mctavish boards

A place for longboarders, eggers, fish riders... if alternative surfcraft is your game, here's the place to chat about it

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hamish
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Post by hamish » Sat Feb 28, 2004 6:52 pm

Can we get a forum going on mctavish boards in mal riders only, I'm v keen to hear feedback about different models esp the fireball, carver, the egg- any of em really

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Post by Longygrom » Sat Feb 28, 2004 7:55 pm

Mctavish boards, pffffff. They are all flashy and mass produced. Most of them are high peformance and are ridden by begginers , exept for the teamriders (like no one anymore) and are ugly and to mainstream

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Post by _cant_touch_this » Sat Feb 28, 2004 8:36 pm

i havent heard much about mctavish boards but it seems they are turning into one of those labels that are mass-produced. everywhere u look there is a kook riding one. iv heard good things about local motion boards though

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Post by tube5 » Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:16 pm

Unless I'm mistaken "hamish" asked if anyone had ridden any of the McTavish models....not for a smart arsed reply bagging McTavish boards as a "brand". Have you guys actually tested one????
...Hamish, heres some feedback. I have ridden an "original"(9'1" surftech).....I loved it...regardless of the tacky decals plastered all over it. I can see that it wouldn't suit everyone as it seemed to have alot of shortboard charactistics & was really loose....& extremley light. If 32 years of surfing classes me a "kook" then so be it & you can disregard my reply. Look at it from the point of view that Bob McTavish must have a pretty good idea of what he's doing (even if most boards are computer shaped....or surftech popouts)....but why not try a "local motion" (they have really pretty decals & are a really a cool "brand") ....Oh yeah...I forgot that you didn't ask about local motion boards did you??...I heard that they were crap anyway.....give a MacTac a go instead....I reckon you'll love it.

hamish
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Post by hamish » Sun Feb 29, 2004 8:17 am

tube5, thanks for that. I was wondering about the surftech boards and whether or not they'd be lighter than poly boards. Anyone has any thoughts on the boards with channels in them and what effect they have on the ride?

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Post by theboat » Sun Feb 29, 2004 12:58 pm

I have ridden a 9'1 fireball....... boring! it was just your stock standard board, suited to a six year old and much as a sixty year old.. surfed a 9'6 original, good fun for bigger days when the rocker comes in handy, but not a great paddler... and a 9'8 redline..... very very fun, very very expensive.

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Post by buzzy » Sun Feb 29, 2004 5:28 pm

Bit of a laugh reading criticism of McTavish. McTavish's a legend.

Surfing shouldn't be about fashion. So what if lots of beginners surf his boards. If they're good they're good. And he hasn't overnight started making bad boards.

Incidentally McTavish says Tufflite is 10% lighter than a traditional board of identical dimensions.

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Post by betterIwas » Sun Feb 29, 2004 5:49 pm

I ride a McTavish Fireball now. I was strongly recommended them by a fellow longboarder.

Very impressed, extremely well made. Best longboard I have had.
Not saying they are the best for everyone or best absolutely but I would guess they are up there somewhere.

Of interest, Warren Cornish appears to run the factory now with McTavish designing, marketing etc. I rode Cornish short boards years ago and was always impressed with their quality.

Personally I hate the decals etc - but I guess I am too old to get too jack of those things.

hamish
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Post by hamish » Sun Feb 29, 2004 6:02 pm

looks like the fireball could be the go. I saw coupla guys out at north curly yest on mctavish boards. One had a 9+ and another young bloke had an 8'6" carver- he said it was great in those conditions too. Both of em got plenty of waves.

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the kalakau kid
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Post by the kalakau kid » Mon Mar 01, 2004 11:39 am

It seems that Mctavish continues to provoke controversy amongst surfers everywhere, decades after the events of 66-67 etc... active discussions are usually good ones I suppose.
Although I can understand the whole tuflite thing, my personal interest would be to have a long chat with Bob and then have him shape me a custom board. Not sure how likely that is but the chat would be memorable i'm sure. The guy has always had plenty to say and gets in the water enough to stay touch. My brother has worked with him and reckons he is a lovely bloke.

As everyone says, the boards seem well made and the design concepts behind them are pretty sound, if uninteresting to me. Not convinced about those belly channels although Mctavish has used them for years now. The marketing is also pretty slick. Maybe this level of professionalism is what Warren Cornish brings to the whole thing. I understand that he bought the Mctavish name from Bob in the seventies and has run the commercial/production aspect of things ever since. I also heard once that Rip Curl have an interest in there somewhere too.
Anyway, i guess that this is not really answering your questions Hamish. My perspective would be to ride a few if you can and go from there. Each model seems to have a good explanation about who and what kind of surfing it is designed for. The website is also pretty good. The boards will work and are usually well made so you shouldn't be wasting your money.

