Photos courtesy of Damon Duval unless otherwise stated.
Following injury and adversity, Damon returned to his roots and developed through trial and error, a low volume Greenough spoon-inspired board that he termed the Phaeton F-44 BarrelHawk Note 1. His story is also one of finding meaning through adversity.
Damon Duval, 2020.
1. Before we get on to the subject of bellyboards, I'd like to ask about your early surfing experiences? Did you start off kneeboarding or were you a body surfer first?
My first wave ever ridden... I was eight years old and was on a camping trip with my grandparents - Grandpa was a pastor at the local Methodist Church and Grandma played piano for his sermons. I, being a single-mom child, they took me camping to Leo Carrillo and Pt. Mugu many times. Grandpa was dad until he passed when I was 13. I owe him everything related to surfing. It was this day, on the staircase side of Leo Carrillo State Park, which is a long, straight-shoreline beach break that my bond with the ocean was conceived and set forth - this was most likely 1969 - which made me about 8. It's sooo etched in memory ... Postcard-perfect mid-day... bright, full sunshine and crystal blue persuasion water. No wetsuit. After morning campsite chores, we walked from the campsite down to the shoreline. I was a good swimmer already and swam solo out into the surf which was notably friendly four-foot faces. Perfect size for my induction. What stands out in memory is that on a wave I "moved" about 30 feet from outside to the inside. I had no fins, had zero wave riding experience but I had somehow "caught it" or better put "it caught me." Dude... What was really great is that the tide was high and I couldn't touch bottom... I was in the ocean's hands... so I treaded water for a moment completely spellbound over what had just happened... the wow moment sinking in... wow wow wow... that energy ... that you can ride!!!... I immediately swam back out and did it again and again. Pure magical moment. Just you, The Creator and the ocean's motion.
Take note: Innumerable things can go wrong for a youngster at these get-to-know-the-ocean moments .... but God smiled down upon me that day. It started a relationship that would soon blossom into being nicknamed Fish Duval because for the next few years I'd be bodysurfing for hours while friends "hung out" on the sand. I wholeheartedly preferred bodysurfing over socializing.
That never changed hahaha.
My memory of that day, now as I'm 62, is like fine wine.... I could go on for an hour... when the stars line up like that, it is Providence ..... and foreshadowing as well. I would need Mother Ocean more than once in the years to come... and She was always there to welcome me home and heal me... with The Father and The Holy Spirit looking on... waiting for me... with Grandpa close by no doubt.
2. When did you first ride standing up? How long did you do that for? What sort of boards did you ride?
I started stand up surfing in 1971/72 - never got real good at it being around 10 years old - just long boards in small stuff - I remember standing up on the longboard before the wave even got to me LOL... but in junior high I really caught the fever - several around me were kneeboarding and morning sessions biking to the beach, board in arm, before school soon became mandatory. I would soon watch and really dig Greenough's film, Crystal Voyager... and there I went - all in - I bought [for 60 bucks] a used, made in Australia Hayden Spoon [Greenough-type] and this no-floatation gig was a whole world into itself. After a serious couple of months of getting used to it, I rode that for a solid couple of years. A whole new technique with the no-flotation... That spoon no doubt would be the precursor to my Phaeton.
I next got a 5'6" fish for Christmas in 8th grade and that board took me to some new heights kneeboarding. Pumping and carving deluxe! I got pretty good on that thing... and then a transformation.... I re-learned to stand up surf on that very fish. I never went back to kneeboarding after that. Within a few years and dealing with all the crowds, I ended up being a die-hard longboarder... even the majority of my almost seven years in Hawaii was spent on an 8'6" mini tank - I loved that board... worked in all surf. Side note: I was only in one surf contest in my life. It was called "Restaurants for Rell" [benefitting Surfer Rell Sun and her hospital bills]. It was held in solid overhead surf at Haleiwa. I won or placed in my first three heats, making it to the quarterfinals, and then had to pull out for my arms couldn't paddle out a fourth time! Pau awreddy! [done for the day] A morning warm-up sesh and three straight heats was all my arms had that day. I was the only longboarder out of about 40 - 50 dudes. I told Rell that before the contest and she just smiled and said, "So? Geev'em!." When Makaha royalty says geev'em, you geev'em! I think of Rell often..
3. Like quite a few people, I've read injuries kept you out of the water. When was this? What started you on a bellyboard journey rather than riding a mat or SUP?
