Albi and I had been discussing how long we could build a skateboard... and how many people could feasibly ride it all at once. I had been eyeing up the old scaffold plank being used as a bookshelf in the garage for a while. One rainy October day, Albi and I removed the books and got to work shaping up the 11ft monster.
The board was shaped entirely with an electric plane. It didn't take long at all, the shape emerged as we went. I took the wheels from my hill bomber and Aaron kindly donated his extra wide trucks. Thanks to Nick Lloyd at J's Skatestore for supplying the extra long bolts!
It is downhill all the way to the pub.. so that, naturally, was our first outing. We set off four of us aboard... quickly becoming three as I bailed early as we started to pick up speed towards the blind bend nearing the graveyard. By the time we reached the pub.. only two had lasted the distance... the other running like children alongside.
The pub became the board's new home... we would leave it out the back by the beer barrels... and ride it relentlessly every evening after work. It wasn't long before we had locals and tourist alike bombing the hill. It was awesome, a communal board which everyone enjoyed riding.
However those night time rides were not to everyone's liking. After bombing the hill solo, a middle aged man, slightly balding and very angry, took objection to me and the board. A few words, several expletives and numerous hand gestures were exchanged before the guy revved his engine, ran over the board and sped off up the hill towards Cherry Tree Farm. The board suffered minor damage with a split in the tail... scaffold boards are seemingly indestructible. I have got the number plate written down somewhere...
The board lived a popular life.. until its demise on the 1st of November 2012. Over zealous house clearing, combined with a large fire in the garden led to Albi burning the board in a ceremonious goodbye.. to which I had no knowledge. I loved you big board.. I will see you again.. but not yet.. not yet.....
This was filmed on a borrowed Gopro. I think I had two runs before the battery died. Thanks to Sean for his editing.
Body Surfing is a Hawaiian past time that is often over looked here in the U.K. However, with the release of Keith Malloy's first film, 'Come Hell or High Water'... which focuses specifically on this naked art of body surfing.. there seem to be the green shoots of a renaissance occurring.
Having built myself a basic plane earlier this summer Ive been lucky enough to have some awesome rides on waves that a stand up surfer wouldn't bother getting wet for. It is strange to describe the feeling without actually going out and doing it yourself. The beauty of it is that you don't need any specialist equipment, therefore body surfing is so accessible.. and yet no one does it.
Part of me believes that the less people in the water the better... But who am I to say that? The ocean doesn't belong to me. It doesn't belong to anyone... it is a true definition of a 'Common'.. for everyone to plunder.
Body surfing doesn't look impressive... but neither does having a quick wank... the truth is.. it feels great... and that's all that matters. Your body is the surfboard.. there are no rails to dig, no fins to get lose. It is surfing in its most basic form.. and it is so good.
Traditionally you wouldn't wear a wetsuit, or even have a hand plane.. just a pair of fins, some speedos and a jazzy swimming hat. The old guy from the first video.. is the young guy in this video. Time and tide waits for no man.
At the beginning of the summer, having spent the evening body surfing, a lady approached me as i walked up the beach. She was so interested and had been watching from the shore. Her husband asked me about the hand plane I was using. When I told him I had built it.. he suggested I went on Dragon's Den... I didn't tell them I hadn't invented it.. and that the Hawaiians had been doing it for centuries... but it did give me an idea. Here is the basic plane i built myself.. works a dream.
I started to build handplanes to sell...
This one I made for the Nineplus Outlet in Braunton.
Yacht Varnish
Soldered inscription
Added a ratchet strap
Stocked in the store... stoked.
This one I made for Will Smith at Gulf Stream.
This one I made for an old Uni friend... Dave Compton.. A guy who snapped is ACL, snowboarding, having over shot the landing on what must be the biggest method air I've ever seen. That was in January 2011.. Since then he has skied in Morocco.. and has recently bought a motorbike... Turns out we have a lot in common. Sent him this hand plane to him in London... to get him in the water!
Yup.. Ive made three... there are others in the pipeline... I know for a fact that I'm never travelling without one. They are small and light... so buy one and go body surf!
The creation of a skateboard... huge thanks to Martin for making this video. It has really helped me to get the ball rolling. Watch and enjoy.. Pretty much a sums up life in North Devon perfectly. Music by Ratatat. I had no input into the editing. This is all Martin's good work :)
There is a great vibe in croyde.. alot of people skate. Here are just some of the local rippers out for a regular night skate.
