Long Fish

GWS_2

Miki Dora status
Aug 3, 2019
4,141
4,391
113
A few weeks ago I sat Malcolm down and pulled up a Russ Short file at 7'2". Widened the tail a bit, made a small rocker adjustment and then thickened up the tail so he can sink a deeper Bonzer bottom concave into it. Have the Tyler Warren marine ply glass-on keels coming from True Ames. I'm actually kind of excited. Which, given what I do is noteable. I'm chomping at the bit to ride the thing.
 

GWS_2

Miki Dora status
Aug 3, 2019
4,141
4,391
113
A few weeks ago I sat Malcolm down and pulled up a Russ Short file at 7'2". Widened the tail a bit, made a small rocker adjustment and then thickened up the tail so he can sink a deeper Bonzer bottom concave into it. Have the Tyler Warren marine ply glass-on keels coming from True Ames. I'm actually kind of excited. Which, given what I do is noteable. I'm chomping at the bit to ride the thing.
If anybody has fin placement numbers on a twin keel like this, and your pretty confident re your numbers, by all means speak. 80/20 foil and 7.3" on the base. Cant and angle will be wanted.
 

hanger18

Nep status
Sep 16, 2003
782
124
43
Pacific Beach
Ive had a long fish in my stash for 25 years. Currently I have fish(not swallow tails) in 6', 6'9", 9', 10'2- They are great in the right conditions.
 

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
6,931
17,276
113
San Diego, CA
Ive had a long fish in my stash for 25 years. Currently I have fish(not swallow tails) in 6', 6'9", 9', 10'2- They are great in the right conditions.
Ok, so when are the right conditions for a long fish over a classic shorter TKF? Waist-high and below?
 

hanger18

Nep status
Sep 16, 2003
782
124
43
Pacific Beach
Its not the size, its the wave you're surfing. They work great in waves like Windansea, Cliffs, PB reefs, Cardiff etc. That extra glide is what makes them attractive in waves from 2-6'. They work great in hollow waves as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oeste858

aldo

Nep status
Aug 13, 2012
639
206
43
Bahamas
The long fish I rode was great in small surf, waves that my 5’8 fish would have struggled in. They are also supposed to be good in big waves, beyond what a 5’ something rail will feel under control and fast enough in. I’m thinking you can ride them in some decent sized waves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oeste858

oeste858

Phil Edwards status
Sep 11, 2017
6,931
17,276
113
San Diego, CA
Its not the size, its the wave you're surfing. They work great in waves like Windansea, Cliffs, PB reefs, Cardiff etc. That extra glide is what makes them attractive in waves from 2-6'. They work great in hollow waves as well.
I surf those waves a lot on a 5’6” or 5’8” twin keel fish and they go great there from waist to head high. I could see where the extra length could help on the smaller/weaker days. Need to resist the urge to get one now!
 
  • Like
Reactions: hanger18

Toobz

OTF status
Oct 8, 2013
277
442
63
South Oz.
Not a fish but my McNeill 6’10 round pin twin is phenomenal. My brief to Gary was “I want the paddle, early entry and glide of a mid but want to be able to step back and throw it around like a shortboard”....he absolutely nailed it. 6E03942A-3FF7-4F44-9BEE-4855EE0CB866.jpeg46970502-3193-4AEC-B59F-3C58CAC2F817.jpeg
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: ZeeHawk and jkb

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,990
22,531
113
PNW
Been eyeing a 6-8 blem Christenson Nautilus online . My only hesitation is it's a tri fin. I'm guessing it's meant to be ridden as a thruster which isn't the end of the world, just would probably rather it be a quad or a Twin if they even make a twin version.
 

urchined

Nep status
Jul 20, 2019
763
1,386
93
NCSD, CA
Been eyeing a 6-8 blem Christenson Nautilus online . My only hesitation is it's a tri fin. I'm guessing it's meant to be ridden as a thruster which isn't the end of the world, just would probably rather it be a quad or a Twin if they even make a twin version.
Same thing happened to me a few months back with a 6'6" Nautilus. Is a tri -wanted a quad. I have to say its epic. Handles swell like we have now in North County SD perfect. Turns and cuts back super solid. Paddles great as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ZeeHawk and Aruka

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
11,990
22,531
113
PNW
Same thing happened to me a few months back with a 6'6" Nautilus. Is a tri -wanted a quad. I have to say its epic. Handles swell like we have now in North County SD perfect. Turns and cuts back super solid. Paddles great as well.
Nice, glad to hear. I will hop on one if I get a chance. The one I was looking at is only 2.375" thick and I want thicker than that otherwise I might have been into it.
 

aldo

Nep status
Aug 13, 2012
639
206
43
Bahamas
"Long fish was just kind of a need that I had, if I was going to do the fish. It started really going off after Derek did his thing, and I started getting orders for the Derek Hynd template. So I took the fish blank and I maxed one out for me that was 6'2", but I never rode it. I was afraid I'd look like a fool, riding it, because I didn't know if I could stand up on that short of a board anymore. People were, like "When are you gonna ride it?" I was, like "When it's perfect waves, warm water and no people." Being stuck here in San Diego it doesn't happen. I finally gave it away.
I'd see Rawson, now and then. He whistles through everywhere- he's like a world shaper, he just goes everywhere and shapes, and he's a blank designer too. So he was talking to me about a bigger fish blank, and I didn't think about it again and then, all of a sudden, he designed one and left me one up a Diamond Glassing. So I went up to get it, but it was gone- Steve Lis and Razz the glasser had confiscated it and made something out of it. But I did see the blank, and I went "Wow! Maybe I could make something big enough where I'd be comfortable on it."
So I went right out to Mitch, and I ordered one and shaped one up. It's funny, because the first place I rode it was high tide Old MAn's at San Onofre and, to me, San Onofre was always a longboard spot. I never thought about shortboarding. I remember I'd just gotten off an 11 foot board and I was having trouble finning it, and I put this 7 3/4" fin into this 11 foot board, and that was just it, man, it was like, the best research and development day I've probably had in a couple of years. I had the fish stuck in the car and it was high tide, and PT came along and said 'I'm going shortboarding out here." And I thought about it: "I wonder if I should break this thing out and try it?" I was kind off apprehensive about it. There were a lot of people about. But I took it out and, oh man, it was so good. I was like a little kid, man- the thing was just: rebound, floater. It was the shortboard thing all over again. I hadn't ridden a board under 8 foot in about five or six years. It was like, a 6'9" and it was really neat, and ever since then I started making them and I've had really good feedback.
A couple of my friends, who I've been building boards for for thirty years- in fact, the second one I made, for a real close friend of mine, Sean Beal- he's kind of a shortboard guy and he's kind of finicky too, he's always a hard guy to please and he called me back and said "This is the best board you've ever made me." I started getting that kind of feedback, for the longer fish. So, for the most part, it's been a real positive addition to the whole fish realm."

Skip Frye talking to Andrew Kidman.