OK, I know it’s a bonzer not a fish AND that bottom is technically not channelled, but it’s looks 6 footish and has a swallowtail and is awesome anyway! (Lifted the photo from the 6oz Boardshop site which totally rules) I’m with Ray too, I basically think a fish needs to be 6 foot or under really, but I will admit I’ve seen a few 7 foot plus ones that couldn’t be any less ‘fishy’ and those 11 foot Christensen Skip Frye style Simmons fish are twice the size of where I’m at yet if Skip says they’re a fish, who’s to argue…
naw… i got a retro fish that’s 6’8". does all the things you hear about them. ('cept for outpaddle LB ) my board is 6’8", but the rails are thinner than some of the short-short fishys i see here. i’m 220 lbs
thats weird, my home point is normally was more consistent in winter but this summer its been working nearly every day. today was the first day in 2? weeks that it was too small.
Been thinking about it, and i would say that my fish goes better in steepish waves. Full waves ( im talkin small waves here, the usual everyday type ), its not so great. I think if i went bigger, say 6’6’‘, and flattened the rocker ( the blank had 5 1/2’’ nose ) in the nose to say 4’’ or maybe just under, it would be more fun in fuller waves. I could probably have more fun on it more often if i did that.
I forgot to mention… this is for chipfish… This board works great as a twin. I’ve currently set it up with a trailer for winter at the beach in San Francisco. I don’t have that many fins for a twin, so I’ve been fairly limited in trying different setups. I’ve also surfed it as a thruster… to stiff. I also tried it in Costa Rica with Vector 3/2s and a hatchet center fin… waayyy too stiff. It went straight like a mo-fo, but didn’t turn at all.
I’ll be getting some more foils from Futures soon. I’ll let you know how it goes.
pretty much have ridden just about anything you can ride in the waves including innertubes and small two man dingys
there’s nothing wrong with fish
but the one thing I’ve learn over all these years
you need different boards for different waves/conditions
or you’ll just be surviving situations
versus creating them
not everyone has the ability of curren or wants to struggle in waves like that all the time just to prove a point.
I will guarantee you that when the sh*t hits the fan
most good surfers will pull out their favorite thruster shortboards to paddle out
versus wanting to take a pounding trying to go mach-10 controlling that super wide nose and wide tail.
I think those channels Peterson put in his fireball was to give Tom some control was he surfed waves with 15-20’ faces…
generally the biggest problem I have with fish are mastering them backside
you really have to make a significant adjustment of your foot placement and weighting with a fish surfing backside versus doing the same with other designs.
Big secret is to keep’em as short as possible
Those 7’6" fish are a joke unless you’re like 6’4" 250lbs or something
You need to do is copy the url, click the second button from the right (the one that looks like a picture frame), past the url where it says http://, and click summit. I hope this helps
I love my fish, and I would argue (like somebody already did) that it handles juice a lot better than most people think.
My fish is a little tweaked from a “traditional” fish, in the sense that I pulled in the nose slightly, and I made it with a 6’2" C blank without touching the rocker, therefore it has more rocker than most (but still less than a shortie). Other than that, it’s fairly retro: double foiled wood keels and all
The only problem I have with it when it gets bigger, is that it doesn’t duckdive as well as my shortboard, it’s a combination of too much foam and a fat template.
As for the comment some people have about the tail sliding out (and mostly referred to “modern” fish), I think one of the most important (and overlooked) features of a fish is the buttcrack: it has to be deep, and curved. that way the water will hug your pins and that will hold your board through the turn, wile the rail line inside the BC guides you through the turn.
IMHO it’s cool to modify a fish, and introduce new elements (fins, contours, particular rails), but WP forward and deep buttcracks are a must.
Then again, if you’re looking for ONE versatile tool to push the limits of your surfing, than it might not be the right one…
I have some shortboards with this type of rail after seeing this picture by plusonesurf
I get goosebumps every time I look at this photo.
I did find that mine really hugged the wave face and you could take a really high line. Also a good way to get loads of volume under my heavy right foot. I’ve seen the nose disappear underwater on a few steep drops to have it pop back out and recover. Funny thing is I never felt the extra volume when duck diving. I remember seeing a similar rail that Murray Bourton was putting on tow boards.
The only fish I’ve had slide out on bottom turn have been ones I think have had with too much volume taken out to the rail. I wonder if the mistake is that people have a high volume for wave catching .For me I’ve come to think a good fish is one that is as hard to catch waves as my shortboard.
delta surfboards in margaret river have that same deck / rail configuration …
cheers
ben
Margaret River Sailboarding Shops
argaret River is the home of Delta Design, a board manufacturer of renown throughout Western Australia. Delta design build custom and production sailboards and surfboards of high quality. Martin, the owner of Delta Design, is a long time sailor and sails the area regularly.
Martin has a great knowledge of board design and construction. He appears to be a perfectionist with his board manufacturing, and is always looking for innovation in his designs. Talking to him you realise that there is a lot of effort and time going into his work.If you were looking to buy a new board for your WA sailing, Delta Design would have to be a major contender.
Martin designs and custom shapes at his home in Margaret River (picture) and the finishing is done at his main factory in town (picture). In this factory they will also do sailboard and surfboard repairs.
There are no real sailboarding shops in Margaret River. Some of the surf shops sell Delta Design boards, but there appears to be little other hardware available. Delta Design have their own web page.
argaret River is the home of Delta Design, a board manufacturer of renown throughout Western Australia. Delta design build custom and production sailboards and surfboards of high quality. Martin, the owner of Delta Design, is a long time sailor and sails the area regularly.
