Outer Island News Letter

Java Jungle Series / West Java 1990

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 05:05:00 +0000

8'3 MoonRaker V2Flex Flextail

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 05:54:00 +0000

8'3 x 21 1/2" x 3"

Custom built for Stephen this board will fly through the long walls of Bells and Winkipop.

Low rocker and maxi planing area give easy paddle and wave entry, effortless board speed.

a deep single concave feeding ride through the board generates hi acceleration and is loose

and free with the twin vee.

Quad Fin

Twin vee single concave

Glass /Resin tints x full gloss & polish

V2 Flex construction + carbon fiber original FlexTail brings the tail third of the board to

life, a flexible blade.

The "moon" tail acts like a swallow and gives the tail independent action on the corners.

The SwitchBladeFins deliver drag free speed and control.

The ultimate performance mid length board.

A Passion for Twin Fins by Prof Ian D. Goodwin

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 07:55:00 +0000

A Passion for Twin Fins

by Prof Ian D. Goodwin

I have been on the Outer program for about 30 years - a wild ride

About 20 years ago I started riding San Diego (my second home) style keel fishes

together with the flex tails, then quad finned smart boards in recent years.

Greenough said that twin fins go better and better when the fins get closer

together, in fact, when they become a single. Not deterred, the never ending quest

for the perfect board lead me back to single flyer twin fns but with the Mitchell Rae

magic concaves and flat rockers. Fast down the line and slick turning. Fast forward

to Mitchell developing the Moonraker and it was time to throw these ingredients

into the mix.

The triptych of green twinnies was the result: 6' 11", 8' and 9'. These boards have

re-energised my surfing and I am going to have one of these with me either for the

daily of wherever I travel.

Pics of the green twinnies attached together with the purple smartie and a Pavel

fish.

Many thanks Mitchell

A/Prof Ian D. Goodwin

Marine Climate Risk Group

Climate Futures and Department of Environmental Sciences

Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia

***

Balsa for Dan

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Mon, 17 May 2021 00:48:00 +0000

Dan's Balsa Quiver

9ft classic mal

click on any image to see it full size

fully hollow chambered

Inspired by a passion for guitars, Ive been using inlays of Mother of Pearl

inlays in my balsa boards for more than 30 years

***

8ft Coral Reefer Flextail

by custom order only

***

50 years celebration / Eye in the Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 06:46:00 +0000

Mid Length and Glide

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 23:23:00 +0000

Mid Length

all these boards were custom built

all styles are available by custom order only

click on images to see full size

8'4 , 8ft and 7'10

8 foot and 7'8

"Ship Wreck" 8 foot V2 Flex with glass flextail

9foot StyleMaster Glider

9 foot SuperMal

***

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 07:21:00 +0000

Style Master Glider

Ive done these at 8'6, 9ft, 9'4 and 10 foot and more

its down to what size board you like...

Effortless paddle power and wave entry, silky smooth glide

They turn off the back foot like you won't believe...

I personally prefer to ride the glider over the malibu

8'6 x 22 x 2 7/8

Glass tints in Sapphire blue

3 x cedar stringers

Handmade timber and glass fin x JD from my template

by custom order only

$2895

***

Free Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 28 Mar 2020 06:38:00 +0000

Free Spirit

7 x 21 x 2 7/8 custom build for John he's about 90 kgs, in his 50's, still riding fairly short boards...he spends a lot of time surfing in W Java , been going there since the '80'sI really enjoyed shaping and building this board... Its based on one of my own, a Coral Reefer. She has about 6mm of single to double concave with a subtle spiral chine entry, fool proof for late air drop take offs and front tube riding. 3 x cedar stringers, strong glass, a travelling board, built to last

Bali 2012 Shaping & Surfing Tour #1 Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Mon, 06 May 2019 07:51:00 +0000

Bali Shaping Tour 2012

Flying into to Bali on a clear day,

The Bukit ( the Hill)

one the most surf infested sections of coastline on the planet, from the air

Bali Hai

Kuta

Smart Board design sketch

Shaping at Rip Curl

surfing on a Zen Blade at Temples

Zen Blade

Terry Fitzgerald, me and Gringo

at the Drifter Goodvibes Single Fin Event

Ellis Ericson

with an Outer Gun, vintage early 70's single fin

its still a fabulous ride he says

a broken Supermal being resurrected at Deus

Steve Palmer with his Zen Blade

at his awesome residence , Luxe , at Padang Padang

***

Flex Tail Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 04 May 2019 07:26:00 +0000

Flex Tail Fish

6'4 x 21 1/4 x 2 3/4

Flex Tail Fish 🐠 the thin tail is sensitive and alive ... Flex delivers a variable curve and whip out of turns, the tail and fins fine tuned to the same flex , working together in harmony.. there's some twist as well , creating torque in reflex ... #flextail

***

sold

available by custom order

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:50:00 +0000

the Water Melon Board project

Old mate KJ has been talking about this board concept for a few years...
He's been salivating about the Water Melon board , so to speak...

