Hey, has anyone surfed a short fat (chode) board at all? Something like the Mini Simmons, Firewire Sweet Potato or Baked Potato. They look like a lot of fun. Wondering what you think about them.
No one here has ever heard of those boards. I think you are just making them up. Next you'll probably combine a name and call a board a Potatonator... Just kidding... Do a post search. There is a ton of valuable information on Mini Simmons's and other "short Fat boards"
Thanks! Found a lot on the mini simmons. Not much on the baked potato. Ill keep looking around for info.
picked up a christenson ocean racer (his version of the minisimmons) last may. thats pretty much all i rode last summer, before we finally started getting some hurricane swells. its pretty damn fun and makes those small days a blast. it wont replace a longboard for those super gutless days, but will replace some longboarding days where its a bit too small for a small wave shortboard. i actually just rode it a couple weeks ago on a "leftovers" day where it was like knee to thigh with an occasional waist high set and it was a gem. mine is a twin with glassed on keels.
I've had two mini simmons (5'8" x 22" x 2 3/8" twin and 5'7" x 22" x 2 3/8" quad) for the past two summers and like others said they make knee high waves fun, and absolutely go off in lined up waist high waves. Slow gutless 1-2 foot waves are no problem as long as they are lined up a bit. Forget about chop though. They seem to get up and go way faster than a log. I found myself enjoying doing a bunch of turns on waves that i wouldnt have bothered with even on a longboard in previous summers. No experience with the firewires you mentioned, except to notice that the Swet Potato seems way on the thick side. I dont like the feel of "corky" high volume boards.
The Sweet Potato does not have to be as thick as a lot of people think. I do a version where a lot of extra volume is due to a dead flat deck... literally NO dome or crown whatsoever. The rail, however, has a performance rail volume and radius. The trick is an angular bevel that is basically a primary rail band that slopes down into turned, modern rail profile at the rail apex. The rail bands come together at the nose to form a natural beak, but in the tail they're a bit more blended. The tail is also not as fat and round... pulled in at the tip, more like a really wide rounded pin. The key to their performance is to keep the overall volume about equal to a fish or Mini Sim... so you end up going extremely short... I say, "as short as you dare." This keeps them really skatey and responsive, and not too corky in the rail. Definitely ride them under 5'6.
