Fish V MiniMal

Post by **tallguy** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:07 am

Just wondering, with all this small surf around do you pull out the Fish or MiniMal? and why?

to get this started i will go:

for me i think the mini is better suited, as by my name i am not a small man and feel the fish (as fun and easy it is to glide) just doesn't give me enough to play with. (starts to slide with any power). The Mal on the other hand gets my legs use to the power turns, so that when the normal board comes out the legs are ready to attack.

What are your thoughts.

TG

Post by **mustkillmulloway** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:15 am

just took both this morning.....would used the fish because there was a little swell....i only use the mini if it's less than knee high

or it's fat point

sometimes i couldn't give a toss wats best for the conditions and just choose according my moods

Post by **ric_vidal** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:31 am

mustkillmulloway wrote:sometimes i couldn't give a toss wats best for the conditions and just choose according my moods

See, now you know how the fongette thinks... hmmm, this handbag goes well with...

Sorry midget, just taunting fang.

Um, I’m thinkin’ mini, unless you feel this need to look cool and let’s face that’s what drives a lot of peoples’ decisions. Fish, real fish need to be ridden differently, so unless you want the change of approach and variety that offers stick with a mini or other hybrid.

Post by **Natho** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:19 am

Richie,

lets get one thing straight. Riding a fish certainly is NOT 'looking cool'. Esp if its one of those stupid looking retro things.

Post by **WANDERER** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:55 am

Natho wrote:Richie,

lets get one thing straight. Riding a fish certainly is NOT 'looking cool'. Esp if its one of those stupid looking retro things.

pfftt... my 'uncool stupid looking retro thing' is my favourite board at the moment, super fast and its impossible to lean it over too hard, it sure looks primitive, but its performance is anything but... it still manages to surprise me almost every time I have a good sesh on it.

I must admit, I was sceptical about what it could offer me, but after seeing some of the surfing of fishes in the second half of this vid (originally posted by 'bondi') http://www.hydrodynamica.com/ I thought I could be interested, then a greater power intervened, and presented me with a chance to get into the twin keel market for only $180, and that was it, I'm now firmly in the 'for' category when it comes to fish, I think I'll have at least one in my quiver from this point forward.

As an aside, does anyone know where I can track down Robert Fenech? he is the shaper of my current fish, I'm interested in getting a custom off him?? any help would be appreciated.

Post by **ric_vidal** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:08 am

Natho wrote:Richie,

Not even close

Natho wrote:lets get one thing straight. Riding a fish certainly is NOT 'looking cool'.

Are yes Natho, but foolishly you have assumed I meant riding, when I meant underarm value. Get with it!

Not many people ride a fish well IMHO, self included.

Post by **ric_vidal** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:10 am

salty wrote:Neither... I don't own a fish or mini. I do, however, have a nice single fin, which I ride on smaller days. It's 6'0" x 20" x 2 3/4". Rode it every day last week and had a hoot. I can basically paddle in to anything that a mini can, except I can actully turn my single on a dime.

Good point Salteen. It’s a matter of headspace.

Post by **SDA** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:46 am

WANDERER wrote:As an aside, does anyone know where I can track down Robert Fenech? he is the shaper of my current fish, I'm interested in getting a custom off him?? any help would be appreciated.

T&C Surf in Byron Bays Industrial Estate. Or ask the guys from Maddog - I saw some of his boards in there over summer.

I have a 7'2" Hybrid model shaped by him.. it's not too bad.

Post by **ric_vidal** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:03 pm

salty wrote:could this be due to the thickness or the soft rails?

Could be thickness... my latest fish is far from traditional but has NO edge anywhere, none, zero, nada, but the whole rail is shortboard-ish fine and feels fine enough to penetrate the face fairly easily. Haven’t tried anything with much of any size so hard to know.

Try throwing yourself more over the inside rail ala Lopez photos at Pipe.

Post by **newjackstudio** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:17 pm

Ric, are you saying that on your fish, you have no edge AT ALL? not even behind the fins? Does it feel super slippery? Twin or Quad? Bottom shape? I have been foiling my rails on fish but subsequently running an edge further and further up...

Post by **ric_vidal** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:59 pm

newjackstudio wrote:Ric, are you saying that on your fish, you have no edge AT ALL? not even behind the fins? Does it feel super slippery? Twin or Quad? Bottom shape? I have been foiling my rails on fish but subsequently running an edge further and further up...

