Modern(ish) shortboard suggestions?

General Discussion
1

I’m looking to add a modern thruster to my quiver. So far I’ve avoided them. My only shortboards are a 5’6" kane garden fish and a 6’2" Kenson karma (which I still wish I’d ordered 5’11"!)

At any rate, my buddies have been surfing potato chips at beach breaks lately and I’m a bit jealous of how fun they look in less-than-perfect chest to head high surf. I’d like to be able to take off a bit steeper and get more drive out of my bottom turns… so I’ve been looking at modern shortboards, but the last thing I want is something that’s gonna have me jumping up and down like an ape trying to stay in waves. I’m also used to a really low rocker and a really fast paddling board, so I want to find something that’s going to ease the transition a bit.

Today I saw the new channel islands ‘red beauty’ model, I guess it’s a replica of one of Curren’s boards from 1980. It’s got pretty flat rocker and a much fuller outline than the other stuff on the rack… I’m sure I’d feel more comfortable on it than any of the more modern rides, but I’m not sure if it will be what I’m looking for.

Has anyone else seen this board? Anyone have other suggestions? I’m looking for a board that works in low-chest to slightly overhead surf, and I don’t need anything snappy. I’m interested in something that trims that I can draw nice long lines with.

2

“Something that trims”?

“Draw nice long lines”?

I am afraid that what you’re looking for is a single-fin, not a thruster…

Thrusters are boards on which you generate speed by constantly pumping, they don’t really trim.

3

No need to lose style just because you’re on a thruster. Ever watch Donovan, Machado or Rasta ontheir thrusters?

I was just checking out a Webber “Afterburner,” a nice outline, a little wider than the usual hi perf thruster.

Or try a 6 channel. Mine tended to draw a longerline than a similar board without channles.

4

hey

i love thrusters im 35 and 6 ft 3 and 190 pounds

i surf a 6 2"

loosely based on some merrick outlines and they work great

the only major difference is

ive left more foam in the rail and kept the volume well forward under front foot

its 19 3/4 wide with hips in the tails, no point on the nose

it has all the volume advantages of a fish ('glide and such)

but when you plant your weight it is a bit more interesting then a fish

heres a pic

everyone whos big that surfs this board loves it

and little guys like it in mushy waves

you can trim it yet it turns in the pocket

it paddles and catches waves better than my 6 10" mini gun

which i never ride anymore cuz this board works in uo to double overhead as well as the small stuff

i love it

its about 2 3/4 thick and you can see the forward volume and large fat fin template in this pick

a scaled down version might be 5 9" or something like that

you could scale it in aps 3000 give the numbers to a shaper and go from there

the only thing i would change in this board is nothing

i cry if it gets a ding

and probably kill myself if it breaks or is stolen

(unlikely to break however)

if i was to buy of the shelf id get a ci flyer or mcoy surftech close to these dimensions

prolly the mcoy though

5

I looked at the afterburner online. Seems like a fun shape!

6

Thank thing looks like fun!

7

um yeah its really fun

id really like to try a version of the ci mongrel as well

short and wide with a pulled in tail

full forgiving rails

fat fins at 11 and 3.5

more volume toward the nose

and a bit thicker in the tail then normal

you could lift the nose a tiny bit

and maybe use fcs h2s

all in all it would be a good smooth transition from riding fish

i can paddle circles around my mates and there like ten years younger

and surf regulary

8

If you are a good backfoot surfer and can drive hard off your backfoot as well as trim like you would off your other 2 boards then if there’s anyway you can get your hands on a 5’10"x20"x2.5" or 2 3/8" version of this “super thruster” you’ll have one heck of a good time in just about all conditions. It’ll handle knee cappers to overhead to double overhead depending on how confident you become with it. And it’ll never spin out on you no matter how hard you push it. Float of a fish and the drive of a thruster on steroids. This 10+ year old design, a Munoz 12’ Surftech and Rawson/Brewer/BK 8’ gun are all the boards you’d ever need for the rest of your life. Remember though the Potato chip boys have the art of the hip hop down to a science if you don’t have the dance down you can’t compete. Sounds like you’re a carver and a cruiser.

