Writer Jaimal Yogis checks out the Meyerhoffer board. "Meyerhoffer started surfing later in life and he designed these alien boards with CAD software, which would be the equivalent of making French wine in steel barrels."
i've seen a guy at Linda Mar a few times that I think was riding one of these..he was bald too...but all bald white dudes in wetsuits look the same to me..so not sure if it was Meyerhoffer. He definitely got some sassing in the parking lot packing/unpacking his board.
pretty good article, makes me want to try one out.
i do feel like the sentiment about "made in thailand" and "designed on a computer" is pretty naive though.
for one thing, unless you're dealing with a local shaper, most modern boards are mass produced - and often overseas.
secondly, all boards that are mass produced are modeled onto a computer at some point. the problem here, is that most people don't understand the design process. people hear the word computer and imagine it was done by robots.
as a product design engineer, i've worked with thomas in the past. like in most bay area design firms, the computer is one of many tools put to use. there is a lot of sketching, sculpting with foam, mocking-up with foam-core and, or course, computing. just because a computer is used as does not make a designer less of an artist and should not make the final product any less credible.
aside from the unique shape, i think the big difference is that he's highlighting the fact that he used CAD software, whereas al merrick wants you to feel like it was done in someone's garage. at least meyerhoffer's being honest.
Great points, @acrarer, although I wouldn't say Merrick is being less than honest. It pretty much directly says in the CI catalog that they use a computer/CNC to cut the blank to super-close tolerances.
I figure -- naively? -- that the CAD is just another tool like a planer or a piece of sandpaper; the person driving it still needs to have shaping knowledge in order to make a good board. (I would almost say, again naively, that the use of CAD to design a board isn't even something that needs to be highlighted in the first place, even though using CAD is a skill in itself...)
On a semi-related note, in the video "One Track Mind," one of the CI pros straight-up says "the [boards] coming out of the machine don't even work; the one [Al] hand-shaped just felt like it was attached to my feet." As a beginner surfer with an interest in the equipment, I wonder why that would be the case...
ok, busted. i just made up the thing about merrick "wanting you to feel like it was done in someone's garage" to bookend my argument. it did tie things together nicely though, didn't it?
to respond to @over_the_falls, the thing about the pro saying the machined boards don't even work. . . really? last surf shop i was in, there were about 100 stacked along the window. bollocks! of course, the one al hand-shaped was better - no big surprise there. there's always subtlety lost in translation, but there are probably other details too. did they use the same materials (foam, etc)? did al custom shape the hand-made board for that pro? probably. probably made it for his exact dimensions and riding style.
to respond to your point about beginner surfer with an interest in equipment. i'd say, no question, if you have the time you should get a board hand-shaped. they're roughly the same cost and you'd support a craftsman. the trade-off is that you need to put in the effort to find a shaper, spend the time figuring out what you want made, and waiting several months for him to make it (on bad surf days).
But how's the flex pattern??
Strange about the bright color blob on the nose. Is Meyerhoffer intentionally trying to make his boards look like a cross between a paint stirrer and a pregnancy test?
@acrarer, yeah it did actually tie things together quite well :) I'm guessing the pro (Dane Reynolds, who has his own pro model) meant exactly what you said, that the machine-made ones lack subtleties. Then again, aren't the machine-made ones supposed to be copies of the hand-made ones? *shrug*
