Mahady Surfboards

.:: Mahady Surfboards Credit ::.

I first inherited a '64 Hansen 50/50 that rode great for smallish surf. But when there was swell, I spent more time pearling and being caught on the inside than surfing. So I decided to take surfing a little more seriously and branch out, first trying to transition on smaller softtop pop-outs. This simply resulted in frustration and I eventually learned that if you want good ride, you've got to talk to the local shapers.

This is when I met Tom Mahady. The first thing he said to me was, "Of course, NJ shorebreak needs particular design and a malibu noserider isn't it." He immediately sized me up and said, "Look, ride my boards before we do anything." So I did and spent the entire summer sampling his quiver while reconstructing my surfing ability and taking it to the next level: Shoulder and OH swell.

One particular design Mahady makes I would describe as a performance hybrid longboard with tons of nose rocker with moderate rocker in a small squash tail. The rails of this design are soft in the nose turning hard towards the tail. Though too big for me at (put red board dimensions here), it performs! The board paddles well and offers up a great biting edge on late takeoffs versus pearling and throwing its rider off the front. I regularly surf this favorite of his and put it on the lip of closeouts, snake around whitewater, change directions on bad break selection and now surf in a way where people occasionally ask me for pointers on what I'm doing. This board fits on the waves I surf.

Mahady's boards are a labor of love. I have even seen him shape a beautiful twin fish for charity. In short, Tom has reinvented surfing for me, makes great boards, shares the art to his students and promulgates the sport of surfing with the most Aloha in found in New Jersey. --Rich New Jersey 09'