Hey Todd,

I am absolutely loving the quad board

you made for me a year or two ago–

#6902, 6’6″x19″x2.5″.
If you recall, I’m 5’9″, about 158 lbs, and in really good shape.

It is my main board for almost everything

I encounter between Oxnard and Jalama.

It has really taken my riding up a huge amount– I am ripping all over the wave, turning much faster and harder, able to take off better and really get into the waves and take lines I had always dreamed of but couldn’t pull off.  It is so much fun pumping the board up and down the face, generating speed, then cutting hard on the top of the wave and on the bottom of the wave.  At Rincon I can take a big drop, make a nice bottom turn, and pump down the line and get around sections….all that great stuff I really struggled with before…

I have yet to find a situation where it feels better as a thruster than as a quad.

It feels like the board paddles faster and also moves faster as a quad,

and probably because I am a front-footed

surfer to a fault,

(years of skateboarding I guess),

it never feels too loose for me.

My bottom turns have really progressed and gotten much more aggressive, so the quad does not feel too loose for my style and technique.

Despite my total satisfaction, I am wondering about a second board.  It would be a step-up board–

something that helps me paddle into bigger,

juicier waves like you can get on a

good day at Tarantula’s–

well overhead to double overhead.  I had really good luck with a Becker 7’6″ mini-gun thruster design up there– it got the waves early, held great and caught the face even on almost vertical or air drops, and was very maneuverable once it was flying with the kind of speed that a big, powerful wave generates.  But I dinged that board (someone else dropped in on me and cut it up bad) and it was never the same after the repair (nose felt too heavy) so I sold it.  I picked up a used 7′ Matt Moore thruster, and it feels great, but doesn’t seem to have enough volume and/or length to actually catch big waves very well.  I am a strong paddler but I have seen stronger out there, especially on North Shore Hawaii.  Even though the MM 7′ board is longer and probably has more volume, I think the 6’6″ quad board you made me actually paddles faster!  I  haven’t actually tried the 6’6″ at T’s on a bigger day, but  I probably will try it until I have something else…

So I was at Jalama just yesterday, with well overhead to double overhead set waves, and I was using my Clyde Beatty Rocket Fish, approx 6’4″ length, big twin fin with tiny little baby trailer fins for a quasi-quad.  (I was expecting it to be smaller up there so I took  the Fish.  I was pleasantly surprised that real sets were still coming in, I guess you could  say.)  It had the huge advantage of paddling power for catching the waves, but of course felt too squirrelly to try any big moves- I had to be ginger with any bottom turns and carve careful lines.
Despite its loose, skatey feel, I have to say that I absolutely loved the extra paddle power I was getting with the Rocket Fish– reminded me of the extra paddle power I had been getting with the Becker mini-gun.

On top of that, I read all about Kelly’s exploits on this weird, tiny, thick board he made that is more or less a K-Step board with the nose cut off.  And I know that good riders are pulling into heavy waves like Pipe on boards way shorter than I would think could be used….so it raises the question, is it really more about total volume, or is length also essential for holding on the wave during and after the drop?

Or, is wave face holding really more

about rail/tail shape and fin setup?

Clearly, if Kelly can ride a 5’6″ or something board at places like Teahupoo and Pipe, length is perhaps not such a critical issue.
Tow-in boards are short, too, so by simple deduction I have to conclude that length is not the crucial factor for big-wave holding power– it’s really more for paddling power.  Then again, the tow-in boys don’t have to deal with vertical semi-air drops, either.  But, if a short, thick fish can have plenty of paddle power, maybe I don’t need a gun or mini-gun for bigger days when I mainly just need to paddle faster??

So, anyway, bottom line is I am kind of wondering whether something just a touch thicker, and/or a touch wider, and/or a touch more pin-ny in the tail, and/or with slightly bigger fins would be the ticket for a step up board that would help me in bigger, stronger waves, but that would still feel a lot like the board you already made for me.  Something that would potentially perform as well as my 7’6 mini-gun, without actually being a minigun?  Something that is also good for a front- or center- footed surfer?

It shouldn’t feel too loose in a big,

fast wave, but should feel loose

enough in smaller waves, too.

