fun fun fun
Ryan used to work for us in Ventura and has since become a board building legend. Super proud of his work and it looks like all of those guys are having the time of their lives.
That looks fun! Granted that dude makes it look real easy…
I have never ridden a finless board, with the exception of leaving out my fin in my old longboard, which was pretty fun. I was wondering what do you guys do in the bottom contours to make a good finless in the 6 foot range?
Are sharp rails so you can turn off the rail desirable , or is the idea to put a hardcore concave in it? Sounds like a fun project.
repairing an old 8'er that has been out of service for easy ten years
tonight after dark while walking away passing my hands
over the hotcoated surface of the extensivly repaired tail
I thought what fin solution I was gonna choose ,glass -on
10 1/2'' box…and at that last moment I flashed…just gloss it.
No fin as an option has been realized by the example put forth
by this fine athlete.
Thanks Dr. Burch
…ambrose…
save is the new post
clik save
when can we p.m.
kokua?
Look like snowboarding on sheet ice. About the same amount of control I guess.
Freedom has a price and finless freedom looks like a low center of gravity and limited turn radii is the price. More power to Ryan and the rest of the finless crew but, for now anyway, I'm not seeing much that wouldn't be better with a few fins.
Sure you can spin 'till you're dizzy and fly further out into the flats or shoulder of the wave but they don't look any "faster" than a finned board and certainly don't offer the maneuverability of a finned board.
Maybe its just the feel of freedom you get without fins. Maybe that's worth the price of admission.
My main curiosity was having to do anything special on the bottom, to get almost midway between fins and completely flat bottom. Really interested in learning more about what the bottom of a surfboard does. Was following the Cole Concave thread, started surfing a board with lots of concave in the center, and its been fun, although maybe that was from the beer?
when I tried 10ft longboard with no fin in, it was in sub-sub-sub marginal conditions with the biggest wave of the day cranking in at around anklehigh. was a family beach day, and had to get some surf. had to really pay attention to paddling since unbalanced strokes would lead to some quick turns. Turned out being really fun though. Definintely wouldn't have done it in a crowded spot with sizeable waves. Was cool in the sense as a beginner it really showed me what I could do with pushing down on my rail, and made me more cognizant of my foot positioning. Haven't done it since though, the price for that board wasn't worth it:)
pic of the bottom of the rabbit's foot found online.
Great video but I have to agree with LeeV. All of the clips I've watched show me how important fins are in creating speed and turning ability. Interesting how finless doesn't appear to equal faster. I wonder if someone were to put a video together with clips of people surfing diferent setups - single, twin, thruster, quad, bonzer…would we all be able to tell which setup each surfer was riding?
i love it lee !
herb
watch some footage of one derek hynd at j-bay , some time , mr. silverback … he is FLYING !!
Growing up, any time I had the least bit of reluctance to try something new or out of the ordinary, my old man would say,
"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it kiddo"
Finless surfing feels and is different. Talk to anyone who is into it and they are AVID.
I'll personally vouch for the fun and huge speed factor when it comes to going finless.
For those who say "you can't/won't/don't go faster finless" or "you need fins for speed", I'd have to bet they have either not tried it or gave up after two go outs. It ain't easy to get it wired.
I'm of the opinion that the very old time kanaka were much better surfers, shapers and all around watermen and women than they are given credit for and finless was how they chose to ride for centuries.
That said, I also think Ryan Burch is one of the best surfers on the planet at the moment.
Go Bambi Legs!