Lucked into a 5’10 single fin Stumpy I found recently on Craigslist. Paddles shockingly well for my size/weight at 6’1", 205lbs. Haven’t had much time to dial it in otherwise though.
Haven’t been able to find this info elsewhere - do you guys know what wave size range Stumpys are designed for? So far, it surfs ridiculously stable - so stable (almost in a strange way compared to anything else I’ve surfed) that my guess is that its intended to handle larger waves. Correct me if I’m wrong, though.
There is has been so much discussion here and over on surfer mag I’m surprised you say you can’t find any info on them. Check the archives. Yes on stability. McCoys are unique that way. They have a feel like nothing else. Don’t worry about that little board in double overhead and especially in the barrel. It will stick like glue. Look at the pictures RDM posted.
Hi Noel,
Don’t know if using pics of RDM on a 7’ board going fairly straight illustrates much about the hold available in a sub 6’ board.
Not trying to be nasty just stating what I see in the pics. I’m certain those waves “felt” insane.
I was interested enough in the Zot to call the factory yesterday and was then given Geoff’s number and gave him a call.
I was curious what kind of dimensions he’d recommend for me. Being 6’1", 90kgs and 47yrs old he said I’d be looking at 6’4" X 22" X 3" (some leeway in those dims) which is more than others around my weight have been coming away with.
I’d be comfortable with those numbers though. Could be because I’m from the Sunny coast so power in waves is not that great.
Never pulled a trigger on one of the newer McCoys as the emphasis has always been on the back foot and adjusting to it but I know I prefer to drive off my front foot too.
Last time I was there Geoff was steering me towards a 7-7’2" for paddleability but I was more interested in the shorter nuggets.
So it looks like Geoff’s come up with a planshape more suited to my surfing.
Now how do I convince him to put plugs in so I can run it as a quad or 2+1 like Feral Dave’s Gimmick model? http://store-0c171.mybigcommerce.com/products/6%272-x-21-1%7B47%7D2-x-2-3%7B47%7D4-%3D-39.6-L-.html
good luck cuttlefish with the fins my brother pushed it with geoff and had no luck. You will have to go with the single But you could always get it with a single and drop it off to fluid foils down at balina to retro fit some plugs could be an option if geoff says no.
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Hi Noel,
Don't know if using pics of RDM on a 7' board going fairly straight illustrates much about the hold available in a sub 6' board.
Not trying to be nasty just stating what I see in the pics. I'm certain those waves "felt" insane.
I was interested enough in the Zot to call the factory yesterday and was then given Geoff's number and gave him a call.
I was curious what kind of dimensions he'd recommend for me. Being 6'1", 90kgs and 47yrs old he said I'd be looking at 6'4" X 22" X 3" (some leeway in those dims) which is more than others around my weight have been coming away with.
I'd be comfortable with those numbers though. Could be because I'm from the Sunny coast so power in waves is not that great.
Never pulled a trigger on one of the newer McCoys as the emphasis has always been on the back foot and adjusting to it but I know I prefer to drive off my front foot too.
Last time I was there Geoff was steering me towards a 7-7'2" for paddleability but I was more interested in the shorter nuggets.
So it looks like Geoff's come up with a planshape more suited to my surfing.
Now how do I convince him to put plugs in so I can run it as a quad or 2+1 like Feral Dave's Gimmick model? http://store-0c171.mybigcommerce.com/products/6%272-x-21-1%7B47%7D2-x-2-3%7B47%7D4-%3D-39.6-L-.html
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RDM has posted some other pics in the past. McCoys stick. They just do. If you get a 6'4'' try it in some way over head and you will see. ...I have two 7'2'' a 6'8'' an 8er and a 9'0'' McCoy. Geoff shaped me a6'4'' Zap, but I didn't know it was comiing and had the LB coming and just couldn't afford the extra $$ at that time. would love to get him to do me another. To me the zot just looks like a fat stumpy..so I love the apperance. Most of my boards are 22 or 23. I have a couple that are 21. The zot has my interest and personally...I love them single..though a McCoy twin might be nice also.
I seriously doubt you will get Geoff to budge on the fins. It will be either three glass ons or a single would be my guess. Maybe a twinnie.
I’ll probably mention the fins idea and see what the reaction is.
No trouble to retro-fit a set of quad plugs anyway.
I’m in no hurry. Economics are really playing a part in any quiver adjustments. Have to move along a couple of less utulised boards first.
You’d be using your own revolution single with your boards wouldn’t you Noel?
I still have the red one (first model) from you.
