thanks! those are all gone now, except the little grey one, which was my 1st fish, and the 5th I ever shaped/built. Still love that board, and have it in the shop for some much needed repairs. It’s not pretty, but it still makes me smile whenever I get her out…
Tony, I probably wouldn’t go out if every wave was that size unless there’s a clear channel to paddle out through. I figure that wave has a 20’ face. I did go out last year on a freak swell to outside Waikiki on my 6’4" (photo below) but the faces were only about 15’ max and were so far out, it was hard to judge. The day before my friends went out and said it was hitting 20’ and I
know I can handle what they can surf, so I went out with them. They laughed because I only had the 6’6", but that’s what I had. I had to let the whitewater catch me then work my way into the face. There were other guys riding short boards and they did the same, sit inside and let the whitewater catch them, then work around the bottom to out in front. You just have to duck under the sets if you don’t catch one of the earlier waves. Waikiki is one of the few places I’ve seen this work. I was surprised that I could push under the waves without a lot of pounding.
I have a 9’4" HPLB that might work pretty good in that size, but my gun is only 8’4", semi is 7’2". I have a couple of 8’ boards that would work if getting in is not so bad. If the wave jacks up fast, longer would be needed, but I’d probably pass. I’m 54, 10 pounds past over weight, and I have a bad heart, so paddling is my concern. If got held down or caught inside in that size today, I’d probably have another heart attack just from the combined stress.
Old style Hawaiian boards up to 8’ maybe 8’6" are mostly semi-guns (rounder nose and tail curve). 9’ and on they call guns and they have very long narrow tails. Look back to the photo my brother Oneula posted with the 5 boards. The board furthest away is 7’6" with a straight pin made by Harold Iggy. My gun is from the early 70’s and looks the same (wider nose, narrow tail).
Here is my BK 7’2" x 18 1/2" x 2 3/8". 20 years ago when this board was new, I’d ride it on waves like in that photo. The last time I used it I had a hard time with it being 18 1/2 wide. I’ve been riding 20 1/2" to 21 1/2" for a while now. Also note that my boards have quite a bit of fin, so they have a lot of bite.
“My question is why would you want to ride a fish in double OH?”
Ok. First off, DOH California and smooth. Not Sunset Beach heaving craziness. I’m a front foot surfer who likes to surf off the rail, not the tail. As a result, I’ve never been that happy on thrusters. I was experimenting with using a Liddle hull-like bottom with a twin fin set up so the board would be more versatile than the single fin Liddles I’ve ridden since the 70’s. The board worked so well in head-high surf I just kept pushing it. It works perfectly to about DOH. It carves, holds a nice line and most of all, feels really good. So I guess my answer to your question is “Why wouldn’t I ride a fish in DOH” (there is a picture of the board on the first page of “Show us your Hull Part 2” thread)
Again, I’m not saying that everyone should ride one of these in DOH surf. It works for me, the way I surf, in clean big waves. Put some bump on the water and offshore winds, I’m on my balsa or 8’6" Mellor widow maker.
I was thinking this as I read through the posts… Wave shape and power have a lot to do with what and how we ride. There are days when it’s only chest high around my local beaches, but the bottoms are dropping out and the wave face is so vertical and the pocket so tight and torquey (not sure if that’s not a real word, but you get what I mean, right?) that a fish is almost impossible to ride. I find a light, chippy, flexy short board is much easier.
But yea… I like the feeling of that big 'ol keel fin on a good rail turn on an open face. I’m 48 years old, and it takes me right back to my high school days.
I don’t know nuthin’ 'buot fish, but I’m stoked to see LeeV, Oneula, and others, I haven’t “heard” from in a while…
Plus, the talk of bigger waves and conditions is right up my ally…
I hear ya LeeV. I have no idea what waves in other places are like, just the places I’ve already surfed. On our little island here the waves are so different on one side from the other. We have soft fun waves on the south side at Waikiki, thumpers that like to pound you on the east and west and powerful waves on the north and west sides. There’s a handful of seriously intense waves on the south side as well.
Mostly though we have a bit of wind and few long point rides. Generally any wave here that is 2xOH will be enough to smack some sense into you.
I like this thread!
Like many have said, your equipment choice depends on how you approach the wave. If you like to hack it apart, a fish in DOH waves is not usually the answer - unless you’re totally dialed on it. And, that is another thing about board choice, riding the same board all the time makes your surfing more intuitive, and natural. I know I’ve found that I can get frustrated by switching boards all the time these days.
I remember a session a few years ago at heavy Brimms Ness in Scotland. All I had with me was the grey fish above. It did the job, but I was flowing out on the shoulder and doing big, sweeping turns back to the pocket and the occaisional snap, versus the thruster guys sticking in the pocket, blowing the lip more vertically. All of us were stoked, just different styles.
Having said all of that, I don’t like your typical, double foiled, parallel keels at all, on any type of board. Cant, toe, and at most 80/20 foils (single is way better) make the difference when talking performance on your Fish. IMHO, of course
less toe on curvy boards, more on straight boards is the way I was taught…
This is my 6’ x 17" x 21" x 17" x 11" tip to tip, 3" thick fishy fishy. I love this board and it is very special to me because it mas the last board my buddy made me before he dissapeard at Pipeline. Joaquín Vellilla rest in peace…
The resin work on this one was done by a glasser in Oahu whom I have never known who he is. If any of you could recognize this work it would be very cool to know. I was told that the glasser had been doing this art from the 1970’s…
Fins are a whole other can of worms. They make a HUGE difference. It took weeks to find the right combo; 90/10 foil, 4 degrees of cant. No toe as I like a loooong based keel. Cut-aways for a flexy ride, no cut when it gets serious.
My 1975 twin fins for NorthShore were 7'6" x 18" and 8'6" x 19". Both swallow tails, both with 7" side fins on relatively narrow tails. And both a little to small to jockey in crowded conditions and especially in strong offshore winds.
I agree… fins, and fins placement, are critical. I like these… http://trueames.com/shop/hobie-fish-twin-fin-1
They’re single foiled, and I always glass them on. Four degrees cant, and about an 1/8" toe. I’ll admit I pulled those specs off a Pavel Rainbow Fish, which I rode a few times and decided that was the best fish I’d ever surfed at the time.
So if we’re talking about what makes a fish possibly the most versitile board design, things like bottom design and fin setup are key. Getting away from the traditional flat-to-vee bottoms, and using asymetrically foiled fins are at least as important as tail shape.
Another difference besides the toe and cant that I have observed is that today’s keel fish also commonly have about 1" less from tip to tip of tail which ads considerably more curve to the tail outline, this along with fin toe and cant I believe greatly enhances turning ability vs the no toe/no cant straighter tails of older fish.
