14 days: Testing a new Al Merrick

[zach619]

So, last night I was in Encinitas at my friends new place. He has a decent quiver, but NEVER surfs anymore. Last year, he bought a Brand new, 6'0, channel islands Flyer (O-side Surfride Model), with a Swallow tail and a Quad fn system....

So, after our long conversation back and forth about Al Merrick, I told my friend that I was confiscating his board for two week. I plan on riding it in every condition, everyday for 14 days and report my finding.

This shortboard is substantially thicker than my high performance boards, and I have never really toyed around with anything other than thurster shortboards...

I will take a picture of it on my digital camera and post it as well...

This will be my first experience on a Merrick for more than one session. First real testing of a Quad....

I plan on surfing beach break, jetty, point, reef.... I am most excited on the reefs.

I will keep an update on this post.

[MATT JOHNSON]

thats awsome! keep us updated with you finding

[njsurfer42]

awesome concept! i am, however, a little concerned that your results will be skewed by the introduction of too many variables into the experiment. prob. would've been better to find a thruster merrick in your dims &/or an hp quad from a shaper you know & trust for this experiment, but that's just the science guy in me raising his ugly head.

keep up updated! i've seen a couple quad flyers around, but never heard any feedback on them. curious to hear your take.

[Recycled Surfer]

I know this is off the topic but you guys seem to be very knowledgeable about boards so whats your take on this - Last week I was in the water for about 2 hrs and noticed a guy catching almost everything he paddled for. He also was very good and doing some extreme cut backs on a longboard. Anyway, I saw him leaving and I got a quick look at his board. IT WAS A 9'6" QUAD !!??!! with what looked like a concave bottom. There were no markings on the board and it was in white. He was on a cell phone so I didn,t get a chance to ask questions. I know what most of the local NJ shapers look like and I didn't recognize this guy. By the way - the board had NO fin box for a single fin. I've never seen a Quad this size before. Is this the new super HP longboard ?

[mitchell]

By the way - the board had NO fin box for a single fin. I've never seen a Quad this size before. Is this the new super HP longboard ?

I've know a couple guys what have been riding twinnie longboards for years and swear by them, as long as you're not into noseriding.

Quad longboards are actually getting pretty common lately. The Quadzilla longboard (forget the shaper - west coast - but someone will know who it is) looks straight up amazing.

[RightCoastRipper]

what is the point of riding a longboard if youre not going to ride the nose?

[VBVA]

what is the point of riding a longboard if youre not going to ride the nose?

+1 Im not one to longboard, but I give major props for guys who ride the nose all the way down the line.

[zach619]

I agree that my review could be skewed by a history of thruster use, but I will primarily be surfing this board in multiple conditions at the same spots. The reefs and points will only work a few times in a 14 day window... So the results will hopefully be objective.

Day One: Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Conditions: 3-5 ft HH sets, light offshore at the beginning, turning to about 3-5 kt onshore by the end...

The tide was 2.7 feet at 9:05am at the start and rising slowly to about 3.8 1.5 hours later at the end...

First few waves: I actually was able to get on the first few set waves that I offered at. It was a peaky day with a wedgy takeoff, followed by a mushy middle section to float and then a racing inside bowl section....

The take off was a little hesitated. It felt like when all 4 fins caught, I would get held up a second. So the first couple take offs were a bit late, but it was actually a good thing. The fins locked in longer at the peak of the wave on the take off. Then it would lock in on a very good line right away eventually gaining tons of speed on the decent. I was able to backdoor a few sections with a a very commited line...

So the take offs were different, but good. It is also a little more foam then I am used to so that was a big factor...

Bottom turns... Right off the bat I felt a huge difference. I took a very steep hard angled frontside bottom turn off my first wave, and when I hit the low point of the turn, I could feel my heel side fins pop out, and the board squirelled, and I lost speed for a second. They didnt complete lose control, but it took an ankle tweak to line back up on the face...

Top turning. I was very surprised at the responsiveness that the board had at the top. The eggaderated bottom turns due to the quad setup had me approaching top turns less vertically than I normally would, but when my frontside 2 fins would release at the top, the board turned and released very nicely...

I was never able to swing it around, but as long as you angle the board right, it had plenty of juice at the top. I didnt land any airs, but I tried a frontside air and ended up launching out over the flats. I had to bail, but that was surfer error, not the board, had I angled it a little less drastically, it would have lined up well...

Turning on the face.... EWWW... this is where I was not happy. I litterally slid the board out completely out of control when I tried to pull the tail around on a mushy face. The fins released and the things went dead... That is pretty much what I expected....

I totalled about 15 waves or so, and everything went well for the most part with the exception of one bad turn due to misunderstanding the board on a mushball. But Ya gotta try it I guess just to make sure it WONT work.

Day 1:
PROS: Easy to paddle. It locks in on a good line, right under the lip as you backdoor a wave. Very Easy to Land and finish tricks. Every big floater or hard top turns I ended up landing. The fins really catch the water right away and make it easy to ride it out in very turbulant water. Light and quick enough to get out of the water... While descending, it gains speed rapidly..

Cons: Turning. It calls for a larger turning radius so that the fin's integrity are not compromised, which takes adjusting, but it sets up for less elivated turns... Does not angle well while burying the rails. It is almost a must to grab you back rail to initiate a hard cutback from the top on a steep face. It does not roll from rail to rail well... Slow, hesitated take off (Probably not good on the low tide reef days where Inverted and steeper drops are required)

Over all, a fun day... So far, I will have to do some adjustments, but I have a feeling this board will perform even better when its a little smaller out.

[goofy footer]

I know this is off the topic but you guys seem to be very knowledgeable about boards so whats your take on this - Last week I was in the water for about 2 hrs and noticed a guy catching almost everything he paddled for. He also was very good and doing some extreme cut backs on a longboard. Anyway, I saw him leaving and I got a quick look at his board. IT WAS A 9'6" QUAD !!??!! with what looked like a concave bottom. There were no markings on the board and it was in white. He was on a cell phone so I didn,t get a chance to ask questions. I know what most of the local NJ shapers look like and I didn't recognize this guy. By the way - the board had NO fin box for a single fin. I've never seen a Quad this size before. Is this the new super HP longboard ?

This is a long shot, sounds like just maybe a Ricky Carroll performance long board, double concave and quad ? Lee showed me one @ Malibu's I could demo one of his guys bought who commented how radical they rode like a shorter board.

[speedfreaksdvd]

http://www.talonsurfboards.com/quadzilla.shtml