Firewire Surfboards

[longbum]

yeh go easy on the colours man, it's still cool.....................................in my eyes.

[jayyrayy]

firewires are def not indestructable!!! I donno weather im just one unlucky bloke but ive managed to snap two cleanly in the past 4 months in under 3ft surf.. the 2nd one replaced free of charge and snapped it the other day pullin under the wash at the end of the wave.. SOOOOO DEVO first and last off the rack board

j. What colour was the foam in the skins on the two that snapped?

a golden yellow foam sandwiched between the glass and the inner foam

[oldman]

Aesthetics in surfboards is totally subjective. Sure, you can claim if a surfer 'likes the look of it' s/he will more likely have a certain confidence, and therefore a certain positive interpretation of its potentials - but look at the history of surfboards design. New shapes often were considered 'ugly' or weird (I do in fact remember looking at the first of Simon's thrusters and thinking "Oh my god, that fat square tail is ridiculous and ugly +")

Surely we should cancel aesthetics as much as possible, and get down to the basics of curves, volumes, blend etc first, then you need a go on the thing and utterly forget how it looks.

Interesting thoughts there willem, but I'm not sure that what we think is aesthetics is completely divorced from function.

I suspect that what we think is aesthetically pleasing might be a genetically embedded fundamental understanding of design principles. The curves, the 'flow' of the board, the arcs and parabolic shapes are all used by nature in the design of fish that swim, birds that fly, animals that run.

I can't believe that the little voice inside our heads doesn't appreciate these virtues based on real experience, millennia of watching and appreciating nature.

Look at a blue fin tuna. You could be a monkey that's never seen the ocean before and you would know instrinsically that this thing moves freaking quickly.

I suspect that there is a lot more intuitive knowledge locked in our little heads than we give credit.

Of course you have to separate the genuine aesthetic from the 'current trends and fashions' part of your brain. That may be beyond the capabilities of many.

[lamesville]

This is a question for people who are riding the new Taj model's with the springer in them.
How do they go compared with the normal FW with no springer? Can you dead set feel the difference when it gets bigger or when you do a turn? Haven't seen one yet but some dude I know said his went pretty filth.

[Nick Carroll]

I suspect that what we think is aesthetically pleasing might be a genetically embedded fundamental understanding of design principles.

Yeah ... the design principles of a girlie's buttocks and bosoms methinks. As opposed to tuna.

I know certain shapers who are mildly obsessed with the comparison between surfboard curves and female curves.

Cute but not the basis for a system of government, as Dennis the peasant says in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

[bro]

NC if you are talking about one Mr Webber "mildly" is a massive understatement. My favourite qoute, we were sitting having a coffee in Hossegor france at a cafe on the beachfront, when GW looks over my shoulder and says "look at the rocker on those tits"

pure gold from a man thoroughly obsessed with the female form and surf board curves

[ric_vidal]

I suspect that what we think is aesthetically pleasing might be a genetically embedded fundamental understanding of design principles.

Might be OM, but it evolves. Haven’t seen too many old boards I would give my left testicle for, no?

Like my (real) game, the principles remain the same but ‘current’ can be butt ugly or doesn’t communicate.

Who judges the judges

I might add, the old hour glass figure ain’t too appealing either.

[munch]

^^^ look at the form of how the "attractive" women has change in the last 30 years and correlate that with board design they were both a bit more chunky back them weren't they

[Slowman]

If we're talking female curves it's time this got another rerun.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=41APzy5kqBU

gimme a piece of that bubble

[swift]

Just ordered a fibreflex today!!
I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on the thing!!!!
Went for a Chilli, as that's what I'm riding at the moment.
Was pleased to find out that they shape at Chilli's and then get them baked/laminated (whatever the hell they do to them now-a-days) at Hayden Shapes.
I was a little uncomfortable at the thought of someone else "copying" the technology if ya get my drift!!
If anyone cares i'll post something on it's performance once I've given it a rhg!!

