Glide & Slide Asymmetrical Alaia Interview
Personal Background: My name is Rob Fletcher and I am 32 years of age and live in San Diego CA. I first learned to surf at around 9 years old, but had been bodyboarding for about 4 years prior to standing up on a board. I shaped my first surfboard, a Rich Pavel Speed-Dialer copy, about 4 years ago in my garage. Since then I have built a shaping shed in my backyard and have shaped a dozen or so surfboards (including two asymmetrical boards), 4 alaias, and a half dozen or so handplanes. I love to ride all kinds of boards, from handplanes to alaias to high performance shortboards, traditional fishes, and single fin longboards.
G&S: "Why did you design an asymmetrical alaia and what can you tell us about the design?”
RF: My interest in asymmetrical design has been piqued recently by the shapes and theory of Carl Ekstrom, Ryan Burch, and my friend and shaper George Gall. I have even shaped myself a few asymmetrical surfboards to vet the design theory in my own head, and to see how that theory translates to reality out in the water. I have three alaias that I shaped hanging out in my garage, a 6’2” peanut shape, a 6’4” peanut shape, and a 6’6” anchovy shape. The 6’2” and the 6’4” are pretty similar in design, with the 6’4” being a little thicker. I figured that an asymmetrical alaia would be pretty interesting, and I already had a well tested alaia ready to cut up, all I needed to do was modify it! So I decided to sacrifice the 6’4” and make it asymmetrical. The other reasoning in my mind is that alaias are really pretty hard to ride backside. I’ve gotten pretty proficient at riding them frontside, but spin all over the place trying to go right (I’m a goofy foot). The design elements I incorporated into this board are intended to maintain the high performance elements that the peanut shape give me on my forehand, and to allow me to control the board better on my backhand. Unlike asymmetrical surfboard theory, where the prevalent thought is that the frontside rail should be longer and the backside rail shorter, I decided that with an alaia a longer, straighter backside rail may add stability. I also altered the bottom contour and parabolic curvature of the rails on each side, so the board is truly asymmetric from about 18” back from the nose.
G&S: “Have you been riding alaias or other finless equipment before you made this one and did that influence the creation of this one?”
RF: I made my first alaia from a piece of 6’ long by 18” wide by 1” thick laminated pine that I bought at Home Depot for about $25. I decided that while alaias looked fun, I’d try and make one on the cheap before I invested any real money into it. I rode my first wave all the way to the beach and was instantly hooked on the sensation of the drag-free, finless glide. That board didn’t last too long as it sucked up water and delaminated after about a dozen sessions. I moved onto paulownia wood for my next alaia, and bought a pretty expensive alaia blank from Patagonia that Tom Wegener had milled and sent over from Australia. The difference in performance between the paulownia and pine boards was astronomical, and the extra cost was well justified. I went on to make two more alaias out of paulownia before I decided to try an asymmetrical alaia.
G&S: “How did you build and shape it and what kind of wood is it made of?”
RF: I use paulownia wood to make my alaias and handplanes. It is extremely light and naturally water resistant, but most importantly it has an amazing natural flex that is so important in alaias. I use blanks that are about 6’-7’ long by 20” wide by 1” think. First I draw my template on the blank then use a jigsaw to cut it out. Then I use a variable speed disc sander to create the concaves and chines on the bottom of the board. I usually sand to 220 grit and then finish with a boiled linseed oil/turpentine mixture.
G&S: “How does it ride?”
RF: I haven’t had much of a chance to test the asymmetrical alaia yet but I’ll give you an update once I’ve given it a good go. My other alaia work wonderfully and give you a completely different feel to surfing. It’s kind of like the sensation you get snowboarding in deep powder. The feeling of unlimited speed and drag-free slide is amazing. The peanut shapes are more parabolic, kind of like modern snowboards, and are extremely maneuverable once you figure out how to create traction and manage release. Cutbacks, floaters, tube rides, and 360’s, both regular and reverse, are all part of the repertoire.
G&S: “Do you build these just for yourself and friends or do you sell these?”
RF: I have only built these for myself so far, but I routinely lend them out to friends to try. I have thought about making handplanes and alaias to sell but haven’t had the time to really follow that path yet.
G&S: “Any other finless designs on the horizon?”
RF: My next project is an EPS foam/epoxy resin alaia. I plan to shape an alaia out of EPS foam then glass with a combination of 4 oz fiberglass and innegra cloth, with carbon fiber wrapped rails for support and to control flex. I then plan on vacuum bagging a cork laminate to the deck for a natural traction pad. The idea is to create an alaia with the same performance as a paulownia board but with greater float so paddling becomes less of a task.
G&S: “How can people get in touch with you if they want to know more (facebook, blog, website, or other)?”
RF: I do have a blog but have been pretty negligent in maintaining it. It can be found at www.communicatedagitation.blogspot.com. I am also on Facebook under my name, and I occasionally post pictures of my builds there. Feel free to contact me with questions/ideas/etc. Thanks for the opportunity to share my stoke on alaias and finless wavesliding!
Rob's first asymmetrical surfboard.
Asymmetrical alaia.
Fine tuning the bottom contours on the asymm alaia.
Bottom contours on the assym alaia.
The finished product.
Rob riding his 6'6" peanut alaia at Lobitos in Peru.
