Surfing Waves

i need to know what you guys & girls are into, im a university student studying automotive design and i am designing a weekend escape vehicle and i want to design it specifically for surfers. the vehicle needs to accommodate for all your needs if you were to go surfing for a day or a weekend so i would really like to know:

what you need in terms of equipment, clothes, food etc.
what you would generally do if you do anything apart from surf, sleep, eat, drink.
how far you would travel for a weekend of surfing.
what you usually travel in to your surf spot.

i would also be really interested to know about the
music you listen to
designs you like
brands you wear
booze you drink
stuff you watch
your surfing idols
any interests you have surfing related or not and if surfing defines who you are, if its a weekend hobby or a lifestyle.

any information will be very useful and i will be very grateful

thanks very much

hardwalker wrote:any information will be very useful and i will be very grateful

thanks very much

Good buy us some beers then and you might get some answers. *wonders how long it will be before another student comes along with his first post asking us to do their homework for them*
I guess it must be dissertation time of year or something as there seems to be quite a few first time student posters wanting infomation and help but offering nothing in return to the forum. Is it just me being grumpy today? I shouldn't be i did get out surfing the last 2 weekends.

KS

i think i might have given you wrong impression mate, this isn't my homework and i don't do dissertations. i am design student and wanted to get into the mindset of a surfer so the vehicle i design will be everything a surfer wants/needs, not just a van to throw your board on.

sorry for wasting your time

hardwalker wrote:i think i might have given you wrong impression mate, this isn't my homework and i don't do dissertations. i am design student and wanted to get into the mindset of a surfer so the vehicle i design will be everything a surfer wants/needs, not just a van to throw your board on.

sorry for wasting your time

Sounds suspicously like homework to me.

KS

thanks for your help

hardwalker wrote:thanks for your help

Hi;

Having agreed to the manufacturing method and resulting specification of the Astra / Mondeo front hydroformed engine cradles (by replicating on a GBP£ multi-million facility combined with beta finite element analysis automotive modules), and having a nod of approval with regard to the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph (no more info on that from me !) and having lived in a type two VW camper for years while surfing, and now very happy in my nice big home –
A FOOKING TOILET DUDE !

a fooking toilet will be a definate, cheers mate

Hallo hardwalker,
I looked at the list you things you want to know. It made me curious.
1. Are you licensed to drive automobiles or motorcycles?
2. Do you surf?
3. Do you play guitar?
bille

his homework is probably due by now lol

Hey billie, thats cool
1. yes i am licensed to drive automobiles, not motorcycles though
2. no i do not surf, thats why i am hoping to find out more about surfers as i can not go off my own experience. i am a skiier/snoboarder.
3. i do not play guitar, i am a drummer.

hw

also, this is not my homework, homework makes me sound like i am a kid at school. i am a university student serious about design for the future and sustainable living. i am just trying to find out more about the lifestyles of surfers so that my design is more suitable for your needs. you guys should be loving the fact that i am trying to design a vehicle that makes your surfing life easier and doesn't have a major effect on your wallet or the environment.

hardwalker wrote:hw

what does hw stand for? Hmmm let me think now.... *thinking* ahh that's it i remember now! Homework!!!

KS

thanks for your help KS, you have really given me a good insight into the mindset of surfers

hardwalker wrote:thanks for your help KS, you have really given me a good insight into the mindset of surfers

It is not the mindset of surfers it is just that we are getting alot of this type of posted lately and it does not help the forum. The only way you can truely find out about the mindset of a surfer is to become one your self. So get out there

thank you, i will! i have 3 weeks off at easter so il try and get started then

Wv transporters are pretty cool. Or dormoblies. Something aerodynamic on top which you could stick 2 or 3 surfboards would be very handy if it couldnt be broken into. Or just go for a us style big mobile home which is incredibly cheap and possibly made of marruiana. With storage racks inside. The problem is essentially one of protecting surfboards from knocks or theft, and having enough room to use to cook and sleep. All at very cheap price.

hardwalker,

Many vehicles are used successfully by surfers. VW campers are very common because they strike balance between cost, comfort, size (large enough for boards, sleeping in, carrying stuff, but not so large they use excessive fuel and cause hassles for driving and parking). Surfers use standard station wagons and SUVs in the same way. Surfers actually use anything they can and you'll see a lot of young people using the family auto or lower cost import sedan or two-door.

