I posted this thread over at the surfermag forum, but I thought you all might be interested since there has been some talk of small, thin boards ovah hea’h lately 
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I’m going to throw this thread up here because a while ago I promised Chipfish and a few others some photos of my weird-but-great little board. A while back someone posted a photo of a Bajan surfer riding a short plank of wood in perfect trim. It started a long discussion regarding just how little board is actually needed to surf. I chimed in with some opinions that were based on my experience on this board. Some agreed, some disagreed… que sera, sera. It led to some questions, I provided some answers and promised some photos, which sadly took me much longer than it should have. My apologies, and here they are.
This little number is my multi-purpose board. 5’8" x 19" x 2.25" Time Bomb “MC fish” (MC= “Magic Carpet”) with very low-volume rails and a foil that is best described as “exaggerated” as compared to what is typical in today’s carry-more-volume-fore-and-aft-and-carry-it-way-out-to-the-rails-shortboards. I’m 6’0" and 180 lbs and have ridden and own a ton of shapes from small fishes and singlefins to thruster shortboards to pseudo-funshapes to funboards to my 9’4" longboard (someday I’ll put together that “this is my quiver” photo). In all my surfboard sluttery, I have not found a board that out-performs this one as a great “all-arounder”.
This board has been my board of choice in everything from knee-high to overhead-and-change, from choppy and bumpy to dredging barrels. Now, of course when things get bigger or conditions get heavier, I’ll jump on shortboards with more drawn-in noses and tails, and when things get extra small I’m on a retro-twinfin or even a longboard…. but if push-comes-to-shove and this is the only board I have on hand, I’m on it with a “lets see how she goes” attitude, and it just about always pays off .
It is funny how something this small and thin has a lot of carry-though and glide in small weak stuff. For that I thank the width, bottom contours, and foil that gives the board “flow” and the ability to utilize every little curve the wave presents to generate speed.
It is also interesting how well this board can hold in and turn tight when things get steeper and hollow… for that I thank the thin tail and curvy butt-end, and the Red-X fins which allow for some fine tune (with big results) adjustments.
Anywho, I hope you all enjoy and go ahead and ask questions, cheer/jeer, whatevers