Correct, no edge, the same 60/40 from nose to tail, or best my hands can drag screen and a totally flat deck and bottom. Kind of sounds ugly and it is to my eye unless you seed it bottom up.

If you read some of say Tom Wegener’s descriptions of the best nose riding mals and info by others the sharp edges allows for release and stops the water from running up OVER the rail. Now if you have a wide arse fish which is already on top of the water do you want some grip or more release? I figure grip is not a bad thing as you have the skatiness of the wide fish outline anyway, even found myself doing a little cross step in micro waves.

It’s a twin fin (at the moment

and probably will stay that way) but with small longboard fins in boxes at the side. Nothing particularly conventional about it.

Only been ridden a couple of time NJS so the jury is out. Like it more, or understand it better is probably more correct each time I take it out. Seems to go where I point it, although there has been some pilot error.

The story of this particular board project is here if you can be bothered... http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtop ... 656#273656

Post by **Cuttlefish** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:40 pm

[quote="salty"]After owning several fish over the past 3 or 4 years, I no longer have one in my quiver. I went through a phase where my fish was all I rode, but I just found I couldn't turn the things. I've had 4 custom fish and I kept going thinner and thinner in the tail until my fish ended up as a hybrid. Eventually, my fish was just a wide, fat and flat short board, so I turned to the mighty single fin, which I just love to death.

The best place to ride fish is in the type of waves they were originally made for. If I didn't live nearby point waves I probably wouldn't own one.
They certainly aren't the Swiss army knife of surfboards.

Post by **WANDERER** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:43 pm

some look sick, some look as sick as a dog:
http://www.thealleyfishfry.blogspot.com/

Post by **mustkillmulloway** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:44 pm

Cuttlefish wrote:
salty wrote:After owning several fish over the past 3 or 4 years, I no longer have one in my quiver. I went through a phase where my fish was all I rode, but I just found I couldn't turn the things. I've had 4 custom fish and I kept going thinner and thinner in the tail until my fish ended up as a hybrid. Eventually, my fish was just a wide, fat and flat short board, so I turned to the mighty single fin, which I just love to death.

The best place to ride fish is in the type of waves they were originally made for. If I didn't live nearby point waves I probably wouldn't own one.
They certainly aren't the Swiss army knife of surfboards.

don't either u start me...ok

i have the best fish in the world....u could build 1000 boards just like it and it wouldn't b as good

a magic board is a freak....and they exist too infrequently in many dimensions....BUT THERE OUT THERE...just waiting

say u can never really write off any design....if u get one that works

Post by **Beanpole** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:41 pm

Took the real mal out for a cruise yesterday and I can't imagine anything more suited to the waves unless it was an even bigger mal. Forgot how f#!* heavy it was

Carver is my main mid length board of choice by far at the moment. Just wondering if I'll take it to Bali or not

Beerfan · Post by **Beerfan** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:39 am

I like both. My minimal was a magic board that did everything i wanted, but before it died i made my twin keel. I have been riding the twin keel for nearly 12 months and while i love it in the mostly knee to bit overhead waves we getm i do miss my minimal. So much so, that i ordered a 7' minimal blank. And im almost finished my 6'5'' diamond tail single. Retro?, they paddle great, and go great in small waves, of which we get heaps, what;s not to like??.

They're both great, just different. Im not a great surfer, so the fast cruisy feel of the fish is great. THough, on a good day on a steepish wave, they can turn sharper than you would think. Backside is always a lottery though, but that's probably my ability more than anything.

Post by **monkeyman** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:25 pm

A fish over a mini-mal any day. Mini mals are a waste of time, you can't turn them and you can't noseride them...

I've got a 6 foot fish and a 9'4" mal and used to have (by accident) a mini mal... the mini mal made me feel like a koo because it's in between the two styles and no good at either..... mals are great at being mals, fish are great at being fish (fast and skatey on small waves)... mini mals are just plain useless.

Post by **philw** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:26 pm

minimal = none of the advantages of a mal and all the disadvantages.

fish = shortboard for people who want a shortboard that matches their limitations (ie: only goes in straight lines!)

if yr a beginner the minimal is good for beginning. after that, forget it.

get mal if you wanna surf mal waves or a big fat hybrid shortboard if you wanna learn how to ride shortboards.

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