That board is actually a Rusty Pirannah. It was the first shortboard I bought off the rack in about twenty years.
I’m 35 and 190 pounds, six feet tall.
That board is the most amazing thing I ever rode. It literally doubled my shortboarding ability overnight! No exageration.
For the past three years I have gone through about seven shortboards, each with limited success, depending on the conditions (I don’t make surfboards–only two so far–these were all custom made), but none worked consistently. I had a couple really good turns on a couple boards, but I bogged a lot and was happy with about twenty percent of my shortboarding sessions (and 100% of my longboarding sessions).
What naturally happened was that I was starting to give up on shortboarding. I had Gary Linden make me a board. Didn’t work for me. I had an Agua (worked occasionally), and many others.
I sold all my shortboards (except my 7,6 pintail for bigger surf) and was done with shortboarding.
Then, one day, a character down at Encinitas Surfboards (Doug) sold me on the Pirannah. I’m not one to fall for sales hype, especially from Doug (nice guy, but a slick talker if there ever was one), but I decided to get it. What the hell. It was 465 plus tax, a price well above what I’m used to paying for a board in the 6-7 foot range (I usually buy the blank, hire a shaper, take it to a glasser, and walk away for under three hundred).
So, as mentioned, I bought the board. I stuck a three inch fin in the back (as recommended by Doug again), and holy smokes! Best shortboard I ever had in my life. Unbelievable! I am pulling off speed and roundhouses, backside bottom turns like I never did before. I am in heaven. I have ridden the board now sixteen times, and ALL sixteen times have been a complete success. I come in shaking my head, wondering who that was surfing on that board. Truth be told, I might look like a kook from the beach, but I feel like a pro on that thing. I honestly think I am ripping on it (but, again, folks on the beach might disagree).
That board has changed my life. I know it sounds stupid, but I am rejuvinated, and am stoked that it was done on the computer because if it breaks I can get an exact duplicate forever. I feel like a young man again (although at 35 I am still young), but I am surfing better than I ever have and now shortboard about 90% of the time, whereas before I was shortboarding about twenty percent of the time.
Go to www.rusty.com and check out the Pirannah.
It’s 6,10, tripple wing swallow. 14.5 inch nose, 21.5 inch middle, 15.5 inch tail, and 2.5 inches thick. Mucho concave in the nose going to flat in the middle and double concave in the tail. Very, very sharp edges in the back help it turn on a dime. Super thin glass job (might break soon, hopefully never), and the glass job lacks for quality in my opinion. Many air bubbles and a coupld very light sand throughs.
I can’t say enough about that board. But if you want to get a good look at one, they are probably sold near you.
I used to despise Rusty’s line of products because he critisizes the small time shapers and seems to want to put them out of business. I’m not sure. And the board is, I guess, a popout because it was shaped on a machine, but it’s the standard poly deal, not epoxy and styrene.
I first rode the board weighing 195 pounds, and it works great. Catches waves early too. And with the three inch back fin it really makes it faster. I would not recommend dropping to a twin fin because the lack of stability will actually slow you down.
There’s a 7 foot Pirannah at Encinitas Surfboards right now. Just looking at it gives me a glow. Perfect shape.