Ellis Ericson Surfboards Just Landed
Surfboard shaper Ellis Ericson's exploration of edge bottom surfboards honors the ingenuity and experimentation of the man who's ideas and innovations challenged what surfers once thought was possible on a wave, while charting a course all his own. We asked Ellis to expound on his interest and experience with edge boards, what to expect from the boards he has made for Thalia Surf, and the role fins play in dialing in his designs.
What captivated your interest the most about riding and shaping edge bottom surfboards?
My Edgeboard experience came through my introduction to George Greenough almost 10 years ago, his boards, ethos, process and dedication blew me away. George’s concepts where extreme but theories logical and as I applied it to my own equipment I felt the benefits instantly and have been chasing those feelings ever since.
What can you tell us about the boards you've shaped for our shop?
This is a collection of four surfboards are a mix of some of my wider small stubby models and some new elliptical Round tail bigger edge boards. With California in mind I kept volume throughly but used s-deck foiling techniques to keep rails relatively refined and edges crisp throughout the shape. A mix of contours including concave and Vee panels should have them up and planing in most conditions, The Roundtail models should excel in winter juice or a good day on any point break.
Which fin setup have you enjoyed the most, whether its a Power Blade, Power Glide 45, or the High Speed Volan Greenough variation single fins?
At present I’ve been bouncing around between all of the above mentioned, the powerglide 45 @ 8.25" for the two smaller boards and I’ve thrown in some 9.25" high speed Volan fins for the two longer boards.
I had a recent trip to Japan and I tested a lot of my shapes over there. I found that the longer rail line on the bigger boards harmonized well with the flex and feel of a deep-set high-speed.
I encourage the rider to start fin placement in the centre of the box and feel it out from there – if you need more drive set it back half inch if you need more pivot / agility push it forward, I couldn’t stress the importance of moving your fin around and utilising the entire Fin Box.
