My go to, 6'0...thing from whales

stringcheese

Miki Dora status
Jun 21, 2017
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I don't know how to classify this board. It's 6'0, I measured it, there are no dimensions written on the board though. I bought it because I wanted a longboard, but this fit inside my car, so I can have it with me everywhere I go. That and the versatility of the fin set up. I was told it's from Whales. With a '7 single fin, or these weird textured twin keels in the pictures, or a single and side bitters, it feels like a different instrument. It's flat, flaaatttt, nose to tail, on the deck. The curves are all on the bottom. 50/50 rails turn boxy and square in the back third, where there is also a lot of double concave, you can see in the picture how major it is. Right where that concave meets the rail, the rail changes dramatically. On the outline, the wide point is at a hip at the same back third point where everything comes together.
It's a hard board to figure out, but probably the most fun surfboard I've ever owned. I can have fun on it when it is almost flat, and I'm comfortable on it in waves as big as I'm comfortable surfing. Switching the fins from the single for bowlier waves, to the twins for mushy runners, i can always feel like i have the right board with this thing.
I don't know what I'll do to replace it if it dies.
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Retropete

Phil Edwards status
Jan 20, 2006
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Sunny Coast Qld Australia
"If it dies."
That board already looks like its been hiding out in a zombie apocalypse. How can you kill something that is already dead is the money question.
It certainly won't snap under anything but an angry OB lip.
I love it.
Whoever made that is one mad scientist.
Many scattered and conflicted non-conventional surfboard design thoughts running around in their head.
 
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stringcheese

Miki Dora status
Jun 21, 2017
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I'm sure someone else could make something like it. But it does feel like a board that, if something changed, anywhere, could be total garbage. It's a hodgepodge of different board parts, that somehow does everything right.
 
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stringcheese

Miki Dora status
Jun 21, 2017
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Do you have a google? The board has lams and occasionally 1+1=2.

http://www.ecticconcepts.com/Dale_Walker/Boards.html

looks like some variation of the mini sim and the phish. Not from Whales, it’s from N. Orange County.

When I bought it, I googled "epic concepts" and found nothing. The lams are black on black, i guessed...wrongly. two years ago. :LOL:

I still don't see this board in there though. It's a fun weirdo!

Edit: so the shaper is from England. This board could be an old one. The story from the Morro Bay surf shop owner about it being from Whales might be close to true.
 

stringcheese

Miki Dora status
Jun 21, 2017
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you started with the harder lam and gave up too soon. “dale walker surfboard” would have done it.
Have you seen my entries in the "what strain are you puffin?" thread? I can forget to do something for two years, easy.


Thanks for helping find the board's origin. Now I can replace it if the worst happens.
I wanted to share the board to see if anyone rides or likes anything similar.
 
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Jan 26, 2017
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Dale Walker is the man behind Ectic concepts. He has another (LB) brand now too. I think he moved from England to Cali a few years ago. Not sure if he was in Wales or Cornwall. I have one of his boards too, similar design, supposed to be an ultimate wave groveller. It's a bit of an on/ off love affair: sometimes it feels like a magic carpet and it just flies! Other times, less so.
 
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oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
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Pretty similar outline to minisim variants I've had (minus the single fin box) which are more versatile than people think. Mandala Superchunk or ASQ have similar swallow tail. Most of the minisims when they first got popularized 10-15 yrs ago were twin keels. I have a 5'10" quad Mitsven now that is an absolute blast, and can work from 1-5'.
 
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