I’m so stoked I think my head is going to explode.
This pic is from over on the Surfer Mag forum. There are more photos there at http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Number=1277448
The board is 6’2’’ by 19 3/4’’ by 2.5’'. It is a 4/5 fin combination. I can’t wait to ride it and provide a breakdown!
Did I say I was stoked?
hunter
Hey,
Looks like there will be waves early next week to give it a test run.
Hey Now!
I rode my griffin 5 fin for the first time in a while a couple of weeks ago. The waves were solid overhead and glassy, just about as nice as it gets.
I can’t believe how incredible it was to feel the acceleration the board has. I almost fell off the back on the first 3 waves during the bottom turns. These boards have so much drive on every turn. They will allow you to ride waves like you never thought you could.
If you find it awkward at first, give it some time to get used to, you will start to understand just what they can do. I needed to learn how to manage all the speed and drive it produces on every turn. You’ll get a kick out the way the tail starts to lift, then you just push it into a turn as hard as you can and it shoots out like a bullet.
Dayum that’s a nice board
Congrats and many great rides –
I’ve heard that Greg shapes the bottoms flat and pushes the fins to the rails. Is that the speed secret?
Every time I save up enough for a “Grif”, I get an insurance bill, or tuition bill, or a car repair bill. I need to have my credit card limit extended so I can buy one of these babies.
My board has a flat bottom, and tucked under rails all the way through. The rails are thin, so my deck has a lot of curve (crowned).
The front fins are about an inch and a half from the rail, and the back fin setup is unique to griffins. The back 3 are all in line.
I think the secret is in his total board concept. The fins are made custom for each board, and they generate a lot of lift. With the 5 fins, the board cannot spin out, so all the energy you put into the turn ends up as acceleration. You can push it as hard as you want . Every turn seems to create more speed. A top turn/cutback sends you back further than other boards I’ve had. Connecting bottom and top turns generates a lot of speed, so sometimes you need to pull back some on the turns.
they put out noice spray to
My board has a flat bottom, and tucked under rails all the way through. The rails are thin, so my deck has a lot of curve (crowned).
The front fins are about an inch and a half from the rail, and the back fin setup is unique to griffins. The back 3 are all in line.
I think the secret is in his total board concept. The fins are made custom for each board, and they generate a lot of lift. With the 5 fins, the board cannot spin out, so all the energy you put into the turn ends up as acceleration. You can push it as hard as you want . Every turn seems to create more speed. A top turn/cutback sends you back further than other boards I’ve had. Connecting bottom and top turns generates a lot of speed, so sometimes you need to pull back some on the turns.
SC, your comments above, and my own experimentation and implementation of “more than three” concepts, inspired by GG, is the reason why I started the thread titled “fins are energy transducers” and opinionated as to why the fins are the engine of the board. The difference, as you describe, is amazing. IMO, the doubters have never experienced this. Probably cuz they are still riding one, two or threes. I totally agree with your comments and anyone who wants to experience how a performance board should ride should get a custom from Greg.
I wish Greg the best of luck in 2008. 2007 was a hard year for him.
His work on multi-fin boards has not been given the credit it derserves. Most guys that try my board can’t believe the drive it has and how much the board just keeps going.
I don’t ride my board as much as I should, but when I do, I’m always blown away at how fast it is and how hard you can push it. If the crowds weren’t a factor in choosing which board I ride, I’d ride the griff all the time.
Tell Bernie i have reserved some blanks with King Mac on the mainland coming on this container to make his new board and other working man size boards. These blanks sell out quick and i have missed shipments.
Greg
Maximizing release and lift has always been options to competent shapers.
Combining max release and lift with efficient energy transfer, power and control is another matter. This cannot happen to its fullest potential using three fins. IMO, there has been significant design stagnation, perhaps 5-10 years worth, wrt fin setups and materials. Or at least, thats the market perception I get.
I agree with SC that GGs designs have been under appreciated. If I was making similar boards for profit, I would cut GG a quarterly royalty check. At this point, the thought of using just three without the option of using other setups is absurd. Yet that is exactly what has happened to many of us the last 20+ years. If thats not stagnation, I dont know what is. If I was a long time pro shaper for profit, I would be ashamed of myself. Amateurs in comparison. Im just a garage dweller making a couple boards each year so I dont feel as guilty. Im just glad there are a still designer/craftsmen who value design R&D and willing to buck the status quo. Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving.
