5’ '8" x 21" x 2 3/4" x 17" x 16" Learnt heaps from my 1st effort & had a good feeling about this one from the start. Thanks to Kane @ Ocean Foam for the blank, Bella for the superb finish you’ve raised the bar with this one mate & of course everyone who contributes to this awesome site. Plan is wet & dry this week , surf it this w/end & l can’t bloody wait.
good one Ant !
…will you do one with the coloured swirly foam next time ?
[I’d try that for sure , if I lived near that factory]
cheers !
ben
…let us know [?photograph??] how it surfs , please …will you be launching it at Winki, I wonder ?
Thanks Ben,
If the keels look familiar they should, one of your templates
Winki’s too crowded these days,
Maybe a nice right around Lorne
Ant
Here’s some more pics for ya’s
stoked !
Ant , do you have a closeup of the keels , please ?
I’d be interested to know which template you used , and more importantly , how they GO !
…You are the first test pilot [sounds better than “crash test dummy”, eh?] for my keels …
THAT was one of the main reasons that I posted that “keel templates” thread , in the hope that lots of different people could make and try as many of the different templates as possible , and feedback here how they went [and , perhaps, what they would change !]
cheers !
ben
Ben,
The good pic l took is too big to post (bloody digital cameras)
This one will have to do.
l’ll see if l can take another in the next day or two.
Ant
aha !
…they look like the finbox ones I made for Luke …
[he found them a bit small , once the surf got overhead and grunty .]
ben
Great fish, antsville. I really like the outline. Very pleasing to the eye. mike
Ben,
Thanks for the keel pic
I didn’t really make this for overhead & grunty type waves as l’ve
got those covered (6’6" thruster) more for waist/chest high down
the line type waves too good for the 9’ but no good enough for the 6’6".
Ant
Well wet & dryed her last night & she now looks even better,
the weather in Vicco is high 30’s Sat low 40’s Sun so the Island
should be 2-4ft perfect testing conditions, so far so good you say!
WELL I’VE JUST FOUND OUT I HAVE TO WORK ALL @#$%^&* WEEKEND!!!
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ant
Ant,
Bloody nice fish!!!
The guys at Ocean Foam are great - when I was there last getting a few blanks, I spoke to Kane about getting a psychadelic swirl blank next… maybe worth a go 
-Cam
Cheers Cam
Yeah, swirl next time round for sure!!
Gettin any waves??
PS - How’s about we meet for a fish off in the next week or so ???
Hi there Ant,
Sounds good to me… how about Australia Day?
Anyone else keen on a Swaylocks hookup session in Vic?
-Cam
Cam,
I’m in - work permitting!
We decide on the time & beach the day before
Anyone else fell free to join us
Ant
Hi there Ant,Sounds good to me… how about Australia Day?
Anyone else keen on a Swaylocks hookup session in Vic?
-Cam
What is Australia Day?
When?
Maybe I can claim I need the day off here in California because my great grandfather was from there.
Benny,
Australia Day Jan 26 is a public holiday to commemorate
the landing of the first fleet in Sydney in 1788.
Some people agree with it - some don’t.
Here’s some more info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day
Ant
gday guys. great looking board antsville. am shaping a very similar one at the moment. its my first attempt at making my own board. ideally though, i want to make it a thruster. betraying the original fish design, i know, but its what id feel most comfortable on. the board, when finished, will be 6’6" X 241/2" X 3". its an Ocean Foam kneeboard blank with a fish rocker installed. my question is: will a thruster set up be fine with such an exaggerated fish tail cut in to the board? most of the fish boards i see in the stores are twin fins. is this because the fins of a thruster will have to be too far forward on a fish like the one you built antville (or anyone)?
cheers,
m.
msf,
Check the boards on my website on the “boards” page. Website is www.geocities.com/thefishexperiment
With a traditional fish tail, you will struggle to get the centre fin in the right place for a thruster… but if you check Dick Van’s fishes, he does put a small centre fin in some of his fishes (it is not a thruster though)
I put a thruster setup in some of my “Flyer Fish” models… there are a few pics on the website. These boards don’t have as deep a swallow tail as the traditional fish.
-Cam
cheers cam,
great site. your boards look awesome. i guess my want for a thruster is borne from wanting a board that will be suited to the junky surf we’ve been getting on the surf coast, but still be able to perform up to head height at places like winki, cathedral and johanna… i am of the impression that the thruster set-up will give me more down the line, but still provide good turning ability. do you have an opinion here? im a relative new comer to surfing (4yrs) and am a big (6’4") heavy (110kg) guy. will the twin handle what i want, or should i go easier on the tail cut and go for the thruster like your flying fish?
m.
OK,
I surf all of the breaks you are talking about so here are some opinions.
I find that a twin keeled fish gives me plenty of down the line speed… fast and loose for the smaller days like we have been having.
I’ve been surfing a 5’ 10" x 20.5" x 2.625" twin keeled fish all through this summer… it goes fine in the small slop like we have had and it also goes OK on the few bigger days we’ve had.
That said for Winki, Cathedral, Johanna if you are wanting to handle bigger days, I’d say you need a second board in your quiver that is not you fish. Once it’s getting head high and above, I get out the thruster.
The fish has it’s purpose but not for all conditions… if you are wanting 1 universal board, then I’m not sure a traditional is that board… if you’re wanting a summer small wave board to add to your quiver then it is a good board.
If you are after a more universal board, maybe you need a swallow tailed thruster or something along the lines of the flyer fish (i.e. My flyer fish template is not a traditional fish template)… for you’re size, a bit more width and a bit more thickness.
Hope this helps.
-Cam
thanks mate. it helps a lot. i have a bigger swallow tail thruster for the over head high and a Pat Rawson gun for bigger stuff. i had been surfing a 6’8" X 20" X 3" trigger bros thruster (an earlier version of their stubby i think) in the smaller stuff, but it felt too rigid in the water and finally went past its use-by date. i reckon ill give the twin a run. i think ive seen plenty of info on this site regerding twin location and size. after all, it is all about finding the right groove for you.
thanks again,
m.