But going “fairly straight” is one of my two signature moves (my other one is going “completely straight”).
Once when I was down at Byron and talking to a local about McCoys they made the comment that all they ever saw the people riding McCoys there do on them was go straight.
Pretty nasty and I’ve been out in the water with Cheyne in his heyday ripping on them. Haven’t seen too many doing much on them around here lately…but do recall a guy ripping at very solid Nationals at Noosa on a McCoy a few years back.
The trouble is of course if you want to find out if a board works for you then you have pay the $'s and it can get expensive experimenting and satisfying one’s curiousity.
That’s where big co’s like Firewire are making serious inroads. You can demo…just a swipe of the plastic not a big chunk out of it and you no longer have to rely on the hype (if it is that) or the opinions of others because your out there finding out if it floats you ok, catches waves or pushes water, and how the board surfs.
I realise it can take some time to dial a board in but there’s plenty of boards I’ve known won’t work for me even when I’m paddling out.
I love my McCoys and I never go straight, I just don’t do it, unless it a hollow closeout. My Standard nugget 6’8 Thruster turns really well and in bigger waves I can draw these really beautiful big arching cutbacks, smooth with no loss of speed through the full radius of the turn. Even hitting an overhead re-entry on the 6’8 I can put most of the board out the back of the wave and maintain full control through the back foot on the tail as the board drops with the close out. On smaller junky waves the 6’8" is just so much fun, catches everything and can get down the line with a couple of turns, way better than trad fish or hybrid fish.
On the 6’2" Stumpy, its like skating on a bar of soap. Geoff told me this in advance. Its very loose but where it supplements the 6’8" is in those clean waves waist to shoulder high when it really comes alive. The speed of the direction changes in these smaller waves are insane with full control and no manic pumping involves, just smooth. Overhead I find it too loose at the moment.
Now there are some waves that no board no matter how good performs in. For me I find fat waves head high and over frustrating. I can’t really turn, just pump down the line, and hope it hollows out as it hits a sandbank. Rich Pavel shaped me a quad last year and I had really been enjoying it. It was fast down the line but not as loose in turns as a thruster nugget.
I shaped a 6’3" nugget from a Homeblown 6’5" fish blank with some added rocker and installed a probox Hannelei Wing quad set-up. I have tried it a couple of times in small waves and results are promising, I am getting a blast of speed off the bottom of the small waves which I don’t get from a thruster. Hopefully it will bridge the gap for me and allow some turns on those fat waves.
I do have one admission, In very hollow beach break conditions I will probably be riding my 6’5 Merrick MBM for 3 reasons. Firstly I can duck dive it, Secondly Going over the falls if I land on the fins the FCS tabs will give and thirdly It is unlikely to knock me unconscious as its so thin and light and made to last a season or two. Whereas Geoffs boards are thick and made to last for life.
My quad nugget may address these issues with removable fins, 2 5/8" thick and glassed lightly in epoxy. Time will tell.
Found this video some guys surfing a Zap and a nugget. Towards the end you can see how well the loaded dome holds a high line in a vertical wall
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I'll probably mention the fins idea and see what the reaction is.
No trouble to retro-fit a set of quad plugs anyway.
I'm in no hurry. Economics are really playing a part in any quiver adjustments. Have to move along a couple of less utulised boards first.
You'd be using your own revolution single with your boards wouldn't you Noel?
I still have the red one (first model) from you.
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I do use the Spitfire in many of them and love it. I used the Winged Keel in the Winged keel board mostly, but the Spit is so loose without drag..on super wide tails it almost feels like no fin. Ha ha. I switch it up for different feels. We have done some smaller ones to go with two plus one.
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I love my McCoys and I never go straight, I just don't do it, unless it a hollow closeout. My Standard nugget 6'8 Thruster turns really well and in bigger waves I can draw these really beautiful big arching cutbacks, smooth with no loss of speed through the full radius of the turn. Even hitting an overhead re-entry on the 6'8 I can put most of the board out the back of the wave and maintain full control through the back foot on the tail as the board drops with the close out. On smaller junky waves the 6'8" is just so much fun, catches everything and can get down the line with a couple of turns, way better than trad fish or hybrid fish.
On the 6'2" Stumpy, its like skating on a bar of soap. Geoff told me this in advance. Its very loose but where it supplements the 6'8" is in those clean waves waist to shoulder high when it really comes alive. The speed of the direction changes in these smaller waves are insane with full control and no manic pumping involves, just smooth. Overhead I find it too loose at the moment.