Just a suggestion, you can take it for what its worth.

In the end it’s basically all about generating speed when there is none and controlling it when you have too much of it.

And by the way I love that board Silly

it’s the one with the oriental paper inlay’s right?

9

yeah oneula

thats the one with the paper

i feel naked with out it

in fact lateley, regardless of conditions if im not riding it

im not having a good surf.

today it was overhead and heavy kirra like barrels and i didnt have the board for various reasons.

i aligned everything in my life for a crack at those waves today

im fit and it was perfect

but hell, did i kook it

bottom of the pecking order

if i had that board ,it would have made all the difference

yeah.I agree with onelula , iff you dont have what it takes to ride a chip

then dont bother

i dont anymore and my wave count has trippled

is that design really ten years old?

like a whale

it has reached its evolutionary peak

but perfect

(not mine of course,im an amature)

10

Wow. Dimensions look good. That’s one heck of a lot of fins, but I like it. Who shapes these?

11

Greg Griffin, north shore of Oahu.

12

The designer’s name is Greg Griffin

You can see more of his latest stuff here:

http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/griffinsurfboard/

He does it all but these are his high-end designs which go back to boards he made for Dane Kealoha back in the 80’s that T&C refused to promote. Everyone who rides them falls in love (including Ryan Sugihara) with them but the shops all hate sell them because they can’t make a quick buck and large profit off them as these boards require a significant amount of expertise, effort and time that most surf shops are unwilling to live with. Even the fins are handmade by griff for each board produced depending on the size and type of fin required. He can do it all including top of the line longboards, thrusters, fishes, 4fins, 4-5 fin combos, twins and these 5-fins. But T&C have coralled him pretty much into a production longboard corner along with Mike Casey while Glen Pang does all the performance stuff.

If you’re interested, the best thing you can do is to either PM him here or email him at GriffinSurfboard@aol.com But be sure you’re prepared to talk seriously about design at some length and be serious in what you’re looking for. He knows his stuff and will figure you out right away if you feed him a bunch of BS, he’s seen it all and he has little patience for that. Go watch the movie Northshore and you’ll see what you’re in for. But if you are definitely interested and got the time as well as a little knowledge about design and the politics of the surfboard industry, you won’t regret the experience in chatting with him.

What you’ll hopefully learn is how little of what can be done to improve a surfboards performance using conventional building techniques is actually known to the general public. Wil Jobson is another tinkerer who has been widely ignored by the mainstream as well as Terry Chung while guys like Mayhemb, Pavel, Stretch, JS, Chili and others are getting the spot light right now.

Everyone once and a while one’s lucky enough to stumble across some dusty old design idea that just blows the doors off what people are willing to accept as a “modern surfboard” if given a chance. There’s so many of these gems out there, you just have to be open minded to give them all a chance if you want to make a great “discovery”. Not to say that technology and materials science isn’t grand, but there’s so much overlooked designs and designers out there it’s a pretty sad when you really think about it. Kind of like why I’ve personally gone from trying to reinvent to wheel to trying to go on these design archeological digs on what you can get today if you just find the right people.

But it seems that the rule of thumb in today’s world especially in these artificial ones, that the squeaky wheel get’s all of sadaam’s oil. And it takes these guys to have to come out of their shell and stand out in the open naked to the world in order to get any attention for things they’ve been doing for decades… right Bert?

So silly but true

Good luck on your personal search…

From my experience it’s an endless one.

13

Wow. Thanks for all the information. I really appreciate it. I may email Griffin at some point, but I suspect I’d be wasting his time right now from the sounds of it. I haven’t ridden enough to know exactly what I’m looking for.

I have a few friends with some modern boards. I’m going to start borrowing and figuring out what it is I’m looking for. As with my longboards and throwback shapes, I imagine at some point I’ll have to dive in and spend some money and time to find out what’s going to do it for me. Probably aren’t any shortcuts :slight_smile:

Thanks again.

14

This may sound bad to the purists…(as I really don’t give as hoot cause I’ll ride anything if it works for the occasion required) but try and hunt down a used Surftech Merrick Flyer around 5’10"-6’ would be fine.

