Best Board - head high and under

[Don]

For me it's a Parkes quad fin 5'10 x 23.5" (fish tail or rounded square tail... I love them both!)
Vitals: 6'0 x 185 lbs, 41 yrs old, 27 yrs kneeriding
Home Break: Ocean Beach, San Francisco CA

In general beach break conditions of head high or so with some decent power, a concave in the center with 4 channels off the tail gives good drive off the bottom, good tight turning radius off the top and cutbacks, and hangs in the barrel just fine.

I've ridden these boards in MUCH larger surf but they don't give you the speed and confidence a nice pintail has...

Weapon of Choice:

[SFKneelo]

Shameless promotion of Parkes kneeboards, Mr. USA Distributor!!!
Oh, wait a minute... I ride one too.

I had a fun session at Ocean Beach today. Saw Jeff Martinez out there. He's still up at Point Arena, where it sounds like he's getting all sorts of
waves.

We traded boards for awhile. It was pretty funny to see Jeff sitting so high in the water on mine, while I was practically submerged... can you
say 'diet?'

He has a 5'8" rounded-pin Blast quad. It accelerates quickly, but is a bit stiff. The back fins are placed further behind and closer to the stringer
than my Parkes.

Jeff described a bit of what it's like to surf Mav's. All I heard was 'got to commit or you'll won't catch it' and 'paddle up the face and look for a take-off ramp, spin and take a few hearty strokes'... I dunno... I've got to do a cajones check on this one...

[stemple]

Hey guys I will weigh in here as well. I was out on wednesday (4/9) I think I saw jeff at VFWs and we talked abit. He was fearlessly streaking into head+ high barrels with no exit in sight. It was a little lumpy but some good waves could be had.

I will have to say that I am dam impressed with my new Blast 6'2" tri fin, it has more rocker then any other board I own. As you both know I have been riding my Parkes 6'0" X 23.25" since October. The Parkes board and it fin forward set up, requires a whole different set of riding movements. It has taken me most of the year to get used to it. The Parkes board is very sensitive to small movements and trims really well on the wave. I never could get it to really bite on bottom turns though. Though I have seen both you guys countless times cranking bottom turns on your boards. When I road the Blast ( in HW and OB) it felt much more comfortable and predictable to me. It really bites at the bottom I have no problem swinging it around on the face. I think size matters. I am pretty big 220 lbs. When I sit back at the tail, (my habit) the fin forward design does not work as well for me. I don't know for sure but it seems that for big guys like me having the fins slightly closer to the tail works a bit better. I have grown to appreciate the Parkes and it still is the board I will ride at Head high or below. But I may need something that has fins slightly farther back then Parkes set up.

Bob, I could see how you felt his board was stiff because you are so used to moving the board from a totally different pivot point. When I first rode my Parkes I could not turn it worth s*&^.

Anyways I still am searching for the perfect board for me and I felt the Blast is a step closer. I am going to order at least one more Blast tri in a smaller size.

Lately, I have been playing with fin size just to add another variable into the mix. I have noticed that the same board (John Mel, 5'11" X 22.75" with channels, quad fin) can handle way differently by changing the back fin length and geometry. I stuck the Parkes small fins in the back position and down sized the front fins and surfed it during that warm streak in March that was shoulder to head high. The new fin set up dramatically loosened the board up.

So my general conclusion about this topic is that it is a totally personal choice that depends on so many variables like rider style, rider size, local break conditions, fin set up, and what you used to. The fun thing is that there are different types of boards out there that really ride very different.

Variety is the spice of life

Syd

[Ler]

It seems like everyone riding longer kneeboards 5'10" and way beyond.
Are those boards stiff in smaller stuff? Does the tail slide, when you want it
to? I think a 5'6" four fin, with just about any tail for smaller days. Any
still ride em or am I a dinosaur from the 80's??

[Beeline2.0]

..

[Don]

Ler,

I used to do the 5'6 thing down in HB in the 80's (standard issue back then) but having gone to a little longer board (mine range from 5'9-6'0 for the most part) you can put a lot more weight into the turns and crank on the board... my small wave board at 5'9 is WIDE and LOOSE as a single wing pin tail quad. It's a bit thicker than my other boards so it doesn't sink on gut-less surf.

I'd like to ride my old 5'6 Timpone channel bottom twin fin Paul Devoy sold me... don't know what happened to it but I do remember the tail slides

So, in short, you can certainly get loose boards in longer lengths... I guess it also depends on how much gravity has set in sense those wonderful 80's...

[DavidW]

Ler, you're old! I've been ordering 6'0"s for about 10 years now and I ride pretty much the same board in 2-20 foot faces. You can make them as stiff or as loose as you would like. It's all about fin placement and good concave to V transition. You should talk to Eric Schoelkopf 760-941-8339. Ask Jack, Chris or Barry for their opinion, I've been happy with the several boards he's shaped for me

[Ler]

Hey Thanks for all 411 guys, still not sure. Maybe I'll give one a go
sometime. DavidW is that you, It has to be. What up? By the why
everyone, got a fresh blank waiting for shaping. I'm thinking about
getting a 5'6", 19" nose, 23" width, 18" tail. with a single little bumb
anda swallow tail. I know I know. Same board I ordered in 1981,
82, 83, 84,........ but the darn thing works for me. Oh yeah the world
is flat, someday I'll prove it! Hope to see you all soon. Thanks for everything.

p.s. all four fins will be glassed on.

[Techno]

I started out on a 5' 6" Gail Austin Bonza (12" Centre Fin)
Upgraded ten years later to a 5' 4" Friar Tuck Quad - Dovetail (Box Fins) Ten years later upgraded again to a 5' 4" Parkes/Friar Tuck - Diamond Pin (Box Fins).
The thing about this board is that the front fins are smaller (3") and placed outside of the rear fins (5").
Rails are very sharp - and the bigger the surf - the further you take the large fins back.
The board handles about the same no matter where you place the fins (In comparison to wave size).
This board is now about 12 years old - still in great condition (Apart from a few stress fractures around the fin box's - standard for box fins) but I think it's time to ring Dave and upgrade again ?
Think I'll be going for a 6' 2" Pintail Tri (Possible channel bottom) ???
This will by my third Custom job by Dave - and if it turns out like the last two, I'll be over the moon - you couldn't ask for a better shaper/surfer to do the job - his commitment to the sport and his customers is what sets him aside from others in Australia.
I'll let you all know the design outcome and how the new board works ??? Stay Tuned !!!

See ya' !!!

[memware]

It seems like everyone riding longer kneeboards 5'10" and way beyond.
Are those boards stiff in smaller stuff? Does the tail slide, when you want it
to? I think a 5'6" four fin, with just about any tail for smaller days. Any
still ride em or am I a dinosaur from the 80's??

I'm 5'7" and weigh 140 lb.s, and find my 5' 6" Blast Fish to be just right for paddling. I believe that we hear alot about longer kneeboards because there are alot of taller kneelos out there. If this is a misconception on my part I would like to hear more on the subject.

[Beeline2.0]

..

[Matt]

I am 145Ibs(dry+ add 4mm wetsuit) and I gotta say having gone from a home made twin fin to a Blast Quad 5ft 6" my surfing has moved up more than my ego thinks

I did have a 4ft 2' single fin and sure loved its steep dropins but always hated the feeling of my fin slipping on big steep faces... this has never happen on my Quad Blaster.

I might move to a bigger rocker for some of the winter swells with more power to get the board going.