Nicks' New Fat-Bat

[pridmore]

Ok, I'm currently doin NC his 2nd Fat-Bat. His first was 5'10" x 20 1/4" x 2 1/4" and very similar to the pic below ( not his actual board but almost the same, this was mine , pic for example to see differences )

Nick tells me he enjoyed this bat in varied conditions but unfortuanately it was left behind in Brazil coz of baggage limits with an airline over there. So e have discussed the new Fat-Bat and what he wants out of this board... Which is for the board to be slightly shorter in length...and also slighly narrower but to increase the volume slightly to allow for the reductions in size....also to reduce the rocker very slightly to increase spped and drive a touch more...to place back quad fins slighly off the rail compared to previous FB....he also mentioned that he wanted this FB to be able to fit into the curves of the waves he surfs a little better and for it to be able to flow thru its turns a little better than the previous FB...( which he believes the adjustment in the fins will do for him and I am interested to hear the results ) Here's a few pics of the new FB in the shaping room...






The new Fat-Bat is 5'9" x 20" x 2 3/8"...I have adjusted the rocker slightly, plus added some extra curve thru the tail planshape ( mostly to assist in tighter and better turning when on rail ) , also carried the foam further to the back to ensure enough floatation after the reduction of size of the overall board, but then I refined the tail quite alot right at the pod to keep it sensitive and responsive of the back foot, also the quad tail fins have been re adjusted as requested by NC himself ( this new placement isnt anything I personally have done on this design so looking forward to the feedback )...
This was posted to share what I am doing for a surfer who knows how boards work and what he wants...I thought it may be an interesting read for those who enjoy surfboards and especially the custom process...as well as hopefully a bit of a plug for my boards...( dont care if I am self promoting FFS you have to in this game...)
I will post pics of the finished board and show fin placements etc...soon...and if NC wants to, he can post his ffedback here or do via myself...either way, it will be honest and there for all to view...good or bad...I really enjoy the custom process and try to do my very best for all customers..
Looking forward to any questions.and thoughts...and no doubt, a bit of BS from Purri and co. coz thats what seems to happen on this site lately....

[steve shearer]

Sounds good MP...I like the sound of those mods.

Would be helpful if NC could outline the waves he intends to ride on this and what he expects the board to do.(how about a little vid post up ).

With Spring here....a dedicated small wave shooter like the Fatbat is worth it's weight in gold.

Sounds like the board test was fun even if the waves were gutless....would've liked to attend but had to make a buck.

I'm keeping a good eye on this thread...haven;t forgotten the feeling of the Bat.

[pridmore]

here is some of what Nick requested.. ( see below )..Hope I'm not breaking any shaper surfer confidentiality laws here...ha ha...NC is all for putting this stuff out there and me too...coz others can see what I'm all about or others may have thoughts or suggestions coz it is always good to hear other perspectives .
As for the testing day SS, you would have enjoyed the variety of boards and you probably would found yourself on a Fat-Bat with those butterfly fins you seemed so interested in...These boards are available for you to try as I have said before mate...

NC-
I'm not sure about this but I think it would be good to
re-set the rear fin set a little further away and in toward the
stringer from the forward set -- I've always felt that setting both
fins close and on the rail tends to limit the angles available to a
quad in turns, and while some surfers seem to like that in a quad (it
makes their options simpler?) I feel like it restricts my thoughts
about what kinds of moves are possible. Plus a lot of the time I'm
surfing peaky slabby beachbreaks and reefs and those waves demand a
wider range of turns just by their nature.

[ric_vidal]

Looks nice Mark... send the little fella a set of flutterbuys, that’ll keep him busy.

I’m with SS, we want video but it doesn’t have to be a doco.

[pridmore]

hoping to chat with SS bout some possible footage soon....wish I could put lots of butterflies out there to trial coz I think alot would realy like them but they arent cheap for me.....but keen for some footage of the bats in action .....

[Nick Carroll]

Ah yeah, what do I want to ride this in? pretty much whatever takes my fancy. I hope the design changes give the board a wider turning range. The other Bat was fun in surf from 2-5' and in a wide variety of conditions but fought some turns a bit too much. I'll just surf this one and see what it feels like and go from there.

[lessormore]

Went to favourite south swell magnet today.Half an hour passed with a heap of waves coming through. Thought I'd try a closeout floater-got stuck in the lip-board flipped over-I land on top of the b/fly fins.The result-fin plugs are about 5mm higher than the deck and a decent fin chop to the back(through an E-Bomb,which didn't tear).

Spent the next 2 hours trying to get the board to track straight.(waves were too good to go in)
Looks like the Bat's out of action till it's fixed.
Bugga!

[oldman]

Mate, you must have hit it pretty hard,

I thought the whole idea of the FCS type fin system is that the fin would brreak off rather than the plug so that you never had to do these sort of repairs.

Hate getting a fin in the back, or anywhere else for that matter. Usually hurts like crap, and can stiffen up quite a lot after you have cooled down. Bad luck big fella.

[ric_vidal]

I thought the whole idea of the FCS type fin system is that the fin would brreak off rather than the plug so that you never had to do these sort of repairs.

or should I

Dime a dozen Olds, can you keep a little MORE current do I have to learn you everything... from the culinary delights of ‘diamond potatoes’ to, to, tutu I got nuthing MORE or less...

Every week without fail, someone has done their plug(s), some snap the fin tabs but still root the plug/board, sometimes it’s one sometimes it’s both, some just screw the plugs and the fin is intact.

