the gift of the ocean
                                                  we also have a responsibility"
                                            You might also want to check out S4C's website
                                              

Summer fun

                This is some footage that my daughter Rose took of me and one of my Rockits
               terrorising the tourists at Kings beach over the xmas holidays. The waves were
             tiny, onshore and mainly closing out but i still had some fun and got some exercise.
                  No children were injured during the making of this clip . Hope you enjoy!!

Come hell or high water

                                            Check out this trailer to Kieth Malloys new film
                                                           Come hell or high water

About taking a breath and kicking your feet

in the big blue sea. I love it!

         Took one of my Rockits for a swim yesterday and scored some great waves
         at Maroochydore while playing dodgems with the school holiday crowd.
         Swell is on the increase with a cyclone sitting way way out to the East of us.
         Hopefully it will hang around for the Pa and Ma bendall surf comp and
         the Caloundra surf festival over Easter. I am hoping to try out my new
         Lil Fishie handplane in this bigger surf. I am getting on to waves easily
         with my Rockit handplanes with just one fin on (makes it easier for me in
         the shallows) and want something with a little less volume for the bigger surf .
         Cant wait to see how it goes. Looking forward to some Easter barrels, Yeeha!!

swallow tail flyer

                               The shots above are of my Swallow Tail Flyer That has been nick
                               named the King Fishie . It measures 490mm(19'') long by 210mm
                              (8. 1/4'') wide.Underneath it has a nice deep  concave running from
                               just behind the handle through to the flyer where it flattens out with
                               a slight vee in the tail. Oiled using Bio Products natural exterior Oil
                               Recommended to me by South Australian timber surfboard builder
                                 Nick Brauer . Nick uses this oil on most of his chambered and
                                    hollow timber boards with great results . If you are interested in
                                    purchasing a King Fishie contact me at ecoride@y7mail.com
                                    Below is  the trailer for Stoked and Broke from Cyrus Sutton .
                                             Cant wait to see this movie . Hope you enjoy!

                                   

The View

                          Heres a couple of short clips from Cyrus Sutton from korduroy tv.
                      I was lucky enough to meet Cyrus briefly on the beach at Tea Tree Bay
                        while he was filming at the Surf festival last year . Nice guy and in my
                                                          opinion a brilliant film maker

                                              

Hope you enjoyed the views!!

Waiting for the paint to dry

                 Heres a couple of eco ride handplanes waiting for their bio varnish to dry
                 The guys at Bio Products in S.A. have been really helpful as i search out
                 different ways to seal my handplanes . These ones have had two coats of bio
                 varnish and are ready for their third and final coat. I am loving the way the
                 gloss varnish is bringing out the colours in the paulownia timber.Beautiful!!

      The handplane below is one of my smaller boards . It measures 300x200mm(12x8'')
    and is designed for waves with a bit of grunt. Its lack of size makes it easy to swim with
in larger surf. Once again the bio varnish really brings out the colours and markings in the timber.

Wood Monday and Surf Festival

                                            Wish all my Mondays were like this! From the
                                             guys at  korduroy  . Enjoy! Wherever you may
                                                         be on this  Monday morning!

And of course all this week on the Sunshine coast

we are lucky enough to have the Noosa surf festival

happening on our doorstep! Get along and check it

out . Its much more than a bunch of surf comps!

I am hoping to spend a couple of days catching

 waves off the points with my little handplanes

   and enjoying the vibe of the whole place. 

               Might see you there!!            

To strap or not to strap



16''x8'' Crescent tail with strap



16''x8''Cresent Tail with strap

                                                                         

  Same but different or different but same?  I was really surprised after a fun session in the small surf at Kawana beach a little while ago. I took both the handplanes pictured above out on the same day and was pleasantly surprised to find no real difference in the performance of the two boards . They  are identical apart from one having a  strap and the other a slot in the nose . I was also able to swim just as easily with the slotted nosed board as i could with the strapped board . The simpisity of the slotted board is really attractive to me as effectively its just a piece of shaped  timber but what that piece of timber allows you to do on a wave gives such a buzz. I am playing with some smaller handplanes for use in larger surf at the moment and so far i have beeen making these with a strap but there is one on the workbench that might just get a hole in his nose . I'll keep you posted!!

A little bit about my handplanes

     

 A little info about my handplanes . The timber used in all my boards is paulownia which  is a locally grown and renewable resource . It also has a great strength to weight ratio and is very resistant to water absorption which makes it ideal for use in the making of these little boards .  So far i have been sealing all my handplanes paipo and alaia with a mixture of gum turpentine and linseed oil .  Though i am currently experimenting with a bio varnish that i have been getting good reports on and I hope that within a couple of weeks i will be able to offer handplanes coated with this environmentally friendly product .My linseed oil handplanes require re coating from time to time depending on how often you use them (usually every 4 to 6 weeks for me) whilst handplanes coated with  bio varnish may not require re coating for up to two years . Once again depending on how often you use it and how well you treat it. For more info feel free to email me at ecoride@y7mail.com

Welcome

                    The idea behind eco ride in a nut shell is to produce items that give maximum fun with minimal impact to the environment . I have lots of ideas  that i feel do just that  and my handplanes seem to be a good place to start and starting a blog seems like a good way to get them some exposure. I must admit i have become completely addicted to these fun little boards over this last year .To the point where i have even stopped taking my regular surfboards along to the beach . I am sure this is temporary and i will return to the  world of stand up surfing soon enough but at the moment i am completely addicted . On days when stand up surfers are paddling around frustrated at the conditions ,when the surf is small or the banks are not co operating i am finning into wave after wave and scoring countless tiny little barrels and trying hard to keep my boardshorts on .
                    I hope you enjoy the blog and if you are interested in purchasing one of my handplanes please feel free to contact me via email .