hi my names sean and i’m new to swaylock’s i live on the central coast of australia.
out of a fish and singelfin which would you suggest to buy? i’m leaning towards a fish as i think i would surf it more.
thanks
hey matey. i think for you the fish just cause u seen to have a style that would benifit from a fish. maybee something like you bros but perhapes a little bit smaller all round.
let us know wat you think ay
Let me totally screw you up… Have a search through the archives for Chipfish’s “Prawn” board…
ALL fin options on one board!!!
LOL!!
Seriously, though, try em both?
I prefer fish over single fin shortboards.
Call Geoff Mccoy and have him shape you a little pot belly pig single. The single will ride more variety. If your going after an old school single…by all means take the fish.
Hey Noel, what did that mean? “The single will ride more variety. If your going after an old school single…by all means take the fish.”
Greg
My guess is Solo is saying take a fish over an old school single with all it’s issues that led people to developing twins etc. If you’re getting a single get one that’s been tweaked and modernised. I’d throw in that given your location you’re pretty set- check out the McCoy Pot Belly, the Neal Purchase Schnub (has little side fins so not technically a single) and either a Mackie or a Dain Thomas fish and which makes you the most excited, and away you go. Can’t go wrong with any of those boards. (I certainly want them!)
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Hey Noel, what did that mean? “The single will ride more variety. If your going after an old school single…by all means take the fish.”
Greg
Consafos got it right. We got off old singles for a reason. Twinnies are more performance and modern singles are the best of all of what he mentioned. For single or even for Twin…Mccoy is a great choice. He was Mr. Twin fin in the early seventies prior to the zap.
Solo, what would make a single fin ( sub 7’ ) better now than the 70’s ones??, more rocker?, rail shape? template?. Just curious
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Solo, what would make a single fin ( sub 7’ ) better now than the 70’s ones??, more rocker?, rail shape? template?. Just curious
Some still like the feel of those singles…but most of us got off them because most of them spun out and were really stiff compared to the multi finned and wide tailed singles that came later. I said the pot belly because he was asking about a fish which are rarely over 6’4’'. The pot can float a 170lber easy and ride rather large surf to boot. I personally think Mccoy showed everyone how to shape singles in a very functional and performance oriented way. Wide tails for looseness and wave catching…more of a dulled rail edge for control and a domed bottom for neutrality and momentum along with thickness so the boards ride on top of the water and support the surfer’s weight. His boards will give you whatever you are capable of doing on them and nothing more. The zaps ride more like some modern fish with flyers…more of a pocket rocket. I know some other single fin designs that are nice…but the orginal post was from Oz.
Most of the old singles and the retro stuff with the wide point forward and narrow tails are just slow when compared to more updated singles and they still spin out. There is really no right way…only how you want to surf and the feel your looking for. Enjoy.
When I lived in Raglan I had a collection of shortboard singles, some old shool wide nosed boards and also some more modern double enders and wide tailed narrow nosed ones. … and i have to say that I liked them all (that’s all I rode). . . . the wider nosed narrower tailed boards were at least as fast and capable as the later boards, and definitely had more drive and less tendency to spin out. . . however many of the singles needed to be refinned to get the best out of them, I used to grind the old fins off and replace them with Wayne Parkes singles. . . he used to complain about putting his fins on ***ing other brands but it made all the difference. The Wayne Parkes fins were a little bit thicker and perfectly foiled. . . . the older boards sometimes had thin almost flat sided fins which were not the go. So your feedback re. the older boards is most likely a fin issue IMO. . .
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When I lived in Raglan I had a collection of shortboard singles, some old shool wide nosed boards and also some more modern double enders and wide tailed narrow nosed ones. … and i have to say that I liked them all (that’s all I rode). . . . the wider nosed narrower tailed boards were at least as fast and capable as the later boards, and definitely had more drive and less tendency to spin out. . . however many of the singles needed to be refinned to get the best out of them, I used to grind the old fins off and replace them with Wayne Parkes singles. . . he used to complain about putting his fins on ***ing other brands but it made all the difference. The Wayne Parkes fins were a little bit thicker and perfectly foiled. . . . the older boards sometimes had thin almost flat sided fins which were not the go. So your feedback re. the older boards is most likely a fin issue IMO. . .
