"Adaptive Surfing" Vehicle #2

I created the first adaptive surfboard as a contribution to the Wounded Warriors Surf Camp in Del Mar, California.  It was designed Specifically for the amputee soldiers having lost one or both legs that still wanted to take on the challenge of surfing with the hopes of enjoying its life-lifting fulfillment.  It had occurred to me as I spent time at the camp that struggling with the longerboards was certainly providing a daunting challenge, but what seemed missing was the pure enjoyment of becomming one with the wave or being able to easily control the board to acheive that end.  As most surfers have always known, standing is cool....but it is not the key to feeling the exileration and freedom that wave riding can provide (Ask Greenough).  The key I think is hooking up with the motion, speed and energy of the wave and having controll and command of your experience within it.

For those who have been left without the weight, leverage and propultion that most of us take for granted, the manipulating (simply getting it pointed from east to west for instance) from our lower extremeties becomes a much more difficult task.  The shorter, wider and more bouyant platform allows ease of manitulation of the board in the water while allowing the board to be paddled and catch waves without assistance much more easily.

Rusty stated simply in one of his surfboard-technology articles not long ago, "shorter and wider is faster".

Rusty was right.  Those elements, combined with the right planshape and rocker, produce unparalleled speed in average surf conditions.  It was my hope for this design that those elements along with some added control devices would reign king and provide the adaptive surfers their ability to connect with the wave, its speed and it's motion and provide the same exileration and joy the we all chase every time we paddle out.

Based on the reports I getting.....It seems to be working!

The board pictured in this post I shaped and outfitted for Julie Carruthers, a determined athlete and surfer who lost her leg in her battle with bone cancer some 13 years ago.  This board was made possible throught the efforts and generousity of K2 Adventure Foundation www.k2adventures.org.

Special thanks to Kevin Cherilla and Kristen Sandquist from K2.

Julie, as my friend Josh Hall would say, "Slide the glide!"

Aloha,

JC

Recent Work; July 4th - August 20th 2012

9' 1" , 2+1 Speedster for Francesco

I shaped this one this summer for Francesco. 

It has a low rocker overall, with slight nose kick in the last 18" and slightly lifted tail in the last 18'.

I has a very subtle single-into-double concave bottom.  I built a custom box fin for it to make for easier travelling.  It will be Francesco's go-to board for the bigger days in Italy (Yes...they do happen).

Fin woods: flame maple over poplar veneers, dyed black and white, center lam; Peruvian walnut.

California state bear logo: Angel wing clam.

REFLECTION  ~   Beautiful opaque-black glass job by Michael Miller

www.mmillersurfboards.com

Wounded Warrior tribute board.

These fins were commissioned for an 8', solid Sequoia Redwood gun by Al Merrick.

The wood for the board was taken from the last Giant Sequoia legally taken from the Northern California Redwood Forest.  The approximately 4000 year old tree was already down when the permit was taken to remove it in the early '60s.  This board will be sent to Washington DC to be auctioned off.  All proceeds will be donated to the Wounded warriors fund.

Fin woods:Quilted maple over flame koa over California redwood burl

Templates: Al Merrick tri-fin gun.

I will post photos of this board when it is finished.  Stay tuned!

"Diamond on fire" D template fin #2

I am shaping a 9'-0" pig for Akimasa in Japan.  Akimasa requested this particular fin design for his board after seeing the same framed fin I did last year for Steve Shiremacher.

I will be posting photos of the finished board soon.

This custom board was ordered through my friend Yuich Imai at www.wavesforever.com

"John and Susan" Tribute boards

Dave Yearwood of yearwood surfboards in North Carolina was recently inspired to design and shape two unique, high performance short boards, the "John and Susan" boards as a tribute to my late wife Susan Cherry and myself.  Dave came out to visit me a few weeks ago and we designed fin sets for both boards.

Here is what we came up with.

 Reverse "D" template single-foil quads.  Woods:  Flame maple over white poplar over koa.

 Custom tri-fin set.  Wood:  Solid figured koa.

Simm-21 sets headed to Japan on 7'6" and 7'2" Simms.

Woods: Solid koa

                                                              

7' 0"  Simm-21 Quad Fish  "HogFish"

For sale @ www.wavesforever.com  click on Cherry Surfboards

I designed a new template set for HogFish, single-foil x 4, Reverse"D" trailers for fluid control and a fuller profile on all foils.

Finished tri-color HogFish below.  Next to it, L to R, 6'0" Mini Simmons out of chambered paulonia wood by Francesco Di Tommaso and a 7' 2" Simm-21 for James Badger.

Glassing: www.mmillersurfboards.com

Ebony and Ivory

This is the 2nd 7'-2" Simm-21 I have Shaped for Warren Canada, My buddy from Florida.  The first looked very much like the one I just finished For James in the photo above.  The stunning design in it's entirety was Warren's vision. 

Fin Woods:  Macassar Ebony, Holly, Flame maple pin lines.

White opaque resin panels with black resin pinlines.

Chambered ultralight-balsa stringer.

Framed Art Fin

For Christopher Tomlin.   Wood:  Figured crotch wood, Bubinga. 

Glass-on, Singlefin for Doug Smith

This is going on a new, classic longboard Doug is having shaped.

Template:  Tyler "Zeke"  

Woods: Figured Sapele, birds-eye maple and flame koa veneers laminated over 1/4" Marine Ply

Chambered paulonia Mini-Simmons

Francesco Di Tommaso crafted and laminated this board in Bari Italy.  He brought it with him to be finished by Michael Miller.  The main reason being the unavailability of the right resin products in Italy.

The template he worked with was from an original 10'0" Simmons Spoon. 

The board is chambered throughout and has a surprisingly nice weight for a paulonia board with a standard glass job on it.

Fins: Solid Koa by J. Cherry.  Fin Template from original 9'0" Simmons owned by John Elwell.

8' 0" Agave, 70's Style  Pipeline Gun

I made this board for the 2011 Sacred Craft show.  It seemed at the time like the perfect choice to build and shape from the superb stash of agave I had stored up.  This last winter I traded it to Francesco for a pristine, 1963, 10' 0" Phil Edwards Model Hobie. 

Francesco is taking it home this summer.  The 10' 0" Phil hangs in my living room.

For more on this board and it's construction click on "agave boards" on the home page. 

2011 Tavarua Model

Francesco and I designed and shaped this board at the end of his visit last summer.  He left it for Michael Miller to glass.  This Summer it's headed home to Italy.  Next Summer....hopefully....some Tavarua barrels with it!

Fins:  1/4" Baltic Birch ply, outside panels; Redwood burl veneer, inside panels; green/gold abalone veneer.  By J. Cherry

Marine Ply, Single-Foil Twins for Florian Saylor