My injuries were pretty bad and wayyy too numerous to list - it was like a dark dark cloud was over me for several years - they just kept coming non-stop - Looking back, it was no doubt Grandpa and Jesus working The Forge of Life - they set it on MAX - So, with an ineffective knee replacement and a level three cervical fusion just to mention two issues...I ended up crutching it and basically on my back in my RV at 50-something years young... once really strong, vital and able - to disabled and in a lot of pain... pain that has unfortunately never left - I still can't hold my head up while paddling. Pain.... and regarding pain and medication.... arggh. I had gotten sober back in 1999 and this bout with prescription Vicodin was to be ended as soon as I could... My desire to somehow be productive was ringing the bell and I just couldn't fade away gimpin it and lying on my back... so the recovery recipe I used in Hawaii years before [1992] was about to repeat - just start.... start swimming everyday in the ocean and ask God to help. Mother Ocean and God had helped me before and I needed them again big time. Recovery, btw the older you get, is like watching paint dry... very slowwwww. The recovery simply started by swimming just one-lifeguard-tower-distance for a few weeks ... baby steps until I was able to get more distance. Btw, I swam alot of open ocean distance swims in Hawaii when I lived on The Big Island so I had some great groundwork already laid out for this recovery regimen.
4. Did you try other bellyboards before starting to make your own? What prompted you to start making your own boards? When was this?
My whole bodysurfing life, which is basically any surfer's wave-riding life when the blackball is hoisted on the lifeguard tower, I had always loved using what we always called "kickboards." These were the little boards used at swimming pools to assist/isolate your leg kicking - they were also called Water Wonder by brand back in the day... "the day" being the 60s and 70s to any youngsters reading. Kickboards are roughly 20" x 11" and about an inch thick. They are worlds better than a handplane as you can get your whole forearms on them and they thus support more weight under load and thus achieve decent travel time thru the barrel... anyway... I always loved these things and had always wished they were bigger. So, in 2011 after my two surgeries, as I mentioned before, I started ocean rehab... and that daily swim quickly prompted grabbing the fins and kickboard for the session... because, if I'm going to swim distance in the ocean along the shore, I'm going to catch a wave while I'm at it, capiche?- the Pacific Ocean ain't the YMCA!!! So there I was - starting my daily swim/wave-riding rehab... and the kickboard was NOT cutting it at all. I'm right back to wishing they were bigger again. Barrels that I knew were makeable were not being made. So... with the pain and discomfort at these ridiculous levels, I knew my stand up surfing days were through. Bummer, yes.... but, if I now am relegated to just riding prone, barrels were NOT going to pass me by. No way... Necessity IS The Mother of Invention... I need a big kickboard. Period. Paipo Boards I had always known about from childhood, and as Greenough was a friggin hero, the question was immediate: What would George make??? .
5. I've seen a photo of a 5 finned Little Wing board that you made. What are some of the design paths that you've gone down before settling on the current design?
Each of my boards has a number on the bottom - example: "05.4 - 01" - The 05 means the fifth and "keeper" recipe of resin and glass - to get it where i wanted it. I definitely broke a few prototypes.... bottom turn (((crack))) hahaha I laugh remembering.... that "Little Wing" on the Youtube video was the very first board of the 05 Series. I was sold on the three-fin setup immediately after trying it. no brainer. That large center skeg is irreplaceable for late steep drops [The length of the center skeg plays the crucial role in preventing sideslipping at late takeoffs}. I won't ride any other setup. Ever. Full stop. It won't let the tail sideslip -back to the numbers - the "point 4" means there has been 4 minor alterations of that fifth and final recipe - the last number after the dash is a production number - For the record, in nine years I'm at board #79 - they do, but just barely, pay for themselves. It is a labor of double love... The love of being productive and sharing a small victory overcoming adversity... which are these boards. Thank God for disability insurance or I'd have probably faded away years ago. God Bless America, even with all her faults, she's number one. We The People Matter. Resistance to Moral Relativism and Tyranny is obedience to God. This is not a dress rehearsal.
6. Given your boards aren't just like short surfboards, what are the key features and the build process?
My board started as a wooden board and not a spoon. It was a Greg Noll paipo - fit for anyone who could handle her - 16 lbs of marine plywood it was a beast! I dug it. You felt like the Greg Noll of paipo riders no sh*t! Then one of the injuries I wasn't going to talk about I'll need to revisit here. I had undergone surgery on my hand in 2012 and when it was healing I fell on it and tore stitches and re-opened the wound. It was so bad I couldn't hold onto my new board! WTF to do now?? Panic time!! ... what was I to do?? I can't ride my board!!! $#@!%! Think D-Man THINK....
