I've been thinking about getting a new board and want a fish or something similar. When you start getting boards 2 1/2 or 2 5/8 thick does it sacrifice alot of turn or is the added paddle and wave-catchability make it worth it? Also, will a 2 3/8 be noticably easier to catch waves than a 2 1/4 (even if the 2 3/8 is 2 or 3 inches shorter than the shortboard)? Basically, I'm torn between going too thick and not being able to manuever or going to thin and struggling to catch small waves.
If you are a good paddler and the board is shaped right you wont notice to much loss of manuverbitly. Yeah having a Fish is a get board to have in the quiver if you dont have or want a log. Fish is a great surfboard for summer waves . Talk to Brian Wynn tell him what you want and he will take care of ya
I try to keep all my boards thickness the same but change the widths and lengths to suit what type of wave I am looking to ride the board with. So if it was me and my standard shortboard was 2 1/4" you could go around that thickness but change the width. For a fish shrink the length by 4" - 6" and add a 3/4" - 1" in width. This way you still have enough muscle to set a rail but enough foam to surf crappy waves.
I found a 5'11", 2 3/8 quad. Do you think this would be noticablly easier to catch waves then a 6'2" 2 1/4. Also the 5'11 is about an inch thicker.
It's not just the thickness, it's how that thickness is spread out.....A boxier rail for example will give you more foam going from stringer to rail and be more forgiving...tapered or turned down rails might provide a bit less foam and be more sticky!
I'd have to say if shes 5'6" or shorter and 140 or more thats too fat. 5'7" to 6' and over 165 that too fat. Width is also important - Better up top - a little in the middle - and some down below is OK.
If you go short, fat and wide, you may want to think about something with "wings" or "hips" near the tail. This makes the board much easier to turn with your back foot. Also, I like boards with a drawn-in "rocket" nose as opposed to the round nose you see a lot of. Just a bit racier and feel more like a shortboard off of turns...
Width, particularly in the tail, and rail volume have a greater affect on turnability than thickness through the middle. But thickness through the middle adds float and helps paddling and wave catching. But as you get thicker along the stringer and thinner along the rail, the board can become too extreme in both, and become over-sensitive. You see that with highly domed decks... they become squirrley. The suggestion about wings, bumps, hips, etc. is a good one. Also consider some kind of "relief cut" type tail - swallow, bat, crescent... on a fatter board. You want to knock out some surface area in the tail to keep it loose and give it some control in the pocket. If go wider and thicker, you need the thickness/width/volume is through the middle, with a bit more planing surface in the nose. Just don't over do it. Also consider rocker. Entry rocker is a major factor in wave catching. Tail rocker is a major factor in turning radius.
another option with the thickness is to get a stepped deck like the 7s superfish has - havent ridden one but the reviews claim added bouyancy/paddling with retaining high performance rails has anyone tried one ?
those 7s superfish things are just poorly shaped. they tried to create a really thick board that can bury the rail easily...rather than doming the deck & pinching out the rails, they did that weird thing that looks like feces...exactly what you'd expect from a board shaped by little chinamen that have never seen the ocean. & that's not a step-deck. step-decks involve thinning out the nose area of a board in order to reduce swing weight...think of the yater spoon or a mini-simmons.
