I’ve been reading through your forums looking for fish info - there’s so much great info here, and it’s actually raised more questions - I hope some of you may be willing to offer some insight.
I normally ride a 10’ soft railed single fin and an 8’ single fin. I was looking for something different and I really like the way the fish is ridden in those Andrew Kidman movies.
First up, I’m 6’1 and 210 lbs and probably not long at the intermediate stage. The longest fish are about 6’6" right? Am I fooling myself thinkin I’m gonna ride a fish? (I’m thinking of the Skip Frye/Steve Lis kind of fish). What kind of length and thickness should I be looking at?
Secondly, to make the transition easier for coming off a log, are there certain design features that I should be looking at - I’ve read that for guys coming off a traditional longboard, the rails should be a little softer and the fins should be foiled on both sides? Should I be looking at a flat bottom, or added concaves??
You may want to consider riding a longer fish since you’re coming off riding longer boards. I’ve seen pics of David Rastovich riding a 6’9" Frye fish. When I made the transition from longboards to a modern fish in the late 90’s, I shaped a 6’6" and it did’nt feel too long at all. I’ve worked my way down to a 6’0" since then (I’m pretty small at 5’5"x135 lbs). My recommendation would be a Lis type fish, say 6’9", 21 1/2" wide, nose and tail measurements somewhere around 16", 11-12" swallow, doubled sided keels, 3" thick. I slightly toed in and canted doubled sided keels on my last fish and it works just fine like that. There are a few bottom configurations to choose from, a single concave like the original design, double concave or a slight vee (which I chose for my last fish, worked great). Rails, soft and low till you get to the last 18" or so and hard from there on. Hope others will chime in with more suggestions. Good luck…
6’9 sounds less intimidating than a 6’6 and 3" thick is what I’m used to. I’ll keep those measurements on me - cheers foamdust!
Nostalgic Soul - I’ll be riding her on a mixture of points and (mostly) beachies on the East Coast of Australia. There are a number of guys down here who are making fish, and some of the shapers from the US have worked closely with them. We’ve got Dain Thomas who has been working off a Lis template, Tom Wegener who uses a Frye template (it’s a shame he no longer works with foam - can’t shell out for a paulownia board), Dick Van Straalen, Mick Mackie, and I think Pavel worked with the guys from Keyo in Sydney. There are others too, but from what I gather these are the main players.
Realise this was a long time ago, but I am going through a simialr search for info as you seemed to have gone through in looking at a Fish. I’m 6’3 and 100kgs riding a 6’10 thruster and a mal for the small days (which has been all week).
Have started looking at a few shapers on the internet, in particular Jim Banks and Mick Mackie. Would be interested in your expereince and what you ended up with. Also how the board went and want you’d do differently.
I ended up shaping a 6’3 flat rockered, traditional fish. Started it about 11 months ago…just waiting on some fins before I glass it and finally ride her.
A mate just finished a very similar board last week, and we christened her in some sloppy waves.
Mate, you can’t go wrong with a Mackie or Banksy - I’ve heard good things about the Banks Mark II and Glide Fish. I’m gonna be ordering a Van Straalen in the New Year. I’m getting out on my sons 6’10 McCoy thruster to get me used to a smaller sized board in the meantime…let us know how you go…
Hey Chip, no have got no mags , got a website a Brazilan built for me five or so years ago, for free rent, free beer and free local shelias, I pay rent on it and as far as I know fuck all people have seen it and I don’t know how to change it. J.H.
about 2 years ago, I went from a 10’ log to a 5’10 fish. Its 3" thick, prettty soft railed to tucked to hard in the back with double foiled fins.
Im 6’0 at 200#, so we went 22.5. The board works great and does everything I ask it to. Hell, I catch sets with the longboarders. The flatter profile witha wider overall planshape lets me in early, but kinda disappears once in. It just takes a commitment to riding a smaller craft. Go 6’6, or 6’2 and just learn how to ride it.
You’re in a really good place for find a decent board it seems! Bushrat, Mackie- both seem to make good looking boards and if you’re around Byron you could could see Dain Thomas at Sea Surfboards- boards of his I’ve seen look beautiful.
Thanks people for the info. I live down in Wollongong (South of Sydney). Looked at the Banks MKll which got me looking at all this. I’ll let you know how I go.