Equipment can be minimal or extensive. It depends on the guy, but surfers tend toward leaness and many do not get bogged down with lots of stuff. This is the opposite of the Recreation Vehicle (RV) camper crowd that get away from it all by taking it all with them. Basic equipment: board, wetsuit. wax, leash, dry clothes. Some guys take 2 or more boards. Boards range in length from 4 feet to 12 feet. There is no average lenght. Length is dictacted by interests, skills, and surf break conditions. Minimal clothing is taken. But, will include winter weather clothing in cold times or cold areas. Because you stated you are not a surfer you may benefit from knowing this: it's uncool to wear a wetsuit anywhere except at the surf break. You don't want to be seen driving in them or going to stores in them. Food varies, too. When I used to surf regularly in cold water, I usually had a thermoses filled with hot tea and hot food. In warmer locations, I take drinks (but don't ice them down), and some energy bars. Many surfers use breaks close to stands where they can get a fish taco or burrito easily and for not much cost.

Distance surfers will drive to drive depends on the surfer. I used to live in a location where I had to drive 1 to 2 hours for my breaks. That was my limit. Then I moved and I have many breaks within 15 to 45 minutes and don't need to sleep overnight.

My surf vehicle is a 1992 Isuzu Trooer, but I've been known to use my 2006 MINI Cooper when the surf is up and my wife ahs the Isuzu. The few times I've gone with friends, we used their pickup trucks. Pickup trucks, by the way, are excellant surf vehicles.

Music: you hear it all because all kinds of guys surf. But for me, it's rock and nothing after 1986. The majority of it is noting after 1979.

stuff you watch: there is no television in my household, but my wife and I go to many surf films. Living in Santa Barbara, it is easy to attend many surf movie premiers or openings. This is usually a lot of fun

your surfing idols: two past co-workers. No one would know them, but they are giants in my eyes and they taught me a lot. I don't pay much attention to the semi-pros and pros.

interests not related to surfing and if surfing defines who you are, if its a week end hobby or a lifestyle: play guitar (hobby) and have had some pretty good bands in the past; use short wave radio (hobby); fitness (life extending and makes surfing better) -- all define who I am. Surfing defines me, too. And this comment is important: surfing well is like playing guitar well. You have to do it reguarly to be proficient.

One of my good buddies has a design business and used to teach at the San Francisco Design College (or whatever it is called exactly). I provided the info above, partly out of respect for this buddy and because you shared some information about yourself.

Oh, my drum kit is Ludwig 1980. Do you have drums?

Billie. In PR the nearest break was 5 mins drive. I used an isuzi trooper which could fit a gun (7' 6") and upto 5 passengers inside and a range of other things. My friend had a pickup which he could get his shortboard behind the drivers seat. He had a board stolen from the back. We used to drive to Rincon for weekends (2 hrs) or just the day. Weekends were expensive because we booked accomodation, so knowing people in the area was another option. Here I can get two boards and a passenger into a VW polo.

hardwalker,
I'm going to bust your chops a little bit. This statement you made has tickled my funny bone: "you guys should be loving the fact that i am trying to design a vehicle that makes your surfing life easier and doesn't have a major effect on your wallet or the environment."

It demonstrates that you are indeed a young man in University (i.e., idealistic). There isn't a snow ball's chance in a very hot place located below our feet that your design is going to see the light of day beyond your design school walls.

How do I know this? Remember the design buddy I mentioned above? He's got albums full of stuff (some models, too) from his design school days that no one has seen except his teachers, fellow students, and his buddies. His buddies have also noticed that about 1/2 of the stuff he designed (motorcycles, vans, automobiles, guitars, diving tanks, spice dispensors, sunglasses, light fixtures, etc.), has been designed by design students the world over for decades. Every once in awhile, a major manufacturer or an especially intrepid engineer actually builds a concept vehicle that shares some similar traits -- not just to my buddy's design, but similar to hundreds of other students' designs. Oh, and it's not that these builders saw any particular student's design. They had the same idea, too!

Ged,
Usually, my Trooper gets loaded with two 9-foot boards (in interior). We sometimes add an 8-foot board and a 3rd person. I've got roof racks, but it is so much easier place the boards inside on a tall vehicle. Before the 1992 Trooper, I had a 1990 Mitsubishi Montero. It met an untimely death when I rolled it on the Interstate.