REMINDER: THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to monitor the Forums. However, THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to review any materials submitted to or posted on the Forums, and remove, delete, redact or otherwise modify such materials, in its sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever, at any time and from time to time, without notice or further obligation to you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. has no obligation to display or post any materials provided by you. THE ARENA PLATFORM, INC. reserves the right to disclose, at any time and from time to time, any information or materials that we deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, contract obligation, legal or dispute process or government request. Click on the following hyperlinks to further read the applicable Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Board Suggestion
- Thread starter trevorbc
- Start date
Mine was a 6'4 stock dims. Im about 6'0 190 soaking wet. Unfortunately I got in a bind money wise and sold it after only surfing it about 6 times. Almost all those surfs were in howling offshores in the Ventura/Ox area and I remember each session vividly still. The RS left a lasting impression on me for sure .i'll pick another some day
Hope you get back on your feet, and get another RS. I leave mine for months at a time, then completely binge on it. Surfed very good Kirra on it, and it was very very good there.
Those are a lot less volume than a regular ghost. I think ill just slightly modify a regular ghost instead.
I was looking at those as well and would be interested to hear from someone that has tried one. The other board I was looking at was a CI Happy. Ordering it in step up dims.
The funny thing about this thread is that I go through this step up exercise every few years. I rarely end up using the board and sell it. Then we get that one day where I need it again and I start the exercise all over. haha That makes me think I really need something that will work as a HPSB as well.
I had an old Indo Quiver (Nezzy - is he still around?) of 6'5, 6'9, and 7'2 which I never really used after leaving indo. I sold all those boards to fund boards I would use more. I should have kept that 6'9, it was magic, instead of going through this exercise over and over.
To Casa's point, on other trips back in the day, I had the indo quiver in the bag but what ended up going best, in even nearing double over head tropical reef waves, was a 6'0 (real OG) Flyer. I was younger, fitter, and positioning certainly was a factor. So yeah, I guess I am looking for a bit of a crutch. Maybe instead of spending the money on a step up I should spend it on a crossfit membership or something. haha
On the other had though, a step up in the 6'5-6'6 range would be nice to have in the garage for travel and those rare days.
So if you order a ghost through XTR it comes out cheaper? I'm assuming the difference between shipping from California vs. Hawaii?
I had an old Indo Quiver (Nezzy - is he still around?) of 6'5, 6'9, and 7'2 which I never really used after leaving indo. I sold all those boards to fund boards I would use more. I should have kept that 6'9, it was magic, instead of going through this exercise over and over.
To Casa's point, on other trips back in the day, I had the indo quiver in the bag but what ended up going best, in even nearing double over head tropical reef waves, was a 6'0 (real OG) Flyer. I was younger, fitter, and positioning certainly was a factor. So yeah, I guess I am looking for a bit of a crutch. Maybe instead of spending the money on a step up I should spend it on a crossfit membership or something. haha
On the other had though, a step up in the 6'5-6'6 range would be nice to have in the garage for travel and those rare days.
So if you order a ghost through XTR it comes out cheaper? I'm assuming the difference between shipping from California vs. Hawaii?
Its probably similar from xtr or a little cheaper but depending on the glass it will last a lot longer.
When you were in Indo you probably had no job responsibilities, you were probably surfing every day.
How many hours per week on your Indo trip were you sitting at a desk?
How quickly did the surf in Indo drop like a rock and stay dead flat for a week following?
Were you in the Maine usual rubber in Indo?
Were you even in something that might be cold for people in Cape Town but would probably constitute the warmest Memorial Day weekend in 50 years in Maine?
If you are looking for cheater recs I think you should get more specific about entry/takeoff. One poster suggested something longer, I assume to get you down and in, and I expressly said don't go longer, thinking that the wave you are describing is just too round and the concern is pearling.
When it's ~head high beachbreak in Mexico it often just jacks at the last second and unloads instantly. You can forget trying to get in early. You either nail a last second pop right into the tube stance or you get dumped.
When it starts pushing 1.5 - double sometimes it moves out off the underneath sandbar, and you have all sorts more time and room and therefore, options with respect to boards. You can up length and get in early, vs. just having more nose to rescue from the flat.
Are you forced to take off under the lip, right into the pit, where your popup and first pump/line set must be one instantaneous motion or you'll get torn apart?
Or is there some room and adding 2-4" isn't going to equal poking the nose every time no matter what?
I was curious about the Ghost Pro when I was looking at the Ghost.
