19 . 04 . 13
Let us introduce you, a little more formally, to The Island Hopper. At 7’4″ it’s the Otter Surfboard’s “one board quiver” model, perfect for longboarders looking to step down in length a bit, or for shortboarders who want a little extra flow. It’s a board that answers a question that we asked ourselves:
“If you were going away on an extended surf trip and had room for only one surfboard in your luggage, what would you take?”
Well, we’d probably take a 7’4″ x 23″ x 3″ mid-length board. If we were going to island hop from place to place then we’d want to be prepared for all types of surf, from small dribbly summer stuff through to overhead waves on reefs and points. The Island Hopper fits the bill for such a trip, and is short enough that it won’t be a pain to check on to flights or stash on a boat – we tested that during our photo-shoot on the Pilot Cutter Hesper.
The Island Hopper board in these photos was the first board to sport the new logo and also the first that we produced with a glassed on wooden fin. The Otter logo is laser cut from walnut and sycamore veneers and then recessed into the deck and bottom skins of the board, prior to laminating. It’s a delicate task but we think it’s worth the extra effort involved to have a wooden “decal” on the boards. The fin is produced from the same timber used in the board, with the wood lay-up being a scaled down ratio of that used on the surfboard.
If you’re interested in taking a closer look at this particular Island Hopper then you can visit it in London. It is currently on display at the Patagonia Store in Covent Garden alongside our Storyboard exhibition, and will then be moving on to a Riz Boardshorts pop-up store in Shoreditch through May and June. If you’re in the neighbourhood then stop by and take a look.
Last Summer Bruce swung by to pick up the 7'10 Clipper wooden surfboard he made with us...
Some chunky waves combined with the wind swinging offshore made for such a fun surf!
