Andrew Kidman

A few images of the boards I shaped in New York while I was there. Kindly assisted in the process by Joseph Falcone, lending me his shaping bay and planing skills! The glass work is by Mark Petrocelli of Faktion Surfboards, no doubt these boards were all glassed with a white blanket of snow outside. Thanks Mark for the classy work!

Pictures of Jose and his 7’10. The tail of the channelled Tiger Toe and Traditional fish shaped for the Pilgrim store. And the glassers nightmare, the Dreamboard, shaped for Schultzy. As a tribute to Lou, each of the ten boards I shaped was signed with the title of one of his wonderful songs.

On the Road as of tomorrow. Getting paper templates ready for some kind of overseas shaping, Europe/NYC. The paper curves created from original Parmenter /Frye/Mackie templates. Some of the Parmenter templates remain in their original paper states, uncut even. Dented from years of use and lack of attention. Easily fixed though, with a solid wooden curve and the board moves on…the paper template placed back in the rack. I noticed this conversation with Terry Fitzgerald I’d scribbled on the wall as I was packing up, it seemed to make sense to my situation…“to boldly go.”

Couple of snaps from a small beachbreak session on Tiger Toe 2.

Tiger Toe 2 was made after Tom Curren spent two weeks with me working on the film Spirit of Akasha. Tom wanted to shape a board for the project (Tiger Toe 1). Tom believes there’s no reason why a single fin can’t be the fastest board one can ride. Tiger Toe 1 was a single fin. Tom loved Tiger Toe 1 so much he took it home with him to California and began building a shaping bay at his house so he could make more of them. Tiger Toe 2 was shaped shortly after he left, I customised it for myself, making it slightly longer and thicker, it works best in 2-3 foot hollow waves and down the line point breaks. Michele Lockwood did the Tiger artwork on the deck and I painted the Tiger Toe on the bottom. Tiger Toe 2 is 5’11 x 18 5/8 x 2 1/2. It has roll in the front that runs into panel vee with a single concave in each vee panel that runs out the tail. Pinched box rail with bottom edge.

New Fish bound for the waters of South Oz, glassed to look like a seal by Simon Jones. Fins foiled by Jones, the template was taken from Skip’s new Bomber Fish he sent down to me. Rare birds in flight.

For some reason The Fish has drifted out of fashion over the last couple of years, which is odd as the ride remains the same. My 5’10” Skip Frye Lakers Fish is 13 years old now and still feels as good today as it did in the beginning. Last year I asked Skip if he would make me a new 5’10”, I wanted to feel what he’d done to the design in the last 13 years. On my new Bombers Fish he pulled the tail in by a 1/4 of an inch and the fins were slightly smaller with slight curve in the back. The Lakers Fish had large straight back keels. This board is for Paul Whibley in South Oz, I make no bones about mimicking what Skip does, it’s an honour to have his boards and to try and replicate his rail and form by hand. He told me 13 years ago while I was watching him shape Lakers Fish, that, “The design is yours now, you’ve gotta take it and do what you want with it. That’s what I did when Stevie gave me the template.” (referring to when Steve Lis gave him the original cardboard Fish template in the late sixties that he still uses today) It’s no easy task, a task that always leaves me humbled and with even more respect for Skip and his peers Steve Lis, Larry Gephart, Stanley Pleskunas, Hank Warner, Steve Pendarvis, Bob Mitsven and the other shapers from San Diego where the Fish was born. Legends.

Skip Frye shaped this for me a few months ago. Kirk Gee, the legendary Kiwi that lives in Compton and publishes some of my books picked it up for me from Skip yesterday and shot these pictures of it. Black & Red, the colours of my beloved Bombers. My last Fish from Skip was Purple & Yellow, the colours of Skip’s beloved Lakers. Makes sense to me. The board is currently stranded in L.A. waiting for a kind soul to bring it home to Oz.

This single hit the truck for Sydney yesterday - a date with Long Reef Bombie. An attempted replica of The Single Splice.

Glassing by Simon Jones.

This board is based on the shape Dave Parmenter made for Stephanie Gilmore that features in the new book Single. Dimensions of the board 6’5 3/4 x 2 5/8 x 20 1/2.