I knew of sailboat manufacturing... of hulls being made off of a mold and thought... hold on here... what if I were to take a mold of this wooden hull I already shaped???? I could worry about the deck later... Well, the rest is history. It's like... NO, it's not like .... it is a fact that God had power-forged The Phaeton F-44 BarrelHawk through all of my different injuries - It could not have been any other way - after all the work done on the wooden board, I now - go figure- needed a whole different board? Yep. But as it's a mold taken from the wooden board, I retained the same lines... That last hand injury prompted what I have today and as crazy as it sounds, I'm now totally thankful for that hand injury..... And all of the injuries for that matter. God works in mysterious ways. Believe it.... Believe it! Your will, God - not mine.... Onward!
Three fins.
Evolution continues.
Photo courtesy Damon Duval and screenshot photo courtesy Instagram.
7. Your Phaeton boards have some unique features, namely the deck foam on the rear rails and the deck pads in the centre near the tail. I've seen a bit of speculation about these features. Can you describe the thinking behind them and how they work?
As I mentioned before, after the mold of "the hull" so to speak, I would worry about the deck later. Well later soon became now after a few test rides. That was the Little Wing [Board #001] in that youtube video. On the plus side, the board was as fast as could be. I remember testing out board 002 or 003 one really eerie, dawn patrol, fogged-in morning, super clean 3-4 ft sheet glass... I was out solo and caught a doubling up inside runner and flew stealth-silent hyperspeed through at least a six second barrel, section after section coming out doggie door at the end and just being spellbound at what the board just accomplished. Dude. It was the one. 100%. Almost...
I knew of sailboat manufacturing... of hulls being made off of a mold and thought... hold on here... what if I were to take a mold of this wooden hull I already shaped???? I could worry about the deck later... Well, the rest is history. It's like... NO, it's not like .... it is a fact that God had power-forged The Phaeton F-44 BarrelHawk through all of my different injuries - It could not have been any other way - after all the work done on the wooden board, I now - go figure- needed a whole different board? Yep. But as it's a mold taken from the wooden board, I retained the same lines... That last hand injury prompted what I have today and as crazy as it sounds, I'm now totally thankful for that hand injury..... And all of the injuries for that matter. God works in mysterious ways. Believe it.... Believe it! Your will, God - not mine.... Onward!
One thing still bothered me. The rails... being so sharp... water didn't efficiently exit the edges of the rails and tail [like wind being dumped from a sail]... nowhere near as smoothly and efficiently as a full rail would - the result was less feel - every turn no matter the direction was more of a stall than a turn to set up another turn - it simply was not as good as it could be. With a full rail would be the real feel... but how to get rails on a board that I needed to remain flexible??? I totally dug the flex... how pushing the nose down made catching wave energy easier - it harnesses the wave energy the same as sponges do [except much less flex on the Phaeton]. So, I isolated the rail in the middle to stay untouched ..... that was step one. Getting a rail was seemingly impossible. How to? How to? Then I figured I could, on a moving board, "introduce" a rail to the board's waterline, but only if it came after the widest point of the board. That way the flow-by water entering the lead of the rail would already have been broken by the widest part. This ended being true.
I did some brainstorming and realized that the foam sheets I had picked put for the rails also came in expanding foam liquid - I called the guy at the product warehouse and asked if the expanding foam could act as an adhesive for the hard sheet foam? It might well have been asked in Chinese. I don't know ended up being the response in summary. So, I figured it [the expanding foam] had to have at least some adhesive quality to it... at least until it was all glassed in... then I'm home free. The answer ended up being astoundingly yes and I decided then and there to throw an ergonomic handle at the nose which makes holding onto the board effortless.
The rails at the rear are simple - just a basic 50/50 rail ultimately dictated by the hull's curvature off the mold - shaping screen is held taut from the bottom up and eventually brings the rail's shape to form. Hope that makes sense. The top half of the rail ends up being a natural compliment to the bottom half which was dictated by the bottom half's off-the-mold curvature. Same with the handles. The rails really achieved what I wanted. The rails allow actual surfboard feel turns now. Swing low sweet chariot!
Those two pads at the tail's center are to keep you in the saddle when you're high and tight - which should happen often if you're doing it right. If you're going over the falls, the pads won't help hahaha. Scenario: you've just come off the bottom and you're setting a high line. The board will prefer an angle on the wave face that won't allow you to be flat on the board's deck - your body will then want to slip towards the lower side [i.e. towards the shore] and you do NOT want that. The inside pad of these two pads will be a "bump stop" for your hip area, keeping you in the cockpit at a crucial moment. The same goes for taking off late. You won't notice these two pads, I swear, until you need them.
