zooey monkey marbles

After almost three years of mourning the loss of the famous Chomper dog, I finally broke down and adopted a puppy from the San Diego Humane Society...







I still miss you Chomps.

micro machines

My friend Sei sent this to me from Japan. I think I can make 2 stubbies from that longboard blank!






The templates are actually pretty sweet.

this is killer (and funny)

A good friend of mine showed this to me after living in Hawaii for a season. She said it was on the radio all the time and made her laugh, but eventually it took over her subconscious mind. She now chants "he'e nalu" every time we go surfing.

big brother

I think I met Ian Zamora at one of those fish fry things a few years ago, and it surprised me to hear that he's been shaping almost as long as he's been surfing. He gets pretty obsessive about anything he focuses on, and lately it's been with the Simmons design.



Check out his blog that has shameless photos of him cruising:

http://www.thedegreeofslide.blogspot.com/

By the way, I think Ian is the tallest Filipino on the planet.

5'11" 5-fin stubbie

8'oh Andreini - Diffenderfer Design

So Marc Andreini and I are talking one day and he says, "By the way, I shaped you an 8' Diffenderfer Gun."






Marc told me that the template and foil of Diff's boards always appealed to him, and he's always wanted to make them with tri-plane hull elements. "Since I made you an 8-footer I had to make my self a 9'6"!"

I've only been able to ride it in chest-high surf, so I don't have a complete review of it just yet. We should be getting some good WNW swell this weekend, so I'll give a detailed report soon. So far it's been smooth and buttery, but it wants real waves.

If you don't know who Mike Diffenderfer is, check out these links:

http://www.lajollasurf.org/diff.html

http://www.surfline.com/mag/pulse/2002/2/05_19_diff.cfm

Photo:Divine

peeps

Check out the new page on my website with pics people have sent in over the years...

http://mandalacustomshapes.com/slider_gallery.shtml


And check out the new pictures on my Hunter/Seeker page:

http://mandalacustomshapes.com/hunter_seekers.shtml


Thanks!

clear and simple

5'10" double-wing quad fish
20.25" x 2-3/8"
clear wet-sanded gloss
tapered cedar stringer
glass-on Canard Quad Cutaways by Chuck Ames
Moonlight Glassing







Mr. Chuck Ames is foiling a bunch of these fins for me in clear, smoke, black, and white fiberglass. Interested fish folk can email me at mandalacustomshapes@gmail.com.

thank you 2008

A lot of crazy and wonderful things have happened this past year, and I just wanted to say hello and thank you to everyone I've met through surfing. You're all gifts to me.