If you look around you can get them for around $300-$350

Here’s a 6’4" being sold here in Hawaii for $350 so a 6’0" should be cheaper if you hunt around.

http://www.surfboardshack.com/jsp/detail.jsp?docid=1421

I’ve seen a 6’8" here like the one I have going for $250. You already have a couple of good keepers in my opinion and poly potato chips just don’t last no matter what they tell you.

for the type of waves you are describing they are the most absolute fun you can have and should have enough float to help you make the transition which isn’t going to be easy no matter what you do…

It’s just a suggestion and as always you can take the advice for what it’s worth to you but this flyer design in my opinion is the most absolute fun design for performance surfing in crappy waves you can find especially a Surftech version.

As you can tell from my new equipment though, I’ve moved on to a completely different level with what I’m trying to accomplish with my surfing. 1 board solution no matter how junk or how good the waves are…

15

my first shortboard was a Pat Rawson 6’2" slug. 19.5 wide 2.5 thick, wide nose and pronounced hips allowed for a nearly parallel rail outline for 2/3 the length of the board. very low rocker front and rear with deep concave to flatten the midline rocker even more. pronounced hip just off of leading fins allowed this thing to flick around in the pocket of small waves, and above aspects ensured speed over flat sections. However I rode this board primarily in head high to overhead powerful waves. It would paddle in as easily as my 6 10 SG. It is quite a magical board. I have recently been riding 5 10 Kane Garden twin keel, which I also adore, more so since shoulder pain requires I need more paddling horsepower. I’ve really enjoyed Greg Griffins posts of his 5 fins, and would love to have one of them.

16

Rawson makes good stuff no doubt.

his 7’6" miniguns along with BK and Bushman are a prized aquisition to ones quiver here on the northshore when the going gets tough.

I even had one of Davey Miller’s old 7’2" 5 fin baby swallow bonzers Pat made for him in the early 90’s when Davey was all over the magazines and that board smoked till I out grew(weight wise) it like I do all my boards. Sold it later at the Kam swap meet for $100.

Ever ask wonder why you got a KG when you could’ve ordered a custom fish direct from Steve Lis on Kauai…

Was it easy accessibility in your area or brand recognition?

Then again how much better is a KG fish versus a ZeSurf quad fish or a super7 fish?

Alot of my friends are asking themselves those exact same questions…

And the funny thing in that some of them have already found out that those cheap ZeSurf fishes don’t seem to pressure out on the deck as easily as the twice as expensive KG ones.

You can get them both here at Hawaiian Island Creations.

17

I’m sure I must have a friend of a friend who’s got a flyer. For some reason they hadn’t crossed my radar. I’ll check those out!

As far as my KG fish… I lived next door to a few guys who worked for Mabile. They were all riding the KG fishes at grandview that summer and I borrowed a couple… they were kind enough to get me a great deal on one so that was that. I didn’t really look at anyone elses shape. Now that I’ve got it, I adore the thing but if I was to get a new one I’d go a tiny bit thinner.

In all of my poking around online and in local surfshops, I’ve noticed a lot of bonzer attention. The combination of a larger single fin and sidebites is definitely attractive to me… It seems like moonlight and the cambell’s are making some really nice looking modern shapes adapted to three and five fin bonzer setups. A search through the archives seems to bring up mostly good things about the bonzer setup in general… some folks suggesting they feel like ‘smoother handling thrusters’… that sure sounds up my alley.

thoughts?

18

these two boards have worked great for me in sub par nova scotia conditions. the one with the lion is a 5’6" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/4" (kind of a lost RNF outline) and the all white board is 5’11" x 18 3/4" x 2 1/4" with a 11 3/4" nose and a pulled in 13 3/4" tail. i am 5’9" x 145lbs and am a front footed surfer. these work great in knee high slop to over head conditions. 5’11" is flyer like with low entry rocker but more tail rocker, just seems to work well for me. i agree with oneula with something along a flyer outline for a thruster in the conditions you are describing.

19

pic would not upload of the 5’11"

20

for what its worth I strongly feel the best modern shortboard i’ve ever ridden is the MR super twin.