5'10" FALKENAU / THRAILKILL...

Okay, Guys… here is report #2 for the 5’10"

Army and Navy Academy Beach

Saturday 12-06-08

Session: 5:30AM - 10:45AM

Wave Height: waist to shoulder

Conditions: side shore / slight offshore and glassy

I got up at 5:15AM, moved the BT high Aspect Ratio Fins all the way up to the front of the box, with the leading edge about 14-16" up from the tail, donned my smelly wetsuit (still wet from the day before), re-waxed the 5’10, and headed down the Academy stairs (having a key is definitely a perk) to my home break.

I have been living out front of the Academy for about 6 years and have surfed it for 8, so I pretty much have the place wired. It was still a little too dark, but I paddled out anyway.

The waves were there, but due to the extreme high tide, it was breaking too mellow and close to shore to get anything of any quality.

I paddled back and forth from The Point to the north of the Academy and south to the Beach Terrace Inn until about 10:45.

The wave quality and rides got better as the tide dropped. The first wave I took was in front of the lifeguard tower and I took it right with a glassy face and open shoulder about 50 yards to the public access stairs next to Dr. Meiberger’s yellow beach house. The board maxed out the wave’s speed every time I pumped up into the upper third and held that line. The fin adjustment made a dramatic difference from having them all the way back to the tail the day before. It was much looser, and more to my style and feel.

After moving north toward the point, I got into the rip between the General’s house and the new condos and held my position there because I have figured out that when you first see the wave starting to roll, you can tell whether or not it is going to be a right or a left, and sitting in that spot allows me enough time to paddle (at first site) over to catch a right or a left. My next two quality waves were both lefts.

I paddled almost too deep into the pocket of the first left with some good size to it, gave one stroke as it started to throw, got up, grabbed a rail for a split second (not quite barreling yet because of the tide) and flew down the wave until it closed out. I did the same on the next left, only it closed out sooner than the last.

A nice right rolled through and I took off late, made the hook back up into the face and just flew like a scorched ape (as Bill would say) down the face, made another bottom turn as the lip started to fold, planned on doing a floater, but instead, aired right out of the damn wave, because I was going so fast. That surprised me, because it didn’t seem like a board I would think to do aerial maneuvers with… especially with those high aspect fins… wouldn’t want to come down hard on a landing and snap one or both of those fins or over-stress the boxes.

I was having so much fun that a set wave rolled through, started to break before I could get to it, and decided to ride it anyway on my knees. I couldn’t believe how fast I flew out in front of the foam and face. It worked even better as a knee-board!

I ended up riding it as a knee-board for a while and getting little barrels on the inside.

I rode perfect little barrel in a prone position on the inside and felt like a dolphin… it was too cool… just a great feeling.

As the tide dropped out and the waves started to really get good shape, I went back to standing, and just pushed the envelope until my wife and kids came down to the beach. My arms were noodles by then, so I got out and passed the board on to my buddy Steve Peek, when he and his brother Dave came down the public access stairs. He said “What’s that!?!” I said, “Go ride it! It’s the board you saw when you drove by my house the day I was showing it to Bill, before he routed the slots out for the boxes!” He grabbed the board and caught about 5 waves on it. He came back in and told me it was fun and asked if he could ride it again when the waves got bigger.

I’m just going to keep passing this thing along to let people try it out.

I texted and called Skip Frye and Left a message with Josh Hall as well to get Richard Kenvin and Dave Rastovich to ride it. I think with the waves down south of here in San Diego, the board will really come alive and show its true potential.

Until next time… stay tuned!

I have these same fins but this isn’t my board…

Here she is… More pics to come tomorrow… I have to head down to San Diego for First Responder classes right now… see ya!

I’ve been calling it the Thrailkill Twin, because basically, that’s what it is… Bill’s thought out and designed fin box placement, positioning, fins, and foils… with my fish template. the 6’0" and 6’8" I shaped are from Bill’s “New Shape” Template.

Deck…

Nose… down the rail to tail…

how wide is that tail?

how tall are those fins?

9" tip to tip.

My others are 10" - 10.5"

Ask Bill for the fin dims. I got them from him.

Dave

Here’s the Deck

Here’s the bottom rail line from nose to tail

Here’s an overhead view of just the tail and fins in the boxes… The board is in a custom bag that my wife, Melissa made for the board.

I like this shot of the tail.

and here is the bottom, nose to tail.

I have more pics, and I’m still waiting to see Kevin’s pics.

I think the next board I shape and glass for myself will be something very similar to this. That fin setup looks/sounds great. Id really like to get away from my thruster/quad boards a bit more.

Is the official name for this setup “Thrailkill Twin”?

Kawika,

I see you have the Thrailkill square tail (they work the best right?), im assuming you have the flat bottom also? What are the dims on that board, sorry if I missed them earlier in the thread, im going through finals right now and a bit scatterbrained, I’ll look again later maybe…

That board looks great !!

