Year Built2014
ShaperHuck
ManufacturerHuck
Model NameThe Beachcomber
LocationTule Fog Inlet
9 foot old-guy fun gun with Thrailkill twin-single (“twingle”) fins. Another in my Joe Blair inspired series of thicker boards.
Made from a blue density US Blanks 9-3A from Fiberglass Hawaii in Ventura, glassed with Resin Research epoxy. The graphics were designed as a tribute to the nearly lost art of handpainted signs, the board was planned to look like an old(er) board that had been used as a sign at one point, then restored to be ridden again. Thus, the blank was painted yellow like old foam, and faux dings were added.
The sign graphics were painted over the first layer of glass, then glassed over with subsequent layers. 6 + 4 top and bottom.
Board has volume out to the rails, down rails all the way, a little concave up front morphing into double barrel V, flattening out the very back. Fins are 2" o.c., single foil fins, foil side in, from Bill Thrailkill himself.
Thrailkill has never spelled out the exact theory behind the twin singles. The best explanation I can find for the fins is that the lift comes from the resistance of the fin planshape (like flying your hand out the car window), not from the foil. The foil is just streamlining. The twin fins with flat side out offer maximum lift while the foiled insides offers a streamlined channel for water to flow through. According to Thrailkill the twin singles minimize stall, and I had heard good ride reports and wanted to try this for myself.
The tail block / leash attachment is my own design, I call it the kite-tail leash, as it is designed to minimize drag when caught in a wave, the way a kite won’t catch wind when held by the tail. A leash attachment anywhere on the deck will offer more resistance as any surface behind the leash loop will catch / impede some of the water flow.
Overall very happy because I took a chance on putting all that volume in it for paddling, but it didn’t seem to hurt the performance any. Lots of fun in shoulder to overhead waves, at my age (I’ll be 60 this year) I don’t get out in much bigger than that (i.e. 2x overhead).
