A retro board suitable for large indo lefts.

[WANDERER]

Joel tudor rides a 6'?" three fin bonzer in some indo style waves in his movie "longer"... but then again JT could get barrelled on a barn door.

check it out:
>>> http://www.bonzer5.com/

[buzzy]

I love "retro" boards, but...

...for surfing in serious waves the thruster is simply the best board. Have a look at "bloopers" bits from late 70's films and you'll see quite clearly the limitations of even the last pre-thruster generation of boards in big waves.

I don't know about your background, but for bigger waves I'd just get a good rounded pin thruster, with probably a bit more width & volume and a tad more length than a small light young ripper would get. Alternatively I'd go one of those widowmaker boards, which combine the single fin with the side bite of a thruster.

Unless you're Tom Curren I wouldn't recommend a fish for sizeable waves.

[2nd Reef]

I tend to agree with ol' Buzzy Matt.

Despite what Banksy says on his website, or in his brochures, a fish is going to severely limit your surfing in good, hollow waves. Same goes for a retro single-fin. They would both be a lot of fun out on the face, but your going to Indo. Pit City. Your just not going to be able to get as deep as you want. Nor get the quick bursts of speed needed to make critical sections.

What happens if you get that 1 in 20 year swell? And you're off the beaten track with no crowds around? And your reflexes are cat-sharp, and your feeling as courageous as a lion?

And your riding a f*cking single-fin?

Dont wanna tell you what to ride but DONT DO IT!!

Take a 6'6" & 6'8" both rounded pins. If you must go retro chuck a 7'0" hawaiian pocket rocket in.

Ditch the lid!!

And take some photos for us....

[dy_fo_life]

single fin with double flyers/hips over 6'5" may be worth taking along. I took two single fins over a couple of years ago and generally went ok except like everyone else has said when the waves start to hollow out then you really need the modern board to down and around.
ahh selecting a travelling quiver it's a nice dilemma to have!

[matt...]

echoing the above sentiments - 6'6" - 6'8" range
6'6" if your lighter, 6"8" if your heavier
bigger again for waves bigger than double overhead - 7'0" x 2 5/8" x 18 1/2" pin or rounded pin screamer...
your fish would be good for the head high surf with easy take offs

man, have fun, wish i was goin' too.

[WANDERER]

Ive ridden a few thrusters and the one that worked the best for me was a six channel "hot stuff" made in the 90's.

basically that would be for the extra width and volume making it closer to whatever 'retro' twin you might have been used to at the time.

nothing wrong with that either. as you improve you might want to knock some of that bulk off to get higher performance.

I'll go on a limb and guess that your 90's thruster had a fairly wide tail. this i would recommend against for Indo. you'll find yourself sliding out during high speed turns .. you are planning to turn the thing right?

Pffft dont listen to that kook wanto, he doesnt have a clue, the perfect board for indo is a twin fin slab, 5'6" x 21 x 3 should do the trick!

[WANDERER]

as you'd know mate the waves over there are pretty different. you aren't lacking in the power or down-the-line speed departments.

wide tailed, flat rockered boards are great for east coast oz because we generally lack both.

i'd hate to encourage anyone to be a sheep, but the things you like about your fish and retro board won't be necessary or helpful in indo conditions.

go with the tried and true. it's not always easy to get waves so you don't want to be blowing many. it's also your best opportunity to improve your surfing.

get a 6'5-6'8 round tail a good one to half inch narrower with generous rocker and a little single to double concave, thicken up to suit your paddling and you have a recipe for ripping. oh, and make sure it has 3 fins

thats my advice. which reminds me .. (calls Rommelse)

Wanto is on the money.

Try thinking of your tail shape and width as a sail, and the wave as the wind.

A big wide square sail will be good for when there isnt much wind (power) but if you try to use that big sail in a gale you'll find that you get blown away, and you wont be able to control your boat, under these circumstances a sleek smaller sail will allow you to harness and control only the power your require to get you where you want to go. So its like this, in australia on ya standard day to day surf in sydney, a nice big wide tail will allow you to tap into as much power as you can because more often than not the wave will only hold a limited amount of use-able power, however when you are in indo facing up to some serious long range, big and powerful swell, theres plenty of power to go around, and you will find that in a lot of cases having a big square tail in these waves will be a kin to having a big square sail in a gale, you just dont need it and it becomes hard to control, reduceing the amount of tail in the face of the wave will allow you to harness the power you need but also maintain some level of control and manouvreability....

clear as mud....

[channels]

My first trip to the tropics was about 10 years ago and a real eye opener to board design. Did three weeks in Indo and then a week in the Maldives. Had previously been beachbreaks with the occasional reef on the big days before the trip so my boards were designed around those conditions.

The waves are so long up there that you will be paddling a lot. Half the throwaway turns you would try at your local won't be an option at some of the waves you'll be surfing. Think a dependable board that you'll be comfortable surfing in critical shallow reef waves. Maybe a slight concave under the chest to help get into waves earlier.

[marcus]

so you are coming then
pm or call me about bookings.