Oh yea, and the Big 7.5 in Greenough-style skeg and the accompanying twinnies.... I make those, too. Just picture a solid block of epoxy and fiberglass and a band saw and a friggin ton of standing and hand sanding... and there you have em! They will NOT break. I've tried.
8. How many boards do you think you've sold? Any idea what the market is and the feedback your boards?
In ten years, I am now presently making board number 79. I've given a few away, but the boards have actually kept themselves afloat! pun intended! - they are a no-flotation board yet they keep themselves afloat hahaha.... Sales in the U.S. [both coasts], Hawaii, Europe and Australia thanks to EBay. I don't think in a standard market or business sense as I can only physically work a couple hours a day and each board has about 30 hours into it. They are to me simply a gift from God. Given what I would call totally dire circumstances, God really pruned my tree so to speak, allowing me to realize one intention - to make a board that I knew I needed and to stay productive as a human being. The discomfort, the pain and difficulties that arrive with injuries are all never-ending hurdles - every day. Anyone with a disability knows that tune... and can name it in one note... So many hurdles in life show up both self-inflicted and outside-influenced. I got sober in 1999. I came to Jesus somewhere in 2022 when I came across Britt Merrick's [son of Al Merrick Channel Islands Surfboards] sermons online with Reality Church in Carpinteria. Within months of starting Bible Study, it was either Jesus or a guardian angel who lifted my smoking habit in a day. From Above. I felt it! Testimony!!! True be that! all Life-changing... for The Eternal!... Done!... and I only hope that I can learn to talk to God as well as I can talk about God..... and pray without ceasing... someday... My commitment.
The boards have had great reviews - zero negative - even personal phone calls to share the rave... those are the real stokers.
As far as a market??? There's not much to say about the "body board [now really just a sponge] market." Greenough really had something started in the seventies with The Velo.... I was there. The sponges [cringe - mass production] totally took over since then... Sign of Corporate times.... But, in summary, I just went back in time and picked up where George Greenough left off. I'm sure George would appreciate what I have come up with here. These boards really get you close to the bone. If catching a wave is you sitting on top of the world, then getting barreled is like being in the center of the Universe! I wrote Greenough a thank you letter a few years ago - not sure if he ever got it. Anyway, again, Thanks, George!
Damon.
Another Phaeton BarrellHawk.
Photo courtesy Damon Duval and screenshot photo courtesy Instagram.
9. Low volume boards have advantages when duck diving, but can be harder work when there are long paddles or strong currents, and can make getting into waves early harder. What's your thought on this?
Ain't that the truth - there's no free lunch!!! Advantage here / disadvantage there - That's all relative though - your strength and ability will always dictate everything - I can say that I've lost quite a measurable tad in the against-the-current category.... arghhh - all those four and six mile swims on the Big Island [yea, that long] have really helped me in the stamina dept.... Reality remains that late take-offs are the standard for these no-flotation paipos - you are bodysurfing for all practical purposes - you just go 100 times faster! Ha!!! But duck-diving?... wow... duck diving a ten foot beast that's breaking right in front of you?... and coming up clean on the other side?... that'll never get old! And Barrel Hunting? It's like Bull-Fighting.... and The Phaeton F-44 BarrelHawk is your sword and cape! But that's what it feels like .... Phaeton forces/renders you into stealth full barrel-hunt mode... defined and refined.
10. What sort of waves were your boards made for? Have you travelled much and tried them under different conditions? Any surfs stand out?
These boards work best in clean conditions. Which board doesn't? LOL - Being built so streamlined and minimal rocker, bumpy lumpy conditions I would say are the worst. I guess soft tops do have a place: Bumpy & Lumpy. But I go out almost every day - so I've tried these boards in all conditions - I even take my board out when it's flat!... I'd love to stick that 7.5" Greeough skag into a belligerent beast's skull hahaha - Safety First!!! But that's my regimen - my commitment to God and being alive after these injuries - negative hits, especially later in life, make you [or should make you haha] take stock - and there's such a benefit of getting in the water daily... for the long haul. Like the Bible says, be Salt and Light... and there's no better Salt and Light to be found anywhere than a dawn patrol sunrise, go out in the brine!
