RealSurf Surfers' Forum

Yeah, i'll be keen for sure. I may even be persuaded to surf a nearby hollow river mouth beachy i haven't surfed for a long time.....

Right, surfed the dim-sim four times in beachbreak conditions of varying quality.

I'm 77kg, add two kilos of wetsuit.

For 5'2" the board has an enormous amount of volume and this, not the length, dominated my experience of riding it. Easy to paddle, easy to catch waves, funny to sit on because it's pretty corky. Saltman warned me he didn't think it was a groveller but to me it felt easy to cruise in 2' waves down the line or in a more pockety situation, though it didn't glide in the manner of a Fish and didn't like holding a longer line through a harder weighted turn, preferring to work off the back 2' and off whichever fin happened to be the mot juste. Sort of a pivoty feel in that vein.

That said it had no trouble handling slightly larger waves up to 4' (OK given that other thread about wave size, that means a bit overhead) though you had to be careful about how much rail you tried to use (see bottom paragraph)

It gained speed and lifted off the back end concave just fine when running down the line and showed no backside disadvantage, again not a Fishy feel there, that was a pleasant surprise.

Things about this board reminded me of similarly volumed boards of the late 1970s, it's most likely just my own embedded surfing memory but the turn timing and wave catching felt very much like boards of that time -- ie don't push it, let it find its way and place your turns rather than slash or carve 'em.

I had a distinct issue with the front end water entry, there is a dissonance in how the nose hull/vee entry comes back into the concave in relation to the rail line and this reveals itself as a catch point some 12"-18" back where the board gags and loses speed. I noticed almost exactly the same thing in the last board Mark made me, just in a different context, and it needs work in future designs -- 5'2", you want to be able to use the entire board to turn and accelerate, not just the back 2'. MP I hesitate to suggest this but what the hell, maybe worth trying the APS3000 or other cutter, the design software seems to have been really good at helping guys iron out those sorts of bumps in trickily blended bottom shapes which might not be immediately obvious to the eye.

passing on to the Caveman this arv, he should get some OK waves in the coming days it would seem.

Nick Carroll wrote: I had a distinct issue with the front end water entry, there is a dissonance in how the nose hull/vee entry comes back into the concave in relation to the rail line and this reveals itself as a catch point some 12"-18" back where the board gags and loses speed. I noticed almost exactly the same thing in the last board Mark made me, just in a different context, and it needs work in future designs -- 5'2", you want to be able to use the entire board to turn and accelerate, not just the back 2'. MP I hesitate to suggest this but what the hell, maybe worth trying the APS3000 or other cutter, the design software seems to have been really good at helping guys iron out those sorts of bumps in trickily blended bottom shapes which might not be immediately obvious to the eye.

Honesty ... will get you along way in this world ... as will listening to constructive criticism ... I found that paragraph rather enlightening ... for a number of reasons ... now if you would be so kind as to respond in kind to my enquiry as to the aforementioned dissonance ... is the issue predominantly to do with wave catching or planing in general ... serious question.

intersting and will take it all on board but have not had any experiences like that with my board, but everyone has their thoughts and NC is extremely experienced so I'll take it all onboard for sure..they are different little shapes and arent really meant to be surfed like a HPS thruser so they difference is huge but the varied feedback is very interesting to me... and I agree that the hullish-rolled vee entries are a different feel, but the more recent versions have a bit less rocker curve, fins slightly bigger and rails have been refined out and bit more roll to the decks....so there's an ongoing improvement process and this feedback is all a part of it. I am not gunna sit here and say they are the best, they are perfect, coz any surfer who knows boards and design, would know that there's always small changes and improvements to be made, especially when dealing with such a diverse bunch of surfers and conditions...I am just trying to make them a real fun board that gets people stoked on riding something different and to be able to draw some fun and different lines....Thanks for the honesty NC....

I have the traveler now. It looks like a fun little slab

I'll try to get 2-3 surfs on it this week and report back. Matt (a mate of mine) is going to have it for a couple of surfs after me. He lives in Maroubra.

Cpt.Caveman wrote:I have the traveler now. It looks like a fun little slab

I'll try to get 2-3 surfs on it this week and report back. Matt (a mate of mine) is going to have it for a couple of surfs after me. He lives in Maroubra.

Any chance of it getting it's way to Bondi/Bronte? I wouldn't mind a go as I'm sure Skip would.. Maybe PP and BB as well? I head down to the Coal coast every weekend so wouldn't be a drama getting it there..

Cpt.Caveman wrote:I have the traveler now. It looks like a fun little slab

I'll try to get 2-3 surfs on it this week and report back. Matt (a mate of mine) is going to have it for a couple of surfs after me. He lives in Maroubra.

Any chance of a surf before it leaves the Northern Beaches?

Yep. Caveman if you're anywhere amongst the eastern subs beaches let us know. I'd be up for a spin on it. I'm hoping to get wet this week. can manage most days. Missed last week's minor epic little setup at sth bondi. Doubt it'll re- present this week. But who knows.

Captn, please get it to 2nd reef after you..Topher has been showing interest for quite a while so he's next..great to see a few others keen for a paddle, we'll do our best to get it to all who are keen, just have to work it out.....

Done, 2nd reef it is. I'll have a few surfs this week then pass it over to you hopefully next week. I'm about to head out to Curly today, in about 30mins to be exact

Had my first surf on it today in 2ft little shifty beach waves. I love the free speed feeling of a twin-fin, a pure fun experience. As always with mini-simmons the first wave made me just stand there and smile, pure speeed. haha

I'll surf it a few more times to get a little more used to it then I'll write an opinion.

You get my PM with contact deets, Caveman?

Cpt.Caveman wrote:Had my first surf on it today in 2ft little shifty beach waves. I love the free speed feeling of a twin-fin, a pure fun experience. As always with mini-simmons the first wave made me just stand there and smile, pure speeed. haha

I'll surf it a few more times to get a little more used to it then I'll write an opinion.

2nd Reef wrote:You get my PM with contact deets, Caveman?

No I didn't mate. I just checked and its not full, so I don't know why I didn't receive it...

Just sent it again.

If no luck you can reach me on [email protected]

Got it mate, sorry

Email sent

would be great if we can get a few pics of the board in action, or even just a few of it at beaches or with the local hotties in g-bangers, not fussy, just some visual would be good to go with all the banter....if possible, I know its hard to get someone to hang on the beach.....

pridmore wrote:....... a few pics of the board in action, or even just a few of it at beaches or with the local hotties in g-bangers, not fussy,

If you are not fussy then how about some tastefull shots of me in my speedos straddling the sim......