Balsa Flex Tail Persian Slipper

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 06:22:00 +0000

Balsa Flex Tail Persian Slipper

7'8 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4

custom build for Steve Williams

This is a retro replica of my own 1979 gun which i took to Bali

It was later acquired by Dave Wylie

Fin by John Devereux

Steve Williams

Dave Wylie in West Java, mid '80s with his handsome collection of Outers

***

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 08:31:00 +0000

Soul Archer

Terry has been riding similar single fin Flex Tails for a number of years...

Deep single concaves with a touch of Persian slipper nose .

Spiral chines in the entry entry keeps them loose, catch free and balances up the deep concave.

For his new 8'6 I've cut the blank and glued my own 1" balsa T band

and outrigger stringers , 5 pieces of timber in all.

Subtle changes from the previous board include slightly reduced rocker

and a touch more width forward of centre .

There's a little vee behind the back foot with a touch of single to double as a change from previous straight through deep singles.

All shaped by hand and eye.

The tail is full flex , carbon fibre and Eva foam .

It's his travelling board, so we've fitted an 8" fin box ( tricky with flex!) and Johnny Dev has created 2 of his work of art fins from my old favourite 8" template .

"Hula Girl" #1 9'6 . First report, she loved Arrawarra , dancing down the line. 2016

Terry doing his thing on a Flextail in Sri Lanka I built for him a few years ago...

like they say, the best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun

A painting I did in oils on canvas from a photo of him riding a previous 8'6 at Aragon Bay.

***

Terry has been riding Outer Islands since we started the label in 1969 at Palm Beach.

In another blog on this site you can view the evolution of his boards over the years.

https://outerisland.blogspot.com/2013/11/terrys-40-year-collection-at-promised.html

Single fin Flextail 6'3

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 22:14:00 +0000

Flex Tail single fin

for Harrison Biden

6'3 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4

Retro Kool Green Machine Flextail

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 21:50:00 +0000

Flex Tail single fin

for Wayne Burkett

6'10 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4

Tahitian lime glass tints

Retro Flextail Soul Reproduction

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 08:51:00 +0000

Retro Flextail Soul Reproduction

A tale of FISH FLEX TAILS

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 09:03:00 +0000

A tale of FISH FLEX TAILS

It was around 1980 a group of us were helping the fledgling surfing club of Bali to get established.
Dave Wylie , Paul Anderson, Steve Palmer , Kim Bradley, Rex Patten , Dave Thomas, among others whose names escape me now.
I decided to donate a prize for the inaugural surfing contest and chose to make it for the junior division , the groms.
I was living in Bali at the time. On a quick trip back to Oz I built the board. It was a tiny Persian Slipper Flex Tail with a deep single concave, single fin , a mini version of what I was riding myself a time. The little board looked amazing. I painted it to look like a fish with a head , gills , eyes and scales over its body with a clear glass flexible tail.
There is quite a story to this board. It was won by Wayan Jody from Jimbaran which at the time was one of the poorest villages on the whole coast where the local fisherman lived in very basic bamboo and huts living a very simple existence tied to the ebb and flow of the sea.
Jody surfed that little fish like a Demon but he grew out of it , for too big to ride it and passed it on to his younger brother Nengah who also surfed it hard and fast ... he also out grew it and passed it on to the younger brother Rama.
The Balinese kids named the board 'the Concorde' and the boys were known as the Concorde brothers. They are kind of legendary in early Bali surfing folklore . Many years later I would still sometimes hear a cry, 'concorde' when I was walking with my board under arm at Legian or Halfway...

Old mate Terry saw this board and wanted one the same... subsequently all his boards were fish flex tails from around '81 through to '90. The photo reflects design evolution through that period with the clear fibreglass tails evolving to carbon fibre with addition of EVA foam with advent of the body board as new materials became available . It also shows Terry's migration to longer boards throughout those years.

The next photo shows where I've gone with Flex Tail design.

It has V stringers, providing rigid entry with natural flex through a 1/3 of the board, coupled with a full carbon fiber FlexTail..

A third of the board is alive with flex.

The development and evolution flex designs is an ongoing quest.

