What's wrong with my fish?

[FishStick]

I got a fish shaped for me a few months ago by a very reputable Sydney shaper.
It's a modern style fish which surfs like a standard shorty.

It's a great paddler but I was surprised that I had trouble picking up speed on it. I thought it was just me but after 6 weeks of trying to get it to go fast, I've given up.

It goes ok when the waves are steep or hollow but that's what my regular shorty is for. I had this board shaped for gutless fat, weak waves. I have ridden other fish (even made in Thailand ones) that just accelerated at the slightest hint of a wave.

I find that just going straight on take off, on a good fast, shoulder high wave, feels slow. I know that with a fish you sometimes need to work it to gain speed and once it gets going it's fine. The problem with this board however, is that pumping doesn't do anything for it. I've never had a board not respond to pumping before, I can't explain it.

What shocked me the most was after 6 weeks of only surfing this board I jumped onto my standard shorty:
6'0 x 18&1/2" x 2&5/16"
I took off on a tiny little weak wave, and went off like a rocket, I pumped for speed and the board just took off. If this board only paddled better in the weak stuff I wouldn't be looking for a fish. I'd forgotten how amazing my 6'0 was.

So what the hell could be wrong with this fish? All I know is that I asked for a light one. My previous fish just felt too heavy and stiff. So apparently he only put 1 layer of 4 oz on the deck's nose and 2 layers where my feet would be. I'm wondering if it's too wide, light and buoyant and thus not getting down the wave with speed?

I'm just interested what you guys have to say before I give my feedback to the shaper.

[barstardos]

What fin setup you got?
I had MR-TX with small trailing fin on my 5'11" fish and it was pretty good.
Have moved to FK2 twin keel setup and its significantly faster - although somewhat crazy in a fun sort of way.

[cousteau]

i reckon you could do with an even smaller board, get a proper twinny fish, i'm 6'0 and 85 kg and ride a 5'8" , i would even go smaller 5'6" maybe and i'm of average ability.

You could easily be on a 5' 4", Skip Frye style fish and rip it up.

That doesn't explain why your board sux.... maybe it's just crap... good luck

[FishStick]

I've got a set of FCS M-3's that's what the shaper recommended and they came with the board. My other boards all have M-5's but my old fish had M-3's and went well on them.

[crooked]

Its a dog?

[Beerfan]

It's a modern style fish which surfs like a standard shorty

That could be the problem. I think modernifying old school fishes a little bit is ok, ie, more rocker, and slightly finer rails, but, if you modify them too much, then they;re just a hybrid. My twin keel has an old school kind of shape, and chunky rails, but has more modern rocker, and i like to surf it 95% of the time, up to 5ft, and it faaaaaarken flies, even in junk. Mine has a 6oz bottom, and a double 6oz deck, and is made out of light longobard foam, so maybe yours is too light?? ie no momentum??

[ric_vidal]

How flat is it, Fishfinger?

[FishStick]

Hard to explain how flat it is. It's got some rocker but not much, but it doesn't jump out as having very little rocker.

The board is from a set design, lots of people have them and seem to like them. I haven't surfed it for 2 weeks but took it out today and changed the fins to M-5 just for a laugh to see what that would do. No change it's like surfing with a handbrake on.

Oh well that was my first custom board. I've always bought off the rack before this. Pretty disheartening when you are looking forward to a board you have heard so much good feedback about and you have to wait all that time for a board to be shaped and you pay all that money and then you finally get it and it doesn't work for you, an expensive mistake.....

[tm]

fishboy, 3 things, 1- to much rocker under your front foot, 2- to much toe-in on the fins, 3- to much curve in your planshape,its certainiy not a weight issue, talk to ur shaper bout these points

[FishStick]

Thanks tm.

RV here's a pic for ya. (No lawn )

[Natho]

Despite what some have posted here, a change of fins is not going to be the sudden answer to your issue (fk here we go again with people saying that a change of fins is a sudden fix for everything....ok bit of a long out statement).

ITS THE BOARD...NOT THE FINS. A change of fins may add a very slight improvement but its not going to fix your issue.