Need I go on?

[oldman]

Ric, you'll have to excuse me, I think I must have believed a certain marketing spiel, let's see if I can remember, it went something like this;

"Not only does the new FCS fin system allow you to change fins for different conditions, but eliminates those annoying fin breaks that mean you have to put your board in for repairs. The weak point in the design ensures that the fin breaks off at the tab leaving your board intact. Within a few minutes you can be out the back again having affixed your spare fin."

Alright, not from memory, but I know that I read that.

You'll have to excuse my naivete.

I can't say that I actually believed it, but I do recall it. Sounded good at the time.

[pridmore]

looks like you hit it with some force...and I only said the other day that I wasnt aware of any FCS probs or damage t any of my shapes....the butterflies have quite a bit of area and with the curve, they do push more water and I was concerned that te additional force may cause some plug probs but I gave them a thorough testing ( as did my fin guy ) ...but from the sounds of it, any fin or even glassed in fins would have been damaged from the impact....just a shame that it had to happen in good waves mate....maybe RV is the man for the repair due to his knowledge and expertise with plug repairs.....hope the rest of the bunny bat is holding up well....

[lessormore]

Yeah,nothing to do with the glass job-I landed on it pretty hard and the fin got pushed outward.I've surfed with the b/flys in 6' plus surf before without dramas.Rest of the board is in good nick.Gonna have to go back to a thruster for a while till it's fixed.

[ric_vidal]

Sounded good at the time.

Yes sir sounds good, but here’s the thing... you have 6+mm of ‘stuff’ that makes up the fin and tab, stuff being anything from all fibreglass to a composite glass and plastic or anything else FCS has offered up... and all of this is supposed to be held in place by a wall thickness of resin and milled fibre (for those that use it) of probably 2mm. All of which is surrounded by push your finger into it foam. And a couple of layers of 4oz glass skimming the surface. Now just how hard do you think it would be to break that ‘H’ column of resin?

For the number of boards that are using the system I believe it is fair to say the problem is relatively insignificant, but I bet my bottom dollar they are working toward a solution - I know I am.

FWIW, I have never squashed or broken a plug and still think glass-ons are NOT better and can make a whole lot more of a mess when compromised.

Heard recently from a former FCS employee that the original system designer, Brian Witty, wanted a larger diameter hole for the resin, but for some reason it didn’t get implemented. More is the pity.

[Nick Carroll]

I thought the whole idea of the FCS type fin system is that the fin would brreak off rather than the plug so that you never had to do these sort of repairs.

That might only hold true if the fins were produced by FCS.

I know the numerous handmade glass/G10 sets I have in my garage don't have any "weak point" designed into the tab base. Looks like lessormore's aren't FCS-produced, right?

Gotta say I suspect any fin in an FCS set-up is safer to human flesh than a glass-on fin. I know I'd rather the plugs busted out of the foam than end up with an open artery or a severed tendon. A glassed-on rear fin, set on top of the stringer wood, has massive injury potential -- the list of its victims is long.

[oldman]

Doesn't matter what fin system you use, the fins are the most dangerous part of the board, with the nose next. Hitting my board, or my board hitting me, scares me more than just about anything else out in the water.

In engineering terms, the shape of the fin template doesn't really have an inherent design weakness. For it to be designed into the fin template you would have to position the weak point above the tab at the point where the fin meets the board. That could be done by making that part of the template thinner, which it isn't, so regardless of material used, the tabs do not really represent a weak point.

But I understand what you are saying about different materials having different strength, thus making any claim dependent on FCS (patented) plugs being used. As it is, whether I dreamed up my memory or not, the fins do not seem to work in that way.

[dudhead]

i have pulled out maybe three plugs over the years.
i got the shock of my life a couple of weeks ago when surfing a small shallow beachie.
the fin snapped off clean at the tabs (must have clipped the bottom).
the tabs were a bitch to get out but the plugs were undamaged.
no damage to the glass fore or aft either.
the fin was a "genuine" FCS glassflex M3.
it can happen.

[pridmore]

I thought the whole idea of the FCS type fin system is that the fin would brreak off rather than the plug so that you never had to do these sort of repairs.

That might only hold true if the fins were produced by FCS.

I know the numerous handmade glass/G10 sets I have in my garage don't have any "weak point" designed into the tab base. Looks like lessormore's aren't FCS-produced, right?

Gotta say I suspect any fin in an FCS set-up is safer to human flesh than a glass-on fin. I know I'd rather the plugs busted out of the foam than end up with an open artery or a severed tendon. A glassed-on rear fin, set on top of the stringer wood, has massive injury potential -- the list of its victims is long.

Lessormores' plugs are FCS produced, same as your previous and next Fat-Bats... I totally agree with you about the glassons being more lethal, only have to thin k back 15 years to the amount of grusome injuries compared to the amount of recent ones...LessorMORE's a perfect example...but these fins are hand-foiled glass and are quite fine and sharp on the back edge.....these are what he landed on...

[Jimi]

Nice sounding board Mark & NC. Looks like a great few mods that id like on my 'bat too. Its interesting to read your exchange to eachother about the design process, good to hear some of that knowledge coming through.

Im shit scared of my boards, like time I surfed my fat-bat i copped the rail to the nose. Didnt get it checked out but my nose is now permanantly out of shape, its been a few months now. Just glad i didnt get his fins or nose first in the face!!