howdee,
I shaped a fish (my first one) and suffered this pearling problem…not only on take-off but when sinking the rail in drawn out turns. Initial thoughts from freinds was that my wonderfull fabric patched nose had made the board slightly nose heavy,but the one handed ballance test showed things to be near spot on.
but the board surfed well when i stood further back… then it dawned on me while it was sat on my stands - the STRINGER line in the single part of the single to double concave was not right… as it effectivly thinned out the volume forward (into the entry of the foil) of my ‘natural’ stance!!!
when i pop up on takeoff this natural stance makes me pearl, so now i throw myselfback on pop up and the world goes ‘YEE HAA’.
I’m a ‘two footed surfer’ (comes from rideing vert ramps and bowls as a youth) and next time in the wet i surfed fish off the tail only, back footed from pop-up and the board changed character so drasticly i now describe it as ‘magic’.
I’d say the ‘cure’ could be to convert to a box fin rear and go 2 + 1 or say… M5 sides and something as big as an M7 (but fitting the futures box) in the rear.
Ive also found that paralele rails to a wide round tail require one to stand a long ways back.
I’d also consider that, distressing as it may be,that this board might be no good period.
Not as bad as it seems… surf it some more,realy try to get it to go, no matter how soul destroying it may seem.
When in doubt I go down to see a freind (a pro surfer) and look at his boards, on the way to his place i walk past the surfers carpark… and randomly look at peoples boards.
Then if ive got time i watch these people surf,how they interact with their boards when rideing.
There is an artical titled ‘Shapeing - One Shapers Perspective’, I seem to remember it being in the resourses section, but not any more. maybe some one has this as a file on their pooter…try and get hold of it and it will be part of your shapeing in a big way.