A change of board may be the answer.

Sorry to be so blunt but Im getting tired of people commenting about how a change of fins will make such a huge difference to peoples ability or their boards performace.

I probably should blame the fin companies who have sucked so many people in with their BS marketing. Sure fins help, but they don't help to the extent that some people believe/ or the fin companies will have you believe.

There Ive got off my high horse now.

[rmshapes]

Despite what some have posted here, a change of fins is not going to be the sudden answer to your issue (fk here we go again with people saying that a change of fins is a sudden fix for everything....ok bit of a long out statement).

ITS THE BOARD...NOT THE FINS. A change of fins may add a very slight improvement but its not going to fix your issue.

A change of board may be the answer.

Sorry to be so blunt but Im getting tired of people commenting about how a change of fins will make such a huge difference to peoples ability or their boards performace.

I probably should blame the fin companies who have sucked so many people in with their BS marketing. Sure fins help, but they don't help to the extent that some people believe/ or the fin companies will have you believe.

There Ive got off my high horse now.

Couldn't agree with you more Natho.

Sounds like a rocker or concave problem you've got there. The board may look the part at face value but the curves might not match up and they are working against each other.

I'd advise you to return it to the shaper and ask him to replace it with something without a kink in the bottom. Probably wouldn't use those words though...

[ric_vidal]

RV here's a pic for ya. (No lawn )

What a lovely wrist you have. So your lawn sucks or someone stole yours as well?

Definitely the FINS!!!

From your sh*thouse photo I’m sticking with rocker. I believe, and this certainly isn’t gospel, really short wide boards like this can be pretty bloody flat. They are so short you can keep the nose out of the water, well most of the time.

As an (sketchy I know) example: my quad fish, just under 6' x 21 3/4" x 2 11/16" albeit a very different planshape with a very wide tail and full round nose, has roughly only 2" nose rocker and less in the tail. This I put in the extreme end but your looks not that dissimilar to a normal shortboard rocker.

Only speculating Fishfinger, good luck with an outcome.

[slowy]

Hey guys, been reading for a while now (few years off and on) and just signed up recently.

Just had to post back to this, mate why wouldn't your first port of call be the SHAPER who made YOUR CUSTOM board.
He will probably be very helpful and would be embarrassed and annoyed that you didn't go to him first to sort it out lickety split.

Geez you paid for this service.

[slowy]

Sorry probably should have explained myself better, don't get others peoples feedback to distort what you felt on the board. Give the shaper raw information of your interpretations and work together to sort it out.

Hope you sort it out as I had the same thing happened to me once and it was very disheartening.

[smw1]

i reckon you could do with an even smaller board, get a proper twinny fish, i'm 6'0 and 85 kg and ride a 5'8" , i would even go smaller 5'6" maybe and i'm of average ability.

You could easily be on a 5' 4", Skip Frye style fish and rip it up.

That doesn't explain why your board sux.... maybe it's just crap... good luck

Does it float?! I'm the same height and weight as you, and have narrowed it down to about 6'2 as the shortest fish I can ride comfortably at a decent volume (2 1/2 - 5/8).

Mind you, you could be a lot stronger paddler than me.

SMW1

[Shaunm]

RV here's a pic for ya. (No lawn )

What a lovely wrist you have. So your lawn sucks or someone stole yours as well?

Definitely the FINS!!!

From your sh*thouse photo I’m sticking with rocker. I believe, and this certainly isn’t gospel, really short wide boards like this can be pretty bloody flat. They are so short you can keep the nose out of the water, well most of the time.

As an (sketchy I know) example: my quad fish, just under 6' x 21 3/4" x 2 11/16" albeit a very different planshape with a very wide tail and full round nose, has roughly only 2" nose rocker and less in the tail. This I put in the extreme end but your looks not that dissimilar to a normal shortboard rocker.

Only speculating Fishfinger, good luck with an outcome.

Shoulda got the DC model

[Nick Carroll]

Fishy

a) it's not a Fish.

b) it's got a totally crap rocker. Dead as a doornail.

Sell it to a surf school graduate who will appreciate the control that comes with drag.