A Paipo
Interview with Kevin McManus
October 20-26, 2015 — Perth, Western Australia
Facebook Chat Interview by Bob Green
What
started out as taking up the offer to try a mate's board, saw Kev
surfing this board in some of the most remote and isolated waves in
Australia. A dislike for crowds led to adventures surfing waves off the
beaten track. With a background in skateboards, Kev and his friends
rode
their own style of bellyboards, in their own style. The first board was
made from a broken surf-ski, first owned by Kev's mate, sold to
Kev and then years later after multiple repairs returned back to his
mate.
The source of two of Kev's boards was John Burns who returned to
surfing at age 34, first on a mat and then a few years later, on a
variety of fiberglass bellyboards.
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1. How did
you first get into riding a bellyboard? When and where was this?
I have early childhood memories of sliding down
the face of a wave on a
surfmat down at Torquay surf beach circa summer holidays of 1974-1975.
I would have just turned 12. My family had previously owned a
house down at Blairgowrie on the Victorian East Coast not far from the
bayside and in 1974, my folks sold it and we forever more spent our
holidays along "The Great Ocean Road."
In circa 1976, my older sister's boyfriend took me each Saturday down
the west coast with a whole crew of his mates with their girlfriends. I
wasn't surfing much cos they didn't spend time supervising me in the
water but I did spend a lotta time on a skateboard while they surfed!
In the summer of 1976-1977, I bought my first surfboard, a Fred Pyke
single fin from his shop in Boston Road Torquay [see Note 1].
Pyke Surfboards
single fin and shop.
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Photos by Kev McManus.
I managed to get my surfing to a competent level but as a kid it was
hard to get down the coast and I spent a lot more time skating ramps in
the next few years than surfing. I did however get down the coast as
often as I could from Melbourne. Hitch hiking, bus, train, etc., and I
surfed
on school holidays.
In 1978, I built a 8ft 1/4 pipe skateboard Ramp in my driveway in
Bulleen / Templestowe. It was here that I would meet heaps a
skater/surfer types and it's here I met my lifelong friend. Me and his
brother (a knee boarder) and my friend, a bellyboarder and skater! I
was 16, at this stage and the advantage I had was I could kinda weasel
my way into a surf run with them in exchange for skating my ramp which
was cutting edge at that time!
The homemade ramp.
Photo by Kev McManus.
2. Who made your first board? What was it based on?
My first bodyboard was fiberglass, bought from
my mate, as
I was heading down the coast with them a lot in 1978/1979. I started
riding one of his which I ended up buying from him. Shaped at Trigger
Brothers, it was a front section of a wave ski with the footstrap used
as a handle at the front of the board. It sat way out of the water and
it had goat boat style twin fin boxes and fins. A weird shape, it sat
out of the water, very buoyant! The actual shape was much like
traditional, round nose square rails, chopped square tail (gravestone
shape).
The gravestone shape paipo
board was originally made at Trigger Brothers for John Burns to ride
"long running point breaks."
Drawing by Kev McManus.
How long did you ride this board and how did it surf?
The board was great for Victoria because you sat high outa the water. I
surfed it
for years, like from 1978-1979, 'til 1993, and beyond. I patched it up
many times. The fins were great, it stuck right in the wave and you
could set the fins for the conditions which was great. It was also
really fast and you could get a lot of drive off the bottom. It was my
fave board for sure of all time. I eventually gave it back to my mate
who
I'd bought it of originally sometime in the mid-1990s.
The Graveyard
shape: deck and fin.
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Drawing by Kev McManus.
I surfed 13th Beach on the Victorian west coast, Woolami right point
and Cat Bay on Phillip Island and Kilcunda (Cemetery Point) heaps back
then. Also Gunnamatta Rye, etc., and beach/reef breaks a lot in the
1980s and
1990s.
3. Were there others riding bellyboards at the time?
Only me and my mate. I never saw anyone else
and some surfers would make
comments, not always complimentary. Of course heaps a boogie riders. I
always found the fiberglass much faster.
When did you run into John Kovar? Was he riding prone
boards then or stand-up?
