After 10 years of 7’6" rounded pin tail thruster mini guns, I am looking to move on. Displacement Hulls are very intrigueing…can a decent surfer do a full throttle round house cut-back on one? I’ve ridden fishes in smaller, summer surf and been stoked…way stoked…is there a way to step them up into the double overhead range? What’s missing here? I find that the 7’6" rounded pins tend to bog on flat spots and not get me in as early as I want (getting older)…my fish in these conditions is a hyper speeding outta control monster always sliding to the botom of the wave (tucked rails??) when I need to hold a line. What else is out there?
Hey ConfussionHill, Give Ross over at Fiberglass Santa Cruz a call 831-475-5937. Get him to tell you what he’s surfing and share some ideas with him. You may be in for a pleasent surprise. Nick Pallandrini is shaping some pretty awsome boards that may be just what your looking for. Tell him Rich of Halcyon fins said to call. Ross is the owner of the place and is very knowledgable and is there all day. His a pretty hot goofy footer and a real straight up kinda guy. You’re bound to get a few good ideas if nothing else. Good Surfin’, Rich
Talk to Geoff at M10. He’ll have you convinced that if you are 6 feet you should be riding a 5,9. The guys who surf for him are insane, ariel wizzards. But seriously, the best shaper for real guns, in my opinion, is Gary Linden of Oceanside. He actually rides his own shapes at Todos Santos, so they should work for Mavericks or Steamer Lane on a big day. Plus, he is now shaping big wave boards for Plumeria, the label owned by the MOST legendary big wave shaper of all time, Dick Brewer. Now if Dick trusts Gary Linden for great shapes, you can too. Oh, and Gary Linden not only rides big surf on his own shapes, he is 54. Plus, he came in second place in the Billabong XXL challenge (paddle in for the biggest wave of the year in 2003). He is a legend, and worth the six hour drive south to get a board. And he is inexpensive. He’ll give you a really good deal. Tell him Fairmont sent you. He’ll have no idea who you are talking about. He shapes blanks, so if you know how to glass or can get it done inexpensively, get it even cheaper. Good luck.
Marc Andreini has been making some way cool hulls in the 7’6"-11’ range for winter surf for the SB/SLO/Santa Cruz areas for a while now.(He’s lived and surfed in all three zones as well).If interested you can get in contact with him thru the Beach house in SB or Doug Haut’s shop in Santa Cruz.