Been an avid Fish rider for about 3yrs(spent the 1st 13yrs riding thrusters) now and finding it difficult to find UK boards that inspire me…I currently ride my retro fish as a twinnie most of the time. It’s 6’1 and 21" wide with a wide nose. Looking for somethig similar that will go a bit more vert and destroy the lip…I think!
Had a few chats with Manny from Mandala and I came across at Kane Garden boards the other day - they look to have some really nice shapes on their site. Anyone bought one or know anything about them? I’ve mailed them but no response yet…
I read somewhere that Peter ?(Ex-Rusty) was managing the company.
i got to ride one a few months back it was super sick, worked real well the day i got to take it out. i would say it was 2 to 3 foot average east coast surf at assateague island md.i would reckomend one.
Kane Garden makes beautiful surfboards, and they have some very accomplished shapers working there, e.g.,Larry Mabile. Manny is a good shaper too, but doesn’t have the experience of a Larry Mabile. However, the plus with Manny is that you get to interface directly with him regarding your board. At Kane Garden you will be dealing with someone other than Larry.
I was actually debating between a Kane Garden fish and a Mandala Quad. I decided to go with the quad from Manny because I liked him, preferred to interface direclty with the shaper, and liked what I heard about the quad set up on Swaylocks. The quad has the same template as the classic fish, but, per Manny, the quad fin set up makes the board more versatile in less than perfect conditions and is easier to surf backside.
Ordered the quad from Manny a month ago and it looks like it will be here in week or so. May still get a fish from Kane Garden at a later date.
I ended up going with Manuel little over a month ago hopefully I’ll get mine in a month or so…
I read some where here about some issues with Kane Garden’s glassing… But the boards looked awesome in their videos when they had them posted on their old site.
I see a quad perfect for the any big winter pure west wraps we get in this southwest corner of oahu.
Im looking at doing the same - in down the coast a bit from you (sussex) but if you wanted to split the overseas shipping costs…? (Manny quoted $270)
The kane Gardens look good, but Manny seems to offer more options and i have had a few helpful emails from him. I understand that marine ply twin fin keels are not available, so hes offering glassed on as an alternative. From what he said its the same for all of the major twin fin shapers, no marine plys for some time?
Bunch of the young guys ordered Kane Gardens. Nice boards. Glass jobs looked good to me. Better than the usual stuff. I like the look of Manny’s fishes better. Just a personal preference. If I wasn’t going to make my own I’d get one of Manny’s. Marine ply keels are pretty easy to make.Mike
I’ve ridden a few Kane Gardens boards, a straight twin, and a twinzer fish. Both boards rode well, fast and loose like a good fish. The glass jobs were excellent, both with resin tint jobs, nice and even I’d buy one if I didn’t make them. You could try glass-on keels with removable twinzer/quad fins depending on what you want for the particular day.
I bought this board 3rd hand for a small € recently and was wondering if there was anything to tell about them? Is it a good board? It was shaped by Larry Mabile and he still does fishes according to this internet, so I suppose the shaper is someone who knows fishes?
and would one say about the idea of adding two future plugs to convert this to a quad? would you keep the glass ons or remplace them with plugs as well? or would you just stay the h**** away from that?
First let me say You are doing yourself a big favor by going with a Fish. Congradulations for thinking outside the Thruster box. I have looked at the Kane Garden Boards.Larry Mabile is a long time San Diego shaper. Now I am going to toss out a couple of other shapers that are noted for their Fish designs. Steve Pendarvis is a friend of Steve Lis and has been building al sorts of excellent surf craft for 40 years. he knows his way around a Fish. a Good Guy and has a cult following. I don’t think you could go wrong with a Penderflex. Just Google Penderflex for his web page. Also look for Ace who post here Ace worked with Skip Frye for many years has the reputation of being a shapers shaper. A true master of the craft. Of course if you have the Money there is always Pavel He is not cheap. check Mollusk surf shop for the prices on a Pavel. Another really fine shaper and easy to work with guy is Gary Hanel Gary isa master of fine blending of lines and curves. Of course you could always go to the source and get a Lis Fish. Good Luck on your quest. maybe you should line up a bunch of orders and invite someone over to shape some boards. I Knew that Malcolm Campbell goes to Britain
and France to shape and teach others the proper way to build a Bonzer maybe it’s time to do the same with a master of shaping a proper Fish design Board.
Larry is a great shaper and that is a killer board. Probably designed for bigger surf as the outline is pretty parallel and the tail is a bit narrow. I wouldn’t change it. Fix the dings correctly and save it for a good day. Josh Hall shapes every year in south France and in San Sebastian. Connect on the internet and see when he’ll be in Europe. He makes great fish and might do you a custom if you set it up right.
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