Good luck with the board. They really are the best shaped and finished boards I have ever owned. The G10 fins are exceptional too. Just to balance the perspective. I bought a GG 5 fin 6’6" last autumn and rode it all winter. I just couldn’t get it to turn no matter what fin set-up I used. It was great at catching waves and scooting down the line.
When I got on a Surftech JC 6’8" PMM with H2 fins it felt so much better, being able drive off the bottom and carve off the top.
Not to diss GG’s boards because I have never heard a bad word about them. It’s just that it didn’t work for me while other regular boards did - just my perspective. I know some will hate the comparison of GG hand crafted art with a pop-out, ideologies aside thats just how it worked out.
I kept the G10 fins before selling it on though.
If I could get a custom off Greg I’d jump at it, as I presume what I got was the opposite to a magic board.
Truly sorry if this offends anyone.
Was this the T&C made board with carbon stipped fins ? I don’t think this board has my fins.
The boards made at T&C were made poorly.
If this is the board i am thinking of it didn’t work for the original owner as well who was in San Mateo.
It took 3 computer cuts to get one that was usable and 2 glass jobs to get one that was not twisted too much.
I had alot of bad boards built under the T&C label and had no control over it.
Greg
I just looked at your Blog and saw that it was the board i am speaking of.
Those fins were made by Island fin design and are not mine. M-2 carbon -fiberglass.
That board was twisted and sent anyway to the customer.
The general manager of T&C was wondering why no other shapers cared and had to remake customs as i did. They considered my concern as being a problem.
The results were this - no mention of T&C as the manufaturer just the shaper designer who was powerless in its production. I didn’t twist it or make the fins , but recieve the negative from it.
Sorry about your bad exsperience - T&C went from 7,000 boards in 1998 to 2,000 currently loosing an average of 40.00 per board because of their decisions.
The market has grown way past them.
Yes Greg that sounds like it. T & C label, secondhand board.
I have included you comments on the above posts in my blog. Just for others benefit. Are you saying steer clear of T&C 5 fins with your name on it ?
By the way the fins are good, I use the 2 large 5 fins with a 3D red tip on a thruster when it gets over head & they work great.
Just to give some perspective about how far Greg goes to tweak his designs, Proneman was telling me he used to see Greg go out with extra fins in his pocket and try different sets of fins during a single surf session. He is absolutely fanatical about the final product. Just what you’d want from someone building boards for you.
I do know of people who have had Griff’s 5 fin boards and sold them. I don’t know why they sold them. The only reason I’d sell mine is if I get so heavy that I can’t paddle it. If that happens, I should probably quit surfing anyway.
Greg if you see this, Happy Holidays.
Bernie’s still waiting, and we’re hoping you have a wonderful year in 2008.
May God Bless you, Harry
I picked the board up from Delta Cargo today! It looks outstanding. Close inspection reveals immaculate finish of the blank–not a hint of a handplaner dig on the stringer, no pukas in the foam… perfect. The glass job looks sweet too… fine sand finish, light weight, minimal sandthroughs.
The g10 fins are insane as well. The foil lines just seem perfect… they remind me of halcyon fins in that way.
Unfortunately, it appears that the atlantic ocean will not be cooperating at all until friday.
From a design perspective, the thing that catches my attention immediately (apart from the fins of course) is the ‘tucked under edge.’ The bottom rail edge is tucked nose to tail; however, it is also very crisp from nose to tail. Frankly, it is unlike anything I’ve seen.
Bear in mind that this board has been designed for small, weak beach break. It strikes me that this rail feature should release water like a mother grabber.
Now I have only to decide whether the first session should be with 4 or 5…
hunter
Congratulations all the way around!
Stoked for theboys here
g
Great news! Ride reports with pix to follow, I hope!
BTW – “very crisp” – can you explain what that means to a novice? Thanks
From a design perspective, the thing that catches my attention immediately (apart from the fins of course) is the ‘tucked under edge.’ The bottom rail edge is tucked nose to tail; however, it is also very crisp from nose to tail. Frankly, it is unlike anything I’ve seen.
Is the tucked under edge like the CI Black & Red Beauties?