The Tropics Awaken!!!!!

08/04/2012........ After a particularly quiet June and July, the tropical Atlantic is finally coming to life. Just as Dr Gray from Colorado State University has issued a revised Hurricane forcast for 2012, uping his original estimate of 13 named storms to 16. The reasons given are the diminishing El Nino, allowing for calmer winds o9ver the central Atlantic, just as those stronger tropical waves start to move off the coast of Africa.

With two storms currently on the map and nearly three months left in the 2012 Hurricane season, my math indicates the potential for up to 10 more named storms!!!!!!

Get your gear ready..............



Summer Arrives June 20,2012

With temperatures finally reaching the 90's for the first time..... SUMMER has dfinately arrived in Belmar. Throngs of teenagers, fresh out of school have descended upon the beaches en masse.

The main crossings at 16th Avenue have traffic virtually at a standstill........ Hopefully this is the first of many more warm days to come!




On top of it we even have a nice little swell..... Too bad we're back to being jammed into the little beach at 18th.... oh well, the price of Summer!

Eastern Lines Designers/Shapers Part II

Bob McTavish from Australia is truly one of the innovators in modern surfboard design. Bob has been building Surfboards non-stop since 1962. The first major distribution of custom surfboards came with the "Bluebird" model produced in 1972. In the early 90's, the Big M logo was founded. It has had many refinements since it was born, but is still in production today with over 20 different McTavish models available.

In recent years, Bob has teamed up with Global Surf Industries to bring some of his signature models to the US. In addition, using many of GSI's resources, McTavish Surfboards are now available in some of the latest technologies available.

Steve Walden, known by many as the "Father of the Modern Longboard", Steve shaped his first surfboard in 1961. Steve opened his factory in 1969, and after many stints in Hawaii he made a name for himself as a prolific Longboard shaper. Steve's Magic Model was one of the first longboard designs to bring longboard surfing to the modern masses.

Steve has also teamed up with GSI in recent years, where he too has benefited from their modern technologies.

Bill Stewart, (middle pictured with Mickey Munoz and Terry Martin 1977), also considered one of the true fathers of the modern longboard, founded Stewart Surfboards in 1982 in Laguna Beach, California. Besides being an incredible artist, Bill has also revolutionized modern shortboard and longboard design. His Hydro Hull, has also had an incredible impact on modern longboards. He continues to be an innovator today with such models as the S-Winger and the Redline 11.

Bill too has recentlly teamed up with GSI. Together with McTavish and Walden, I don't beleive there's a better design/shaper team anywhere on the Planet!!!!!!

2012 EL Surfboard Designer/Shapers Part 1

At Eastern Lines we’ve have always been very proud of our affiliation and friendship with some of the very best surfboard designer/shapers in the World. This year again I think we’ve lined up some of the latest and most progressive shapers around. Here’s our quiver for 2012:

Jon Ashton – Originally from San Clemente, CA, Jon has been building surfboards in OC, MD since 1980. He is a tremendous Surfer and an accomplished World-Class Longboarder, having won such events as “The Bull Longboard Classic” held in Costa Rica. Jon makes fully progressive shortboard as well as longboard designs. I have been working with Jon on longboard designs for 15 years.  I have never  surfed as well on a longboard. In addition, Jon shapes all my funboard and longboard designs under my Zodiac label.

Adam Warden – AJW Surfboards, originally from Virginia Beach, Adam has travelled extensively over the World for the last 25 years and has honed his techniques from some of the greatest shapers ever. Adam is at the forefront of progressive shortboard design and his team contains some of the most highly touted young surfers today.

Erie Peeples – From New Smyrna, Fla, Erie is one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to know. His passion for surfing and surfboards is unsurpassed. He is a driving force for progressive design in Florida. His surfboards are 100% hand crafted. We have featured Erie’s boards at our shop for quite a few years now. Erie builds all of our shortboards under the Zodiac Label

Hank Warner – “Hanky” from San Diego is a legendary surfboard builder. Having hand shaped well over 30,000 surfboards, he is an absolute master of craft. Part of the original Windansea crew, Hank is the man whether it be a fish, progressive shortboard, or any type of longboard. I’ve been buying surfboards from Hank since 1981.

Ricky Carroll – Ricky is the pre-eminent surfboard shaper on the East Coast. Winner of the very prestigious Shaper of the Year Award (Not once but twice!) Ricky has been building boards since 1978. His current factory, R&D turns out the vast majority of boards on the East Coast under labels such as RC, Local Motion, Takyama, Island Style among several others.

2012 Hurricane Forecast

On Tuesday April 24th, the forecast for the 2012 Hurricane Season was issued by TWC. The Weather Channel is predicting a below-average hurricane season, estimating 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and only 2 major hurricanes, with only one Cat 3 or higher. A combination of cooler North Atlantic ocean temperatures and a trend towards El Nino conditions suggest a notable reduction in tropical activity. If the El Nino effect fully develops, then the prediction for named storms would reduce even more dramatically!

Let's all hope it turns out NOT to be the case.

Don't forget, the busiest Hurricane season ever was 2005 with 28 named storms......... that's what we call a Hurricane Season!

Which Type of Surfboard Construction is Right for Me?

One of the most often asked and one of the most confusing subjects asked at the Shop concerns surfboard construction. Even very experienced Surfers could not explain the differences in Surfboard construction.

Since the 1950's when Grubby Clark and Hobie Alter built the first polyester blown blank, surfboards have been constructed the same way; a hand shaped blank is glassed using several layers of fiberglass cloth. Afterwards another layer of sanding resin is applied. The glassed board is then sanded to reduce the weight and return the shaped to it's original design. The fins are added and then either a final gloss coat of resin is lightly brushed on or the sanded board is sprayed with an acrylic spray to seal all the minute air holes in the blank. Whawla....... a new surfboard is born!

In the 1990's shapers started to experiment with epoxy resins. Epoxy is a much stronger more durable resin system then polyester. The first epoxy boards were riddled with problems. The first blanks were EPS (expanded styrene) which is basically the same material as beer coolers.

If you dinged an EPS board you had to leave the water immediately. It would soak up water like a sponge. The first epoxy boards were also plagued with problems of delaminating when exposed to too much heat.

Believers in epoxy, like Greg Loehr persevered and after much trial and error came up with a more stable system which are using today. Most epoxy boards today are constructed using XPS (extruded polystyrene) blanks which do not absorb water. The resins too have been upgraded so they are much more stable and more heat resistant.

With the aerospace industry many new types of materials which are lighter and stronger are now becoming available, even though they can still be quite pricey. GSI (Global Surf Industries), the largest surfboard manufacturer in the world are currently at the cutting edge of much of these new techniques. If you'd like to learn more about newer constructions, be sure to visit their website, www.surfindustries.com.

The Not So Winter of 2012

Congratulations! You've made it through another Winter and reached March, the beginning of the Meteorological Spring season. After the incredible Winter of 2011, this Winter really seemed like not so much at all, but the cool days and really long nights do take their toll of your spirit. The thought of Daylight Savings Time and coming warmer days are enough to make you smile......

We're beginning to gear up for a new Season, our 31st. Before you know it the Shop will be filled will new boards, bodyboards and lots of new gear. If you are interested in a new board for Spring we're placing orders now for April & May deliveries. As always there is no additional charges for custom orders. Stop in, talk to the boys and get that board you've always dreamed about!