Tried bens 8 1/2 x 5 glow in the dark keels this morning. Loved them, much "looser" than the shapers keels. I think the reduced rake makes up for the extra base. Saving up for some resin and fcs plugs, so i can supercharge it, looking forward to that. Weird conditions, almost complete whiteout, could only see 20 metres or so in front of me, though it was shoulder high and clean. Being a public holiday, there were plenty of people to share the waves with, d'oh!
they look sweet....
They glow in the dark too!!
good on you Mark !!
so...
more detail , please ?
did you go mainly forehand , or backhand ?
how did they feel off the bottom ? off the lip ? in the tube / trimming on the face ?
could you 'high line' them ?
wish i coulda been there ..
keep up the reports , eh ?
cheers mate !
ben
Hey ben, more flow for sure, less "jerky", but more loose ( if that makes sense! ). Hope to try them tomorrow, though looks like long period fiji cyclone swell, not big, but probably a bit too punchy for the pacman, although its high tide the early morning so maybe?
In reality, i may get smaller waves around the corner which will suit the pacman perfectly. A win/win in my book!
be great to see some pics to go with the ride reports, makes it easier to understand and know whats goin on, I know its hard to arrange a mate to snap off a few but I'd definitely be keen to see how you surf, especially coz I've made you a board or 2, and you do have a different stance from what you have said, I always like to know as much as I can......am sending the traveller down your way in a few months, be cool to see what ya think of that one too....and any others in Oz who wanna try a 5'2" mini-sims, let me know and we'll get it to you for a trial...sorry to hijack thread mate, was accidental....now back to the adventures of Pacman......
Wow, that is an awesome board. I ride a fish that is so close to those dimensions. It is just a touch longer and smidge narrower at nose and tail, but symmetric as yours is. 2 5/8" thick. More action pics!
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be great to see some pics to go with the ride reports, makes it easier to understand and know whats goin on, I know its hard to arrange a mate to snap off a few but I'd definitely be keen to see how you surf, especially coz I've made you a board or 2, and you do have a different stance from what you have said, I always like to know as much as I can......am sending the traveller down your way in a few months, be cool to see what ya think of that one too....and any others in Oz who wanna try a 5'2" mini-sims, let me know and we'll get it to you for a trial...sorry to hijack thread mate, was accidental....now back to the adventures of Pacman......
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Hey mark, love to get pics too, especially to see how kooky i must look haha. i do seem to stand forward though, not sure why. Absolutely keen to try the DimSim mate, love to try it.
Thanks pompano!.
yes , i third the 'more pics of it being ridden' comment , too ...
cheerrs mark ,
have [fin] fun , and please , keep up the reports !
ben
Where do i start?
Finished night shift to find low tide head high hollow clean waves. Straight out, and got a some nice ones. 50/50 closeouts, so hit the sand more than a few times, and hit the board with my head, knee, and feet, though managed to get a better feel for getting my foot right back over the crack. BUT, after "kicking" the fin in a wipeout, i flipped the board to find NO FINS!!!!, FUCK!! i had a look around but shit, how do you find fins in swirling sand??. The gash on my foot wasn't hurting, and it was still clean and hollow, so i tried surfing it finless. Bloody helll, its hard, kind of fun, but hard. The empty finbox definately has an effect, must be the water getting trapped in there, as it would "pull" to whichever way i was facing, then just spin around. I managed to stay up for a few seconds on a few, facing the back of the wave, fun!
Spewing i lost the fins though, i looked on the beach, but fat chance of finding them. I didn't even keep one, they're both gone, pissed off. Top it off, no surf for a week til stitches come out.
Shit.
P.S the proboxes are fine, no damage at all.
you can surf with stitches, just dont get it infected or turn into a sea ulcer...coz it leaves a bad scar......
shame bout losing the fins, werent the newies that chipfins made ??? good on ya for trying finless and yes it is fun, the fin box thing interests me....have a retro comp comin up, might go in it and not use a fin, SPIN a few out...haha....
Yep, the new ones ben made me especially for this board, Pretty pissed off, i haven't snapped a fin for 5 years.
" nooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
Howzit chip, It isn't you that are causing it to happen and once you have sent them off then the it all becomes the other person's luck and karma that controls the fins fates and things just happen some times. I can't understand how silly can foil the wrong side unless he foiled both of them on the same side since there really is no right or wrong side because you just switch which side you put them on if they are foile on 1 side only. I know it is frustrating to take the time and effort to make the fins and I am sorry for that but it's out of your hands once you put them in the mail and I bet you didn't even charge them for them. Just let it go and know that you did your part and and don't let it get to you. Aloha,Kokua
They can't have snapped ben, they popped out, there was nothing in the boxes!. Birthday in march, you might be getting a repeat order then, as i was very happy with that set. Got plenty more but really liked those ones so far. Next time i think i will grind a V into the base like the probox fins. I think this was part of the problem, they were new, so didn't have a depression or worn spot where the screws located, so i think the screws were just hard against the finbase, and they've been forced out after hitting my foot, and the bottom. I hit the sand quite a lot that day, pretty rare to end up with a sandy crack with a wetty on!
hmmm
yes ,
maybe we DO need footage of you surfing Mark [just to check out what it is you are doing .....]
friend of a neighbour was consistently ripping out his outside fin plugs and breaking tabs[?] "while doing floaters" . once i watched him surf , i could understand why . before i gave him a pair of fins [read: to snap] , i suggested he change his technique on floaters , as i didn't want to spend HOURS making him fins for him to poorly execute a floater and whammo ...no fins !
i was kinda hoping that if people actually PAY for fins [rather than free ones] , that perhaps they would treat them with more respect .
that said , i know only too well what closeouts can do to people and boards and fins , as 50/50 closeouts as you said in your post , would actually be a really GOOD day here , particularly THIS time of year , with minimal [read 'mal'] swell , and super shallow ...er..."banks" [not really banks]
Well, Mark , I hope your injuries heal . Meantime , till the next set for you , hopefully you can get to try out the other keels , mate ?
cheers ....and .....take CARE , eh ?
ben
yes , Mike ['kokua'] , I went back and edited my original comment , because I must confess I lost it when Ii read what had happened . Thank you for your voice of reason , as always ...
yes , it IS up to people what they want to surf , and how , and is most CERTAINLY their choice , eh ? too true , too true ...
beerfan, IM sorry to read about the loss of the fins mate, on the positive side at least the board didnt snap
now you've jinx him....look out next few surfs BF......
One of my stitches pulled out, so probably wait a week. Will look out for snappages!!!!
you loose nut , Mark !!
when they tell you , "stay out of the water with your stitches" , i guess they MEAN it eh ? hahahah
so now you'll be out of the water even longer
at least you're KEEN to get in the water , THAT'S always a good sign , anyway !
maybe you could change your signature to
" surfing for me is mostly two fin losses and a stitch or three..."
keep up the good work , Mr. Beerfan [maybe surfing sober would help , eh ?!]
cheers
ben