New board alert!
For my next column I’d like to post when I get a new custom board, provide an idea on why I ordered it this way and share some stats before I ride them and actually provide any feedback on a follow up post.
Thankfully Tory and the Surf Station give me an avenue and direct contact with the best surfboard manufacturers in the world. If you cant find it at the Surf Station you arent looking very hard.. but the best thing about the shop is the custom order process. Not feeling any of the boards in the rack? Get with Josh Richardson, board room manager and order from any of the internationally acclaimed brands or a number of local/ regional shapers and order your dream board.
OK, enough of the Surf Station commercial.. I am no pro surfer but I have been surfing for over 25 years and can feel the subtle nuances in my boards here and there. I feel like I am an above average joe and hopefully you can relate to some of the information I am sharing here.
My first custom board I am sharing is my new OG Flyer, but with a twist.. I asked for a rounded pin.
height: 5’9.5″
weight: 157 lbs
OG Flyer: 5’8″x 18 5/8″x 2 1/4″ 25.5L FCS2 tri
Why would I order a Flyer with a roundtail you ask? Well the answer is actually simple.. but let’s discuss the design first. I am not going to copy and paste off of the CI website but offer my thoughts on the Flyer.
The Flyer is the most popular performance board of the last 25 years. Why? Because its easy to ride from pro level to joe level.. in a wide variety of conditions. The board has a progressive outline but is actually very straight through the middle and has very little break in the outline other than the exaggerated hip above the fins that normally leads to a wide squashtail. What does that all mean? A wider and fuller nose allows for glide and quick “up to speed” take off and the straight outline allows the board to plane out quickly and maintain that speed that you just generated making everything else easier. Normally the tail is wide and with the hip that Al trademarked with Tom Curren, has alot of pop off the lip works great in softer lined up surf.. a perfect combo if you will.
Why the Roundtail? Why change such a proven design that stands the test of modern performance surfing? Because I will go to my grave saying that Florida has the best small waves in the world that break like nowhere else I have been to. (small waves= head high or under). Nowhere else I know of can you ride a full on performance shortboard when its two feet and do full turns.. this is because Florida waves are mostly close outs that come in slowly, jack up and hit the sandbar creating fast moving peaks that allow for performance surfing that require quick directional turns.
Shaped by the greatest shaper you may never have heard of, Mike Andrews.
I have had a few OG Flyers since their re-release. I have a 5’7″ swallowtail in Spine tek and had a 5’8″ PU with a squash. I last rode the squash the day after hurricane Dorian and felt like the board got up to speed well, held on steep drops and handled all that offshore wind.. you know what I didnt like about it? How it spun out off the bottom on decent waves and how it didnt carve the best for me at top speeds. I figured adding the rounded pin will allow the tail to sink in more and allow for more control and also allow me to ride it off the top in steeper surf without all that tail area getting caught up in the lip. I am a light guy so this isnt for everyone.. just my opinion.. and I am sure if I did more squats and lunges I could turn that wide squash just fine 😉
I still see a hip at the fins..
I will report back after I ride this board in the right conditions, thanks for tuning in!
