I began “getting into the water” in 1963 at age seven. We had a boat in Newport Harbor and stayed on it many weekends, Easter Vacations and as much of the summer as possible. Mom would take us to Big Corona or Newport Beach to the waves, and we would “ride” anything that would float. Inflatable mats, pieces of wood, the “Styrofoam boards,” and of course everything was ridden prone or on the knees. A couple years later (1965) a friend of my dad’s took me tandem on his huge wooden board and I felt like I was standing on a door. I went back to prone and knee riding and never bothered to learn to stand.

Wooden “belly boards” became popular in the late-1960s early-1970s in California and were a lot less expensive than a surf board. I began college at Orange Coast College and lived on the beach front (5107 Seashore, Newport Beach) where my front yard was 48th to 52nd Street. I was in the water every day using a “Water Wonder" (see Note #1) and fins. So it was kind of the best of both bellyboarding and body surfing.

My love for cooking, women, skiing and scuba diving took me away from spending so much time in the surf. Although before or after a beach dive we’d get in few waves here and there, it got to the point where I’d pretty much went down a few days a year at best. Then one of my waiters happened to be a surfer since age 4 and he challenged me to get back in the water on a more consistent basis.

When I was going to The Wedge in the late-1960s to the mid-1970s it was pretty much all body surfing, belly boarding and a few knee-riders. Because of the break in such shallow water, stand up surfers were rare.

I was used to a hard surface board and wasn’t real fond of the way the new sponge boards handled, so I found an importer of balsa wood and bought it in bulk, got redwood for stringers, and ended up making about 50 boards in 2-year period. They ranged from 2ft hand guns to a 7’3” “fun board”. Most were more of a paipo board size from 32” to 60”.

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Rick and his quiver (left) and Rick's quiver and gear at-rest in the garage waiting for surf (right).
Photo by: Hans Bode.

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That nephew is currently landlocked for now, but I’ve got a brother and his two sons who love to surf.

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Corey making his paipo and with his finished board

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Thus far I’ve used only balsa and redwood. Down the road, after the restaurant biz, I’m looking at using all kinds of exotic woods. My father was incredible with wood and he taught me. I look forward to using some of that knowledge for some fine looking boards.

Depends on who the board is for. If it’s for someone who I know, that knows how to catch a wave, I’ll custom design something fun. Longer and thinner for ripping, and speed, something shorter and fatter for carvin’ and plunkin’. I’ve found that especially for the novice, smaller and shorter is better to start with. I’d measure someone from say belly button to their nose, and make it no wider than their shoulders.

As far as what makes a paipo work, I’d say it’s 90% driver and 10% board. Someone who knows what they’re doing can ride plastic cafeteria food trays if that’s all that’s available, and get great rides. As one who creates and works with his hands a lot, I’ve found that in many arenas, surfing included, many features in the past were created because people thought they looked good or fast. I think the future of board design may find itself looking to the animal kingdom, like the designers of both cars and planes have done. Look at the boxy cars coming out now, all based on the aerodynamics of the boxfish (e.g., see article here).

Now think whale flippers, dolphin fins, and fish fins. They are not flat and smooth like a glassed board. Think dimples on a golf ball. The all important question is this, “How can I get the board to plane better?” With stop motion photography we are seeing a world we didn’t know existed. The dimples and indentations on flippers and fins (and feathers) create incredible little vortices, mini-hurricanes if you will, that lift and actually push forward rather than drag like a perfectly flat surface can.

#1 Barrel and Tube chasing! The great thing about paipo is that every day is overhead, and small tubes are almost as fun as the big ones. A small board is much easier to control, and both slows down and speeds up quicker, so it’s easier to get and stay right where you want to.

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I make my boards both with and without fins. I prefer the freedom of no fins, and I feel they are safer for those around you, so I’m working on different designs to perfect it. As far as technique for riding a finless board, you just need to dig more with your edge, like skiing.

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Ryan with a Quad Fin	Kamran with a bread knife twin-fin set-up

If there’s surf, just give me a pair of fins and I’ll try anything that planes. Small handboards are great for control and steering.

I’ve never made the fiberglass boards. In fact we just marine varnish ours and they are a heck of a lot easier to repair. The buoyancy is different for wood and foam. I prefer the weight of the wood.

Too many to count. What can beat that rushing train tunnel sound of being back in the pocket of a perfect rolling tube? Add to it being on a board you hand shaped and finished yourself (even though I’ll still argue for the 90% rider/10% board bit) and it doesn’t get any better. Soon you find, every one is more fun than the last! It’s a hoot hearing from some young grom eyeing your board and saying, ”dude, you’re sick,” especially when you’re over 50. Then there was that record breaking surf week at Newport in 1977...

I find I’m swimming and moving more than the stand-up surfers around me. So I’m always doing something, like the difference between fly fishing and bottom fishing. I also find it safer, quicker, easier to store, care for, travel with, etc. etc., and ... everyday is overhead.

Yeah, I am one. While most sheep are content with a shepherd who lets the flock feed in place, I look forward to finding ways to steer the herd to new and challenging directions.

As for me, I miss the world of hand made and home made. Although we have pictures of how to make hand made boards, I'm hoping to get video of the process sometime this summer. We’ll be posting and updating at: http://www.justgoodfun.net/.
Just look in the surfing section.