The Experiment

At a young age, I never anticipated a life long career of designing and shaping surfboards. Over five decades later, the journey continues. I am living a surfer’s dream (at least this surfer’s dream). My primary home is on a small island, where I look across the hills towards the ocean and see no man-made structures, and share the waves with only a handful of surfers, and my working residence is on the island of Oahu, where I am able to see the best surf spots on the island’s south shore from my front window. At this age, I can still surf well enough, and grateful to be in the water on a regular basis. In some ways, my life has been an experiment, and ultimately, my curiosity has led me from one event to the next, carving out my life's path. 

Making a living shaping surfboards has always required me to stay current with trends and evaluate the trajectory of the surf industry, but as a surfboard designer, I was and still am compelled to keep exploring, despite the lack of financial reward sometimes associated with my efforts of curiosity. At a young age, I was fascinated with the simple physics of "venturi". I remember standing in a hallway that connected the exterior of a building to a large room inside. I was amazed by the high velocity of the wind moving through the hallway, despite there being little evidence of that velocity outside the building or in the large room. As I would learn, the constriction of the hallway reduced the level of pressure and, in turn, increased the velocity of the wind through the hallway (the same principle as a carburetor), a theory that any child holding his or her thumb partially over the end of a garden hose might discover. Recalling the first twin fin I made for myself in the early 70’s, it was almost other worldly. The fins laid the board on the rail so much more easily, but the acceleration created by the venturi of the fins was also evident. This would lead me to explore more complex applications of physics in surfboard design in the years ahead, some of my experiments failing to meet my expectations and others that would be remarkable. 

 Adding to the complexity of surfboard design is the fact that surfing styles change from one generation to the next, leaving what was once exceptional, now only marginal, and the reverse is also true, discovering a gem from the past and giving it a new twist. It's all valid. Regarding a model that I made in the early 80s, known as the "Shark Bite”, I stepped out with this design and just went for it. I reversed both the tail outline and the channel flow, opposite to the body of the board’s template. Looking at the board on the ground, with the bottom facing you, everything looked backward, but if you turned the board over, looking at it in the way that it would actually be ridden, it made absolute sense. Despite its strange appearance, the board was the best board I had ever ridden at the time; nothing compared. I have kept the original Shark bite all these years, and it is still very rideable, but by today's standards, it is not all that spectacular. Not because it is a bit worn, but because it was a magic board for a time and a place. The emphasis on how we surf, including my own surfing, has changed. Things move on, the dynamics change, and that is possibly why surboard design always keeps my interest,

In a recent turn of events, flooding and mud exposure on the reef have worsened on my island due to severe weather, causing the waters at my beloved surf spot to be murky whenever a new swell hits. This will probably continue for a while. In regard to my most recent longboard design, the “V3,” I am including a Rpela electromagnetic shark-resistant system on my personal board. This time, someone else has done the research and testing, to which I am grateful. The evolution of surfboard design will always continue, whether it be the physics of hull design, material construction, fin design, or, like with the Rpela, of practical purpose.

In the course of my shaping career, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest shapers of our time, in which I very much appreciated the mutual respect afforded me. I have created designs that others have incorporated into their own designs, and likewise, I have done the opposite, incorporating others’ concepts into my own designs. And sometimes no one is assimilating anyone else's design. Natural trajectory from what is current sometimes causes creators to reach the same conclusion simultaneously, without influence. In my own conclusion, creativity is best when it is collective and best when we appreciate each other's talents.

And so the journey continues. 

Mahalo loa,

                    Steve Morgan