So far, all Eight08-boards have been hand shaped by me. I guess my shaping has evolved around my own needs of user friendly surfboards at my local surfspots in the Stocholm area, with Torö as the most frequently surfed. Torö have several breaks and so many different faces. At Torö you can find everything from glassy small peelers at The Point (“Udden” in Swedish) perfect for logging and fishes, to performance short boarding in mid-size and punchy beach-brake at No. 1 (“Ettan”), to over-head stormy winter surf at “2:nd” (“Tvåan”). These many faces puts a lot of demands on a surfboard (quiver) and it makes my shaping full of fun projects.
Ten years ago when Eight08 came about, I just built boards, without any plan or strategy, that I thought would suit my own level (low) and style (non) of surfing. Gradually, a few distinct types of shapes started to evolve. Today, I think of them as three “models”: The All-Rounder; The Torö Ripper; and the Torö Summer Fish. They are what the names indicate. But, and that is the pleasure of genuine custom built surfboards, there are indefinite variations, interactions, new features and possibilities when creating a surfboard. All so called models, or any other typ of categorisation of board types, risk to limit the creative process of doing a new unique design. Thus, my three “models” are more a way of communicating them, than “the real thing”. In reality, I blend, mix, develop and have much more fun, than shaping small variations of std. surfboard models over and over again.
The Torö Ripper
This is my version of a high performance shortboard. For an expert surfer it is more of a growler with more width and somewhat straighter rocker than a traditional shortboard. One the other hand, it is in this direction shortboard design is moving – shorter and wider. The nose rocker is quite flat with a progressive curve in the very front end. It has a distinct straight rocker in the middle and then a staged rocker with a broken curve into a medium tail rocker. This back stage or step is combined with the outline hump/hip as well as with the double concave within a single.
The outline hip and staged tail rocker makes the board turn really nice on rail. This makes the Torö Ripper really good at carving, despite its relatively full rails. The pronounced double concave (within a single) straighten out the stage rocker within the bottom and creates speed. Compared to a Torö Summer Fish, the Torö Ripper is much easier to put on rail and does not demand as much back foot pressure to go vertical. It still has a lot of volume for its length and width, making it easy to surf and forgiving if you’r slightly off balance.
My current Torö Ripper is 5’11 x 20”1/2 at about 34-35 liters. It is my best board for mid size Torö, but works in all possible conditions (I’m 78 kg light, 181 tall, and a less than stellar surfer).
The Torö Summer Fish
Making the smallest little ankle-high wave super fun! This fish design is dedicated to small weak waves. It has full rails all the way from nose to tail. It has a super straight rocker, even for a fish, but, it does have some nose in the very front end of it. The wide fish-outline together with the thick rails makes wave catching ridiculously easy. The parallell outline and straight rocker spells SPEED. The not so typical design element in this board originate from another Stockholm-based surfboard builder, my friend Calle Nyberg (check out his designs on @mahimahisurfboards). He took the outline from a Lost Retro Fish that has an outline hip one foot from the tail, “shortboard-style”, but made the tail block a little bit narrower than on the Lost board. This made the hip even more pronounced and, I believe, makes the board more agile despite all the other very straight lines. I tried one of Calles fishes and felt that I just had to do my own version. My concaves are a notch deeper than on the Lost board, but still quite subtle. The board is so very fast and do not need more lift than it has from all the other design elements. Keeping the bottom simple make it easier to throw around.
The Torö Summer Fish invites you do more lateral on-top-of-the-water turns, but if you step really hard on the very back end of it, you will be surprised by its more vertical turnability. As all fishes it is possible to surf in a little bit bigger waves, especially as a quad the fins help you to make the board stick in the water. But this specific design excels in the very low end spectrum of surfable waves. If you think a log is to much foam to bring, or if you would like to keep your shortboard stance alive – the Torö Sumer Fish is the ticket to super fun summer surf!
PS: If you want a more allround fish, it is very easy to make minor adjustment on the Torö Summer Fish to make it work great in bigger surf. First thing is to thin out the rails, especially in the tail foil. Next step is to narrow down the wide nose somewhat. Third, one might put a little bit of extra tail rocker into it.
The All-Rounder
The All-Rounder is my most proven and beloved design! This is the board that you really want to surf, in conditions you really want to surf in. I have surfed the All-Rounder in everything from one fot nothing waves, perfect 3-4 foot Honolua Bay, to 10 foot real Indonesian serious surf. It has never disappointed me! The All-Rounder could be viewed as a Torö step-up. It has that round tail that sort of guarantees a flowy carving turn. The little bit extra length gives both paddling power in strong rip and control when speeding down out-blown over-head faces. With that in mind, maybe the All-Rounder could be named “Torö Step-up Ripper”. On the other hand, it fits just as good when Bayamar’s thick, long and super clean left is maxing out on a north winter swell. It also fits perfect in the perfect waves in the bay on Maui, and on a big day at Angry Lady, outside Gerpuk. All this indicate the All-Rounder’s capability in a little bit more serious waves. But, and this is the really unique feature on the All-Rounder, it is also super fun in the smaller stuff. It is not as snappy as the Torö Ripper, and of course it cannot compete with the Torö Summer Fish in micro waves. But, due to its width and (hidden) volume, it is still really fun in 1-2 foot waves. That makes this not only a winter step-up, but also the allround travel companion. If I were only allowed to have one board, it would be the All-Rounder without a doubt.
