Watch: Torren // Three Boards at Rincon

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
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It's a "classic Californian day" day at the Queen of the Coast and Torren has three boards to test ride, a 7'6", 6'9", and 6'6". All shaped by Simon Jones.

As a wise surfer should, he starts with the longest board first and works his way down.

Rather than a typical music soundtrack, turn the volume up to hear Torren and Simon chatting over the phone about the boards. Surfer and shaper on the same page, though separated by 10,000 kms.

See below for more info on the boards, however a quick heads up that everyone who purchases a wetsuit from needessentials this month will go into a draw to win a Simon Jones board.

The boards, as described by Simon Jones:

6’6" x 19" 7/8  x 2" 3/4  OG Fiji 
It’s a copy of the very first Fiji I ever did which came about when Torren rang me about two days before he left for a trip to Fiji. We were just chatting away but I could sense there was something coming. Then he goes ‘I just got an updated report - it’s going to be 15 foot at 17 seconds’ or something like that. I happened to have a triple stringer blank up in the roof and I used it to shape him a board which literally had to be ready within 24 hours. I remember I went down to the bay after dinner, shaped it, then texted photos through to Torren and we worked our way through it. He felt really comfortable on it in solid Cloudbreak, and then it kind of became the basis for all the Fijis. The channels feel really secure and comfortable in sizey waves, so they also became a really big part of what we’re doing.

Like all of us, Torren loves certain boards on his backhand and this 6’6” was one of them. Surfing with him at J-Bay, we decided there were things to change so the board would feel more at home on his forehand as well. I didn’t change the rocker too much: essentially all I did was add more curve out on the rail between his feet – that’s the current 6’6”. So the board he’s riding in this clip is really the updated version of that very first one he took to Fiji.

6’9" x 19" 3/4  x 2" 11/16   Fiji 
Jumping forward a lot of years, Torren headed off to Tassie during lockdown and started surfing a 6’8”. It was slightly narrower, probably 19 ¾, but still quite thick, like 2¾ and he was riding it in some serious waves. Ishka sent me some footage that I watched over and over, then decided to make a little jump: we’d add an inch and bring the nose in fractionally and take a little bit of volume out from under his chest and head. Not that I ever want to know about paddling into waves like that, but you want the mass just behind the centre so the tail of the board tips up and falls into the wave more.

It’s kind of true that you need foam under your chest for paddling, but you can also make a board a pig to paddle if you’ve got too much of the mass too far forward. When the wave picks you up your legs are actually super heavy and have a lot of drag so you end up with your legs buried in the wave. Your chest and head start to lift up so you have to kind of push a lot of foam to fall into the wave. Whereas if you have the centre of the mass under the legs and hips the board just falls in like a bodysurfer catching a wave.

That was the thought process for pulling the volume out of the front of the 6’9”. That board seemed to feel a lot more comfortable for Torren in big Southern Ocean waves and influenced a lot of the range of subsequent Fijis. Having the centre of the mass back a bit they all fall in nice and easily when you commit to a decent sized wave – especially when it’s strong offshore and you’re being held back by wind and chop. But it’s cool how you can still ride them in chest-high waves – I love this 6’9” on beachies when there’re good shaped waves around.

7’6" x 20” 3/8  x 2” 3/4   Fiji 
Before Torren left for California we spoke about Ocean Beach. He'd surfed it and was up there paddling for these big lumps, thinking he had them but that Pacific Ocean swell speed was so quick the waves would just leave him behind. So, in response, I quickly made him that 7’6” out of the longest piece of foam I had at the time and sent it to my mate Kirk over in California so Torren had it to take it back to Ocean Beach next time he surfed it. Essentially, it’s like a board I ride at the point when it’s bigger. Even at 2¾, it’s an incredible paddler – it’s amazing the stuff you can pick up on it. It still has a really relaxed nose entry and again the mass is back of halfway so it falls in really nicely. All these three Fijis had medium upright twins in them and all are triple stringers.

