THE HOT CURL
A different way of connecting with the wave.
Watch the Hot Curl in motion.
The Hot Curl is one of the oldest and most unusual surfboard designs I’ve ever ridden.
It doesn’t simply skim across the surface of the wave. It settles into the water and connects with the movement of the wave in a completely different way.
WHAT IS A HOT CURL?
The Hot Curl is a fin free displacement-hull design that dates back to the early days of surfing.
Rather than relying on a fin and planing across the surface, the board moves through the water, using its hull and rails to create a smooth, continuous flow from nose to tail.
The result is a unique combination of speed, stability, and freedom.
HOW I SEE THE HOT CURL
I’ve been riding Hot Curls for many years, and no other surfboard has given me quite the same feeling in the water.
Unlike most modern surfboards that skim across the surface of the wave, a Hot Curl settles into the water and moves through it.
The board is a displacement hull, so rather than simply planing on top of the wave, it connects with the energy moving beneath the surface. It feels like the board is tapping into a part of the wave that most surfboards simply pass over.
Josh Martin, son of true legend shaper Terry Martin, described this as the same kind of energy that dolphins and seals use when they move just beneath the surface of a wave.
I think there is another way to understand that feeling, too: bodysurfing.
When you bodysurf a wave, you can ride across the surface, but there is also a completely different feeling when you are deeper in the water, being carried by the moving water within the wave.
To me, that sensation feels very similar to what a Hot Curl does.
The board isn’t simply sliding across the surface of the wave—it feels like it is moving with the water inside the wave.
THE RIDE
The result is a unique kind of speed.
A Hot Curl can feel incredibly loose and free, while remaining surprisingly stable and connected to the water.
It doesn’t feel like you’re forcing the board through the wave.
Instead, the board naturally searches for the sweet spot. Once it finds it, the board settles into that place and matches the speed of the breaking wave, staying there as long as the wave holds its shape.
That’s what makes the Hot Curl so different.
It is less about forcing a turn and more about finding the energy that is already there.
WHY I LOVE THE HOT CURL
I’ve ridden Hot Curls for years, so I understand much of what they do through feel and experience.
But I’ve always found it difficult to put that feeling into words.
The more I learn about the design and the way water moves around the board, the more I understand why it feels the way it does.
That’s what continues to fascinate me about the Hot Curl.
It is an old design, but it doesn’t feel old when you’re riding it.
It feels like you’re discovering another way to interact with a wave.
THE DESIGN
A Hot Curl is not complicated because it has many features.
Its character comes from how those features work together.
• Displacement hull
• Belly through the forward section
• Transition into V toward the tail
• Wide point forward
• Pulled-in tail
• Smooth, flowing rails
• Finless design
• Long, relatively flat rocker
The goal is to create a clean, continuous flow of water from the nose, along the rails, and out through the tail.
(nose, rail, tail close up pics and explain about bottom picture)
MY APPROACH
I have a deep respect for the original Hot Curl and the surfers and shapers who developed it.
But I don’t believe a design has to remain frozen in time to remain true to its roots.
My goal is not to change what makes the Hot Curl special.
It is to understand it more deeply, continue learning from it, and explore where the design can go.
Every Hot Curl I shape is part of that process.
RIDE SOMETHING DIFFERENT
The Hot Curl isn’t for everyone.
It asks you to slow down, feel the energy of ocean and blend with it.
But if you’re curious about experiencing a wave from a different perspective, the Hot Curl offers something that very few modern surfboards can.
The Roots of my Hot Curl
My journey with the Hot Curl started with a fascination for its unique history, the people who rode these boards, and the feeling they discovered in the water.
Experience the Hot Curl.
[VIEW HOT CURL / CUSTOM ORDER]
The Hot Curl is a historic design with roots in early California and Hawaiian surfing. This page reflects my own experience and interpretation of the design.
Sun Dolphin Surfboards
San Clemente • California