Now there are some waves that no board no matter how good performs in. For me I find fat waves head high and over frustrating. I can't really turn, just pump down the line, and hope it hollows out as it hits a sandbank. Rich Pavel shaped me a quad last year and I had really been enjoying it. It was fast down the line but not as loose in turns as a thruster nugget.
I shaped a 6'3" nugget from a Homeblown 6'5" fish blank with some added rocker and installed a probox Hannelei Wing quad set-up. I have tried it a couple of times in small waves and results are promising, I am getting a blast of speed off the bottom of the small waves which I don't get from a thruster. Hopefully it will bridge the gap for me and allow some turns on those fat waves.
I do have one admission, In very hollow beach break conditions I will probably be riding my 6'5 Merrick MBM for 3 reasons. Firstly I can duck dive it, Secondly Going over the falls if I land on the fins the FCS tabs will give and thirdly It is unlikely to knock me unconscious as its so thin and light and made to last a season or two. Whereas Geoffs boards are thick and made to last for life.
My quad nugget may address these issues with removable fins, 2 5/8" thick and glassed lightly in epoxy. Time will tell.
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It's funny you mention the MBM. Take a look at some old Merrick's and then compare the rails on the MBM to your McCoy rails. They are way softer like the McCoys. I think that's why the MBM is one of Merrick's best sellers.
Also...I like that you point out that it's your surfing and not the boards in some conditions. Just because we see some guy flailing on a McCoy or another ripping ..it doesn't mean that is how it will go for us. Which is why I think board reviews for the most part are great to give you ideas, but can't be the ultimate decision. Even I was taken aback the first time I got one of my super wide and thick McCoys for my at the time fat arse..but the board just worked. Yesterday I was riding a more thin normal board. Caught plenty of waves, but I found myself jonesing for a fatter tail and thicker rails.
Hello Marc and thanks for posting on this thread.
I have owned a couple of Nuggets; a 5’10 PB thruster and a 6ft single AR and think I probably fall into the category of surfers that you describe above who maybe take a few boards to ‘get’ the Nuggets, so I’m looking for a bit of advice if possible please?
For me, I just couldn’t seem to get either board wired completely, although every now and again they both had flashes of brilliance.
With hindsight, I just didn’t give the potbelly anywhere near enough time, but I rode the single a lot, in lots of different stuff and I still came away baffled.
I think the biggest thing for me was needing to rely on the power of the wave to provide the board with the drive it needed to perform, even more so than any other singlefin I have had. I grew up on singles and have been able to hop onto other ‘modern’ singlefin boards like Merrick’s MSF1 and have a lot of fun. I put this down to rocker and bottom shape, but I could be wrong.
So my question is this-what is the key to getting the singlefin Nuggets wired in surf which is lacking in power? After watching clips of Cheyne, I’m pretty sure technique is a big part (and talent!) but there must be other snippets of advice regarding board size, fin setup etc?
Also, what kind of size Zot would you suggest for someone 6’1, 35yrs, 82kgs (25yrs surfing)?
Like you say-the physics cannot be argued with, which is why I can’t help but think I just haven’t tried the right Nugget yet, as they just make sense when you stop and think about the design.
Thanks in advance.
There are definitely blog posts out there. None of them have seemed terribly informative on the wave size point, however. Actually, the limited information I have seen on that issue seemed to suggest that the Stumpy is for small waves and not good in large waves, but the board feels exactly the opposite when I surf it (but I’ve only had it out twice so far - I have too many boards apparently). I’ve also read that the Pot Belly is supposed to be a better all around condition sort of board, but I really don’t know what the difference is between the two shapes (other than that the Pot Belly I saw was shorter).
Last time I looked, Geof’s website didn’t provide much explanation on the Stumpy either.
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Marc or Geoff might have a different view, but what I see in this comment could be the issue. The Merrick MSF1 is not a modern single fin, but a throw back to the same old seventies singles we all used to ride. It’s mostly wide point forward, feet close together type of surfing. To me the Nuggets are tail driven designs. Some folks used to riding boards a bit more forward need to just move back more on the tail. I like being able to push off my nuggets and not have them spin out or move funny. Once I figured out I could push them as hard as wanted to, my surfing became more aggressive on them and they really opened up for me. But I am a dedicated single fin rider for years and an advocate. Singles fins of the wide tailed variety… to me… represent freedom and versatility.
i have also been involved in a conversation where another shaper put down McCoy boards claiming he’d never seen anyone ripping on them - clearly he hadn’t seen me : ) I have seen several people rip on them. After seeing that youtube clip - i would be interested in seeing some more if anyone has any. It would be great to leave behind some evidence of the genius in McCy’s boards for anyone that needs evidence.
