Thinking about shaping one or having my friend shape one(he is waaay better shaper) for myself,and would appreciate any feedback if anyone owns one.I am 58, 160lbs(trying to get back to 165 after serious illness)and need the floatation ,and also paddle power for surfing with a bunch of people out,and it will be for Maui north shore,4 to 6 feet hawaiian scale.Thinking 7.0 x 20 3/4 wide,2 3/4-2 7/8 thick. I like my boards to have the wide point forward of center,which the Slayer has.Mahalo
Hey Kava, it is social suicide to announce on sways that you plan on copying someones design. You might not get a large response…
at 7’0 that is a lot of board for 4-6ft hawaiian waves. the whole idea of the slayer is to size it around 4 inches shorter than a step up range. for comparison, josh kerr is about your size and was riding a 6’0 slayer the year teahupoo got huge. Not saying you’re josh kerr - but something in the mid 6 foot range would be plenty of board for 4-6ft.
PS i am around 185 lb and ride a similar shape in 5’10 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 in up to 8 ft, and a 6’3 version above that.
Different strokes for different folks.
It's kinda piggie, almost a funboard, but JeffHakman was known for riding wider single fins and making it work.
My first trip to Oahu in '73, I brought a 7' x 20.5 single fin that handled everything from small Kaisers to DOH Haliewa to snappy 7' Pipe, and some real shifty mushballs at TurtleBay.
We’re talking about a 58 year old man surfing 6-8 foot Hawaiian in Hawaii. I"m 54, 10 pounds heavier, and would go minimum of 7-6. I’d probably would wait until it got smaller to tell you the truth. I recon kava is a pretty damn good surfer to ride the above on a 7-0 at his age. Mike
I stand corrected about that last statement ,measuring the back of the wave.According to Larry Godard,our measurements are smaller because back in the day,observers reported the waves in half meters,not feet,and when people mistakenly said feet instead of half meters, and it looked bigger ,well they just said it had to be the back of the wave.Read his explanation at http://www.essentialsurfing.com/ocean.html
mahalo for the replies everyone.I don’t think I am doing any harm to Rusty & Co by “trying” to copy his design.Just the idea behind the board,with the wide point forward,and the overall “feeling” of the board.Like LeeD says,it’s kinda almost a funboard shape,which is exactly what I am looking for.I currently take out a 7.0 diamond tail egg,20.75 wide,very little nose kick,it handles 6+ hawaiian no problem(the over 6 ft are only if no one else is in position,I gladly let younger guys take them,I’m happy with 4 to 6!!!). Mahalo Pirate agenda,for the size advice,will take that into consideration.BTW,7.0 to 8.0 is very common when it’s bigger over here,at least if you want to catch the set waves and not get pounded on the inside surfing the in betweens.Aloha
4 to 6 ft hawaiian=8 to 12 feet face,we measure the back over here,so as not to make it sound too big,and make the wives scared and give us a hard time!
Kava, I just looked at the board on the Rusty website. Reminds me of what Hawaiian boards used to look like. The wide point forward is what we learned on. I think you will be very happy with something like that. I also prefer that kind of shape.
e Sharkcountry( 'aina mano!) that’s what I thought when I saw that shape, just modernized and hi-performanced;when you get older,part of the fun is reminiscing and trying to recapture the days of our youth,like Kui Lee sang so well.
The Video is much better with the sound turned off. looking at that Board does have some echos of the Boards from the mid to late 70's in The outline modern rocker and plane shape and foil look really good. If i were in much better shape and surfing in waist high to just over head Hawaiian waves. Waves that have more juice no matter what size they are. It would be something I could be very happy riding. Looks like a board that would project out of a bottom turn and something that could be laid on the rail like those great powerful turns that BK could do oh so well.
Kava go for it.
Slayer looks over rockered, both ends.
Desert Islands
In the mid ‘90’s, I had a 7’6" BrewerMorgan at 20" wide and 3.15 thick, flat deck and full gun rails. Best allaround board I can think of, tri fin with widely spaced 4.75" fins, narrow rounded squash tail, widepoint centered. Worked great in 2’ to 8’ outer bar waves.