Thank you Billy for having fun riding Versa-Plane Probox style.(Billy is the guy in the first pic with the Becker Versa-Plane.) Also for the people who couldn’t attend Future And FCS were inside, while ProBox was out front.
Also every major board manufacture, Firewire, Surftech, Boardworks, Aviso, Patterson to name a few that the public could test ride anything at the surf fest. My favorite thing was sitting at the outdoor bar having Bloody Marys with my girlfriend watching the guys getting pounded by the 6’ concrete wave slamming them, which is the pic at the right. THANKS AGAIN TRANSWORLD SURF for putting on a fun event that everone could get involved with. MAHALO
That Becker looks really fun. I have noticed the past couple times when I have visited Becker that they have a 5 fin fish model like that, BUT I think they are using FCS fins. DId you inspire them to come up with the concept then they went with FCS???
Interesting that Billy is riding a “fish” wasn’t Transworld the mag where some guy wrote a whole article about how lame Fish shape boards are??
Going back to the very first photo…
If we were going to RetroFit a board like the board that rodH posted I would recommend cutting out all the old stuff and starting fresh. I’ve never done a Smurftrek. (I do own one though, ha ha)
Rod, we could very easily cut out the old plugs ,install new foam ,glass over it and start over like it’s a new board. May sound complex but actually quite smiple. Might take a backyarder a few weekends to finish…I have PU and Epoxy scraps, Do you have BEER?
I’m not a designer , I think on a mechanical level. Give me the specs ,show me the drawing. Mark where you want the fins to go. Yeah we can do that…
I’m good with sand paper too!
Ray
Looking at this photo you can see where the Shipman Twinzer progressed too. I think the board was 6’2"-6’4". Around 2 1/2 thick. Fish blank and template. The outside fins lean out pretty far. The back fin has it’s own channel…The whole bottom crystialized when I glassed it…Oh my!!!
Awesome shape and fin placement. Someone in the Carlsbad area bought it. I would like to get the deminsions if anybody comes across this board…
hey larry
funny how you listed all the majors top 4 were composite boards
spoke to pete yesterday
hoping to get my boxes in the next few days
very excited
im going to build a custom art,balsa rail, airex,balsa, springer, hybrid,compsand/probox versaplane demo board for guys to try out
LOL
Rod, It’s funny you should say that. Becker is like most shops, they use ProBox with some of my ideas. But then like most shops that do what customers are use to seeing. Becker uses FCS, Future, and ProBox. As for Billy and the Transworld guys, not sure about the Fish article. But remember things change if you are open to try new ideas and remember Billy is not riding a normal Becker Fish, He is riding a VERSA-PLANE which speeks for it self. Mahalo,Larry
rAY,
That would be very cool. I leave for a week tomarrow, but when I get back, i’d love to do something like that to make this board work. I actually keep thinking about selling it, but look at the outline and think that I like it. It isn’t a smurftech, I think it is some sort of extruded foam with epoxy glass then painted over (it looks like a surftech because the glass was painted over, but as you look closely you can see an indentation where the stringer is, so I know it isn’t a surftech style board.
Let me know how you want to proceed.
Quote:
Going back to the very first photo…
If we were going to RetroFit a board like the board that rodH posted I would recommend cutting out all the old stuff and starting fresh. I’ve never done a Smurftrek. (I do own one though, ha ha)
Rod, we could very easily cut out the old plugs ,install new foam ,glass over it and start over like it’s a new board. May sound complex but actually quite smiple. Might take a backyarder a few weekends to finish…I have PU and Epoxy scraps, Do you have BEER?
I’m not a designer , I think on a mechanical level. Give me the specs ,show me the drawing. Mark where you want the fins to go. Yeah we can do that…
I’m good with sand paper too!
Ray
Silly, Great you and Pete talked can’t wait to see how you like using ProBox. Not sure about what 4 composite boards you are talking about! Mahalo
Quote:
Silly, Great you and Pete talked can’t wait to see how you like using ProBox. Not sure about what 4 composite boards you are talking about! Mahalo
I think he was talking about Aviso, smurftech, boardworks, etc…
Ah Silly, I got what you were talking about 4 Majors Boards. You were talking about the Transworld Tech Fest, I just mention those boards first because of my photos. The light in my head went on when Rod H posted again. There were some custom Poly boards from the San Diego and Orange County area also. Your board design sounds unreal silly. Can’t wait to see it. Mahalo,Larry
yeah me too
lol
im confused just reading it
note i didnt say “parabolic”
now ive got bammbamms laminating vid under my belt (thanks a truckload Bammbamm)and a bit of RR epoxy and silane
i can do a bit more for some decent cosmetics this time
hopefully things will go smooth
(ive been using mostly boat building stuff since the start as cosmetics havent been important till now)
is a 6mm shaft laminate trimmer the best option for installs
or would i be better of with a decent router do you think?
