Flashpoint flex tail?

[Mike Fernandez]

What can anyone tell me about the Flashpoint Flex tails? They look interesting. I am use to riding a twin fin fish.

[fisherrat]

Bruce this one is for you mate

[hart]

Hey Mike

My background in kneeboarding was generated by Peter Crawford and the Sydney Slab of the early/mid 70's

I surfed them exclusively from single fins through to tri-fins

The master shaper of the time was Chris Crozier, who worked closely and tirelessly with Crawford to develop the slab in all its forms

One of those forms was of course, the flextail

Crozier taught me to shape (from 1979) and following his death in 1985, I started my own label to keep his intrinsic desires alive and in the market-place

During this time, I then shaped for Crawford..and continued slab production even though other kneeboards were developing into twinnies, quads and thrusters

The flextails you are referring to, are developments from the original Sydney Slab

From someone with a Californian background (?), I don't know if I would recommend this design because the Slabs I still produce now are for surfers who have not really surfed anything else (by their own choice)

Up until Crawford's untimely death, Peter wouldn't have surfed anything else either

He was extremely critical of twinfins, quads and even the thruster

Of the two flextails that I think you have seen on the internet:

1 Was made for Mark Denovan (PC's good mate and best man at Peter's last wedding) and Mark would ride nothing less (he reckons his latest board is the best he has EVER ridden)

and

2 Was made for a guy who tipped me $200 (serious) when he picked it up..and frankly, I don't think it has yet come off his living room wall



They are wonderful examples of Sydney kneeboarding history (and no doubt, helped spawn such surfers as Novakov, Farrer and Bryant) but in a contemporary environment remain somewhere between nostalgia and necessity

Thanks however, for your interest

hart

ps

While the Slab in principle was entirely Crawford's trip..the flex arrangement was of course, totally Greenough

[DrStrange]

I imagine properly done, flex could be combined with almost any design to advantage. With proper stiffness and distribution for individual rider (that's the difficult and time consuming part) what you get is variable rocker and to some extent outline curve (form tortional flex) so you can have flatter rocker and more speed in unloaded postion i.e. trim and more or less curves as your turn and wave contours dictate.

Soon as I get some $ together I'm aiming for a flextail fish. Much more flexy than my Mandala which so far I haven't really felt the flex on though it is a very fun board to ride. Eventually I"ll post a few pics when its done and ridden. Don't have scanner or I'd do a crude sketch and post my plan.

You loose lots of paddle power the more foam you take out. That and the labor of making one I think prevents more interest. My recent edgeboard is fun to ride so far but as we have been warned, I can NOT chase a peak so going out in shifty beach break (my usual) results in a very low wave count. S-l-o-w paddling. Also, since it has pretty extreme tri-plane, it takes a bit of jiuce to get it going. Version II, the fishy one, will have flat fish bottom (slight bevel under front rail per Bud's comment in previous fish thread) and only back 1/2 or so spooned out and maybe not even all the way to the glass for most of it.

More later. Maybe much later. Need a buyer for my 5'4" Blast Stubb Vector. Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge...need I say more?

[skansand]

im buying a grip(probably 6) of blanks from sfoam when i get all of the rockers and sizes i want all jotted down.. one 6' with no stringer(im gonna go the mctavish way of making a spoon) one 6'6(gun for surfside) and a 5'10 with the stringer ending 15 inches from the the tail end. is this all there is to the flextail or should i light glass/overglass/drylayup the tail to get more flex...and has anyone tried eps before on the flextail. its supposed to flex more the urathane....thanks.......... matt

[skansand]

i just saw the flashpoint and can see its different from the mandala flex system i was thinking of...

[DrStrange]

My Mandala has 18 inches no stringer glassed 4oz X 2 on bottom 6 oz X 2 on the deck. Doesn't flex much if at all though I've only ridden weak small waves on it so far.

My construction plan calls for glassing bottom with at least 2 maybe 3 layers of 4 oz then playing with flex by hand on the racks to get feel for what's there and glass deck accordingly. Over glass a bit and then grind off excess to tune it. Be aware that glass on fins and boxes will change flex patterns.

[Man O' War]

You can say that again. Prime example, a problem Flexspoon is wrestling with over on his site -- a Project Velo board whose fin is overbuilt.

Blue area is "stiff plate" which warps/distorts deck when fin is pushed/bent laterally. The area around the plate and inside the foam is much "flexier".
Red is "hinge" where board bends/tail bends up.
Black is where I'm considering adding carbon fibre to deck to tie it all together and stiffen things. Will extend to tip of tail.

The full story is on www.flexspoon.com, Project Velo First Riding Impressions

[HERBYJ]

I would be interested to know what people thought about using this construction method to build a kneeboard?

http://www.bushrat.com/page/flextails.html

Check out the flextail fish designs shaped for ex pro Derek Hynd.

[mark ricketts]

I got a Outer Island flextail "Twin Vee" kneeboard from Mitchell Rae (Aust legend) 10 years ago - similar construction to the bushrat - carbon fibre panel and a high density foam layer on top for bouancy and safety. Like all Mitchell's boards, its a work of art and goes like a bomb. Still no damage to the flex - its a much bigger flex panel than the flashpoint - maybe 10 ins - anything less seems a bit pointless to me.
not sure where he is now - he was doing some shaping for hot buttered for a while so i'd start there or see if Outer Island, The Entrance NSW is still functional.
mark

[ross]

Mitchell Rae lives in Scotts Head now.

[Xmas]

Mitchell Rae is still making carbon fibre flex tail kneeboards. A mate of mine got one @ 6-12 months ago. Not cheap about $1100 from memory. I had a couple of waves on it - seemed to go ok.

Outer Island factory is on the road into Scotts Head just before the right hand turn to.....some place I can't quite remember

Doesn't matter about my lost brain cells - just found this great link

http://www.surfinfo.com.au/pages/d_surfboards.htm