"I want a mutant small wave board...don't be afraid to get a little freaky."
-Cliff Kapono
I knew i wanted to make something short and stubby for cliff, but to compensate for his "gorilla-esque body size, it was gonna have to be thicker than i'd like to make it. the problem with really full, thick boards, is that they go fast but don't like to change directions without a lot of focused pressure by the rider. this is due in large to the difficulty that comes with keeping a beefy rail engaged in the water through maneuvers- generally, the thicker the board, the thicker the rail. the thicker the rail, the harder to bury it- like trying to hold an inner-tube under water in the swimming pool. Cliff's Mutant had a 2.25 rail thickness (the same rail that cliff has on his high performance short boards.) it also has a flat/slight concave deck measuring to 2.5 inches in thickness. This deck contour combination gives us the float we desire without the "chunky" or "corky" rail effect that usually accompanies high volume surfboards.
Another aspect that i wanted to focus on, was to create something that would allow cliff to worry less about slow, weaker sections by turning them into ramps for aerial surfing. The deck-line on this board looks fairly normal until the back 6 inches or so, when it kicks, mimicking the tail you see on a skateboard. this allows anyone wanting to play more above the water's surface to step back, and leverage the rest of the board out of the water, making it easier to "pop" or "ollie."
Check the video's below of Cliff giving it a go.
Order short, really short. around 8" shorter than your standard HP shorty, and really wide. This model goes best in any EPS/epoxy constructions on the market.
model w/ no name from cliff kapono on Vimeo.