I met JK outside our holiday house in Torquay circa 1976-1977. He was
waiting to use a public telephone and he saw me riding an imported,
almost rare American brand skateboard and came over to talk. I was just
14-years-old at the time. He was riding surfboards and never mentioned
belly
boards. He was a stand-up surfer at that time. [For more information on John Kovar see Note 2.]
4. Did your style of surfriding board change much over
the years or did you stick with a basic design?
I also had a boogie style fiberglass board made
sometime in the
late-1980s, by the Howard Hughes Surf Shop in Aireys Inlet on the
Victorian
west coast! This is the Howard Hughes boogie shape stolen from my car
in 1989, barely 6 weeks old.
Kev with his
Howard Hughes bellyboard at Wilson's Promontory.
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Photos by Kev McManus.
I then had a boogie board and in 1996, I got an Oke bellyboard (Oke
Surf Boards), inspired by Dick Ash's bellybogger (for more info on the
bellybogger see Note 3). The Oke board was
designed for John Burns for "nice heavy shore breaks."
The Oke board.
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Photos by Kev McManus.
Interesting you decided to give up the bodyboard. Why
was that?
It was something to do with a request from my mate—he always wanted the
original board I had back. It's his personality. He is a collector of
sorts so he kept nagging me and I'd seen the small yellow board before
and really liked the idea of it, but the change wasn't really for the
best. The original gravestone design was better.
5. You've traveled around Australia a fair bit. Were you
surfing a bellyboard or did you ride a variety of surfcraft?
I
did a few trips to Cactus on the Nullarbor, too, with my mate and his
brother. First was 1981, the Christmas holidays for three weeks. We
went back
again summer of 1983, three weeks again. Surfed a cut down wave ski and
it
suited Caves, the right hander, real well. Also Castles, the middle
break
at Cactus, a left, was working beautiful place and waves.
What conditions suited your boards best? Any surfs
stand out from over the years?
That board roared at Cactus. Long, wally fast waves. It really was a
great board for feeling you could out pace most waves, but I was really
a beach break fanatic. 13th Beach on the Victorian west coast was my
fave along with Flynns reef down the island. I loved those waves. Would
drive down from Melbourne real early most days as I worked shift work
and started at 12:30 noon.
"Ya had to be careful
taking pics at Cactus. If you were spotted by the locals it wasn't
worth paddling out again."
Photo by Kev McManus.
I was also lucky to meet a friend whose parents owned a house in
Waratah Bay near Sandy Point, Walkerville, Wilsons Prom way. He knew
all the breaks to surf around Cape Liptrap. You had to know the farmers
to get in there. Some great average waves along that coast that we
often surfed for days without seeing a soul except the farmers. My
philosophy was I'd rather surf an uncrowded average wave than a crowded
killer wave and that's how I always approached it. Can't stand
crowds—some guys don't seem to mind.
On my travels around Oz, I took 3 months traveling across the Nullarbor
in 1991. I was never happy with the southeast section of South
Australian surf spots, but I went down to the Yorke Peninsula and
surfed
all around there— amazing. I then came up, drove straight to Port
Lincoln,
and slowly made my way along up to all the breaks I'd read of in Mark
Warren's Atlas of Australian Surfing. And, of course, met guys
that eventually told you some semi-secret spots along there.
In the dust and
a clean Western Australian left.
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Photos by Kev McManus.
The stand outs were never the ones I expected. I found endless
uncrowded waves down around the Hopetown region of West Oz near the
Fitzgerald National Park midway between Esperance and Albany. Stayed
there for 2 months and of course I traveled but lived in Perth for a
year and whilst there I surfed Borranup beach south of Margaret River.
That was fantastic beach breaks, loved that place.
What was the appeal of beachies?
Well like I say,
I wasn't big on crowds. Too many in the line-up gave me the heeby
jeebies. I found I could paddle around and get lots of waves on the
beachies. 13th specifically was real consistent and had reef and was
almost like clockwork the way it broke. I surfed particular peaks and
they got real fast and barrelly. 13th held really big surf, too. Saw
Slater surf it a few times when it was huge. I surf what's there. If
there's shit hot points I surf em as long as not too many guys out.
6. Riding prone is more than just lying there. What
technique was involved in riding your boards?
