The Rebirth of Cool

The return of the iconic Rincon surfboard design by legendary shaper Bob McTavish

A brand new summer 2015/16 model was developed by Bob, Matt Chojnacki, Christian ‘Wispy’ Barker and Ben McTavish throughout Autumn and Winter 2015 for sale at McTavish Surfboards. The name? The McTavish Rincon.

Inspired by Bob's travels in 1968, this new model sits in the range as a traditional style daily rider mid-length. Best suited to intermediate to advanced riders, the board can be ridden top to bottom from the tail, or in a more traditional trimming style, climbing and dropping from the mid-point. The aesthetic of the board is purely traditional with either a clear or champagne volan lay-up and initially only offered as a single fin.

"It was the best surfing of my life - Rincon, California, January 1968. The notorious Plastic Machine design had proven too clunky, too limited to big simple arcs, but it had powerfully demonstrated how we could ride much shorter boards than the traditional nine-foot-plus logs that had previously been the only game in town. My month of December ‘67 in Hawaii hanging with Dick Brewer had convinced me to sleek the template by pointing the nose and refining the tail into a basic rounded-square, the most friendly all round shape. George Greenough had introduced me to Karl Pope who had the hot brand Morey-Pope in Ventura, and I shaped my new Rincon board in his factory.

Rincon turned on for the next six weeks - George and I were making it all the way down the point, from the Indicator, past the creek, through the bowl, and ripping down the inside, all the way to the highway, wave-after-wave. The power of the board’s potential was electric.

Move the clock forward to The World Contest, Puerto Rico, December 1968. The name of the break? Rincon. An eclectic mix of shapes appeared - Brewer had gone into tiny guns with his tiny test rider Reno Abellira going like greased lightning. Others had more conservative designs in the mid eight-foot realm, like eventual winner Fred Hemmings from Hawaii. But the stand-out design, mainly ridden by the Aussies like Nat (Young), Wayne Lynch, Ted Spencer, Russell Hughes and Midget (Farrelly), was much like my board Rincon board. Pointed but full nose, nice parallel template with the wide point about 5” forward, clean driving lines into a rounded square tail. All dressed up with a moderately low rocker, soft roll forward, nice small round rails, and a sleek efficient single-fin. These boards have sweet trimming speed, grace, flow and manoeuvrability, and the surfing at the event was exciting and world-class. No wonder we’ve called our new release The Rincon!”
– Bob McTavish

"Seeing the Rincon evolve through stages with Matt and Bob I knew that it was going to be special and they totally nailed it with a board that is super versatile and a joy to ride. With the design straight out of the late 60s she definitely has that old school jive but is also responsive enough to get you on a rail or out of a tight situation when you need it. Perfect for drawing simple smooth lines on that lonely peak just down the beach that everyone else is looking past”
– Christian ‘Wispy’ Barker

"The Rincon is straight out of late '68 and not a direct copy of anything in particular. Existing templates were amalgamated and the best design elements of the era were fused to create a functional mid-length that can be surfed off the tail but allows the surfer to step forward to trim or make adjustments from the middle. Bob and I agree the plan shape is very standard for the era, no ground breaking design elements but sometimes less is more. I have always yearned for a mid-length that could be surfed in a variety of conditions – dare I say the one board quiver... and The Rincon is it! A very user friendly board that allows for a variety of skill levels and waves, The Rincon blends the best elements of the transitional-era into one practical board. After testing a few different variations of the model in every wave type, size and conditions I am so stoked! On a 7'8 - 7'11, the special 9” Rincon flex fin by the Wiz is also a perfect match for this board. Deep bottom turns set me up for a terrific 'fling' down the line and very high octane hot dogging. The Rincon blends the best elements of the transitional era into one practical board”
– Matt Chojnacki

Find out more about the new McTavish Surfboards Rincon Model at their website: www.mctavish.com.au