There are heaps of other shapers out there who could make you a great board but its hard to know who to recommend without knowing what kind of surfing you enjoy and what kind of board you are after. post up some more details if you can.

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Post by hamish » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:31 pm

thanks for the reply KK. Usually ride a 6'8" shortboard (I'm 6'6") in an ordinary way. The great flat spell of 04 prompted me to drag a mal out of storage, only it being so old it was hard to turn and heavy, though a great board. Friends ride old skool and love it. The mctavish's, as you say, look well made and as someone else said, the guy's a legend of australian surfing.
Tuflite boards seem strange to me. A shaper recently said without the stringer there's no soul. I tend to agree- particularly given the problems and expense repairing tuflites people have referred to in other forums.
It's pretty impressive that McTavish is still considered controversial after 40 years in the industry.

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Post by joshalohasurf » Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:44 pm

Whatta bout those jb perfomance are they good.

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Post by matt... » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:13 am

stuff the expensive "cool" brands
for the smallest days, I have a 9'1" Wave Signature, John Soj.....oski shape (excuse the spelling).
rolled deck, thin rails, heaps of rocker, single keel with stabilizers, single concave under the nose through to double concave...
can whip it round like a shorty!
the dude in east gosford surf shop is always good for a chat & very helpful.

contact your local mal club & ask for good shapers in your area - you might pick up a good shape at a fraction of the cost.

but then you won't look cool when you pull up to a coffee shop in your Porsche Cayenne & don't have a mal with a big M logo on it, and haven't spent at least $1500 on a board that will spend more time on the roof of your car than in the water.......

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Post by the kalakau kid » Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:54 am

Matt,

nice to hear warren at east gosford getting a rap. He is a great bloke and stocks heaps of good boards. Sign of the times that he sells so many epoxies. ( thats my guess anyway) .
Sojos' boards seem to work well too although none of them interest me. Loves his artwork doesn't he! Have you ridden any of those eggy-looking things that he makes? Would love to hear how they go. I ride longboards from my friend Link Pasco ( Volare Surfboards) and they are the bomb i reckon. Am currently saving for a new 10'0 triple stringer. Not cheap but its gonna be a heritage item i reckon.

As for diss'n the coffee and the porsche cayenne... mate they may be seen as symbols of material/commercial/financial overkill but I love coffee and often dream about blasting around in the cayenne. How thoughtful of Mr Porsche to build a car that goes like stink and can also carry a longboard!

At least the cayenne might make abit more sense than mum dropping the kids off at school in the landcruiser with snorkle and driving lights..... never know when the carpark at woolies is going to be flooded though!

Anyone out there got experience with a Mctavish handshape that came from Bob? That is one Mctavish i would love to ride.
Last edited by the kalakau kid on Fri Mar 05, 2004 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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matt...
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Post by matt... » Thu Mar 04, 2004 1:56 pm

love the coffee myself (my mum actually owns a cafe/restaurant),
but it seems some of the baby boomer set have created an idyllic sunday morning "scene" involving very little surfing, but about 2 1/2 hours sitting around a coffee shop with the corporate icons:
a $100,000+ RV & a McTavish board - I'm guessing a far cry from the vision Bob had all those years ago.

dunno k kid, i'll grab a take away coffee & sit in the car park looking out at nature's wonder that we love to play in - not looking around seeing who is eyeing off the corporate icons.

i'm sure they are lovelly vehicles to drive, perform well & all the rest...

i'll save my money for a new board or wettie...

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Post by buzzy » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:15 pm

Sheesh, who cares if someone else forks out $1500 for a board they can't ride and $110,000 on a flash car, and likes a coffee? Good luck to 'em. I often have a chat to new surfers down Bondi way and I can say I rarely meet one who isn;t a nice bloke. Just they don't know the rules, and there's no-one to tell 'em what they are.

I reckon it's a laugh though that someone thinks they can pick up surfing in a few months as many of these guys do. They're like "Yeah, I've got a degree. I run a company. I have a flash car. I just renovated my house. How hard can this surfing caper be?"

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Post by the kalakau kid » Thu Mar 04, 2004 2:37 pm

Must admit when all is said & done, there are a lot of aspects of surfing today that are far from what they originally were. Imagine what the hawaiian princes would make of it all? Haoles riding the olo board? Slice their throats and sacrifice them to Lono!

Matt - enjoying what nature gives us is pretty much spot on mate. Nothing better than a coffee while sitting on a log in the Avoca carpark after an early morning session, watching the sets from that great side-on angle you get. Speaking of which, Sunday could be on!

as for porsches...
I just love fast cars, i'm sorry, I can't help it, i've tried but I just love them . Not very green or PC but i love a sweet motor.......

ps where's your mums cafe? is the coffee good?

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