I
had a real good late take off that baffled a lota surfers, almost
falling backwards off the lip as I paddled at the wave looking like I
was paddling over the wave. In the wave I either hunched way up on the
nose and settled into the face. I was searching for long walling vert
waves or barrelling waves. So often once in I'd either trim with just
my legs sitting just above the face and kick or go completely stiff
with my flippers hydroplaning for ultimate speed or throw the whole
board out in front of me and use my body and extend it to longboard
length for speed.
I take it you learnt all this by trial and error. No
role models or films to watch?
Correct.
My mate and I were completely different in our approach to surfing and
skating. He always attempted crazy lines and got smashed and quite
injured at times. The lines he tried were impossible. My mate would try
and
take off way inside and get pitched or out with the lip and get
smashed, but do it endlessly and not make it. He was good down at
Flynn's reef though seemed to fry that place up and down off the lips,
lots of s's and spray. He also surfed Winkipop a lot and I saw him
surf Bells once at about 15 feet, about 8 guys out. Also saw his
brother paddle out during a Torquay Board riders comp at Bells and
get some amazing waves. I was just waiting for him to get a punch in
the nose but nothing except 8-ft. glass. He was a kneeboarder.
7. You tried stand-up surfing. What was the attraction
of prone surfing?
To be honest it was initially the lack of
getting in the water enough
to maintain a reasonable quality of stand-up surfing. In 1977-1978, I
could only get down the coast when I had someone drive me, or I
hitched.
As it turned out my mate and his brother added me to the trips
down
the coast and really it was he who talked me into trying the bodyboards
so I
did.
I was stoked as soon as I got on one and I never looked back.
So what stoked you?
It was that feeling of being more in tune with the wave surface, being
down amongst the actual waves surface as opposed to the stand-up view.
8. How many bellyboards have you had over the years?
Two fiberglass boards were Burns's, all
designed and initially paid for by this dude Burns. My mate bought
them all from Burns and then I got them from my mate. Burns was a
professional type, a chemist or engineer or the like. I only met him
once out in the water at Flynns reef. It was huge and barrelling. I had
that yellow board and he recognized it and said, "wow this is exactly
the type a waves I designed that board for." He was a lot older than me
at the
time. He was a bellyboarder for sure. That Wilsons Prom board is the
Howard Hughes board. That's the three we've discussed. I also bought an
epoxy-over-foam boogie-style board in mid- to late-1980s—it was
crap and I've always had a boogie board. [For more information on John
Burns, see Note 4.]
9. If you were to get another board what would it be
like?
Well I have to say Wes Humpton makes some great
designs. If I had cash I'd buy one of them right now.
But I haven't been in the water for a while but I do think I'd go for
the square tail. I always got lots a drive of the bottom on the square
tail boards. Like I say I wasn't a fancy surfer, same way I skate,
smooth long lines nothing much more than that. [For more information on
Wes Humpton, see Note 5.]
Wes Humpton's latest board.
Photo by Wes Humpton.
How did you find the wide tail in tubes?
I always found that square tail was fast and you could find real speed
on it and the best tubes I found were at 13th Beach and they were big
and it powered along in the barrel. The round pin I never really liked.
I couldn't find real speed on it unless the wave gave you that speed.
On the square tail you could move about and it would or you could
create speed.
But that whole board was buoyant and had really thick, thick rails,
quite a weird design really. A lota surfers used to just laugh at it,
thought I was a kook.
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Note 1: Fred Pyke also made bellyboards in the style of Bill
Clymer (for more information see the Bill
Clymer paipo interview).
A Fred Pyke
bellyboard.
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Photos by Bob Smith.
Note 2: See the
Paipo Interview with John Kovar.
Note 3: See the
Paipo Interview with Dick Ash.
Note 4: In a series of e-mails (2015, November 30 - December 5),
John Burns advised:
Returned to surfing on surf mats as you know. Around 1969. Being a gym
instructor I looked at a surf mat, and the best one around at that time
was the Hodgman mat. As I was keen to retain my general fitness for my
gym work. I enjoyed the experience so much that I decided to develop a double
skin mat. I got the idea from the work that Woody Woodworth the
very good surf photographer at that time had done. The prototype worked
so well that Harry Hodge of Breakway surfing magazine featured
the mat taken
at Portsea and Gunnamatta surf beaches.
