By Jim Kempton

When Everything is on the Line at the Most Hollow Wave on the
WCT Circuit, the Boards Behind the Curtain Make all the Difference

In 2008 Kelly Slater may have dominated the Pipeline Masters on a supremely unorthodox sled--a ride he and shaper Al Merrick dubbed "The Deep Six"--but it was hardly the first time (and certainly won't be the last time) that somebody took a slightly different tack and introduced the world to something out of the norm.

Over the years the famed Banzai reef has played a vital roll in the progressive development of everything from 7'6" pintail stilettos to 5'6" plugs. In the early 1960s when Butch Van Artsdalen and John Peck were first penetrating the lineup, their boards were the biggest barrier to entry. Eventually, board sizes started to creep down as surfers demanded more performance possibilities.

Mike Hynson and Dick Brewer explored the down rail concept; Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell were quick to adopt the new shift in design, and tube riding changed seemingly overnight.

The early 1980's saw another revolution when Simon Anderson introduced his (then) radical 3-fin Thruster concept - and proceeded to prove its merits by winning the 1981 Pipeline Masters.

This year the 8 finalists in the Billabong Pipe Masters are as motley a crew as you could have ever predicted: ASP veteran brothers CJ and Damien Hobgood, Coolangatta tube terror Dean Morrison, local Pipe specialist Flynn Novak, consummate competitor Bede Durbidge, Backdoor dynamo Taj Burrow, power prodigy Dane Reynolds, and super-freak Kelly Slater. And their surfboards are as varied as their unique talents.

Taj Burrow makes no secret of his love affair with Backdoor - especially when he can get it with only one other guy in the line-up. His quiver starts with a 6'1" Firewire but if it gets bigger (as expected for Tuesday) he may opt for 6'5 or 6'7" All his shapes are 18 1/8 X2 1/8 rounded pins with fixed fins.

Dane Reynolds has been riding a 6-6 proton step up, round pin (his model just made for a little bigger stuff, like Pipe.) The board is single concave and has a lot of curve - kind of an old faithful one from last year.

On Saturday Kelly was surfing this year's version of his "Deep Six" model. It's a design from the board he rode at Pipe last year which by the way was his back up board. In short the board is sort of 2 boards stuck together: a gun tail and a short board nose - 5'11" in length and just normal dimensions for the rest , He creased the new one pretty good in his last heat so it's on the shed getting fixed. The big difference with the newer version: 4 fins as to the 3 fins from last years.

When the comp starts back up however, anything could be pulled out of the bag.

It remains to be seen if Slater's new-age alternative equipment will have nearly the impact, but it's a safe bet that as long as people are trying to get deeper in the tube at Pipe they'll continue to push the limits of the boards they ride.
Watch the action as it resumes Tuesday at the Billabong Pipeline Masters. Van's Triple Crown has all the action and FuelTV will broadcast the finals LIVE on television.