Three-time international surf champ Corky Carroll answers your questions each week on the Beach Blog. To hit him up, e-mail corkysurf@aol.com,

Q.  I am a surfer/shaper from North San Diego, and I have been trying to pin down the material used for older Katin trunks. My father is an old surfer from Seal Beach who remembers you well. Do you have any idea what the material is called or if it is available?  The problem is that I have noticed modern Katin’s are not as thick as the older ones…

A.  The original Katins were made out of boat canvas and were way too heavy and abrasive.  When they started getting popular and were making quite a few custom surf trunks, they went to a heavy cotton called “sharkskin.”  Then they started using a heavy- duty nylon.  Eventually they, along with the rest of the surf trunk industry, started using the modern ultra lightweight nylons.  The problem with the original more heavy nylons were that they gave you a horrible rash.  But they did last forever.  I have a couple pairs of old Katins that I am sure will outlive me.  

Q.  How often do you recommend changing the wax on your board?

A.  Honestly, I never change the wax on my board.  I like to have it build up and get thick.  That way if I forget my wax I can just rub some wet sand on it to rough it up and off I go. I am not much of a nit about it looking all clean and neat, if I never slip then it works just fine and dandy for me.  But if you want it to look all fresh and nice all the time then I guess you need to change it every time it starts to look dirty.

Q.  I heard a rumor that you and Jackson Browne surf together.  I didn’t know he surfed.  Is that true?  If so, where do you go.  I’d like to see that.

A.  Jackson and I surfed a bit together when we were both very young at Seal Beach.  He grew up in Fullerton.  Later, we hooked up a little bit at Cotton’s Point when he would come to San Clemente to play at the Four Muses Club.  But I haven’t seen him in many years.  I do know that he still surfs quite a bit, but I could not tell you where.

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