Family gathering, March 9th, 2013.

From left:

Casper I
September 2006 (6'0"x 23")
surfed by RK, Andrew Kidman, Dan Malloy, Tyler Warren, Daniel Thomson, Ryan Burch, Lucas Dirkse,
Jen Smith, Tiare Thompson, Ryan Bracker, Joe Curren, Chris Slayter, Chris Ward,  Carsten Booth, Tony Alva, Larry Lumbeck, Joe Skoby and many others.

Casper II
August 2007 (5'3" x 23")
Surfed by RK, Andrew Kidman, Chris Slayter, Kelly Slater (one wave at Rincon) Joe Curren, Tony Alva, Joe Skoby and many more.

White Pony I 2007 (4'11" x 23.5")
Surfed by RK, Ryan Thomas, Ryan Burch, Skip McCullough, Lucas Dirkse, Tony Alva, Chris Slayter, Ryan Bracker, Matt Wesson, Tim O'Rourke y mas.

Slimmons I 2007 (5'6" x 18.75")
Surfed by Lucas Dirkse, Ryan Burch, RK, Joe Skoby...

Simster II 2008 (5'2" x 20")
Surfed by Mark Wolfinger, Max Diaz, Lucas Dirkse, RK, Josh Mulcoy, Ryan Bracker & a bunch of others.

The original design concepts explored here come from Bob Simmons and Steve Lis.

All boards were made for the Hydrodynamica project at my and John Elwell's request to explore and acknowledge the design contributions of the shapers named above and to begin our own applications of Simmons theory to modern boards.

Heliocentric model of the Heavens.

John Elwell with dual keel modern planing hull shaped by Daniel Thomson. Photographed on September 27th 2012 near the spot where Elwell first met Bob Simmons in 1949. Being neither an outstanding surfer nor a shaper, John faced an uphill battle defending and acknowledging Simmons' legacy.  If not for John we wouldn't know anything about  Simmons and the dual keel hydrodynamic planing hull. Elwell brought Simmons back into surfing, not just for Simmons' past accomplishments and contributions, but for his relevance in the present. Largely because of Elwell, young shapers like Daniel Thomson have a very specific and clear first-hand understanding of Simmons' basic formula. And the boards, whether they've got two fins or five, just get better and better. Photos by Doug Wylie.  

Daniel Thomson evolves 2004-2012

Some key evolutionary DT moments from Hydrodynamica 2004-2012. Footage by Mark Thomson, Scott Sullivan, R.K., Ryan Field, Sean Shaffer and Ian O. Surfing by Daniel Thomson and Stu Kennedy.

Ptolemaic Model of the Heavens

5'7" CyberSim shaped by Daniel Thomson. Photo by Ernie Tyler 11/29/12

"Down at Off the Wall and Pipe the waves were still playful- 3 foot, clean, and performance skewed. Tom Curren was a standout, riding one of Dan Thomson's modern planing hulls, which basically looks like a short, fibreglass shelf. Curren looked to have claimed back five years of his surfing life on the radically designed rectangle." - Luke Kennedy, TRACKS blog, December 8th 2012

Daniel Thomson, Windansea. Middle photo by Dave Frankel.