The Seaside at Seaside - Rob Machado's new Helium shape by Firewire Surfboards

The Seaside at Seaside - Rob Machado's new Helium shape by Firewire Surfboards

1. The Shape

The Seaside, shot by Rob. Photo: Glaser The Seaside expertly blends foam from wide to narrow and thick to thin. Liter for liter, its the best distribution of volume we’ve ever seen in a groveler, enabling new lines in small waves and next level speed in good ones; controlling forward motion in a way no short and wide board has before. Grab a Seaside. Set it on a table. Look at the rail head-on and notice how thick it is at center. Then how quickly it transitions to thin in the tail. Prop it up on a wall in front of you and see how it goes from wide at the center to narrow in the tail faster than any shape you’ve seen previously. This new shape from Rob brings more shred to the grovel scene than any board we’re aware of. From Rob: The Seaside is about refining… less area in the tail, narrowing the tips of the swallow, creating more curve and narrowing the nose. All elements for ripping while the Go Fish stays cruisey and fun. They’re both in my van all the time.

2. The Fins:

Rob designed a brand new quad set with both Futures and FCS. Photo: Glaser Rob designed a brand new set of quad fins specifically for the Seaside. It’s the first quad set to ever replicate keel fin sensations in a quad trailer. Hold up these quad trailers next to your favorite keel fins and you’ll see similarities. They create entirely new sensations underfoot when paired with the Seaside’s specially designed double concave. These trailers are paired with uncommon front fins, with wider bases than normal and cutaways on the trailing edge. The Machado Quad by Futures. This template will come out in December, built by both Futures and FCS. From Rob: I decided that if I was going to make a quad I would make a quad that’s strictly a quad… Design the concaves and bottom contours around that. I actually redesigned the entire concave setup that I’ve been using on the Moonbeam and Go Fish and did it with a quad only setup in mind so that it all works together with the new fin set.

3. The Build:

The Helium Seaside. Photo: Glaser Originally built in LFT for Rob’s most recent trip to Tahiti in June, The Seaside shape has found a home in Helium.

4. The Feel:

Float forward on fat sections more freely than the thickest and widest of shortboards. But when you shift your weight to the tail you feel an immediate pivoting response that enables tighter turns than you’ve done before on such a short and wide shape. – The tail enables ultra easy roll from rail to rail, even with its excellent drive. The keel quad trailers slide right to left with minimal resistance when the board is flat on the water. But on a rail, the forward fins with their wide bases give you the drive, thrust and grip you expect from your favorite thruster or quad fronts. – Beyond fun in top turns. The seaside slashes from noon to six as quickly as your favorite high rockered shortboard and doesn’t catch easily on the way down. It just flies towards the next section. From Rob: More carves, tighter turns. The Go Fish feels skatey and loose and I love it, and riding it for a couple years made me want to have some sessions that feel more high performance. That’s the Seaside.

5. The Waves

Rob’s 5’2 Seaside. -Fly through round sections at South Straddie when its three to five feet. -Wiggle past fat sections at Bells when its two feet. -Top turns at Trestles from two to seven feet. The Seaside is the most versatile multi-wave ripper we’ve ridden. Ever. From Rob: Waves? Everything really.