Breakthrough fin placement technology

In the idea snapshot below Bob explains a new apporach to fin placement where fins are not place relative todistance from the rails, but rather, to the size of your foot.... really incredible idea. Double click on the pic to see it full size.

Note: Bob is in the process of filing a patent for this concept in the US.

Why Quads are faster...

Ever wondered why quads seem to be a little faster than thrusters? Bob explains in this one page snapshot the hydrodynamics of what is happening under your board....

Notes from meeting with Kelly Slater today

After meeting with Kelly Slater for half an hour and then digesting all the information that has developed between the board I shaped for him and the board he's riding its clear that several principles have emerged.

1. He's working on washed out tails (or what I have been calling "tail feathers") as well. That's in the form of a pin tail with "v" in the last 5 or 6 inches of the board... this matches my "tail feathers".

2. He's got a very small foot... only a little bit bigger than mine. The board he's riding at the moment is really narrow in the tail at 13.5" so he's actually using too little area and too little fin spread for his foot size and...

3. He has stabalized on his fins... he's got standard thruster fins at the front and slightly smaller fins behind them that are double foil shape,  so the 9 time world champ has got that working and we can say that's a pretty good set up...

So yeah... we'll keep moving with those 3 interesting items....

Transcribed from audio notes with Bob by Ric.

Kelly Slaters "Magic Carpet"

For more details on the "noseless" short board, photos and video are available from this page at Surfline.

Tonight - Surfers Hall of Fame

I'm heading up to see Kelly Slater and Claw from Ripcurl to smooch a bit and to get Kellys clearance signature to use his image in the film "Going Vertical"... the movie I've been working on about the shortboard revolution of 1967.

Cameramen shot Kelly in December and the movie is in edit currently. I also want to show him the new "Bobtail" design, a radical new tail concept to improve the 5'4" quad that Kelly's been riding lately.

Contributor - Ric Richardson

Hi everyone. 

Bob has kindly invited me to be a contributor to his blog and I jumped at the opportunity. Over the next few weeks I will be populating his blog with references to the many news items and other resources on the net about him.

As this article from news.com says  Bob is an icon... a living legend who is even more passionate about his craft than he was when he started out.

Thanks Bob for letting me "drop in" on your wave.
Ric

Ric Richardson is a fellow resident of Byron Bay, NSW who also lives in California and has known Bob since his childhood. Ric has worked as a journalist in the past and currently makes his living as an independent inventor.

Ready set GO!

Welcome to my new blog and thanks for visiting. This is an opportunity to fill you all in on the flow of new ideas, concepts and breakthroughs that I'm lucky to say are the ebb and flow of my life as a surf technologist and fan of our creators wonderful liquid filled earth.