The quest for enlightenment continue ,so I took he plunge and purchased an edge spoon …..a perfect compliment to add to my quiver of alternative surf craft, and its nice to ride back on my knee’s, and give my lower back a rest from surfing prone on the paipo’s and surf mat’s!
Paul Newman below with two of Neal Cameron built edge spoons.
Pro’s and Con’s
They are a lot of work in he water, as I have mentioned before, there is no true floatation like a standard foam/ fibreglass constructed board, so be prepared to kick and kick , and kick some more, so a good pair of swim fin’s will be a major bonus , as pictured below.
They duck dive like nothing else, and with my spoon being of a Fibreglass construction, its a lot heavier than the Carbon Fibre / Kevlar constructed Hull’s, so this baby just sinks at the slightest touch, and on the plane will push thru the chop on the wave face like a hot knife to butter….heavier the better !
Leashes
Don't wear one if you can!…I have only worn one once and found it to be a real pain in the backside , as you can see in the video.
So you want it to ride and turn like your normal fibreglass kneeboard?
Well, there not designed to surf like that , so if you think your going to rip like Kelly Slater , your in for a big disappointment ! stick to surfing your standard fibreglass 2” thick board with 3 or 4 fins stuck in it. These displacement hull’s need big, clean wall’s, and like surf mats, once you have tap the energy source that is in the water, i will take off into 3rd and 4th gear like grease lightning!
Flex
Flex in the board and fin will help you ‘whip out ‘ of a turn, much like when you have canted fins in a board, so with a lot of the new ‘Hybrid ‘ edge spoon being constructed with lighter , but not as flexible materials , and putting 3-4 fin’s in them as well , you might as well save the $$$$$ and buy a normal board, because they wont flex like a traditional constructed hull, therefore defeating the whole purpose of riding one on the first place.
canted fins pictured below
Four Finner by Neal Cameron
Detachable fin system by Neal
Below is one of Richard Palmer’s Kevlar constructed spoon’s ( L) compared to a Neal Cameron Carbon Fibre spoon ( R)
Richard below
I have ridden both and found Richard’s to be a really great ride, felt more like a kneeboard to surf, lighter to kick with in the water, a really super positive hull to ride!
Meanwhile in Southern California
Mark Munroe from Byron Bay was recently at Huntington Beach, and bumped into a few of my local friends, Wayne Kopit, Tom Backer and Mike Fernandez . Love seeing the old school Continental flippers and saver’s still being used !
Pics below by Mike Fernandez
Neal below with a quiver of edge spoons that he has made, and above the spoon that he gave to George Greenough as a wall hanger.
Below is a couple of video’s that I have made whilst riding my edge spoon, with the camera mounting on the nose looking back and with it facing forward from my helmet cam…
Surfing a Egg Shell from
adam williams on
Vimeo.
egg shells from
adam williams on
Vimeo.
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