The Stab in the Dark Shaper Series: Channel Islands

Welcome back to Stab in the Dark. By now you’ve seen what Julian Wilson did with our collection of cleanskin boards form the world’s best shapers. You also know that Darren Handley (DHD) won. But, now it’s time to meet the gentry behind the other crafts that made for such compelling viewing in our mini-documentary. Britt Merrick is the 42-year-old son of shaping guru, Al Merrick. No prizes for guessing who his biggest shaping influence is. He’s been shaping for 25 years and the craft he made for Stab in the Dark was a tweaked version of popular Channel Islands model, the Fred Rubble. “The only major change was I tweaked the rocker between his feet, especially in front of the front fins. I straightened that area to get it going a little faster. I’d love to see this board ridden on a pointbreak, like Snapper, with a good, steep wall, and down-the-line surfing.” Julian on the #03 board: “What stood out first with the 03 is its large rocker. It had heaps of curve. On a perfect wave it’d be really fun, but you need those steep walls to do cutties. I feel like Channel Islands shaped this one (Jules didn’t know who’d made it at the time). It’s very front-footed, this board, and it’s fun for barrels, too. You can take off underneath the lip and there’s a lot of curve under your front foot so you can really commit.” Go for a ride around Britt’s ranch above! Want more? Dahlberg here.Simon Anderson here.Robo here.Stamps here.