Midlengths

[steve shearer]

sounds good mttyfive

[Thud]

Hatchman, there’s a pretty much brand new WPF by Mike P for sale 420 on Gumtree. 6’10. Redfern of Brooky pick up. I know you wanted to speak to Mike or shift a board prior. But that’s cheap,

[Drailed]

Yeah, just seen that. Good buying

[buddy]

yeh, but, thruster

[Thud]

Oh. True

[tootr]

He’ll have to think about it for a year or two.

[Drailed]

Thruster in a midlength, so wrong. 2+1 or gtfo. Carroll would probably go for a thruster set up.

[Thud]

That thing needs a quad with big f@ck off raked fronts and some nice little foiled rears. IMHO

[buddy]

Yeh, I like em single or single with sides.

[steve shearer]

correct.

twins are the new thing.

[Hatchnam]

thud, thanks for the tip off but buddy's captured my sentiments.

yeh, but, thruster

I'm after a step-up. something that'll surf the way I want in 6-8 foot surf. and in that size range it'll be a 2+1 or a single. At that size I don't find I need for the pump-thrust feel of a tri-fin, and just want something steady and centred that covers ground and draws out turns without any tendency for staged short-arc pumping.

and yes, tootr, I've been procrastinating (as an understatement). though that's been because my quiver already covers all grounds. there's been no "need" as such. and i'm not into frivolous feelgood spending. though at the moment, i'm wanting to get rid of a few boards, get it back to say 3 max, and keep some space in the garage for a decent hybrid pushy/mtb. which will be something else to procrastinate about I guesss.

[Drailed]

I kinda feel that you and I Iggy, we got polar opposite spending habits

[Hatchnam]

for the past 10 or so years, I've had 2 customs. and for the last nearly 20 years, most of it's been 2nd hand off gumtree. before that it was strictly customs, and 2 to 3 new boards a year, but why? overall I reckon I've done very well out of low-spend on different 2nd hand boards. as I've had plenty of time and low-cost opportunity to try out a bunch of different boards and designs, and feel out what I like, don't like, and develop a well-rounded style, appreciation and capability without anyone telling what to buy or do. I feel I can jump on different boards, and very quickly get a feel for them, and importantly let the board take the lead. some may argue with this approach, McCoy for one, and any of the die-hard hps/thruster only surfers, but for me it's worked out well.

[Thud]

thud, thanks for the tip off but buddy's captured my sentiments.

yeh, but, thruster

I'm after a step-up. something that'll surf the way I want in 6-8 foot surf. and in that size range it'll be a 2+1 or a single. At that size I don't find I need for the pump-thrust feel of a tri-fin, and just want something steady and centred that covers ground and draws out turns without any tendency for staged short-arc pumping.

and yes, tootr, I've been procrastinating (as an understatement). though that's been because my quiver already covers all grounds. there's been no "need" as such. and i'm not into frivolous feelgood spending. though at the moment, i'm wanting to get rid of a few boards, get it back to say 3 max, and keep some space in the garage for a decent hybrid pushy/mtb. which will be something else to procrastinate about I guesss.

Cool.

If you decide to look at customs again maybe ping Parmenter and get a real deal widow maker. Think he comes here a bit. He’s got relationships with Kidman and Mick Mackie (I think).

From his site (you may have read). I like what the guy has to say about boards etc...has an interesting take in Rusty v CI board types. I pretty much ride CI now so jumped up

https://www.nowtro.com/nowtro-boards


Widow-maker

The original Widow-maker I shaped in 1988 for an extended surfari to Jeffrey’s Bay. On previous trips there I had been unhappy with my tri-fins, as they simply wouldn’t allow me to ride that most epic of down-the-line waves with the tracks I wanted to follow left by Terry Fitzgerald, Jonathan Paarman, and Reno Abellira from single-fin days. The 6’9” I shaped and took to South Africa altered all my convictions about surfboards and forced me to realize that I was essentially a single-fin surfer at heart. The 6’9” was a wickedly pintailed rocket with a wider and thicker nose, a widepoint placed well forward of center, channels running off the tail, and for an engine a classic Brewer-style single fin set off by a pair of small finlets glassed beside it on each rail. These small side fins give the board a slight tri-fin turning axis and bite off the top at high speeds, but grant versatile single-fin neutrality off the bottom, allowing you to surf the wave rather than the board – with jazz-like riffs and sudden pit-stalls if necessary.

The Widow-maker is more than just a turbo-boosted single-fin. It’s a design that lets you go fast when you want; and stop dead in your tracks if the wave calls for it. It allows you to use the entire wave face in complete control, without having to go through the classic tri-fin triple pump wind-up every time you want to do a maneuver.

For guns the Widow-maker delivers all the benefits of a single-fin – lower drag, no high-speed max-outs, meaningful bottom turns and greater control in the barrel – yet with the low profile small Widow-maker side fins there’s still always that subtle snap and bite in top turns and cutbacks. The Widow-maker fin configuration adapts well to most designs, but especially big-wave guns and single-fin shapes over 6’5”.

And by the way, the Widow-maker is named after the classic Winchester repeating rifle, the firearm that won the West….

Widow-maker fin array available on all designs.

Retro to modern single-fin designs from 5’10” to 7’0”

Guns from 7’0” to 11’0”

Widow-maker center and side box/plug fins available
dave-parmenter-widow-maker
Standard Widow-maker fin placement: The board itself is designed around where the center single fin would go on a straight single. The side fins are then placed so that the rear bases are lined up with the front base of the center single fin. This provides a fairly neutral single fin handling: classic unfettered single fin bottom turns but with just enough claw and bite off the top.
aleutian-juice-single-fin-widowmaker
6'6" with a 70/30 ratio of retro to modern design attributes.

7'2" Widow-maker for Carl Wieser, reminiscent of the Free Ride era, widepoint up about 4", eagle beak nose, angular boxy rails in the Brewer/Parrish school

[Hatchnam]

Thanks Thud. And yes, I’ve long been drooling over DP’s widow makers. His boards look insane. Will still give mike psillakis a shot, and see what his take on it is.

[Thud]

Without getting too familiar, you could have written the review.

See how you go. Mike P gives great insight to his own boards. His identical twin brother also rips so he has good feedback

[steve shearer]

sounds like my 7'3" Parmenter widow-maker

[BA]

Chris Christenson is gonna be in Oz soon doing some boards for those inclined. You can order a custom.