The Wood Shop
The woodshop started in the garden.. but we found it too wet and windy.
We then started shaping boards in the old Barn which lies on Ali's land.. but this became structurally unstable and is due for demolition.
We moved the woodshop into the greenhouse.. seemed like a great idea. There is lots of natural light, great views.. but actually its fricking hot and steamy. When the sun is out, working shirtless is a matter of function.
Cruisers
Mudge has been making shorter skateboards for years and has skated little 70's style skateboards since his early teens. It is safe to say the guy shreds on those little boards... fearlessly bombing hills, skitching off cars and weaving through seemingly unmakable gaps to avoid traffic. Larch is his wood of choice... he gets it from a saw mill in East Devon. If you need a cruiser... a proper cruiser... not some plastic 'Penny' w*nkstain.. this guy will make you a board that will last you for years... he prefers to trade rather than sell.. It is a great sentiment that seems to work out well in North Devon.
Long Boarding
Ive started shaping up boards that you can bomb a hill on without any of the technical bullshit. The are no 'drop through' trucks, there are no specific widths or legths or measurments. Many of the boards I produce have come from humble beginnings, starting life as a shelf or a bookcase or a floorboard. But after lots of sawing, shaping, sanding and drilling they are turned into skateboards that are designed to be ridden wrecklessly, at speed and without pads.
Inspiration came last year from this tandem board made by Gavin at Surrey Skates whilst he was in Canada..
This was the first hill bomber... it has no flex, it is quite narrow and long is as hell... big wheels that just about slide. Just so much fun.
Starting Production
It makes me so happy when a friend asks me to make them a board. Every board seems to be a little better than the one which preceeded it. There are always little tweaks here and there which means that no board ever comes out the same. I love the whole process and get so much out of creating something which i know someone will enjoy. If you start making boards for people because you think its a lucrative business..it isn't.. if you dont love skateboarding for skateboarding then stop now...
Steve's Board
I was so suprised when my supervisor at work, Steve, asked me to make him a board. I didnt know skateboarding was his thing at all, in fact I always felt an uneasy sense of disapproval when I swanned around the pub distracting the waitresses and causing mischief. I shaped him up a medium sized deck with 7" trucks, 65mm wheels, Abec 7s and burnt a 'Gnar Whale' as a graphic. He loves it, and now we get on like a house on fire.
Sean's Board The Thatched Barn Pub in Croyde is full of great people, and Sean is one of them. A stocky irish Gentleman who knows his beer, ales and whiskies better than any man I know. He was one of the first people to see and appreciate what he refers to as 'the plank boards' and showed genuine interest as to how they were put together. One evening he asked me to make him a board... we drew up some rough shapes and dimensions and that was that. I managed to source some wood and got to work.
Pre-varnished solder designs.. a four leaf clover and a pint of guiness should adhere to the appropriate racial stereotypes... This is the first board on which i used colour... Im quite happy with the results.
Another happy customer :)
Onwards and Upwards
I had heard of a boy they call 'Albi' long before i met him... in fact, i have only been hanging in the same circles for a few weeks... ever since he set up his canvas bell-tent at the the top of the garden. Albi is a character to have around for sure... I have never ever seen him wearing a pair of shoes aside from one accasion when he wore some wellington boots for a hour or so... you can only start the motor on his car by snapping wires together beneath the bonnet...He has a shotgun licence and owns a fully trained gun dog called Milly. He has had some interesting jobs in the 5 years since he left school.. most recently he worked in Surrey breaking in young horses to be used for Polo. All of the above is rad.
Albi told me of a friend of his, Tom, who along with his father, owns a saw mill and 300 acres of land about 40 minutes drive from Croyde. After a morning of shaping boards we set off in the late afternoon to visit and buy timber. Tom was nice enough to give us a guided tour of the place.. we saw the wood from literal growing trees to finished planks. I learnt alot in such a small space of time.
Ash, Oak, Tiger oak, Chesnut, Cherry... wood, wood and more wood.
The proud new owner of a lovely sheet of local Ash and a plank of Oak
Working with Ash
Ash is the king of woods and much easier to work with in comparison to Pine. I've shaped up 6 boards from this sheet all of which have been sold already. Time to return to the mill to get more wood :)
