Board in between shorty and mal

[mrpotato]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a board that is bigger than my shorty (6'7") and mal for surfing anything from 1 foot to 3ft that is very easy to paddle but still offers something more than a mini mal shape. I've been looking at MR flying fish or McTavish Sumo around the 7' size but not sure about spending nearly a grand on the board. I also liked the look of the duranbah dugong that is in the latest ASL board test but seems little information on the web about them.

Any other ideas on what boards to look at around the high 6 to 7 foot range?

Thanks,
MrP

[steve shearer]

If you want a McTavish Sumo I've got an eight hundred buck McT voucher you can have for six hunge.

Still a big ticket item but slightly more reasonable.

[Beanpole]

I keep looking for said board but my old beat up carver is right on the money.
Had it for maybe six years now. Love it more than ever. Boards come and go but it still delivers.

[Cuttlefish]

You've really got to pick whether you want to go for a longer board which surfs in a shortboard style (ie Puffer fish, carver) or a board like a Sumo with it's 2+1 which surfs more in a longboard style first.
Which camp do you want to put your foot in?
I have both styles in my quiver and alternate inbetween them depending upon waves and mood.
Plus it depends, to an extent, upon where you are as to who's boards I'd recommend.

[mrpotato]

Good point Cuttlefish, that's a hard one to answer as I enjoy both my short and longboards depending on the waves conditions etc. Main reason for something in between is mainly when the surf is smaller in size and I couldn't be bothered lugging around the mal and also looking for something a bit easier to duck dive.

If I had to lean one way or the other I'd prob say the longboard style purely for the assumed easier paddling effort and also like the idea of a single fin option in the quiver.

Steve, if I decide to go that path will pm you.

[Yuke Hunt]

Still got that voucher shep ? I'd have thought you'd a unloaded it by now. No takers hay.

Mid-length surfboards mmm ... calling Iggy to the minimal courtesy phone ... or Hatch-whaterer he is nowadays.

I had DVS whittle me what he calls a point break. Its a 7'6" pintailed thruster setup ... an amalgamation of different eras ... its a cool looking stick. With lots of volume ... paddles ridiculously well ... surfs good too. Its a real fun board as opposed to a real fun-board.

[ctd]

Maybe also have a look at Grant Miller - he has a short 'mal shaped' (powerglide) and more refined styles (Waterskate etc).

http://www.grantmillersurfboards.com.au/

His somewhat hyperbolic website commentary sort of makes him out to be a bit of an oddball ranting against 'the machine', but he is actually one of the nicest guys I have met, very easy to deal with and the boards are top quality. They are priced toward the higher end (prices are on the site) but well under the McTavish pricing and not much different to premium off the shelf brands like Firewire.

I'm sure there are other shapers who work in this market as well. Grant is in NSW.

[mrpotato]

Thanks ctd, I used to own a miller f skate years ago and forgot how well that board paddled and how good the glassing was. I'm liking the water skate and also much better pricing than most of the others I've seen.

I might give him a call and have a chat.

[mrpotato]

I also see he has a new model subx since I last checked his website. Anyone ridden one of these & can provide feedback?

[collnarra]

Simon Anderson has an unlisted model called the TOE. It's what I currently ride. I've had a waterskate in the past, and the TOE, while being conceptually similar, is a superior board in terms of design, performance and finish.

The only issue is getting one - you pretty much need to order a custom, but the guys at OnBoard can help with that.

[mrpotato]

What are the dimensions/shape of the of TOE model and roughly how much for custom?

[collnarra]

What are the dimensions/shape of the of TOE model and roughly how much for custom?

I have a 6'10, sis has a 6'6" and the old man has a 6'9". I suspect Simon could blow it out to around 7'2" if you asked. For various reasons I don't know what the standard price for a custom is.

[Cuttlefish]