Modern version of my #1, a 6’ x 22.5 x 15.5 tail dead square single fin.

Bob Wise made a few with boxes on one side of the stringers, but I don’t think he ever surfed it with both fins in. The idea of keeping the integrity of a full stringer was still on most of our minds.

Dat was '67 or so, and we were all still learning to surf, and sorta afraid to really go hog wild with experiementation. I remember talking about the idea of two fins, one on each side of the centerline, but surfing took precedence, and didn’t want to waste even one good day in case the idea was not valid.

Now we got all combos of fins and bottoms, all combos of multi WidePoints, asyms, and it all works to some extent.

Now dat board glassed with 8oz Volan, it’d be a classic.

Quote:

I think the next board I shape and glass for myself will be something very similar to this. That fin setup looks/sounds great. Id really like to get away from my thruster/quad boards a bit more.

Yeah, I’ve been over the whole tri-fin thing for a while now.

Is the official name for this setup “Thrailkill Twin”?

That’s what I understood… you may want to ask Bill.

Kawika,

I see you have the Thrailkill square tail (they work the best right?)

As far as I know. That’s what bill told me to use. I basically took my own 5’6" Fish template, stretched the layout to 5’10", and shaped it out like I’d normally shape my fish.

I’m assuming you have the flat bottom also?Yes, the bottom is relatively flat, and I kept a hard edge on the bottom rails all the way to the back and left the last 16 - 18" sharp as hay’ell!!! You can’t see it in the pics, but I put a slight hull in it, just to try it out… no real reason… oh yeah… and some slight vee in the tail… which actually made the fins angle out a microfraction of what it would be if it was flat, so I won’t do that again.

What are the dims on that board, sorry if I missed them earlier in the thread, im going through finals right now and a bit scatterbrained, I’ll look again later maybe… The board dims areand the tail is 9" corner to corner.

Quote:

how wide is that tail? 9"

how tall are those fins? Not sure off hand… ask Bill…

Nice template…

That old race car theory for top speed. If you can’t foil it into a long needle tail, then just chop it off and you have the next best alternative.

Applied mostly at LeMans like in the mid '60’s.

Quote:

That board looks great !!

Modern version of my #1, a 6’ x 22.5 x 15.5 tail dead square single fin.

Bob Wise made a few with boxes on one side of the stringers, but I don’t think he ever surfed it with both fins in. The idea of keeping the integrity of a full stringer was still on most of our minds.

Dat was '67 or so, and we were all still learning to surf, and sorta afraid to really go hog wild with experiementation. I remember talking about the idea of two fins, one on each side of the centerline, but surfing took precedence, and didn’t want to waste even one good day in case the idea was not valid.

Now we got all combos of fins and bottoms, all combos of multi WidePoints, asyms, and it all works to some extent.

Now dat board glassed with 8oz Volan, it’d be a classic.

Got pics of it???

Er…

Dat was 1967, like springtime, when I was all of 17 years old.

No pics, not of me surfing, shaping, tennis, bikeracing, windsurfing…just never cared for pics.

But if anyone doubts, they can just come up to SF area and go into any of the surfshops and ask around…

Hi Bill,

will your twin fin set up work on a round tailed, slightly rolled bottom type of shape or is square and flat the only way to go? Thanks.

Cheers

Rohan

Rohan,

I don’t think the type of tail makes any difference in fin performance. They WILL make a difference in how the board performs. Because there is a reduction, or absense of fin stall, at high AOA maneuvers, you will carry more speed through your turns, and into the next maneuver. Give it shot, I think you will get a most pleasant surprise. I’ve had people describe the experience as ‘‘squirting out of turns.’’

Quote:

Here’s the Deck

Here’s the bottom rail line from nose to tail

Here’s an overhead view of just the tail and fins in the boxes… The board is in a custom bag that my wife, Melissa made for the board.

I like this shot of the tail.

and here is the bottom, nose to tail.

I have more pics, and I’m still waiting to see Kevin’s pics.

I love the board, and the bag!

The fins are single foiled, right?

Who made the fins? Where do you get single foiled center fins?

Do you feel a difference when you switch the fins?

Bill,

Thanks heaps for the info and advice. How far from the tail would you place the finboxes for a round tail board with this set up?

Cheers

Rohan

Quote:

Here she is… More pics to come tomorrow… I have to head down to San Diego for First Responder classes right now… see ya!

thanks mate

i had a similar stubbie 6’er a few years ago , and [due to greenough’s comment !] , the twin fins were moved closer and closer together …until… it rode well…as a …SINGLE fin !

cheers

ben

Yeah… I find this very curious. Single fins ride loose and that can be adjusted with the fin forward or aft in the box. So the Twin fins like that, wouldn’t it drive just as a single fin would but with more hold, and go straighter?

I don’t know… I’m asking

I don’t understand ‘‘go straighter.’’ Help me out. Do you mean tracking?