Small wave board help??

bottom feeder fo sho, or a performance groveler with alittle more volume. for example i surf a 5'11 x 19 1/4'' x 2 3/8'' and i'm 6'1 180 lbs. similar design to a fred rubble

 

NICE board, brother... really liking the tail and fin setup. Bottom contours? Got a rocker shot?

 

Thanks!

belly in front 6"
flat at 12" back
single concave from 18" back all the way out the tail.

Rocker measured from midpoint:
NR = 3 1/4"
TR = 1 1/8"

While it maxes out at 2 3/8" thick, you can see it carries lots of volume right out to the nose and tail.

 

I like it. Displacement (vee or belly) in the entry area on those wide nosed shapes works really good, IMO.

The foreground and background of that rocker shot reminds me of the Pines in Cape May County, where I grew up, and my folks still live.

 

depends on how you want to surf. all the boards your thinking about (bottom feeder, biscuit, etc...) are fine if just want to cruise, but they turn like $hit. constant movement is key in tiny waves. find something with a straighter tail outline, flatter rocker and low boxy rails. EPS helps too cause it's light and floats better. or check out the tomo style mph boards. can go 6' - 10" shorter and an inch narrower then your standard board.
those other boards are geared more toward older, heavy dudes who haven't surf very long or just plain suck. your young and light... just try harder.

 

i have no problem making turns on my bottom feeder .check out the vid of mason on his.

http://youtu.be/RDhSJSbdRgU

 

first of all... mason ho can make anything look good. especially at rocky point. second, he surfs way better on his standard equipment. and do you really think he's riding a stock version? advertising to clones sure is easy!
that being said... im sure it's a great board if your just cruising or need a crutch, but concave is always faster than vee or flat bottom shapes. check out stu kennedy riding tomos in $hit waves. full rail power hacks!
or just get a longboard and forget all the wiggling like some aqua-jock if it's knee high.

PS support your local shaper!

 

If you only plan to use it on small days, get a cheap, used longboard to try out for a while. On waves that small you won't know the difference between a low end and high end board. If you find you don't like it, you can always resell and get your money back...if you find the right deal you could even make a few bucks in the used board market.

 

umm, pretty sure flat bottom is the fastest

You're telling me a longboard isn't a "crutch" for 90% of their users? From what I can see, most longboarders use them soley to catch waves farther outside than shortboarders...regardless of their exponentially diminished performance. If it's knee high mush, then, hell yeah, I need a "crutch".

I'd rather see someone "wriggling" than standing lock knee'd, like some too cool for school statue

 

Fish or mini Simmons bruh. Ruuuuuh!

 

mini simm style is the way to go... at your size 5'2 or under, at least 22 wide and at least 2 3/8 thick throughout with a nice wide tail. twin or quad. i rarely ride my lb these days preferring a sweet potato or mini simm for the small days.

 

Mitch that thing is sick.

I take my old man's early 60's 8'4 Coco Beach Custom out on days when its small or mushy. Single glassed on fin, no leash plug, paisley deck print. If its remotely shortboard ridable but weak/small, The AM Pod gets it done.

 

flat bottom is the fastest? wrong. maybe on dead flat water - a lake- but not on a wave.

 

The Great Debate! i am 53 and grew up riding single fin shortboards int he 70s, then twin fin fishes late 70s , then thrusters from early 80s till now. I hated the longboarders. About 10 years ago I got one to ride small surf and began to love the glide. IMHO if the wave is peeling and small, go with a longboard. If its small and chopped up, go with a fish/pod shape.

Its like jazz v. rock n roll - both are awesome, just different styles and feel. I have made a 7'6" fun shape I call the Wave Hog, and a 6'4" fish that is epoxy and fat and thick for the mushy 1-3' waves we typically get in S. Fla. The fish is great and turns great, but I have had epic days on the longboard from thigh to waist high.

The fastest I've ever gone on a wave was when I took my longboard out one day at the Juno Pier thinking it was chest high, only to find out once I paddled out that there were well overhead sets coming in. What a blast! The truth is some days are more fun on a longboard and some days are more fun on a stub fish. Once it starts pumping there is no debate, break out the high performance fiberglass shortboard.

My point is you should try a high performance longboard in small surf, just to see if you like. It will take a bit to learn to turn it and find the sweet spots, and how to shuffle up and down the board, but that is half the fun, and you become an better all around waterman. Let us know how it goes.

 

No offense, but a 7'6" is not a fish. They might market it as a fish and it might have a similar outline, but it is a funboard through and through. You are not turning that big of a board in the manner you would turn a true "fish". The longest a fish would run might be in the mid sixes for a bigger surfer. After that, you're just adding float to the boat.

Edit: Not to say you shouldn't ride it. If you like how it rides, by all means. Really just a question of semantics.

 

Yeah the board mason is riding in that vid is a 5'0" if I recall correctly, so its obviously going to turn. That said, I surf my bottom feeder from knee high to head high and it turns on a dime, but it did take some getting used to. You really have to surf it off your back foot or it can be sluggish.

 

I like a hplb in GOOD surf way more than small surf. I prefer a log in the little peelers. If we get a swell that's in the chest high range for a few days, and I'm satisfied with the shortboard and need to change it up, a hplb is sweet... put that thing on a rail and use the full rocker. Nice change of pace...

 

Man...SO true. I took out a used bottom feeder last summer for a three session test drive from a local shop that is cool enough to go for that (they all should!)

I personally like my grovel boards to ride off the front foot, and the bottom feeder wasn't what I was looking for for that exact reason. Definitely need back foot input to get/keep that thing moving on a soft wave.

 

Beautiful board, mitchell. Excellent Craftmanship.

i ride quad with the same dims, and similar template and i agree, works in what we get.