For what it's worth, guy in the shop told me that he could certainly order me a pro and I'd have it in a week if they had one in stock, but he thought that the thinned out rails were optimized more for quality reef breaks than our dumpy thick beach breaks. Made sense to me, so I ended up with a 6'0 standard Ghost rather than something like a 6'2 Pro. Volume is roughly the same, rails are a little thicker and it's a little wider.
In the Melissa swell, the board I had that ended up working best for me was a 6'8 Aloha that I bought used in the late 90s. It's 18 3/4 wide and 2 1/4 thick (but flat deck and meaty rails) with the type of rocker characteristic of that era. I keep it around for just such a day but still, that long a board feels too big once you get in and it's a huge difference form my standard sub 6 foot boards.
My thinking on the Ghost was to get something that could handle that sort of day, but that could also come out of the closet more than once every 8 years or so.
For what it's worth, guy in the shop told me that he could certainly order me a pro and I'd have it in a week if they had one in stock, but he thought that the thinned out rails were optimized more for quality reef breaks than our dumpy thick beach breaks. Made sense to me, so I ended up with a 6'0 standard Ghost rather than something like a 6'2 Pro. Volume is roughly the same, rails are a little thicker and it's a little wider.
In the Melissa swell, the board I had that ended up working best for me was a 6'8 Aloha that I bought used in the late 90s. It's 18 3/4 wide and 2 1/4 thick (but flat deck and meaty rails) with the type of rocker characteristic of that era. I keep it around for just such a day but still, that long a board feels too big once you get in and it's a huge difference form my standard sub 6 foot boards.
My thinking on the Ghost was to get something that could handle that sort of day, but that could also come out of the closet more than once every 8 years or so.
Here is a link to a little video of the wave:
Video doesn't do the size and power justice.
Last edited:
Consider a R. Blackbird. It paddles like a champ and gets you in early. Looks like it would go great in the waves in the video.
I like the sound of the model description on the website.
"
The SR-71 is the fastest manned jet ever built. Blackbird is its nickname. Based on that concept we designed this board to cover ground quickly! Developed for the bigger days chasing down peaks in open waters and battling currents, it is the perfect wave-hawking weapon.
It features added volume, an area-forward outline, lower entry rocker and a light vee in the nose, allowing it to paddle into anything, even in the toughest of surf conditions. With a slight single- to double-concave bottom running through the fins and rounded pintail, the Blackbird delivers smooth transitions and fast, clean lines. A heavy hitter for any arsenal!
"
The SR-71 is the fastest manned jet ever built. Blackbird is its nickname. Based on that concept we designed this board to cover ground quickly! Developed for the bigger days chasing down peaks in open waters and battling currents, it is the perfect wave-hawking weapon.
It features added volume, an area-forward outline, lower entry rocker and a light vee in the nose, allowing it to paddle into anything, even in the toughest of surf conditions. With a slight single- to double-concave bottom running through the fins and rounded pintail, the Blackbird delivers smooth transitions and fast, clean lines. A heavy hitter for any arsenal!
Yeah it doesn't look like a little extra length would hurt in those waves. I got a 6-10 Rusty Blackbird this fall and couldn't be happier with it. Handles big waves obviously but is surprisingly good on the tweeners as well. The length does start to feel like a hindrance in conditions where the waves are like a few feet overhead and just jacking up barrels with no possibility of an early entry That's when I switch to a Ghost which handles late drops and fits into tight spots better. My Blackbird is heavy glassed and packing a lot of foam in the center @2.75 thick and 37L so it's a bit of a different ball game but for open ocean, choppy and big, the thing slays it.
They're doing 100 off Epoly (Epoxy over PU) right now so a heavy glassed Blackbird would be right around 800 bones shipped to Maine if I'm not mistaken.
They're doing 100 off Epoly (Epoxy over PU) right now so a heavy glassed Blackbird would be right around 800 bones shipped to Maine if I'm not mistaken.
It is a weird wave. It moves quickly compared to any of our other waves I think due to the refraction. It doesn't jack like a slab, it sucks you up the face until it finally throws. Ideally you want to be taking off on the right shoulder backdooring the peak going left before it jacks. Easier said than done. It is often a sprint paddle to get into position. If you don't get on the other side of it you either free fall into the barrel or miss the barrel section and have a wall in front of you. There are three distinct peaks with their own nuances but all left wedges.
I'd love to try all of these boards and report back.
Overall, I'm thinking the black bird would work great for getting in position and backdooring however the ghost would be better in general because most of the time you aren't in perfect position and need to take late drops and for its small wave properties. Aruka, as always, in awe of your quiver.
This thread has inspired me to add a 6'0 Ghost Pro and something like a 6'3 Blackbird to my quiver. If only I had the coin to drop on them.