***

Balsa 'Style Master' 9'4 Glider

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 07:18:00 +0000

Balsa 'Style Master' Glider

9'4 x 22 7/8 x 3 1/8

Custom built for Max Crompton

'Pure blonde', all blonde balsa , my favourite design format.

Looking to order a longboard in wood that he could ride and pass on to his kids as a family heirloom, Max liked the look of my 'Style Master Glider'.

The feeling of effortless glide and fabulous trim is so good in this glider design, and they turn tight arcs and awesome bottom turns far better than you'd imagine.

Modelled on my 3 stringer board next to it , she's an accurate replica in full balsa: no foam, just wood and air.

Balsa is a sustainable fast growth timber.

This one is constructed from the finest air craft grade Papua New Guinean balsa.

Over the years I've developed a number of unique techniques to utilize the properties of the timber to its maximum.

The timbers are bent and glued under tension, imparting a resonance like that of a guitar or
violin which makes them feel alive to ride.

Balsa boards have a unique feel of glide and momentum to ride,
organic in nature with clear links to surfing's heritage .

Hollow chambered to remove about 70% of the mass, the inner airspace creates buoyancy that offsets the inherent weight of the wood .

As a shaper and designer first and foremost, Im shaping a wide variety of styles drawing on over 45 years of professional shaping experience.

Handcrafted cutting edge designs with timeless classic lines and archival construction.

I finish my balsa boards with Mother of Pearl inlays in reference to the classic guitars.

These are my lasting works of art in the surfing world.

They will be around for generations to come, long after I'm pushing up daisies.

***

Eye Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 00:28:00 +0000

EYE CANDY

some of my favourite boards from recent times

more to come

Zen Blade

*

Blade Runner

Coral Reefer

Terry's Hula Girl #1 and #2

8'3 Gun

7'8 Coral Reefer

5'8 Fish

Classic Outer Island Tee Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 06:34:00 +0000

Classic Outer Island

original "Surf Hut" Tee Shirts

***

These are the nicest tee shirts I've worn ....great cut, soft print

Black stonewash summer weight

White summer weight

$40

plus postage ($7 within Oz)

order / email / outereye@gmail.com

phone 02 66557007

Buddha Stix / Black Buddha Stick

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Thu, 05 May 2016 07:11:00 +0000

A collaborative project by

Albe Falzon and Mitchell Rae

Black Buddha Stick

Buddha Stix ,a project by Albe Falzon and myself to take your surfing to a

higher realm , gallery level surfboards as art forms charged with iconic images

and cosmic energy fields.

One of the most satisfying projects of recent years , working on these gallery

level pieces that you can ride and live with in your home.

***

Taking my time on a new Zen Blade for my next Indo sojourn...this one has the

full design technology package ... V2Flex, full carbon fibre Flextail, fully

turbocharged deep concaves ,Persian Slipper dolphin nose, VE cross linked

epoxy backbone resin... The tail 1/3 of the board is fully alive with Flex.. It's

very similar to one I rode last year in a great run at big Nusa Dua,

with some new developments in bottom shape.

7'10 x 20 1/4 x 2 7/8. I can ride this in anything from 3-10'.

This one is my new ride, a cutting edge

Zen Blade with Bali inspired hand drawn , gold leafed and painted gold art

combining cutting edge design science with arcane images and hand painted art.

take your surfing to a higher level

http://www.mysurf.tv/categories/surf-ready/78-buddhasttix

7'10 x 20 1/4 x 2 3/4

(click on the photos for a large image)

Ive been working with Gold leaf ... One of my favourite things

Design Forum / Everything you wanted to Know about Concaves

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 04:55:00 +0000

Models showing design features

(This page is a work in progress)

The Moon Raker

the Moon Raker has a deep central venturi concave

which jetstreams right out through the tail.

The small vee planes balance the deep concave giving loose rail to rail handling and quick response.

(I call this a twin vee)

this Moon Tail shape features on the Moon Raker,

Blade Runner and Zen Blade models

It mirrors the natural curve of the deep central concave exiting the tail

***

the Blade Runner

it has a deep central venturi concave and 4 channels

G'day Mitchell,
yeah the board flys, real loose off the top turn, but its the speed i get off the bottom thats exciting, Had some good comments here at the point as well, It feels way shorter than it is. I'm really happy with it. Makes this 54 year old feel like I'm surfing better than I can.This was taken at HT's
cheers. Pete.

***

the Zen Blade

which features a deep central venturi concave

and concaves in the rails

A triple concave

It delivers amazing acceleration

the narrow rail concaves are under your toe and heel

and deliver instant response

***

Single to double concave

Channel Bottom

Balsa Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 08:14:00 +0000

BALSA GALLERY

Here is a sampling of some balsa boards Ive built over the years.