Here's a 7'6" x 21&1/2 x 2&3/4" Woosley Vquad I've been riding since Spring blew its fey winds in any and all conditions.
It continually suprises me how steep a drop the board will handle without making me look bad.
I've got another 7'6" which is a Diverse GM which is designed for larger waves for longboard style surfing when a longboard is a handful.
The Diverse has excelled in the big stuff but it has also humbled me when mucking around in smaller Tea tree by not handling takeoffs in suckier little grinders.
The Woosley is working pretty well from 1-4' so far and low tide grinders have proved easy for it, with me enjoying the ease at which it gets me onto them early.
One of the differences from a mini-mal lies in its bottom shape. Nice deep single into deep double concaves and a quad fin set up. Could be easily ordered with a single box too.
Price is very reasonable.
http://imageshack.com/a/img62/5593/xw6q.jpg
Concave in first 24"s.
http://imageshack.com/a/img703/2414/7wik.jpg
Double concaves forward of centre through to tail.
http://imageshack.com/a/img41/667/yhxo.jpg
Planshape.
http://imageshack.com/a/img62/5593/xw6q.jpg
Posted this as it's never going to get any mainstream attention.
The board was shaped by John Mills at Beachbeat and was the brainchild of the Stewart brothers who had a long running relationship with the iconic Woosley brand.
I'd seen the 7'6" in Beachbeat in amongst the mini-mals and liked the pulled in nose, rails and deep concaves but it wasn't until I was in the Beachbeat factory checking out the Pacer model eggs they do that Tony Stewart who was sanding boards gave me the run down on the board and I decided to give it a run.
Btw I'd dearly love to have a 6'6" or so in the same planshape, concaves etc to ride in beachbreaks when its good.
I'd also love to get my mitts on a Miller SubX.
Had Grant shape me a 7'2" custom egg years ago which I loved.
My mate still has it and was the board that opened his eyes to how good a mid length can be.
He rode it once at the Pass and just did not want to give it back.
Here's a link to the website if you want to check it out. Mine is the one on the right.
http://www.woosleysurfboards.com/orders.html
Rocker
http://imageshack.com/a/img585/8471/aql1.jpg

[mrpotato]

Very nice board cuttlefish, probably a bit bigger than what I was after but very happy to see some quality Aust made boards at reasonable prices..my hopes of finding the right board at that price are raised. Was a bit shocked at the price of some of the GSI Thailand made boards I have seen!

[Beanpole]

Nice mid length. Looks like a carver.
I've been thinking about getting a Dick Harvey in a vague kind of way. Nice looking boards and he is a shaper I've always respected.

[Cuttlefish]

Just wanted to throw that one in the mix so to speak.
In the scaled down longboard kind of ride the Pacer eggs (2+1)that Beachbeat make are showing themselves to be a very versatile board.
The shop stocks the GSI Sumos as well but quite a few of the staff are riding the eggs and local crew are ordering after seeing how well they surf.
They make them in 2 stock sizes 6'6" and 7' but customs are up to you.
The Sumos tend to just sit in the rack.
No doubt the staff are pushing the pacers (as well they should be) but its encouraging to see them out-stripping the GSI sales by a large margin.
Keep an eye out for a used DVS all rounder as they are a great mid length too.

[BigJ]

Hi Cuttlefish,

Wanting to hear a bit more about your VQuad. Did you get to ride it during last weeks cyclone swell. I missed pretty much all of it because of work or parenting duties.
How does the VQuad go in a bit more swell, over 4ft?
I ended up picking up a Sumo a couple of years ago second hand for a bargain price, only surfed once, no marks or dings for almost half the listed price on McTavish's site. I quite like it, 7'2" so a lot of foam and yes duckdiving is a bit harder but through lack of surftime the last year or so with work etc have put on a few kg's.
Love the outline to the VQuad and deep concaves although haven't seem one only pics.
Do you ride it as a quad or have you surfed it as a thruster? Does it outperform the Firewire Sub Moon? Never tried an epoxy apart from 4 waves on a borrowed Surftech in the Maldives.
Happy surfing to all.

[Cuttlefish]

Didn't bother with the waves over the weekend. Working Fri/Sat flat out and then Sunday checked Kings early and was less than impressed and the crowds were ridiculous so didn't partake.
But I've had it out in enough decent waves to know that it works well in 1-2' through to good sized waves.
I was confident enough with its ability to handle bigger stuff I sold my Diverse 7'6" GM and my DVS 9' reef runner which I'd normally ride in bigger point waves.
The deep double concaves really help with its acceleration and it handles a steep drop suprisingly well by dint of a combination of early entry, enough rocker and rails that give enough bite in the face when taking off.
The Sumo I rode had too much foam for me and I had the vaguness of ride that comes from a board that's just too thick. The turns could be done but I didn't feel much response from the board when making them.
I've only ridden it as quad and it works great as a quad so I've felt no need to try it as a thruster.
Demoed a Firewire 7'6" submoon before I bought the vquad and wasn't impressed one bit.
Super glad I bought the vquad and not the submoon though.
Got a shot of the concaves but can't figure out to post pics anymore.