Roy,
I never considered that. There is probably some truth to it. I remember watching Larry Blair win the Pipe Masters on wide world of sports and his Mccoys seemed to be holding in the barrel much better than the other surfers. I wonder if it was a fin or Mccoys rails?
The singlefins we rode here in Hawaii in the late sixties and 70’s had flatter tail rocker (almost no rocker) with chunky, down rails. The tails were rather thin compared to modern thrusters. Almost all boards had the wide point forward from the center and the tops were flatter, which is why the rails were chunky. The front half was thicker than they are today, especially in the nose.
In 1972, my cousin made me a 6’6" rounded square tail that looked much like a 80’s thruster. Very thin pointy nose, wide point about in the middle, and thicker in the tail. It was ugly for that time, but rode better than any thing I had before. I asked why he did that and he said that you don’t need the volume in the nose, you need it back where you’re standing. He was right. I just wished it survived into the 80’s. It died around 1976 out at huge North Beach surf.
I’m playing with single fin boards that have a modern rocker, more refined rails (tucked under so there’s an edge, yet there’s a nice round curve), slightly thicker tails, and thinner noses. I like the egg shape with a round or square tail, but if the tail is too wide, I need little side bite fins to keep it from slipping out on backside bottom turns. I’m going to try a diamond tail or swallow next for a slightly straighter rail line in the tail.
My brother had a zap and has a nugget, and we both have similar designs called a slipah. I don’t like the rounded bottom up front on those boards. They paddle great, but only work when you stand on the tail.
3 good design-oriented posts consecutively–thanks fellows
Hey hey,
I ride both almost exclusively… and I have to say I love the single fin and simply enjoy the fish.
I took a cool fish I really liked, traced the outline and pulled the tail in a little (I used the template from a Bing Lotus), and shaped the best board I have. It’s my go-to board for almost everything San Diego or Baja throws at me.
By the way, I use a 9.5 Frye flex fin all the way up in the box.
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My brother had a zap and has a nugget, and we both have similar designs called a slipah. I don’t like the rounded bottom up front on those boards. They paddle great, but only work when you stand on the tail.
I’ve got the next step in the evolution from the same guy who learned under McCoy designed the slippah and is now making the W.A.R.T Wide Ass Round Tail. Nice stick and paddles insane compared to my slandered shortboard. Totally got to ride off the tail as I rediscovered yesterday in country surf after two weeks of riding a fish.
That board looks very much like the Slipah but it looks like it’s longer. Keoni Downing, the guy making the slipahs, doesn’t like making them more than 6’ 2", although he custom made my bro a 6’ 8". I have a 6’ 0", and I wanted a 6’ 4" without the round bottom up front, but Keoni didn’t want to make it. He said it wouldn’t work because it needs that rolled bottom up front, and he didn’t want to make a 6’4", said I should get a 6’ 2".
Keoni’s bro and I are classmates and long time friends, he laughed when I told him about asking for the 6’ 4".
That lead me to making my own boards again a couple of years ago. Funny thing is that after a bunch of boards, I still haven’t made a 6’ 4" slipah.
FYI… the slipahs are 3 fins boards, your’s is a quad. I bet it works good.
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Quote:My brother had a zap and has a nugget, and we both have similar designs called a slipah. I don’t like the rounded bottom up front on those boards. They paddle great, but only work when you stand on the tail.
I’ve got the next step in the evolution from the same guy who learned under McCoy designed the slippah and is now making the W.A.R.T Wide Ass Round Tail. Nice stick and paddles insane compared to my slandered shortboard. Totally got to ride off the tail as I rediscovered yesterday in country surf after two weeks of riding a fish.
You talking about Darren Rodgers? Great shaper Greg Pautsh…another great shaper and friend…Geoff will tell you that his boards shaped by him cannot be accurately reproduced. The closest I have come has been with the help of Cheyne and Ricky…but my experience is nothing 100% rides like one of Geoff’s boards. Love them or hate them. Tail driven no doubt…however…the one I ride is a great nose rider. I don’t think I would call that four fin the next step in the evolution though. It looks very much like a Forstall egg and many other designs on the market…but it looks nothing like a nugget IMO. I think Nuggets and the like are pretty unique designs. Very nice looking board by the way…bet your stoked.
I don’t know Noel–they look related to me. At 7’11" or so anyway
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I don’t know Noel–they look related to me. At 7’11" or so anyway
Cool outline…More to a nugget than an outline though. If it’s Darren…he will be very close.