Not the 9-6 one, the 10'1" Black and Blue Machine. Just interested in how it rides, pluses and minuses and the like. and if you can compare it to the new Lairds, well, compare away!
Strikes me as being a pretty specialist board.....full on noserider......sure it does what it is meant to do....JL is a top shaper.
comes in two versions, one with a flat nose and one with a very-deep concave nose, which i assume is the more full-on noserider of the two. from the lack of response here, i gather than the B&B hasn't been one of his biggest sellers. a few months ago, when i first saw it, i wrote jimmy and he said a/ that not even he could stand on the 9-6 version and that b/ he has ridden the 10-1 one only a couple of times because he's a prone surfer mainly, esp when he wants to noseride. that said, sure wish i could find a real rider's report!
I had a series of great conversations with Jimmy when he was in Viet Nam riding the prototype for the Black and Blue Machine. Fantastic guy who gave me a lot of his personal time - the 117 liter version is designed for very accomplished noseriding types. He also told me it was challanging at first and most of his personal SUP riding is limited to as many of the famous DW runs Maui is famous for that he can possibly do!
He sent me some pics of him styling up on the nose on the big 10' Black and Blue Machine which were munched by my phone. The smaller Black and Blue was too small for me and the big one WAY to big so I had Dave Daum of King's Paddle Sports make me an incredible 10' Crocodile noserider with a volume of 125 liters.
jimmy is one of the most responsive guys there is. drop him an email and he gets back to you fast as can be. i think i overstated any issues he might have with the 9-6.
here's what he had to say:
"I weigh about 178 and the 9'6" version of the Black and Blue Machine is HARD for me to balance on. Mainly because I don't DO stand up surfing much. I CAN paddle it around but I fall of quite often, which, I'm sure you know, is NOT FUN!!! That version (9'6") IS for more advanced riders. ALL of the measurements and things were made specifically for my brother, who IS a good paddler and surfer and is about my size. The 9'6" wasn't designed for everyone in mind. After making that size of the Black and Blue Machine I realized that I needed a larger size for bigger guys. So I added the 10'1" X 31" wide. That board, when I ride it, I NEVER fall of. It's bitchin"!!! It's EASY!! It's FUN!!! I've only had it out a few times in semi decent waves in Vietnam where my boards are made and I had a blast. As I said, I rarely do stand up in the surf. My stand up paddling is strictly down wind paddling here on Maui."
Linter - +1 on your Jimmy update. That is EXACTLY what he told me during our phone conversations. There is a young Hawaiian kid now in Newport who RIPS on the smaller Black and Blue when he is not on his JL Kwad. Sponsored JL team kid in RI to be with his girl!!
Jimmy in Viet Nam!!
He likes his Facebok page.....he answers questions on that (private messaging) pretty quick too. Funny that he uses upper case for some words
Linter you rascal, 117 too small 165 too big; 127 x 10' x 31.5" x 4" perfect. When you go to SoCal go see Dave Daum and demo Crocs, Dauminators, and SS models He could even make a Con Super Ugly! Mention my real name and he will make it heavy like mine 26.5 pounds of Blue perfection!
akeg: thanks for the tip. i'll call him today.
mr_big: if he's got a demo croc, i'll for sure try to get on it. thinks for the tip as well!
Next to the gongsup boards, the B&B is the best looking production noserider I've seen. But at 117litres is still a bit big. Does anyone know of production noseriders around the 9'0"/26"/100 litre mark??
Cheers
And I see that Jimmy has these boards 25% off right now. If anyone is keen I would seriously consider sharing an order and a box freighted over. Cheers.
Hey Tang, The Laird 9' surfer at 9' x 28.5 x 4" x 28.75" x 110 liters, and the Laird hybrid 9' x 28.5 x 3.875 x 105 liters are worth a look. And easy to grab one where you are! Dave Daum has a 90 liter 9 foot Croc he made for himself. Will try to get a pic for ya mate. Cheers!
in case anyone hasn't read my first desperate-to-noseride story, here's a shameless plug and link: www.outsideonline.com/1922561/learning-surf-without-feeling .
akeg: a follow up is definitely in order, this time focusing on the (futile?) search for the perfect board. at the moment, i'm in the accumulation stage of research, ha ha, and just trying not to go broke. i've seen that infinity but hadn't thought about it in a while. while i'm san diego for the winter, i'll go up and see steve. he built me a waveski or two in my pre-SUP days, so i know him. btw / do you remember if the jimmy 10-1 felt heavy or light? i do like my heavy!
right now, my buddy who owns matunuck surf shop is applying to become a JL dealer, so he might be getting a B&B for me to demo. hope it happens before i leave town!
as regards the tipsup -- a week or two ago i added 12 lbs of lead weight to it and, for me, it's gone from being a dog of a board to just the speedy, stable ticket i really really like. it remains too full an outline (again, for me) but it's certainly better than it was. i'd still like to sell it, but i gotta tell you, this adding weight business has been a revelation. what i'd like to try next is taking a board with volume that is far too low for me -- like 120L -- and strap a bunch of lead to it and see how it feel then.
for anyone who's curious, here's a pic of my tipsup lead sled. kooky!
update: my local surf shop just became a JL dealer (thanks to my whining about it). i'll have a 10-1 B&B to demo next week. hope it ain't too light!
Linter, Squeaky wheel sometimes gets the oil! Buy now before the price increase. Seriously, noseriders on at least two continents are waiting for your feedback..
Had some great rides yesterday on my Crocodile in RI!
Pic of Dave Daum on his Croc!
will keep yall posted. hope we get some waves right when it arrives or i'll be up the creek. i leave for san diego in two weeks and, if i haven't tested the board, i'm not going to take it. gulp.
Here is a pic of Dave Daum on a 9'2" x 28" x 3.5 x 100 liter rat-rod Dauminator - more in your line of thinking I bet!