How do you size your mini-guns and guns?

bluengreen

Michael Peterson status
Oct 22, 2018
1,763
4,641
113
SF x Encinitas
I've done a lot of quiver thinning and have some gaps to fill but $ is tight, so this is my "budget" step-up and gun quiver at the moment.

Hess 7'2, 20.25, 2.75 with a flat deck and knifey round pin. Probably packs as much foam as a more traditional 7'8. For solid overhead to 2x overhead. Goes good when it's mushy > fast walls. Yet to test its ability in big square barrels (or almondy ones), but I don't doubt that it will perform.

Hess 8'6, 21, 3. Another flat deck but this one has a swallow tail. Max foam for maxing OB. Probably equivalent to a 9'0-9'3 in terms of foam, paddle power, etc. Survival board, but I can do a full wrap on a nice fat shoulder too. Got the biggest bombs of my short tenure at OB on this thing last season.

Rusty 8'3 Blackbird. This works well for me when it's 2X + but hollow. I like it as a cheater barrel board. Went really good on the Tonga Tsunami day last season.

From there I'm stepping down to my 6'3, 20, 2 11/16 CI Twin Pin. This board went really well yesterday in 14 second solid overhead waves.

I would love an alt stap in the 6'6-6'9 range.
 
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Maz

Michael Peterson status
May 18, 2004
3,041
4,550
113
Innzid
Sounds very good, bluengreen. I too am culling my quiver at the moment, getting down to 6 or 7 boards, covering lots of ground. 5'10 to 8'6, but might adjust that a bit, as I have my eyes on a proper big wave which might require a 9'6. Might be dreaming, but we'll go ad have proper look at this wave.

At the moment my bigger boards are 6'10 DS (high volume, for OH to 2xOH), 7'6 Spartan (sleeker, duckdives well. For hollow point waves and beach break), and 8'6 DS high volume. Will definitely keep the 6'10, and possibly go 8'0 DS with less nose volume, plus 9'6 DS. All Webster.

Below those, 6'4 Ghost and 6'6 Bourton Reef Swallow step ups.
 

kool-aid

Michael Peterson status
Aug 28, 2003
3,026
2,614
113
San Francisco
Can I come and visit, and you show me the perfect way to paddle out? :)

Also, may I recommend these? All fins are 4 1/8, and all are flat foiled. They go so so well on bigger quads. I sand the little tip a bit rounder for safety.

I wish I had all the secrets but it's more than 50% luck
And btw, very very curious to hear about your Lyle Carlson gun.
Yeah that makes two of us. I've had one of his boards in the past which was kind of a semi-gun egg shape that was 7'10. It was a pretty good board but it was very heavy and very sensitive to fins. It kind of overlapped in utility with an 8'0 buzz gun that I had which I candidly prefered.
 

Sharkbiscuit

Duke status
Aug 6, 2003
26,260
19,083
113
Jacksonville Beach
Follow-up: What is a "bombie"?
Bombora is an indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves breaking over a shallow area such as a submerged rock shelf, reef, or sand bank that is located some distance from the shoreline and beach surf break.

Also: What is an "arvo"?
An afternoon

Oy m8. Troi'd sarf'n out me front ay, but there was heaps of fingered sweet and delicious bag of skittles and fuckall good ones ay. Moight troi the bombie in the arvo, ay d'ya reckon?
 

toowalled

Nep status
Jul 3, 2014
842
946
93
These look nice
 
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Dec 5, 2020
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SF
Picked up a 7’2 blackbird. Was planning on getting a 6’10 but the 7’2 just looked right!
Thinking about a blackbird in that size range for OBSF. Is yours stock? They seem a little wide?..although the width gives it some outline curve, which I’d think would make it want to turn more than my 6’9” and 8’0” G$II, both of which are 19.68” and 20.25” and pretty straight railed. Interested to hear how yours goes?..