I find triple stringers have a long memory and don’t get soggy and weird later in their life. The triples keep them rigid, and that married with the extra weight and channels is an amazing feel in a board. It’s a really secure, solid feel. These boards can feel heavy under your arm, but it’s an honest weight that gives them their own momentum. For an inanimate object, those boards have an almost animate knowledge of how to find their way out of tubes, and Torren exploits this like no other. It’s like how a baby giraffe is born and straight away it knows it's got to stand up and get on with it. I like to say to people who are new to my boards, just take off and let it run at first, follow its lead and let it set the rhythm. This process takes a little time, but it's worth it, and it's fun.

Comments

ryder's picture
ryder's picture
ryder Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 2:27pm

…and Simon Jones takes another few hundred fucking orders for another few hundred fucking twinnies!!!

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 2:30pm

Hang on! Don't you ride twinnies?

ryder's picture
ryder's picture
ryder Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 7:23pm

Yeah but like you Stu, we’ve dipped our toes way earlier than the current crop of sheep with a mid-length twin persuaded by some slick marketing!

bbbird's picture
bbbird's picture
bbbird Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 8:58pm

Twin Peaks;
Rode a Hawaiian T&C twin in the late 1970's at a biggish point break day, we spun out on the bottom turn as the lip went overhead.... so I put it under the house... never rode again.
https://lyttlestreet.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/reno-riding-the-board-that...

So, Im glad these guys are moving forward with the twin design and casually sharing some shaping details with us all....

(compared with MR's understated Twin shaping lessons as an apprentice with McCoy in NSW & then Brewer in Hawaii)
https://markrichardssurfboards.com/blogs/news/creating-my-first-twin-fin

I tried to relate to a CNC machine on shaping a modern brand name surfboard and it replied.... twins in digi speak. III000III0000IIII0000IIIII0000IIII00III

P.S There is no market branding on the Need wetsuits, same materials as other 'name' Brands you may wear & is family business.... (Im not sponsored by Need, T&C or MR)

P.S.S. Roald Dahl co-wrote the script for " You only Live Twice"
https://www.famousauthors.org/roald-dahl

bbbird's picture
bbbird's picture
bbbird Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 10:14pm

good positioning.. (i.e. not ridiculous) 2021

Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67 Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 9:14am

Odd flex Ryder. I would have thought you'd feel happy and validated that everyone has caught up with you

Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 10:20am

What else you ahead of the curve with? Big congrats on being a innovative pioneer sir. I’ll be sure not to hop on one to hopefully not gain sheep status but I am on a thruster so I guess I’m fucked there..

burleigh's picture
burleigh's picture
burleigh Thursday, 8 Dec 2022 at 12:26pm

Ryder was also the first to wear crocs and socks. He demands respect from internet strangers

PeteWebb's picture
PeteWebb's picture
PeteWebb Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 2:36pm

Pay attention to this gem of knowledge from Simon: "It’s kind of true that you need foam under your chest for paddling, but you can also make a board a pig to paddle if you’ve got too much of the mass too far forward. When the wave picks you up your legs are actually super heavy and have a lot of drag so you end up with your legs buried in the wave. Your chest and head start to lift up so you have to kind of push a lot of foam to fall into the wave. Whereas if you have the centre of the mass under the legs and hips the board just falls in like a bodysurfer catching a wave."
Anyone who has ridden a Machado Seaside & Beyond will read this and think, 'So that's what was happening with that board.'

rooftop's picture
rooftop's picture
rooftop Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 1:50am

Interesting. Counter-intuitively, putting the centre of mass (i.e. more foam) further back on a board will have the opposite effect when the board is combined with a paddler on the water.

The extra rearward foam will reduce the combined density of board and paddler in that area, creating localised lift and shifting the centre of mass forward.

Anyway, PW, are you saying the Seaside and Beyond have the desired effect, or the opposite?

bbbird's picture
bbbird's picture
bbbird Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 8:32pm
PeteWebb's picture
PeteWebb's picture
PeteWebb Monday, 12 Dec 2022 at 11:37pm

@rooftop "Interesting. Counter-intuitively, putting the centre of mass (i.e. more foam) further back on a board will have the opposite effect when the board is combined with a paddler on the water.