[cdes1]

Hello all,
I apologize for coming late to the party (in more ways than one) but I do have a couple of thoughts on the matter, having just purchased a Firewire.
First off, about my late to the party remark: I have been surfing for a little over 4 years now - I have nowhere near the experience and wisdom of the "barnacles" of this forum. The impressions that follow are mine and from my perspective - so please take them with a grain of salt.
I think my situation is relevant to this conversation because I think there are probably a lot of surfers who have a similar experience as me, which in turn helps to explain part of the state of the industry currently. I, like many others am a part of the post-millienial surfing boom. I did not start surfing until I was 25 years old, although I would have started in middle school if I had any choice in the matter. In my life I am successful financially so I am able to spend what I want on a board.
While looking for a new board this september I was faced with a lot of options. Clark's shutdown forced PU board prices up an average of $100. Suddenly other more durable materials were a lot closer in price to a traditional PU board. Among the people that I surf with there is a feeling that traditional PU boards are glassed too lightly and thus are engineered for failure for the buy-one-board-a-year-everyday surfer. So my main motivation for trying the firewire was to find a durable board that felt close enough to the weight/buoyancy/paddleability of a traditional PU board. The spring was just kind of gravy.
I had the good fortune of being able to try a bunch of new boards at the Transworld New Technology in Surfing Fair in San Diego. I was able to try Aviso, XTR, Firewire, and Tuflite boards. For my criteria of finding a durable board with similar-to-PU properties I chose the firewire. I was lucky enough to find a board with dimensions that I would have specified to a shaper. So it works for me - which is what is really important.
Before I go on I do have one question for those in the know, about durability? Nick (or anyone else), what is the internal construction ofthe Firewire board? From what I gathered it is EPS foam covered by harder foam and what they call "sandwich" (Tuflite-like?) "composite" (what does that mean really?) construction. I wasnt able to see a cross section of a board so I am curions if anyone knows for certain. Also I wonder if there have been any studies to see if the rail ever separates from the foam of the board. You're dealing with different materials that probably contract and expand at different temperatures - I dont know if the rail is intentioally seperate from the core of the board or if this has been remedied in some other fashion. Then again - you never really see a stringer on a traditional board seperate from the foam around it...
There is a debate on this forum about pop-out vs hand shaped. My question is, are the Firewire's truly pop-outs or are they blanks that are worked on by a shaper after the fact? My impression is that you will be able to custom order boards in the future, does this imply a shaper?
I had narrowed my decision down between the Firewire and a local shaper, Tim Bessell, who was also experimenting with parabolic stringers. In the end the decision came down to two factors, time and cost. The hand shaped board would have been more expensive and I knew that he already had a back-log of work before even starting my board. Nothing against Tim Bessell and his boards though. He makes quality custom boards, and besides that he's a good guy. It should also be said that I have had a local shaper make me a board in the past. Ironically enough it was Dan Mann, who is heading up the San Diego Firewire factory.

Anyway this is all very long winded, so I apologize. I guess I feel that my experience is kind of typical. I think there are large groups of surfers like me and I may be an indicator of where the industry is headed and why it is headed in that direction. Thanks in advance for any answers to my questions.

I just re-read this forum entry this week. 2 years later my firewire is still with me and is still my go-to board. I think its difficult for me to make a performance judgment about the board with any type of authority, but I can say something for the board' s durability.

In short my board still looks and performs as if it were right off the rack. It is also a good travel board. Ive flown it from San Diego to Europe, Australia, and mainland Mex often times in a just a board sleeve (as opposed to a padded board bag).

Overall Im pretty happy with my purchase, I dont see any reason why this board wont be with me for another 2 years.

[jack18]

hey guys,
interesting conversation, learn't a lot, thanks I've had a Firewire Flexfire for around a year or more now, personally I have been genuinely happy with its integrity and performance so far so, I decided to get a Sweet Potato and a Hellfire to build a respectable quiver. How ever I did struggle trying to find a good Firewire Stockist, finally I came across a store on the web called Natural Necessity, they seem to have real honest, experienced customer service, and made sure I got the right board from what I told them. They delivered both boards to me for free, which was even better. Had a fun surf on the Sweet Potato but haven't got out on the Hellfire yet. If your looking at getting a new board, I could highly recommend the guys at http://www.naturalnecessity.com.au, would have been thankful if some one had let me know originally..! Happy surfing

[batoes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBjK_oavReU