Surf Photos

In this article we would review one of the very important element of each surfer's equipment, and try to guess what it is? Yes! very well done - it is a surfwax.

Surfboard wax, better known to you and me as surfwax, is a formulation of natural and synthetic wax for covering procedure to the deck of a surfboard, bodyboard, or skimboard, to keep the surfer from slipping off the board when paddling out or riding a wave. It is also used to increase grip on the paddle of a surf kayak.

Surfboard wax is usually composed of a combination of paraffin and beeswax, often with exotic scents like coconut. Natural alternatives such as Northern Light Surfboard Wax, Phils Organic Surf Wax, Muffin Wax and Wave Equation Stiction Surf Wax are also available. These organic waxes contain beeswax, vegetable oils such as coconut or hemp, pineresin and natural essential oils. Many different commercial brands and varieties of surfboard wax such as Bubblegum Surf Wax may be found at a surf shop, optimized for different climates and water temperatures. And in some cases it can also be used for fashion, for example styling your hair.

Surfboard wax is applied to the surfboard by rubbing the wax on, rubbing it from rail to rail (side to side), and nose to tail (front to back). After doing a number of layers in each direction in an area protected from the sun to avoid the melting of the wax, a final coat is applied, rubbing the wax on in a circular motion. For best results surfboard wax is usually refrigerated before applying. In the case of organic surf wax it is recommended to warm the wax in your hands for thicker and easier application. With all natural surf waxes only a thin layer of wax needs to be applied.

Most surfboard wax comes with an identifying label that tells what water temperature range is ideal for. Wax used in water colder than its rating will become hard and not provide the stickiness needed to stay on the board, while wax used in water warmer than its rating may melt. Some surfers layer different temperatures of wax to create the level of firmness and stickiness desired. The normal procedure is to lay down a thin base coat of a high temperature wax, usually labeled for tropical water. This will not melt off. Then you put the temperature appropriate wax on top of that. This ensures that as you change your wax for different temperatures, you will not end up with cold water wax on the board directly, which will melt off in sheets while you are surfing.

Removing the wax can be time eating. A plastic scraper can be used to remove the wax in large chunks. To make this procedure easier, a surfboard can be laid out in the sun for a while to soften the wax, or a blowdryer can be used to melt certain areas prior to removal. There is also a product by Team Chow, called the "Pickle Wax Remover." It is a squeezable, lime green cylinder with a cloth exterior. It is available at most surf shops, and is used by simply rubbing it over the board, after removing the majority of the wax with a plastic scraper; this will remove all of the old wax simply and easily. The organic alternative recommended by Northern Light is to use pure melted coconut oil. After scraping with the plastic scraper, rub oil into the remaining wax and gently remove with some wool blanket scrap, which can be burnt or composted afterwards. Leave the ball of scraped off old organic wax outside wherever the bees can find it. They will cheerfully and thankfully recycle your old wax.

Maintaining: a wax comb is used to keep in good condition the grip of the wax. Commonly, the comb is used to engrave criss-cut valleys into the wax to create a tackier surface. Also when taking away wax, instead of using rubbing alcohol which can strip some of the paint off, you can use a piece of scrap fabric or a washcloth. This enables you to remove all wax easily, rapidly and efficiently without scratching or even damaging your board.

The Super Fish is a sensation! It is loved by thousands of surfers all around the world. The secret of the Superfish triumph is in its design. The most noticeable is the step deck, this give the board a huge buoyancy advantage but leave the board with high performance rails. Secondly the bottom of the board features low entry rocker that feeds into a full length concave that helps the board get up and plane quickly. This feeds through to a double in the back to help get the most out of turns. The Super Fish will help you make sections that you never have before, it is fast and smooth.

In this year manufacturer upgraded the glass job to make the board lighter and also added the quad option.

The 7S Superfish Surfboard presents an interesting step-deck design. It gives the girth needed to float you into colossal amounts of waves while giving the feel of a thinner railed board, so you can more effectively put the board on edge as you progress in your surfing performance. While it doesn’t quite have the freakish wave magnetism, it does, however, offer more maneuverability. Board is designed with a flat bottom and full-length concave leading to a double-concave near the tail. It requires less speed and power to keep the board level and generates less friction on the water’s surface. Flat bottoms are great for small waves but don’t work well in more hollow waves that require your board have more curve to fit into the more extreme curve of the wave. The board’s concave is where the board’s bottom is curved in to provide a subtle channel for the water to flow, theoretically providing more projection down the wave and out of turns.

Board is very fast and very loose. There is no dispute there at all. It projected strong off the bottom, which is where some fish boards (boards that are wide and thick and generally have a split “swallow” tail) falter. The 7S Superfish performed equally to a traditional surfboard. It turned quickly off the top and transitioned smoothly from top to bottom along the wave face.

The 7S Superfish comes in lengths from 5’ 8” to 6’ 3”, all with a double-bump swallow tail that works in conjunction with the aforementioned bottom design. The swallowtail breaks up the water that has been channeled by the concaved bottom, thus loosening up the boards turning capability.

All this board design explanation really doesn’t matter when you are surfing, the surfboard is a great board for any level rider. It is loose and fast, and its innovative step-deck design gives the feel of a thinner board while still being maneuverable in small, crappy surf.

This model is among the newest movement in surfboard design which uses computers and shaping machines to create carbon copies of original shaper designs. This board in particular is distributed by Global Surf Industries which helps keep it affordable for beginning surfers by serving a world-wide market.

All 7S boards are made of traditional foam and fiberglass construction. They are CNC computer shaped and hand finished.

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the participant is carried along the face of a breaking wave, most commonly using a surfboard, although wave-riders may make use of kneeboards, body boards (aka boogie boards), kayaks, surf skis, and their own bodies. Surfing-related sports such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves. Two major subdivisions within contemporary stand-up surfing are reflected by the differences in surfboard design and riding style of longboarding and shortboarding.

Everyone knows that the sport of surfing thrives from innovative surfers (if you asked a seasoned surfer 50 years ago if he thought kids would be pulling 360 airs off of 4 foot waves he probably would have laughed in your face).

At the REEF Board Build-off, San Diego ASR tradeshow, a board shaping contest and auction to benefit the SIMA Humanitarian Fund, surfers got the chance to remember just how important the shapers are to the future of surfing - and to themselves too.

Seven talented shapers came together to “create the best looking, ready-to-ride, surfboards ever imagined.”

Jed Noll took home the bragging rights with a 9’0 chrome-style longboard that resembled the Silver Surfer’s infamous flying surfboard. The silver paint job was done by Keith Pickrell and the crazy art was done by professional automotive painter Dan Scholz. In the auction, Noll’s board went for $5,800 and set a new record for the Board Build-Off which was previously held by Rich Pavel, whose board went for $3,700 in the 2006 Build-Off. All money went for the SIMA Humanitarian Fund.

$13,000 was raised during the Reef Board Build-off, which was part of a campaign that has already raised a total of $250,000! The donations were split between 13 deserving environmental and humanitarian charities.