Most of those claims are pure jealousy and ignorance. Most have been doing it status quo so long they know nothing else. Many even started shaping after copying and refining the same thruster design was pretty much all they knew. Geoff does his own thing his own way and doesn’t back up from it. That’s a hard pill for some folks to swallow and the only response they know is criticism. Especially in an industry where compliments of another shaper makes many feel insecure. I have rarely seen a sport where those involved in the building side of something are more jealous and self centered than the sport of surfing. Imagine saying M.R. Nicky Wood, Pam Burridge, Larry Blair or Cheyne Horan don’t rip? One of Geoff’s guys won an Aussie title this year. No easy task. Guess he didn’t rip either.
It’s like when retro long boarding became vogue. Retro guys started calling guys would would kill it on a performance 9 footer a " tail rider " as sort of an insult. As if most surfers of average ability, and enough practice on certain waves couldn’t achieve all the basic moves for retro long boarding in a couple of years. Bob Cooper mentioned it in an article on time. Same with calling anything not a pointed nose shorty a " fun " board. As an insult and " real " surfers only ride…" status quo popular model."
Totally agree solo, i was taken aback, because this shaper uses ‘similar’ ideas to Geoff’s, although his main idea is based around board thickness. The comment, i believe, was more about trying to take some of Geoff’s market share - it was said infront of a number of potential buyers who mentioned they were interested in McCoy designs because of their paddle ability. Then he made his little comment that he had never seen anyone rip on them. I laughed and said ‘Cheyne Horan’ and then he had the nerve to start talking about how the zap held him back etc etc. I cancelled my order with him and went and got another nugget. Initially it bugged me to think that people couldn’t understand nuggets, then i couldn’t be bothered with it. There is no doubt they take adjustment, but the reward for the relearning process is ten-fold. i can’t wait to get a zot in the future and surfing on a single fin. I am looking forward to hearing some further reviews.
I agree with a well known surfer who said he has been watching the same snaps so long he is sick of doing them or watching them. I watched on pro contest this year and the guys were killing it, but it was not inspiring. I nor 95% of anyone else will ever come close to surfing like that…so for me…I choose to ride things that allow me to surf to the best of may ability and I don’t measure myself by some pro or wanna be ripper in his own mind. I also learned years ago…many shapers are great at posturing and pretending to know more than they actually do. Probably why so many jump on whatever band wagon instead of create their own. Most of this stuff is not rocket science, though you wouldn’t know it talking to some. Take a functional outline…add float and that alone might be enough to introduce fun into a formerly foam and wave starved surfer. Put the rest together and you have a functional alternative possibility to give a go.
Well, contest surfing these days seems to reward the people who can reign it in, to surf within the box. Not saying these guys aren't ripping, more that they are surfing at 80% of their true ability and getting marked UP for it....
Judges still count turns-you only have to see the last few heats of the Brazil contest. That's why it's easy to get sick of snaps. Comps are not the platform anymore when it comes to performance high waterline. You only have to check innersection or Dane Reynolds' blog or any footage of guys like Neal Purchase Jr or Dan Tomson to see the gap.
Getting back to singles, the MSF I had was a 5'9" and had a pretty hefty single to double concave and a modern foil-features I never had on any of my boards when I was a kid. Now, I'm definitely no Reynolds/Machado/Horan, but I could put that board anywhere I wanted on the wave, float sections, pop the odd air and get vertical on it. It was a little small, so I had someone size up a 5'10" off the same board on an APS 3000 and loved it. I could ride it in kneehigh mush and solid pointbreak surf and it went great. My feet certainly weren't close together during turns, but I did relish driving off the front foot and shifting to the tail to turn. I think this could be the issue maybe??
Now, I'm pretty sure that McCoy has a board that could work even better than that 5'10", but I just need to find it! The 6fter I had just seemed way too big and while I hear of people not being able to spin them out, mine seemed to pop out on almost every other backside bottom turn, particularly if it was bumpy and onshore. I spoke to Geoff about fin placement and went by his advice and I was consciously heavily weighting my back foot over the fin while surfing it, too. Other times I loved it, particularly in big, clean lefthand barrels (which happens infrequently in this neck of the woods)
It was probably me more than anything else, which is why I pose the question regarding technique. I ride all sorts of boards, from little 5'3" fishes to Bonzers to logs and probably haven't surfed a thruster more than once or twice in the last 18 months, but I still found that I couldn't gel as much as I wanted to with the Nuggets for some reason.
Thanks, Tommy.