Josh Dowling Designs

[PeepeelaPew]

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[DV8]

They also told me that Taj doesn't usually ride a firewire, he rides traditional PU shapes sprayed up to look like FWs. Can anyone add comment to this statement.

This is a persistent rumour. IIRC Josh said it's false and TB rides Firewire just like the marketing says.

There used to be similar rumours in snow skiing about various athletes, in particular Seth Morrison and his range of pro models. It was always emphatically denied and stated that he rides stock models and occasionally prototypes (like any pro athlete, and the source of most of the rumours - mystery, hybrid models).

Bloke I know is the proud owner of a Taj stick...............its a firewire alright !

[bohdidontsurf]

there no doubt that teeebs rides a FireWire and his boards, like the off the rack FireWire taj model stock boards have a piece of balsa embedded in the blank that runs 3/4 of the way up the board from the tail ... it's there to stiffen the board up as he doesn't like them too springy ... I had a 6'4 version of taj's board and it was horrible to ride.. way too much rocker and narrow in the nose and tail ... you would have to be taj to ride one well I think.. definately a case where a pros board that didn't translate well for the average punter ....fibreflex paint some of their team riders boards with black rails to make them look like fiberflex boards .. you often see the stringer(which they are not meant to have) in close up shots

[BDL77]

Brandons fins...this whole package is still blowing my foofer-valve - I have a similar set in the pipeline for my own board next...

Brandon_fns_one_s.jpg

JD they look amazing!!! Cannot wait to see the board, no rush mate, just getting super stoked.

Taj rides Firewire for sure and I think he has also had his most success on too.

[speedneedle]

Hey Brand,

Yes, inching ever-closer with yours...box and plugs installed today. So that means sanding next, and then I can procrastinate for aaaaaages over the spray.

Josh

[BDL77]

^^^^^^^

Woooooo hooooo, again seriously no rush mate, take your time, looking forward to seeing this one.

[Haz]

This thread has its first casualty

board snap.jpg (31.14 KiB) Viewed 4663 times

3-4 foot Bird Rock, not perfect, but some nice barrels coming through. I had one decent sized drainer at the start, felt pretty cocky so I paddled deeper for the next one, tried to pull in but was clipped by the lip and experienced the heaviest wipeout I've ever had from a 4 foot wave. Knocked all the wind out of me, head hit the bottom and I came up disorientated and hazy... The board was snapped cleanly in half.

I haven't talked to Josh yet, but I don't expect it to be redeemable.

I'm pretty pissed off about, but sh*t happens, and it's definitely not the boards fault. I've had that board for 9 months, surfed it 3 days a week, have had it in 6-8 foot pumping barreling ET's, triple overhead+ bells (where I caught one wave on the shoulder rickiting all the way down, then a closeout which tumbled me all the way to shore ), 2 foot mush and everything in between. It was my number 1 board. I have enjoyed surfing more than ever the past 9 months because of it. I will never forget the beautiful moments I have had with her, she will be missed dearly.

I haven't got the funds for another one of Josh's creations at the moment, but don't think you've lost a customer Josh! I'll be back.

[speedneedle]

Hi Harry,

Ouch! I hate to hear that...

This is why I pull my head in when it comes to big claims. The boards are not invincible, plainly! Yours is the third in the two years I've been going as JD.

One was a big flying kick-out in which the guy landed on it. He lost the other half, unfortunately, and the second was where the fella was drilled through it by a nasty lip.

Its still a good ratio considering that some of the JDs have been to indo and back, lived through beatings etc etc...so I take solace in knowing that...If there was severe structural issues which meant they actually broke easier, I'd have been pummelled for it by now, touch wood!

I can fix them...in fact I'm fixing the second of the above right now. (Though I bailed out from work to go surfing today...) I'm charging him $250. They take more work to do than a snapped poly, but they maintain the goodness after repair.

But none of that helps the fact that you are probably grieving, so I'll talk to you about a deal, and loan you another meanwhile...


Josh

[Haz]

Sorry Josh, I just assumed a snapped EPS would be impossible to finish!

Wrote back to your message mate.

[pinhead]

Pt Nepean Bouy shows 2-4 metre, 16 sec period swells smacking the surfcoast today Banga - no doubt yours wasn't the only board rent asunder.

[speedneedle]

Yep, saw a longfaced fella leaving this spot with a Channel Islands missing the nose third...

The spot is near where Banga was today, but no, it's not Winki...

A dribbly one on the inside...

And a fat wide one...

Josh
http://www.joshdowlingshape.com

[bohdidontsurf]

I snapped a Hayden shapes fiberflex shred sled a couple of months ago.. it was fixed and i rode it for the first time today.. it's a great fix but is heavy .. I will just use it in bumpy conditions now... god knows I have the right board for when it gets good and clean... hey Josh.

[speedneedle]

Hey..

The Ocean tears ships apart, so its a good thing you're touching wood every time you duck-dive...

Josh

[anglesurf]

[quote="speedneedle"]Yep, saw a longfaced fella leaving this spot with a Channel Islands missing the nose third...
The spot is near where Banga was today, but no, it's not Winki...
A dribbly one on the inside...

Very nice looking waves!! Almost good enough to take a sickie!! Nice high angle on the photos too Josh ! - I reckon there would have been a few broken boards after those last few days of surf we've had!

[speedneedle]

Hi Loofy,

Are you asking hypothetically or do you have a board with a ding?

Depends...like, how big, how deep, whereabouts? Most conventional ding repair techniques apply - of course with the exception that you must use epoxy if the resin is to come into contact with the EPS core. It is possible to seal the EPS foam with 5 min araldite then glass the patch with suncure, say in the case that your'e on a boat.

With wood skins or rail you might judge it a good move to scallop some timber into the hole for the look, instead of qcell bog. A comprehensive rundown on that would need an actual demo case...

Anyways, speaking of Pawlonia...

New wood goodness for Quangers -

Josh
http://www.joshdowlingshape.com

[PeepeelaPew]

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[speedneedle]

Hey again Loofy,

The wood is also glassed...so you have both. Yes, thats strong! And weight choice if you want extra tough - ie you can have 2 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz, patches...

Legion, its only a pencil line on tape for the centre mark...avoids scoring the wood with the pencil.

Josh

[speedneedle]

Andrew is dying for more sneak-preview, so here we go...

The Zap at pre-artwork seal stage...I'm liking it paint-free.

And another for John...The Smith & Wesson...this one is 7'6 x 20 1/2 ...a big fellas gun for Indo, with a twist...

Josh