A Waimea Christening

During a recent trip to Hawaii, Matt Chojnacki was presented a golden opportunity. The Sydney surfer was handed an unwaxed balsa board, made in a manner that predates foam production, to ride in big Hawaiian surf - precisely the waves the board was shaped for.

Matt is both fine surfer and keen historian and with the sun shining and Waimea a healthy 12-15 feet, he indulged both talents.

Words by Matt 'Waxhead' Chojnacki, photos by Josh Bystrom.

Originally, I had booked a flight from Sydney to Hawaii for early December, but the season was yet to start firing with an underperforming swell around the time of the Vans Pipe Masters. Thankfully, I rescheduled for the cheapest flight I could find two weeks later and, serendipitously, arrived at the beginning of one of the best runs of swell the North Shore had seen in years.

After nearly four weeks on the island and non-stop swell, I'd ridden well over a dozen different surfboards from 5'9" up to 10'6". I love to ride all types of boards and shapes. Some of them were borrowed from friends and shapers, and I even added a few to my quiver. I mainly surfed Waimea, Sunset, Pipe, and ventured around the island to a few other spots too.

Single-fin, triple-stringer, balsa construction: Matt throws off the shackles of modernity, if only for a session

Around this time, Roger Hinds reached out to me about a special board — a balsa gun shaped in the style of Mike Diffenderfer that had never made it to the North Shore until now. I met Roger the previous year, introduced through an old friend and surf industry mentor, Randy Rarick. I was well aware of Roger's reputation as a board builder whose career has spanned nearly five decades and that he'd shaped for some of the most iconic US labels, such as Hobie, Harbour, Weber, Blue Hawaii, and Country Surfboards, among many others.

I'd always been curious about riding one of his boards but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be a 10'6" balsa gun, nor at the most revered big wave surf spot in the world.

This particular board was shaped under the iconic Country Surfboards label.

Launched in 1967, the Country Surfboards logo is a vestige of their summer of love origins

I tracked the board down from Jamie Sterling, who hadn't had an opportunity to try it yet. At first, I wasn't sure how it would handle, but as soon as I paddled out, I was blown away by its speed and momentum. The board cut through the turbulence effortlessly, smoothing out the chop, and felt incredibly natural underfoot.

Originally, I was aiming to surf the board at Sunset Beach on my last day of the trip, but it was all washy and whited out from the previous days' 20-foot swell. If you've spent time there, you know the vision: sea spray, haze, and a turbulent current ripping out to Kammieland.

Waimea looked much more inviting, albeit smaller and not as challenging as my previous sessions during the trip. The sun was shining, the water a glistening green hue, and brushed clean by a light offshore wind... perfect conditions to try a new board out there. Knee paddling through the shorebreak and chop, my first impression was how smoothly the board paddled.

Matt holding the balsa gun, at left, and kicking out at Waimea while wearing his red and yellow Dora-inspired boardies

My first wave was a clean entry where the rocker, balsa construction, and single-fin setup locked perfectly into the face, fully gripping with the balsa providing a dampening effect as I rode over turbulence. I kicked out into the channel with ease; the board felt incredibly natural and light underfoot.

The sensation of riding the board was unlike anything I'd ever experienced in bigger waves—almost embryonic, as if I was connecting with its original purpose. The feelings began from the moment I took it off the car, the entire experience felt deeply intertwined, made even more special by the presence of my students*, Lando Smales, Cormac O'Brien, and Corrie Gray.

Toward the end of the session, a big wall approached; a serendipitous moment unfolded as we coincidentally caught a wave together, making it a highlight of the session.

Waimea party wave with, from left, Corrie Gray, Cormac O'Brien, Lando Smales, and Matt dropping in deepest

After an incredible session, I returned the borrowed board and prepared to wrap up my trip. Before leaving, I caught up with Roger, who was spending time on the North Shore. We sat down to chat about his career, the Diffenderfer inspiration, and the shaping process behind the unique balsa gun. It was the perfect way to cap off an unforgettable season.

Matt Chojnacki: So Roger, talking about the Diffenderfer that inspired you—where you first rode a balsa gun and enjoyed it—you've replicated a similar process, but you've left a little bit more thickness on the skin. Why is that?
Roger Hinds: Well, it's kind of a long story. I don't know how much time you have. I think you're catching a flight home...

In 1978, my best friend Mike Armstrong had a Diffenderfer balsa gun and I got my hands on it. I took it out at Waimea on a smallish day —  it was probably 15 feet, maybe a little bigger on the sets. But the way Diff chambered his boards, they were very thin balsa over the chambers. I mean literally, it almost felt like it would crack.

But when I jumped into a wave on the board...this may sound corny, it just felt like time stood still. There's that spot at Waimea where you either get in early, or you're just falling out of the freaking sky. And I happened to get in early. As I was dropping in, all the bumps went away—everything just smoothed out.

It was almost like I was sitting in a chair in my living room thinking, "Oh my God, this is the greatest feeling ever." It just smoothed out the bumps. It was an incredible feeling.

Every other board I'd ridden at Waimea before that was just bumpy, and I was just hanging on—like it was a rodeo. So when I built this board...I actually built it for a friend of mine years back. He's a very accomplished big wave surfer, but he wanted thicker wood over the chambers because he didn't want to break it.

So, the board's a bit heavy, but once you get out of your head and swing it around into a wave, you've got some momentum. And then it just pushes through and smooths out all the bumps. Do you agree..?

Cormac on a healthy one

Yeah, that's exactly what I felt. It gives you a sense of comfort.
And actually, even really good surfers in big surf — they want that sense of comfort. They don't want to be questioning in their head, "Is this board going to fall apart on me on the way down the face? Is it going to just track?"

So yeah, it was a really good experience, and I'm glad you had a good time on the balsa.

Perfect, I am so stoked. Really topped off my trip. How did the board get to the North Shore?
Well, I made the board in 2015 for Dr. Riley, who used to charge big waves, and he also wanted something to smooth out the bumps on big waves, so I just made him something I thought would go like hell. Yet the board was unridden and ended up at Birds Surf Shed in San Diego. I wanted to bring it out here to the islands to see it ridden, kind of where it belongs.

I am doing a long stint out here every season, so I am stoked to have you ride it.

Now about its construction, obviously it is heavy—it's chambered, not solid, right?
US Blanks actually glued up the blank for me, and I roughed it in and I split it to put the stringers in it. And I have pictures here of me chambering the board.

Thank you for the opportunity to ride this board. I actually got a few images from Waimea today, nothing wild, just a few set-up shots—have a look. The board felt smooth.
(Referencing the party wave) You can see how well the board grips the wave, and on the group shot how far you are running ahead of the other surfers in a straight line—that's what I felt when I rode the Diffenderfer Balsa back in '78!

// MATT CHOJNACKI

*Matt is mentoring Lando, Cormac, and Corrie, as they push themselves into heavier waves.