Tyler Reid at Greenbush in May

Clint's Pics

These were forwarded to me from Mr. Clint Preisendorfer.  Apparently he, his pops, and the rest of the boat got some good use out of the lot.  Here is a few of Clint, in a place all of us wish we were right now.

Another Great One from Eric Warner

EWarner Photography ©ewarnerphoto.com

DIY New York Edition

Thanks for turning me on to handplanes, I was you website last year and made a couple of my own. I always loved bodysurfing but only went on really big days. But now the handplane has changed everything! Here is one I just finished and gave to a life guard I know.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Greg
East Hampton NY

GOOGLE IT

I know, I know, yesterdays post was a bad joke.  In my eyes though, it was the reality of the last few years of handplanes in Googles eyes.  You see, if you were to Google "Handplane" in the past, that is exactly what you would have gotten.  Either the Stanley Handplane site or a bunch of pictures of handplane tools.  NO LONGER!  Because of all the people that were willing to take a chance.  All the people that were willing to open their minds to other ways of riding waves.  Because of all of you!  If you now Google "Handplane", this site, Handplane Goodness, will come up first.  And you know what, it feels pretty fricken cool.  It means to me that all the time I put into this blog has paid off.  So, in celebration of that, here is some pictures of my latest prototype.  It is similar to the short and fat in design, just the dimensions have been modified.  You see, there is a small group of hardcore bodysurfers that are constantly nagging (in a good way) me to make something smaller.  So, though this may look similar to the short and fat, but, it is actually 1" narrower and about a 1/2" shorter.  It is presently being tested by Jason Kenworthy and Kasey Curtis in Orange County, but then will be headed to Hawaii to Craig Jerome for more testing at Sandy's, Point Panic, and Pipeline (this winter).  I got to try it one time prior to handing it off, but, unfortunately, the waves just weren't optimal for this design.  I'll let you know how it goes.

This could be the nicest...

Handplane ever made. The grain patterns are simple yet effective, the lines are clean, and those blades will probably hold in the trickiest positions you may ever get yourself into.

McGrath to close- Need Help for a Worthy Cause

Coca Cola is running a contest to award a State Park $100,000.  The only beach state park in the top 10 is McGrath State Beach in Ventura.  Having camped and enjoyed the waves thier,  I think it is a worthy cause.  The voting contest started on August 10 and ends on September 6th.  Without this money, McGrath is slated to close on September 6th, 2011, the same day the contest ends.  It is the only park in the top 10 that is slated to close.  The others will just be getting the money to spruce things up.  I think with some Facebook and Blogger spamming, we just might be able to win this.  Please post this on your Blog and also your facebook page.  You can vote as many times as you like.   Call it spam, but really, there are no winners if the parks closes! Nip this in the bud!

Here is a quick link to vote, you can vote as many times as you want, NO LIMITS! THANKS!

http://m.livepositively.com/park_details.jsp?parkId=140


https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/SaveMcGrathStateBeach


http://www.keyt.com/news/local/Online-Ef...-127495433.html

Brothers got a problem...

So you remember back in January the post about Kolohe Andino, click here to review: Brother Can You Spare...

Well, the title was a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy.  You see Kolohe loves to be in the water surfing, but, there is only so much time you can be the best 17 year old surfer in the world.  Occasionally you gotta do something else.  His handplane filled this void well.  So well that all his friends started stealing it.  So being the good guy that he is, he ordered 5 more, so that he will always have at least one for his own use.  This first black Short and Fat Model was amazing.  That stingray shape on the bottom, well, that is actually grain.  I wish I woulda got better pictures of it, actually I wish I would told Kolohe to step the %&$# back, this ones mine, but, after my rational mind took over, I think it was wise to send it off to him.  The other four should pretty much cover any conditions he and his friends should encounter.  Oh yeah, and congrats on your semi-final finish in the US Open, strong work Brother!

When Rusty Calls...

Most people know who Rusty is. Even my kids, who usually want to stay in the car, were impressed, and couldn't get out of the car fast enough, when we pulled up to the Rusty Factory to drop off these six handplanes. I've grown up in San Diego, and was fortunate to be just on the cusp of when Rusty was shaping for Canyon Surf Shop, prior to developing the world wide Megolopolis that is Rusty today. I idolized him and his shapes over the years and have been fortunate to have reasonably easy access when needed. I've had about 10 Rusty's over the years, and not one of them was a dog, and most were pretty magic. I honestly have never even properly met him, but have exchanged a few words here and thier, in the line-up or land, over the last 25 years. Honestly, he wouldn't be able to pick me out of a crowd, or recognize my name if I was brought up.  Rusty called at the end of last week. He's going on a boat trip with some friends tomarrow. Wanted to try out some handplanes in the land of perfect waves. So, I did what any rational Manboy would do that grew up surfing and idolizing the most succesful shaper to come out of my area. I put aside all orders, and most other things (sorry all those that are waiting), and cranked out these six handplanes for his trip. He and his son are bigger guys, are going with an older crew, and have only a bit of bodysurfing experience. So I made them a pretty transitional set. One El Gigante to get them going, two Brownfish to transition and also for longer waves that aren't throwing top to bottom the whole way down the line, One Modified Short and Fat for the bigger guy (yellow), and two Short and Fats for the meaty wedges that they will hopefully find. I dropped them at the factory yesterday and was pleasently surprised to get a call from Rusty last night about how stoked he was. That always feels good to get a compliment from someone like him. So, here they are, hopefully they will get thier share of barrel time. More importantly, hope the crew all remember to bring their fins.

Scrapwood Series #1

This one is for me. Have already had a few great sessions on it. Made entirely from cutoffs from other handplanes. Sure the blank is somewhat free, but the time that goes into putting it back together makes up for that. Nonetheless, I find it fun making things like this. Should be a lot more of these in the future. Hope you like. G

The DIY Series

Here is a great story from JD about his handmade Handplanes. I love surfing, it has been my life for close to 30 years now, but, it goes to show you that there are many other options for riding waves than foam and fiberglass:

"Thanks so much for your help! For my first try, I was really happy with the results. I used them to surf the (flat) waves of Hilton Head, SC. The last day of a 2 week vacation we had decent waves. My brother and father-in-law traded the handplanes and a longboard back and forth for a few hours. They worked great! It was so much fun. I'll definitely take them along for all surfing sessions. Now that I'm back in Madison, WI I can't wait to try them on Lake Michigan!" JD

Perfect Summer Day Fun Down Under

Here is some good clean summertime fun shot by Joey Fumar at Duranbah, Australia. I believe he is using a Brownfish model with Gopro. Not sure if I put the mount on it for him, or he did it himself, but, nonetheless, it's always neat seeing something you made halfway around the world, creating smiles.