I source the finest timbers available. Constructed from beautiful Ecuadorian and New

Guinean balsa, Western red and Australian cedars...

Balsa is a sustainable fast growth timber.

Over the years Ive developed a number of unique techniques to utilize the properties

of the timber to its maximum.

The timbers are bent and glued under tension, imparting a resonance like that of a guitar or

violin which feels alive to ride.

Balsa boards have a unique feel of glide and momentum to ride,

organic in nature with clear links to surfing's heritage .

Hollow chambered to remove about 60% of the mass, the inner airspace creates buoyancy

that negates the inherent weight of the wood .

As a shaper and designer first and foremost, Im shaping a wide variety of styles

drawing on over 45 years of professional shaping experience.

Handcrafted cutting edge designs with timeless classic lines , archival construction.

I finish my balsas with inlayed Mother of Pearl logos

in reference to the great guitars of our time.

These are my lasting works of art in the surfing world and will be around for generations,

long after I'm pushing up daisies

(click on any pic for full size image)

8'6 Coral Reefer for Adrian

7'10 gun for John in all blonde (my favourite format)

12 foot Style Master for Pete

8 foot Gun for Jake Drifter

9 foot Coral Reefer for Andrew Mckinnon

8 foot Supermal for Harvey from Tasmania

10 foot Classic for Doug "Claw" Warbrick ,

co-founder and owner of Rip Curl

Classic Longboards

a pair of 9 footers

9 foot classic for Mark

7'8 Balsa single fin for for Paul

7'8 Balsa FlexTail for Col

*****

7'2 Pure blonde "Wolf" for Ali Bob 2017

*****

A rare balsa gun kneeboard for Stephen

A pair of Balsa guns for Indo ,8'4 and 8'10

7'6 Balsa gun for Troy with Lightning Bolt tribute in Paua Shell

8'10 Coral Reefer

custom for Simon Kisch / WA

April 2016

From my templates John Devereux makes the fins for all my balsa boards, largely guns.. Both of us are from Sydney's Northern beaches, we have been in this game since the late 60's when Brookvale was the epicenter of board making.He is a master of his craft. A perfectionist like myself he does the ultimate polish on them too. He's put a day into bringing a gloss like a new mirror... The deck has my No Wax traction surface ... I haven't used wax in 30 years . Wax feels greasy compared to the positive grip of this applied surface .It's been a long journey, over 60 man hours in this board. Now this 9ft Classic Longboard is finally ready to ride.

"Old Faithful", my trusty 7'9 gun.

..shes 26 years old now and has ridden every solid East Coast swell over those years...

still got heaps of life in her yet.

The real beauty of these balsa boards is the stock of memories that they accrue over the years...sometimes i look at this board and it gives me flash backs to amazing waves we have ridden.

"Old Faithfull" and me on solid Nth Coast day.

These boards are not wall hangers!

They often live in the home , but come out to play when the surf's up!

***

John on his balsa gun in the Mentawaiis

*****

These last images shots are in memory of Murray Close RIP (2015)

riding his favourite 7'8 balsa at Uluwatu

Ride the best that human hands can make

Surf Perfection!

Available by custom order only

*****

Indo Birthday Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 30 May 2015 08:47:00 +0000

"Life's Too Short"

is my mantra ...

live the dream now

With an oncoming 60th birthday i weighed up the options and decided on an Indo tour,

starting in Bali for a warm up, then up to Cimaja in West Java where I have old friends and it feels like home.

What I really wanted was a new adventure... decided on a visit to Simeulue Island near Nias, out off Sumatra in the Aceh region.

Leaving Coffs, connecting through Sydney to Bali

Nusa Dua, one of favourite spots in Bali

Great to be back! I went to see the massage ladies and got two girls working on me, 4 hands working in unison to ease out the knots and stress...
A few days later i took the last flight out of Bali,arriving in Jakarta around midnight and took the 4 hour car journey down to Cimaja

The view from my window looking out at the point break

The swell was small so we headed up the coast to a left hand point break.
We left well before dawn and saw the sun rising over the volcanic ridge,
looking back down into the bay

Its a beautiful spot...

You take an ojak ride on the back of a bike through the village and out to the point

the crew, at Suwarna..Rosco, me, OD and a couple of locals

Ian O'Donnell's quiver

OD in his amazing self made surf hat

Grass huts and palm tress..two of my favourite things

my board of choice for the day

you might find yourself living in a shotgun shack, letting the days go by...

