I’ve never seen potato chip bonzer like 5’10 or so. They always seem like 6’6 or bigger
Since they excell in bigger surf than waist high, like mainly head to bigger, and usually are owned and ridden by surfers who already went thru several different surfboard designs, mostly by surfers who want to carve more than air it out, longer length just seems to fit the requirements.
Plenty of 6’ Bonzers around, but more longer with more volume, for bigger guys, I guess.
LeeDD I think you nailed it on the head there. and that Most younger surfers (airheads) are like Lemmings and wouldn’t be caught dead riding anything other than a thruster or what is seen most in the Mags.
I just made a 6-9" bonzer for myself to replace my 7’-2" bonzer… my personal bonzers are 2.50 thick and never wider than 21"
Here’s a pic of my latest Bonzer for a customer. It’s a 8’0".
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and that Most younger surfers (airheads) are like Lemmings and wouldn’t be caught dead riding anything other than a thruster or what is seen most in the Mags.
Yes that is true, not all but most…
…you might enjoy this one, from www.bonzer5.com , Jeds…some 5’10s and 6’ sized ones [and smaller !] in the photos, as you go through them from 1971 onwards [3 finners].
I think the first one Malcolm and Duncan ever made [as 15 or 16 y.o’s ??] was about 5’4, from memory…
hope this helps !
ben
p.s. - if I didn’t already have so many under 6’ boards, I probably WOULD have done this bonzer I’m currently attempting around 5’11, instead of 6’5.
Speaking of huge Bonzers, I just picked up a used 5-fin that is 7’0" x 20.25 x 3.0625"! I only weigh 150 so it’s way too thick for me but we’ll see if I can get it on some decent sized waves soon. (edit: forgot to say this one is a Malcolm Cambell shape)
I think you need to look around some more…plenty of sub 6’0 bonzers, just not potato chips, although I bet those are out there somewhere.
Malcomb has a tendency to carry alot of volume out to the rails. I gave Malcomb my everyday thruster numbers and I gave Casey McCrystal the same numbers. I’ve got one McCrystal 5 Fin that’s a full on potatoe chip and a Bonzer that is substantially fuller than my normal thrusters. I saw this one kid on the beach last fall who had the smallest 5 fin I’ve ever seen. It was all fin.
they were born in a waveland that requires longer, thicker boards-something that can take the thump of the areas wave offerings, as well as provide paddle-ability to make it out to the selectd spots.yes, they did make some short, round boards early on, but over time the fine tuning has brought them weher they are today…
hi again Jed
I don’t know about the american blanks, but with the potato chip [read : modern thruster blanks] here , I think it would give VERY minimal concave depths for a bonzer… [? might defeat the purpose perhaps ? ]
The above is only my personal feeling on why I don’t see “Bonzers” here at all , especially potato chip thin, short ones . [ Maybe I could try and see how deep the concaves would be using a modern thin blank, and glassing on all 3 / 5 fins ].
ben
p.s. - Jed, I’m pretty sure that 'T.F.A.D. ’ at surfer did a bonzer photo thread ? might be worth searching there as well…
Malcomb’s Bonzers have very subtle concaves now. It’s Eaton’s Bonzers that have a deep concave now a days.
My friend has a 6’2 bonzer that flies!!!
its about three inches thick and twenty wide, and not potato chip volumed, but mostly flat deck and thicker nose and tail. It’s a plastic fantastic 3-fin, I love it, he just thinks it as something to ride.
They are not ‘…usually so big’.
In my experience, Bonzers are usually built to whatever dimensions you give Malcolm when you place your order.
They come in all shapes and sizes.
Check the video footage on the Bonzer5.com website of Gerr and Dan Malloy
so what’s the pros/cons of a bonzer vs. a thruster besides that mythical 5th gear. I can’t see it being as loose, how does it operate going vertical, cutbacks etc.?
hi Jeds !
I reckon that may depend on such factors as
concaves
riders’ skill
fin placement and size
rocker and foil of board
planshape of board
wave surfed
but I hope one day to be able to use the one I’m making now with BOTH fin setups [bonzer AND thruster]. Then , depending on the wave[s] and if I have any ability, maybe one day I can p.m. you my findings…but that will be only for my board, and the waves here, and my …er…'ability… So, results may vary !
cheers mate !
ben
the best way I reckon would be to try the designs for yourself, and see which if not both YOU prefer , for YOUR waves and YOUR surfing.
I’ve seen some of Mike Eaton’s bonzers that he called the 360. They were all from the 70s and were mostly under 6’. To me they looked kinda cute.
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" I’ve seen some of Mike Eaton’s bonzers that he called the 360. They were all from the 70s , and were mostly under 6’… " …WHOOOOSHHHH !!! Duncan Campbell…
and his brother, Malcolm Campbell…
" WHACCCKKKK !!! "