Just to be full disclosure, I wouldn't recommend my boards for The Wedge or Sandy beach...- if you haven't noticed, those are three friggin healthy skegs on Phaeton and they aren't made to be pounded [with you on the board] into the sand! - you need at least a couple of feet of water underneath you so you can turn away from danger.... oh the stark vivid memories I have on Phaeton... steering clear of some major shorebreak danger. Good stuff.
I dream all the time of riding these boards at Cloudbreak, Skeleton Bay, Desert Point, Greenbush, so many barrels in Indo, North Point in West Oz, Supertubes in Portugal, to name a few... Rocky Point... Any of those places when they are on... on a BarrelHawk? Dude... Match made in Heaven... Phaeton is really just a small surfboard and can be pumped, so point breaks and beach breaks ... function junction, what's your compunction?
The barrel I mentioned above when I was first testing [circa 2014] will always stand out. Truly an amazing moment. As for other rides... so many memorable over the past eight years... my barrel cup runneth over and making your own "comin thru" doggie-door? Oh, and Unsung Heroes? I think not - I have had undying support from some righteous, veteran old-guard watermen... In their sixties and seventies and still charging! You know who you are. Thank You.
Phaeton, you are one helluva board.... You couldn't pay me to ride anything else... BarrelHawks are forever.... I can't think of them ever being put out of commission. They won't break! Lifetime Warranty? Perhaps yes!
11. Riding prone involves more than just lying there. Is any special technique required in riding your boards?
My best answer, refined now over ten years, is if you can bodysurf well... you can ride these boards. for the record, "bodysurf well" means with an arm extended in the direction you're going [because it applies to technique needed]. Once you're attuned to bodysurfing like that, or if you're experienced with a hand plane, just hold that picture-thought... and slide Phaeton right underneath you. Yes, there's more of course, but that summarizes / simplifies the approach and platform.
Just now superimpose/realize... that there are forces made available with those three fins... and getting to places on the wave face is readily possible - this isn't sideslip city - this is get to where you need to go - mid face turns/pumps... and holding the line when you need to do so - staying maxed high and tight for extended time.... That's unavailable on sponges... and... Unfortunately... you can't point your swim fins to the sky and do a spinny. :-(
Sorry, on the Phaeton F-44 BarrelHawk, you'll be limited... and rendered to: 1) your latest take-offs ever, 2) super-tight turns, 3) full mid-face pumps, 4) your deepest high and tight barrels, 5) duck-diving everything, 6) making your own doggie-door on up to head high waves, and 7) have a conceal and carry shield with a 7.5 inch blade for angry or hungry beasts. That's all.
12. What do you enjoy about riding bellyboards? Any final comments?
People always ask me exiting the water, Did you have fun? That question grates like sandpaper on the soul... Since this board's inception, I don't go out for fun anymore - I go out in the water daily to fill that empty spot that has been formed by unfortunate occurrences. They should ask me, "Did it fill your cup?" That is the right question. Then I'd smile and say, yes....
My board is wayyyyyyy down the list of what is important. But if the board can help an older guy stay in the water or a young gun see what prone riding is really about... I've done my job.
Extra credit: Two sets of lyrics for two popular songs
a) to be sung to Ray Charles' Hallelujah, I Lover Her So
Let me tell ya bout a Lady I know
She is The O'He'eNalu Flow
Every mornin b'fore the sun comes up
She's pourin Saltwater into my fav'rite cup
b) to be sung to the timeless classic hymn How Great Thou Art
Oh Lord My God
When I in Awesome Wonder
Consider All The Waves Thy Winds Have Made
We Ride Thru Barrels and The Whitewater Thunder
Thy Power Throughout The Living Waters Is Displayed
Notes
Note 1:
In folklore - that what is now the asteroid belt between Mars and Saturn,
used to be a whole orbiting planet. That planet in some ancient texts was
called Tiamat [Goddess of Saltwater].-
Paeton was the high speed trajectory that crashed into Tiamat - and one can
imagine the explosive forces involved.-.rendering the once whole planet
into a still-orbiting leftover debris field of pieces...
So, several thousand years ago, our oceans were filled several hundred feet
on this last flood/deluge - and it makes sense to me that this saltwater
came from above... the collision between Phaeton and Tiamat.... there are
salt flats found on Earth at super high altitudes confirming this - and the
beyond-scope outflow of rivers gave us the beaches and beach breaks we
enjoy today - causality causality causality - So, we owe our thanks, as
tragic as it is, to Phaeton's destructive force - that give us Our Surf
Breaks today - we don't know how the waves were before the oceans rose!!!
Incredible read: Cataclysm!
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