Roscoe sporting my board from the previous trip , a 7'2 MoonRaker
the board goes so good it doesnt even need a rider!

coconut time

After a coffee in the village we headed back to Cimaja

Betel nut and cloves

A grand birthday spent with old mates...

Nurda and Nadia busted out a birthday cake for the occasion

Birthday at Cimaja spent with old mates , the band came to play...
I managed to get the rusty fingers around a few riffs while Astried the Singer
sang blue notes..

I surfed 6 foot waves at Indies on my birthday, (ticked that box) ,
glassy light offshore , just two of us out .. Smokin barrels....
Gods were smiling .. Priceless

Another break up in town, Karang Sari

Farewell to West Java...Back to Jakarta , onward to Medan, then on the small plane across to Simeulue Island for a new adventure ...

I flew to Medan then caught the small Susi Air Cessna over to the island

Gunung Sinabu, alive and smoking

View of the coast on approach

Old mate Nick Brown picked me up and got me set up at my new digs

at Moon Beach Resort, centrally situated in front of a nice swimming beach.Its a family owned affair, very comfortable with great friendly staff.
We were plied 3 excellent meals a day and the the surf guides Nick and Tommo
took us out in search of the premium waves every day.
www.simeulue-resort.com

The Peak

The coast road winds around pristine beaches and reefs.

There are quite a few breaks on the island.

For me it was like stepping back 30 years in time

the Peak and my board of choice, a new 6'10 MoonRaker, with V2 and full carbon Flextail

local girls at the Peak

I found some rare down time to relax and do some sketching and painting

Local fisherman plying their trade in front of Moon Beach

These waterbuffalo (kerbau) roam all over the island

a beach break up the coast

These enterprising gromms had a small catch of fish and were keen for a sale
so I bought them and took them back for the girls to cook up

local Muslim girls at the waterfall

a fun right hander, Dylan's

I don't recall the name of this spot where we had a few small fun rights one afternoon

board short surfing in clear blue water

Rainy afternoon paintings

Gouache on Arches paper travel paintings

fabulous palm groves abound on the island

the Peak

on my last day the swell kicked and we had a great surf at the Peak

Farewell to Simeulue

*

Back to Bali

Nusa Dua

the fruits of life

Team Avanza

Mr Mossop and me
doing some pre surf bonding before a go out at Impossibles

a travelling toy shop on the back of a bike

another lazy afternoon pen and watercolour sketch

Balangan

Tegar Alalalang in the heart of Bali

Living large at Sangria

so good to spend a lazy afternoon with nothing on my mind
a man could get used to this!

No trip to Bali complete without a Kuta Beach sunset
A fitting way to end the tour
Farewell for now to Indonesia

***
(click on the pics to see full size)

Ten Foot Balsa Classic Longboard

noreply@blogger.com (Outer Island) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 22:16:00 +0000

Ten Foot Balsa Classic Longboard

Ten foot balsa classic ‪ custom‬ for Doug 'Claw' Warbrick.

10ft x 23 1/2 x 3 5/8

I visited Claw and looked at all his favourite boards.

We discussed his taste in design, what he likes in a board, his style of surfing, personal preferences, etc. in establishing the design brief.

I started from scratch, creating new rocker templates and outline, all key elements in the design process. We also had phone conversations about the variables and fine points during the build... this helps me to garner information and input to the design. There is a lot more than meets the eye in building a true custom order.

Using a number of unique techniques that I've developed over many years , all the timbers are bent and glued under tension, and the board is hollow, creating a resonance like a guitar or violin . These are my lasting works of surf art‬ and will be around for generations, long after I'm pushing up daisies!

The wood and the trees

Polishing master John Devereux, knackered after a long hot and humid afternoon of cut and polish.. hes a master of the art and does all my balsa boards...nice work old timer!

Beautiful Ecuadorian balsa. There's something like 80 man hours in the construction of the blank...sawn, dressed, curved and bent to exact curves, glued, planed, sanded... laminated, sanded, glossed and polished.

Classic lines, trim and glide. The finished board is not light, even though about 75% of it is hollow...its made of wood. However, it has about 60-70 litres of air inside and when you put it in the water the weight is negated.

John is also my fin master...

I design and send him fin templates for each board..

his handmade ply and glass fins are works of art

Inspired by a love of guitars, Ive been finishing my balsa's up with pearl inlays for 30 years or more.

Its been a pleasure to build one of these for Claw, co founder and owner of Rip Curl.. he's one of the most genuine guys in the surf game and the Curl has stayed true to is roots.

Ive been working with RC Bali for a number of years and we are well represented with a range of boards in the flagship stores there.

***