The extra rearward foam will reduce the combined density of board and paddler in that area, creating localised lift and shifting the centre of mass forward.

Anyway, PW, are you saying the Seaside and Beyond have the desired effect, or the opposite?"
At the 3 min mark where he talks about foam kept in the foil behind centre rather than under the chest. Seaside volume forward with thinned out tail so not the desired effect.

juegasiempre's picture
juegasiempre's picture
juegasiempre Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 3:57am

My current small wave board is a 2nd hand Grant Miller f skate and I decided to test out the 'foam is your friend theory' by going by his recommendations for an average surfer, despite being what I'd consider too big. It's a total dog catching waves and I wish I just got my normal shortboard volume + a couple of litres like I've done in the past. It goes ok, but for catching waves it sucks.

Unluckily I'm overseas and don't have the FB marketplace/Gumtree of Australia or I'd move it on and get a normal volume small wave board..... Or a hipster twin mini mal!

I'd say torryn and Craig Anderson have single handedly sold more surfboards than any CT pro surfer by a mile.

Seabiscuit's picture
Seabiscuit's picture
Seabiscuit Wednesday, 7 Dec 2022 at 3:04pm

100%

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 4:56pm

Rincon and 12 guys out ????????????????????????????

booman's picture
booman's picture
booman Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 6:33pm

I love boards with momentum (weight) until they smash me in the face! :-0

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 7:00pm
bbbird's picture
bbbird's picture
bbbird Monday, 5 Dec 2022 at 9:26pm

Dahl’s books involve imagination and fantasy .....and they were humorous too.
His first book for children was ‘The Gremlins’.
His book most loved by children is ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. This was made into two films; one was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ in 1971 and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ in 2005. Another famous work is ‘Matilda’ published in 1988 which was made into a movie in 1988. Some other books of Dahl are Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 5:49am

Morning of the Earth Surfboards
Twin Pin - No Channels
$1330 6’3” and under
$1500 6’4” - 7’2”
$1650 7’3” - 8’0”

haggis's picture
haggis's picture
haggis Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 1:23pm

You can still get a decent price (790) on a Wayne Webster custom. Legend from Lennox. Cheers Webby

Cheers Haggis

AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 10:25am

Strewf.

Robwilliams's picture
Robwilliams's picture
Robwilliams Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 10:31am

Mr Richards nailing it. You can't beat the feel. 6.27min mark i think you can see less drag due to the setup (might be the rider) but I may be imagining it. Just looks like far less resistance or constant speed rather than projection. I don't ride twins but love the expertise being explained. Go get stoked.

blackers's picture
blackers's picture
blackers Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022 at 6:03pm

Reckon the 6'9" was the sweet spot for him here. The bigun looked loggy, the 6'6" boggy. Have a couple of 6'10 keel twins myself and I love them in the right conditions. Mind you, you notice the extra rail length. Not so good for hitting the lip but all time for a sweeping cutty.

More tubes please's picture
More tubes please's picture
More tubes please Wednesday, 7 Dec 2022 at 11:39am

Anyone know the current lead time for a MOTE custom? Last I heard it was 12 months +

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Sunday, 29 Jan 2023 at 12:15pm

Yeah more than 12. Lotta coin. Heard of crew who didn’t have a good experience with the ‘process’

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Wednesday, 7 Dec 2022 at 12:16pm

Does he have a Ghost Shaper [s] ?

mikehunt207's picture
mikehunt207's picture
mikehunt207 Thursday, 8 Dec 2022 at 12:30am

Torryn and the waves are both fatter and slower than last time round by the looks, good paddock and all that after the success and will still sell the twinny dream for a bit longer I reckon.
Some nice geographic shots of the Cali landscape too, making it look nicer than it is in reality, well done Isnka more than anyone, keep on polishing!

burleigh's picture
burleigh's picture
burleigh Thursday, 8 Dec 2022 at 12:30pm

Torryn fatter? WTF you sound like a teenage girl........

udo's picture
udo's picture
udo Saturday, 28 Jan 2023 at 7:52pm

Good to see him on something Shorter and Ripping ..