Who was 23chips? What happened to HT Hallucinogenic Toreador? He wrote good board reviews.
I also imagined LeeD was an old carp, not a 30 year old Asian. Didn't he claim to charge huge OBSF? And wasn't he a board and fin expert? Or was that Halcyon? Was Halcyon here or only at Swaylocks? sh!t I'm losing it. I better go back to the old geezers thread...
23chips I don't know. I started on swaylocks, then started on the now defunct surfline forum where HT was known as "speedy". Then I moved over here, but mainly confining myself to the design forum, so I think I missed a fair bit of drama from the sound of this thread.
I liked LeeD, who I first know on the surfline forum, he later came to Swaylocks. LeeD is Asian but a good few years older than us. In real life his name is Domond Lee and he gets a mention in William Finnegan's book Barbarian Days - described as a SF "tough" who drove a taxi. At the time he was posting here I believe he was a gardener.
LeeD was indeed a board and everything "expert". Lead an incredibly full life. Racing dirt bikes, working with composites, familiar with the whole surfboard construction process. Dabbled with windsurfing and kite boards. Said he used to surf big SF and told me that there is a picture of him doing that in Wise's surf shop.
I don't remember Halcyon posting here, but just coz I don't remember doesn't mean a lot! I do remember him on Swaylocks, maker of beautiful looking glass fibre fins.
LeeD had a very good technical understanding of surfboard design and could explain what made a good Sunset board, OBSF board. HT gave very in depth reviews of why he liked a board and was quite observant about its shape and features, but for me at least his reviews lacked technical explanation of why they worked. I seem to remember he had some fused vertebrae, but that didn't stop him from ripping.
What I have been wondering is what happened to Blakestah? Moved to New Jersey and then disappeared. Inventor of "surf trucks" the spring loaded swivelling tri fins, had pics of him riding it in big OBSF. Very clever man - understood the physics of hydrodynamics.