RIGHT BOARD FOR ME?

General Discussion
1

Hi

Just discovered this forum and have spent a bit of time going thru the archives and trying to brush up on a bit of design theory.

Im wanting to get a new board shaped and thought I might be able to get a few ideas from you guys that I can throw at the shaper.

Im trying to find that ultimate board that paddles like a 9fter and carves like a 6’6…

Ive been getting frustrated lately with my inability to catch as many waves as

I have in the past.

Im forty years old ,5’8 , 160lbs and reasonably fit but I do have a few chronic back and shoulder injuries.

My three main Boards are a 6’10 by 19 1/2 x 2 3/8…7’4 by 20 x 2 1/2 and a 9.0 by 21 1/2 2 3/4.

The waves we get are mostly powerful shifty beachbreaks and are quite often crowded.If I get out there on my 9ft I can get as many waves as I want but I get frustrated I cant do all the moves I really like doing like forehand cutties and vert reo’s.

The 7’4 is a good power board in double to triple head high but still Im having

trouble catching as many waves as I want…I know alot of it has to do with the amount of water time Im getting, months of onshore and a small family and all.

But I thought some of you might have some ideas on some thing that will paddle really well and turn on a dime…does it exist???

Thank in advance for any help

ant

2

Hey Ant how about a quad fish. I just ordered one from Manny Caro. I’ve only heard great things about them. Check them out at mandalacustomshapes.com.

3

I couldn’t agree more with SURFLI. I am about your size and weight, 38 years old and I have a Mandala quad on the way. Riding a fish will renew your surfing!

4

Ant,

A fish is always good… however you mention you would like to be able to do “forehand cutties and vert reo’s” and you would like your new board to “paddle really well and turn on a dime”. A fish will paddle really well but IMHO they are not always the best boards for a “vertical” style… more of a down the line approach.

What about an egg shape in the 6’ to 6.5’ range? I made a 6’ using the outline off a Keyo shaped by Geoff McCoy and I was surprised how well the thing went. Nice and wide so it paddles like a dream but the tail is pulled in just enough to allow you to point it in any direction… including up.

Just a thought…

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5

I’m 55, surf once a month at OB SanFran, and have been looking for that board since 1967.

I gave up, ride a funboard mostly, a semi gun when it’s over armsreach overhead.

Just gotta learn to turn the funboard like most guys carving a 6’2"er, that’s all.

Rode tiny Bo’ yesterday, on a 7’9"er, doing floater re-entry’s, vert off the lips, and hand dragging bottom turns…in 2-3’ ramp mushballs.

6

I’m the type of guy who smiles at the fact that I can pretty much take whatever board I have out and have fun with it :slight_smile:

My friend is a bit older, and he rides his semi gun all the time - uses it for a shotboard and when it gets big. So maybe that - I know it paddles good, but not as well as a longboard.

Dont think you are gonna be able to rip on the fish like it sounds lik eyou are wanting to…so…I dunno. I think your current “quiver” is pretty good in terms of covering most waves you’ll probably see.

7

Another option that’s ‘fish-y’ but also not. A board called a Pescado by Scott Anderson. Just got mine. It’s 6’10"x17x22x17x3. The board will go anywhere I want it to. Love it to pieces. I gather a couple guys got to try Kirk Putnams at the S.A. event and liked it. Here’s a pic from Longboard magazine (no pics or info on Scott’s website…)

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A board that’s,

…Inexpensive,indestructble,fast,loose,positive,bright, colorful,shark-repellent,very floaty,paddles like it has a motor,nose rides,aerials,folds-up into a square foot,impact-soft w/ hard rails,Self-repairs,doubles as a fresbee,Comes back to you like a boom-a-rang(no need for a leash) Texture deck that is neopre/skin sensitive(like velcro,soft and fuzzy like carpet,but sticks like glue on command),Hones in on the best waves in the set,as well as gives you temp.s-air/water,Measures wave ht.and energy,telescopes from 3 feet to 15 feet.Fins are a new Red-X metamorphics (changes shapes,clusters,positions,and tensions to suit the wave),Built in loran/range finder/depth finder,Changes shape to your command or to fit wave ,on board auto pilot,Lights for night surfing,Skateboard-able on land,Flies like a magic carpet,Attracts pretty young women(for women ,to attract handsome young men or your preference).Pays out like a broken $1000.00 slot machine,fills gas tank,produces square meals w/ drinks,lights cigs,heats and cools in area of rider(no suits required),Self paddles,Out runs the fasted waves(no need for a tow board or ski).Doubles as wife/husband-girl friend/boy friend w/ your choice of parts,dances and sings,provides o2 for extended underwater stays,requires no experience to operate or ride,heads up controls w/ vulcan mini-gun for those “Sir locals” MY WAVE get it? Answers all calls and sets schedules,becomes a shrine,rights wrongs,films events or while cannon is firing(confirmed hits),built in lap top HELL, WHERE DO YOU THINK I’M TYPING THIS FROM ,ANYWAY? fires guided rockets(Big locals go boom),NVE(NIGHT VISION EQUIPMENT),silent mode,CD,DVD on board w/ a 10,000 movie and CD cap.,repairs cars,provides shelter/protection from small arms fire to 100K ICM missles…oh hell I could go on and on,but the most important item on board is that it is…

…HAND BUILT IN THE USA.