Finally, why not just get a mini-gun?  Well, I guess I still am thinking there is a board out there that really should work well for me in almost anything I will  encounter here in So. Cal— if it’s just got a bit more paddle power than the board you already made for me, and holds well at high speed, then it should work in just about anything.  If it’s strictly designed for big waves, then I worry it will feel sluggish in the small stuff, and I will have to bring at least a two-board quiver on some of my surf quests.  I would rather look at the buoy readings, make the call and pick one board, and if when I arrive at the surf spot it turns out I made the wrong board choice, the board still works pretty well.  One time I took the Becker to Jalama and it was way smaller than I was expecting– below head high with only Cracks working– and that board totally sucked in those conditions.

In fact, for now, I think on my next big wave session I am just going to take the 6’6″ board you made for me and see if I can get the job done with that board….I suspect that if I can paddle hard enough it will take great care of me once I’m on the wave.  Put it this way– I was way happier making do with a Rocket Fish on well overhead waves than I was making do with a 7’6″ mini-gun on shoulder high waves– the fish still made for an epic session and the mini-gun was total crap.

Of course, for a “step-up board” I would just as soon go with one of your more stock designs rather than a fully custom design if you think you have something that you would recommend.  I think I read somewhere that you are  combining one of your groveler designs with the Blackbird design…maybe something like that is the thing to go for?  Maybe a board with slightly more volume than the one you made for me, possibly with two different fin setups- bigger fins for well overhead,  and smaller ones for head high and below waves?

Anyway, I immediately thought of you because

a) you already made one “magic board” for me;

b) you are a very progressive shaper

and are thinking about these kinds of things; and

c) I trust you to give sound advice and

help me cut through the hype and confusion.

I have surfed Hawaii North Shore in double-overhead + at Haleiwa, Lani’s, and Chun’s, and I know first-hand that I will probably still try to get hold of a serious 8′ mini-gun or something when I am there, because those waves were insanely fast, thick, and powerful for their size– like nothing I’ve ever seen anywhere, and those boys over there can paddle like nothing I’ve ever seen before, too.  But I am starting to think that there is a more conventional board shape that should work well for me in just about everything that we see here, even on our biggest west swells– something that is not necessarily a mini-gun or gun design.

Granted, those North Shore boys are

on a whole different level–

they were still using boards about a foot shorter than me and doing just fine….so I realize that it’s not just the surfboard, it’s the surfer, too.  If I could paddle like a pro or a North Shore local I probably could do it all on the board you already made for me.

But I’m just an intermediate surfer,

don’t do contests, and am looking

for a board that works for me,

not a board that works for a pro.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing your thoughts–

–
Chris M

Hi Chris,

Good to hear from you. Sounds like you’ve been well and been getting plenty of waves. Stoked the board we did is going good for you!!

I always enjoy getting the feedback

from everybody…so cool…

Anyway, I read through your very thorough breakdown; thanks, good job on explaining your thoughts; it has helped make it very clear for me to know exactly the direction you should go.

You are spot on with your ideas

regarding overall volume for paddling

as opposed to just length.

In the majority of the waves we get here in California anyway, you can get away with a shorter board if the overall volume matches what is right for you as an individual surfer. Judging off what you have written here and the dimensions of your last board, I think you could stay with the length of 6’6″ but go 19 1/2″ x 2 5/8″ with a thumbtail. This will give you the paddleability necessary for the bigger/ hollower days when more water is moving.

The thumbtail comes in good on those

days too with a nice positive hold in the power.

I would keep the rail volume close to the same as your current board; maybe slightly fuller, but mostly just more foam in the middle for paddling and

keep the deck domed foiling down to a rail

that is still going to be responsive and

positive through turns.

I would keep the same overall rocker and hull contours as that particular rocker is very versatile generating speed in smaller waves, yet still holding in on the powerful ones. Possibly just a touch less entry rocker for early entry into waves and increased drive down the line and carry through flat spots…same tail rocker.
Let me know your thoughts. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. Looking forward to your reply, Aloha,

Todd

Hey, Todd,

That sounds like the ticket.  I think I will order this from you, but not right away– in a month or two.

Chris M

Ok Chris, Sounds good….

just lemme know when you are ready to roll, or if you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Have a great day,
Aloha,

Todd