Which way should an aging surfer go when moving into a midsized board? Egg or Fish, anyone got any ideas? I loved Fairmont’s description of his new fish, anyone else changed recently,I’ve generally been riding performance longboards.
Eggs are real nice for the transition. I have always liked the traditional fish, but as we get older we tend to like a longer board. I personelly have been riding long and “mini” long boards for the last eight years. I think a good quiver for an older guy should include a couple of longboards, an egg or two, and why not throw in a longer fish, lets say in the 6’-6" to the 7’-2" range. That would about do it for me.
I bought a used 7-6 “Kingfish” shaped by Pat Ryan in the South Bay. Rough dimensions are 7’6" x 23" x 15.5 nose x ?? tail x 2/75". It has all kinds of design things on it - split-tail, chines, concaves, stingers, ugly decals, etc. It took a little while to figure out where to stand on it on takeoff but once that got figured out, things go well 80% of the time. Everyone who has seen it has said words to the effect of “wow, I’d like to have that board”. Other posters on Swaylocks have mentioned this kind of board. It drives all over the wave and has a lot of speed. Perfect for a 55 year old.
Forgot - twin fins set next to the stingers which are pretty far forward and a 4" trailing fin
Maybe, you could have one of each to cut back on the monotony of riding just one board. They’re easy to transition from one to the other because they ride similarly but they each have a different feel, so when you get tired of your egg you can jump on your fish and vice versa, plus, you always have a back-up board in case something happens to the other. I personally like my egg better, it seems to ride a little freer, but it’s always fun to hop on the fish because of the different way it rides, giving me a little variety in the surfing experience.
Have you thought about just fishing out the egg? Go with the standard egg shape but with a swallow tail. Maybe a 7’0 with a center fin box and FCS (or the like) for the side bits. Could be fun, or would that just defeat the purpose?
How about a mini-longboard? I’ve been riding an 8’0" x 22" x 2-7/8" mini longboard that Stu Sharpe shaped for me. (Island, epoxy on EPS). It catches waves almost as well as my regular longboard but allows me to also pretend I’m a ripper. (I’m 47, 5’6", 160#) My quiver: 9’1" Performance noserider, 8’0" Mini Longboard, 7’2" Funshape
posted by tony- “variety in the surfing experience”- YEAH BABY!
…EGG.Herb
What fin setups do eggs have, approx. length 7’0" ? You might as well include N x W x T dimensions as well. Thanx
Ive been riding and having a lot of fun on a 7’0" egg (resource # 525). The nose is 16 1/2", 21" wide @center, 14" tail, 2 5/8" thick. I have added side bites 14" up from the tail, improving the performance a lot. Lately I’ve been using a 7" center fin. The only thing I’d change is maybe adding a little more V in the last third. Other than that, its a blast to ride.