Mat article by John Burns.
Source:
Burns, John. (1976, September). 4 Skins Are Better Than 1. Breakway, 34, 25. Compliments of John Burns and Tony
Murrell, via Bob Green.
My
next project was to purchase Tom Morey's Boogie board which was only
available in kit form in those days, Well that was quite an experience.
After putting it together, I took it down to Bells Beach to try it out
in big surf.
I went out with the locals, e.g., Rod Brookes (Piping Hot), Alan
Green (Quicksilver), and many others, in surf about 8 to 10 feet. Then
the
fun started. The boogie went well until I worked my way inside, took
off
through the bowl, did a heavy bottom turn and the rails top and bottom
came apart—so a long swim back, etc.
It was about this time became a committee member of the Australian
Surfriders Association (ASA) Victoria Chapter
and it was there that I promoted surf mats and body boards being able
to compete in ASA contests. During this time I asked Paul Trigger to
help me to produce a fiberglass body board. I had made a large number
of boards with the following makers, e.g., Trigger Bros., Tom Tyrell
and Neil Luke, both Island Surf, Alan Oke (Oke Surf), Chelsea, Laurie
Thompson of Islantis Surf Shop. All various styles to try and improve
the overall design, etc. Ok, my best body board for heavy shore breaks
would have to be Dick Ash's Bellybogger, THAT WAS SOME MACHINE!
I feel that for big point break surf I would always use Paul Triggers's
belly boards who incidentally made most of my B/Bs I surfed up to
10 to 12 foot swell at Bells and Surfies Point at Phillip Island.
Had great
times mixing it up with the big guys on stand-up and knee boards.
Just remembered a highlight for me when Dick and I made the
championship finals at Bells, I had just caught a nice large
wave—that's when Dick went left, WOW! I won and Dick came a close
second at the Bell's
contest, so
going left was a good idea. I got caught up in a heavy shore break but
held on and ended upside down in the shore break then broke away and
landed on rocks on my back much to the delight of the crowd.
Gave up belly boarding at age 63, due to hip and knee problems (I
thought that maybe I might sink with all the stainless tucked away
inside me). STILL MISS IT!
John Burn's Trigger Bros. bellyboard.
Photo
by David Wigg. See more on the Trigger Bros. at their website: http://www.triggerbros.com.au.
This board is my basic design of which I tweaked the rails, tail and
bottom shape at various times to try and obtain better performance, but
this baby worked the best for me, had great times on it.
My friend Peter Wilksinson, a kneeboarder, who shaped for Trigger
Brothers, shaped a few of these boards for me. I also tried various fin
styles. The one I liked the best was a surf ski
fin which comprised of a fin box fitting, long shaft and small blade at
the bottom. I found that on steep, glassy waves I could have board put
of the water with only the blade in the water, nice and fast.
Pictured below is another Trigger Brothers bellyboard that belonged to
Rod Hamilton's girlfriend, Suzette. Commenting on these photogrpahs,
Kevin McManus noted, "Yes, that white deck tri-fin with the dots was
the same shape, but mine was a twin-fin with fin boxes like surf ski
fins and had the hand grip glassed in on the nose."
Rod Hamilton provided dimensions for Suzette's "dot" board:
- Length: 45-1/4 inches (114mm)
- Maximum width: 22 1/4 (565mm)
- Width 12” from the nose: 22 (559mm)
- Width 12” from the tail: 20-3/4 (527mm)
- Tail: 17-1/2 (445 mm)
- Thickness: 3 (76mm)
Another
John Burn's Trigger Bros. bellyboard, ca. early-1980s, belonging
to Suzette and ridden along Great Ocean Rd.a
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a The Great Ocean Road runs along the southern Australian coast, beginning in Torquay and finishing in Allansford.
Source:
Photos courtesy of Rod Hamilton, via personal e-mail to Rod Rodgers on 2022-0119.
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Note 5: See the
Paipo Interview with Wes Humpton. |
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