It’s hard to find information on Steve Pendarvis, or his flex tail boards. I think it’s because more concerned with innovating than marketing, and has been since Greenough put flex in surfing. I got the chance to meet him and check out some of his boards at one of Richard Kenvin’s Festivus events.

Steve blew me away with his enthusiasm and the depth of the boards he had at the show. He ran me through the concepts of a flexed out fish, then he pulled out a single fin and explained how it all works when the fin is optimized to flex with the tail. Before those two sweet rides had entirely sunk in, I found myself in the parking lot holding a thruster and then a sick sabertoothed finned twin. I have to admit, it was all a blur and made me a bit dizzy, but that could have been the PBRs as well.

To get a feel for how Steve’s boards work, there’s no one better than the man himself. I appologize though, this is the abbreviated version…

You could apply that ‘mad scientist of surf’ analogy but it’s too cliché for Steve, so instead I’ll say that the guy just leaks stoke. I’m serious. Try talking to him for 10 minutes and see if you don’t find yourself swimming in the stuff.

In the lastest effort to secure the future of hand crafted surfboards, a San Clemente shaper Byrondesign has penned a well crafted response to the latest issue of Surfer Mag. In it, he calls out Al Merrick, Matt Biolas, Timmy Patterson, JC and others for giving the finger to the industry that gave them what they have.

The basic tenets of surfing: talent rules the lineup and revere thy shaper are failing due to the soccerification of surfing. Serious waves are clogged with beginners who think the lineup should be like any other rule enforced sporting field and boards should be bought at the Sports Authority. The only thing we have going for us is a small, but growing movement founded by guys like the Popout Bandit and The Godfather who reminds us that The Kids Are Alright and that Surfer Labor should be respected.

Update: Soccer is great, I play all the time. Beginners are great too. They just need to tap into the decades of culture (and magic within) vs. expecting it to fit their previous experiences, then everyone will be stoked!

Build a cheap and easy shaping bay in your garage. More on 808surfer.com

Parabolic strigners are the new black. This pic is a fish with parabolic rails shaped by ambrose surfboards.

With the design innovations of Burt Burger and Greg Loehr’s Firewire surfboards due to hit the market in a few months, and shapers like ambrose experiementing with these things, I think we’ll be hearing more and more about perimiter stringers.

A UK green chem company has produced a plant matter blank apparently blown with MDI…

At the beginning of 2006 a new foam product was prototyped by a UK based Cornish “green chemistry” company that has the potential to revolutionalise the market. Sannyasi was the first independent board maker to buy into this plant based matter/ MDI mix while the product was still at development level.

More at sannyasi.co.uk.

Info and more pics on the surfermag.com BB