also if possible
i wouldnt mind the versaplane measurements you would suggest for a 6 1" 19 1/4 swallow tail
thaks in advance
Hi Rod-
Just to clarify. We recently ran a one page edit piece on the pros and cons of riding a fish. We pitted Aaron Cormican (inventor of the Gorkin Flip who believe it or not, was in favor) vs. Aaron Gieger (against). TW SURF did not take a stance. If anything, TW SURF is a big supporter of retro-fish designs. This is evident in a recent “surf science” piece on a Kane Garden Twin and a “Quivers” piece on Alex Knost. Every editor at TW SURF owns a fish. As long as your having fun, doesn’t matter what you ride! cheers, Billy
Quote:
Quote:Hi Bud, Stoked to see a long time user of ProBox from Hawaii, LOVE the Hawaiian energy. Very clean ProBox install. Steve Mock of Island Fin is the North Shore Distributor of ProBox,
I’m going to shape a board for myself Sunday and planning to drop by and see Steve next week. He says he has the newer fin boxes but I forgot to ask - do you know if he will have the ‘Starter kit’ for $45? http://www.proboxhawaii.com/pages/pricing.html
Quote:
Hi Rod-
Just to clarify. We recently ran a one page edit piece on the pros and cons of riding a fish. We pitted Aaron Cormican (inventor of the Gorkin Flip who believe it or not, was in favor) vs. Aaron Gieger (against). TW SURF did not take a stance. If anything, TW SURF is a big supporter of retro-fish designs. This is evident in a recent “surf science” piece on a Kane Garden Twin and a “Quivers” piece on Alex Knost. Every editor at TW SURF owns a fish. As long as your having fun, doesn’t matter what you ride! cheers, Billy
ya, I know that NOT everyone agreed with the piece that ripped on the fish design, but since you had the balls to run the article, I guess you get to feel the rath. Believe me when I say that when I was a kid, I used to think that it was the coolest thing for me to ride a 5’7" potato chip squash tail thruster.
Like you said, its all a matter of having fun, no matter what you ride (unless it is a log, a SUP, a knee board or a sponge, J/K…sort of)
Sorry to jump a little off subject, My name is Kirby and I am the distributor for Homeblown foam for Florida/the southeast. I teamed up with with Larry earlier this week and am now also the distributor for Probox in Florida/Southeast. I am very happy to be working with these two first class made in the USA companies. Just trying to let shapers from backyarders to big boys know where to get these great products. My number is 800-580-3735. Thanks and now get back to something that sways is great for, sharing knowledge.
Alright Bud, Steve Mock at Island Fin does have install kits and ProBoxes. Not packaged in a starter kit form, just sold seperate. Keep up the Hawaiian Stoke. Mahalo, Larry
Quote:
Sorry to jump a little off subject, My name is Kirby and I am the distributor for Homeblown foam for Florida/the southeast. I teamed up with with Larry earlier this week and am now also the distributor for Probox in Florida/Southeast. I am very happy to be working with these two first class made in the USA companies. Just trying to let shapers from backyarders to big boys know where to get these great products. My number is 800-580-3735. Thanks and now get back to something that sways is great for, sharing knowledge.
Hey Kirby, Welcome to Swaylocks and the Probox Movement it's a pleasure to have you aboard. Mahalo, Larry
Today I went over to the Greek’s to see what all the excitement from Huntington Beach was about. When I got to the Greek’s house I saw this EPS Shorty floating in the water upside down with the most insane looking fin set-up. Greek took the term VERSA-PLANE to another level. I sat there at the edge of the spa just looking at the fins in the ProBoxes and the overall board in general. I looked at Greek and said, “HOLY SH_T GREEK this takes things to another level!” Greek just looked at me with a big smile and said,“YEP” I spent a couple hours with Greek and took pictures and he showed me his MAD SCIENTIST WORKSHOP where he does the proto type work on the TURBO TUNNEL FINS. I will try to get pictures of the GARAGE where Greek does his proto type work in. I am going to start a new THREAD on this called," TURBO TUNNEL QAUDS PROBOX STYLE. " This thread will show you some different fin set-ups and some comments From the test pilots riding this board and possibly Greek himself. I will try to start the Thread sometime this weekend if possible, because I will be at The Guy Takayama Noseriding contest at Oceanside Pier. If you are near By stop in, Dick Dale will be playing and Hawaiian Dancers later Sat. afternoon. You can find me at the judging stand. Mahalo
August 20, 2007
To ProBox Larry and the others on this thread
Just got back from three weeks in the Indian Ocean on these islands near Madagascar. Got surf every day in the 2-6’ range including beach breaks, rock point breaks and reef passes.
Took my Surf Tech “Versatile” Model with the retro fitted Pro Box Versa-Plane set up.
Was able to try 18 different fin configurations. The Pro box adaptablity was unreal! Almost too many variables!
Briefly, here is what I found. My board is a 7’6" X 21" and 3" thick, and I weigh 210 lbs. So, for me it is my “small” board.
When the surf was small and mushy, I set it up with four fins. I found I liked the moulded fins better than the fiberglass ones. Just lighter and simplier. The basic front fin with stock back fin worked fine as a four fin and I tried the “0” degree cant, “4”, “6” and “8”. I found I liked the front ones at “8” and the back ones at “0”
We got some good lefts and going backside, I swithed to the Guy Takayama “Orca” set up with his brand of cut away “2 + 1” This seemed to work really well on my back hand, as I could push the board harder with the bigger back center fin and the side bites held in as well. I didn’t like it as well on my fore hand as it felt a bit stiffer.
For hollower fore hand, my basic thruster set up was still the option of choice. I use the Rusty front fins and a deep 4 3/4" back fin shoved all the way back.
I tried the twin fin front fin four fin set up with the small back trailing fins and it felt terrible. Think you need a lot wider tail to make that set up work.
All in all it was a great trip and really fun to play with so many fin variables. I’m looking forward to the North Shore firing up soon so I can pursue more R & D with the system.
One thing I know for SURE, is this system is far superior than FCS and now I just have to convince Surf Tech to make the switch for future production.
Anyway, thanks for the retro-fit, it has opened my eyes to endless possibilities!
Aloha from Sunset Beach, Hawaii
Randy Rarick