…Herb sturring the pot again…or is that …naw.

9

Hey Herb I used to have a board like that but it got stolen out of the carpark along with my goose that laid the golden egg , frodos RING ,my designs for hydrogen fission and a set of ginzu steak knives.

I replaced the rest of the stuff but that board… The quest continues…

Thanks for the all the replies guys cool…

I feel some sort of fishy thing brewing as I have never tried one…

The simon Anderson pescado big fish looks interesting…what kinda waves are you riding it in…?

Ill do some more searchs on fish but if anyone would like to chime in on design features that I should be aware of id be appreciative.

10

If you had to rate what is the most important component of paddle power…would it be length …width or volume…

The way I see it IF I cant catch the wave it doesnt matter what the board rides like…

From my reading it seems that having a wider tail will give me more looseness…

ant

excuse my newbieness

11

Given what you are looking for, you should consider a McCoy Nugget. Check out www.mccoysurfboards.com.

12

ant- give the pescado a go.it has paddle power, trimability, speed and burns thru turns.everyone who has ridden it, from smucks like me to well known pros all speak highly of how it paddles like it’s a longboard(read-catches waves easy), turns great and is fassstttt…

13

Sorry, that’s just a smaller funboard, tail notwithstanding!

And some of us can turn a “SF” almost as good and quick as a chip tri.

No real new there…

14

Try SB in SB if you want a real stand-up fish.

www.surfenginez.com

I think that’s it,if not ,the correct address is in the resourced section of this website.Herb sturring and cooking,bubble,bubble…

My other board is an A-10 tankbuster

15

So no takers on length vs width vs thickness…

Just got of the water the winds swung NE offshore and the swell is a good double to triple overhead . it took me 20mins to paddle out thru the gnarly shorebreak,reforms and bone crushing top to bottoms. I rode the 9fter and got some pearler waves. the endorphins are still pulsing…argh surfing is great …

That mccoy nugget is looking quite nice …now Im getting confused fish vs egg vs funboard…

16

The wide tailed swallows with hippy curves are pretty versatile and capable of vertical maneuvers. The width gives quickness and punch and the swallowtail gives some bite. The Anderson Pescado is kind of pushing the envelope at 17" tail width (too wide for anything much overhead?) but maybe in the right direction for what you want.

You’re in Australia? (“forehand cutties and vert reos”?) There must be shapers down your way doing the wide swallowtail (not necessarily “fish”) thing? 7’4" in triple overhead at 40 with chronic back and shoulder problems?! I gave up on that a long time ago!

17

Ok - length vs width vs thickness… in my experience adding length improves wave catching ability - I can notice the difference of 1 "…width does the same thing - I can notice difference of 1/4 " at centre…thickness - well it sure improves paddlability but re wave catching - I’ve found that it’s most effective at the tail. Thickness up front seems to help paddlability but not wave catching. –

just my observations - certainly not scientific data here.

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Just like Matt said - the pros and us shmucks all give the Pescado a big thumbs up. And I’m sure we’d all agree - it’s hardly just a “smaller funboard, tail notwithstanding…” It’s a hull design, fish-like rocker (or lack thereof), carries it’s thickness at the center, has surprisingly thin and rounded rails… At 3" thick (not to mention all the other dimensions previously posted), I don’t think I’d call it a chip either… You’re right though - it’s not real new. Liddle has been doing hulls for… well I’m not sure how long, but longer than I’ve been surfing… And Scott Anderson (http://www.andersonsurfboards.com/) has done a beautiful job of bringing all the different design aspects together in the board. With, I’m sure, lots of input by KP, Steve Krajewski (aka “Bojorquez”) and several others… I’ll try to get on it soon and post some pictures…

19

Hi john…great site with lots of helpful people…

So if I got something around 6’10 to seven foot …‘21,’ 22’ wide 2 3/4 thick with a flat bottom, thinish rails and a 16.5 swallow tail I should be on the right track?

I think Im making some progress…

20

waxfoot,matt

Is it possible to duckdive that pescado…

How much does nose width affect wave catchability?

I would be real keen to see some pics

I used to have minimal/funboard that was made in hawai .(Looked like a backyard job)

it was around 17 at the nose and really scooped and thin .It got real thick in the middle and nearly nothing in the tail thickness wise…it paddled well and turned great …someone stole it…