Peanut Model Alaia

The Peanut

The peanut was based on the snow board shape. I was finding that when we had done a 180 and going backwards the board did not have much control. To make the board go forward and backward, greatly improved, I would round off the square in the tail. The first one went to Africa with Jacob, Rasta, Thomas Campbell and crew and was surfed on one wave. Rasta surfed after the cameras had gone and he was impressed. The board is still somewhere over there. It is a beautiful single slab board. Nearly a year later the alaia crew was coming to Noosa to film the alaia again. Since Africa and then Hawaii the alaia progression kept growing and nobody was satisfied with the alaia footage for the movie, “The Present”.  I did not have much wood nor boards and I had to start canabalizing what I had.  The 12 footer had the nose broken off at King Island (by Derek) and looked silly. It never surfed well anyway. It was the first to be cut down. I drew a wide rounded tail peanut. The tail was wider than the nose. The board was 5’7” and thicker because I could give it extra meat. The 12 footer had been 2” thick.  I thinned the tip of the tail like the nose so it would go well, either way.

Jacob instinctively grabbed the board and rode it for nearly a year.  He loved it. I ended up bringing it to California for the 2009 Sacred Craft show in San Diego. My brother Jon and I had a stack of alaias at our little booth when Rob Machado came by. He had got some legendary waves at Uluwatu on a board that Jon have given to him through Thomas Campbell.  Jon and I said, here is our latest quiver, take what you want.  He took the peanut. He surfed it the next day and was super stoked. Next he was in “The Present” on it.  When the present premiered in Australia I gave a new single slab peanut to Jacob, alaia #200 and he still surfs it.  (Mega double 7 second tubes each on one wave at super day at Noosa – I got 10 texts from people who saw it).

The original 5’7” shape is the most difficult alaia to surf by far. You have to come off the bottom front footed only.  Also, 5’7” is short.  I have made the board longer to make it easier but it will still slide and spin easily.

 

The boards are from 5’7” to 7’ and are all customs.  I don’t carry stock because each has to be made custom.  They are for advanced surfers, with high level fitness.