SoCal winter thunderdome: Blackbird vs. Ghost

[Maz]

Mr J, I ordered a stock 6'2 swallow, just a little thicker. It is also a little thicker (1/16") than my old 6'3, and that's probably what I can feel fondling the rails.

https://www.pyzelsurf.com.au/ghost-2

The idea was to get a Ghost with a little more low end - more squirt in smaller waves. That would make it the perfect allrounder for when our reefs are on. I've got a 6'4 Webster Desert Storm coming, and I have a 6'6 Bourton Reef Swallow, a 6'10 Desert Storm, and a 7'6 Webster Spartan, so I'm sorted in the step up/gun dept.

Seems like I had the right idea. The new Ghost feels very lively and quick.

 

[Mr J]

Maz, I didn't know the Ghost swallow was a standard model. If you ordered it with extra thickness then it is not unexpected that the rails came out with more volume. I think the computer shaper let the rails proportionally go up in volume with the thickness adjustment - doesn't have to be done that way - more dome can be added instead.

 

[tedshred5]

picked up a used 6’3 so I guess I’m team Blackbird now

 

[silentbutdeadly]

I guess Tedshred didn't read the other thread where it was determined that rusty's suck

 

[tedshred5]

I guess Tedshred didn't read the other thread where it was determined that rusty's suck

yeah, I don't believe everything I read on the internet

 

[Lohena]

picked up a used 6’3 so I guess I’m team Blackbird now
View attachment 102546

That pad looks very forward even for a step up. Here's Noel's video on it:.

 

[tedshred5]

That pad looks very forward even for a step up. Here's Noel's video on it:.

ya first thing I did when I got the board was rip the old pad off and replace it

 

[Lohena]

ya first thing I did when I got the board was rip the old pad off and replace it

View attachment 102811

Looks good! I'm doing one now and it's a pain in the rear. Got any tips that works for you?

 

[tedshred5]

Looks good! I'm doing one now and it's a pain in the rear. Got any tips that works for you?

Just peel the old one off carefully, and I lay a few paper towels on top of the old sticky residue and soak them in some Goo Gone for a few minutes. That works pretty well for me, and the Goo Gone soaks into the paper towels so it doesn’t drip all over the garage floor.

 

[ehiunno]

Looks good! I'm doing one now and it's a pain in the rear. Got any tips that works for you?

Hit it with a heat gun or hair dryer (carefully), slowly scrape it up with a razor blade while applying heat. If you do it right you can get the old pad off without tearing and you can reapply it with Super 77 or contact cement

 

[Lohena]

Hit it with a heat gun or hair dryer (carefully), slowly scrape it up with a razor blade while applying heat. If you do it right you can get the old pad off without tearing and you can reapply it with Super 77 or contact cement

So I tried to reapply with Super 77 but it was hardly sticky at all when sprayed on the back of the old pad. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong. Is there a trick I'm missing?

 

[Lohena]

ya first thing I did when I got the board was rip the old pad off and replace it

View attachment 102811

Is that a special pad for narrow tails? I replaced the pad on my Ghost to move it back, but both the old one and new one I bought are too wide and bend over the rail edges. Don't want that so I'm wondering if I should be looking for narrow pads or cut one of my standard size ones.

 

[tedshred5]

Is that a special pad for narrow tails? I replaced the pad on my Ghost to move it back, but both the old one and new one I bought are too wide and bend over the rail edges. Don't want that so I'm wondering if I should be looking for narrow pads or cut one of my standard size ones.

not that I know of, it's just a 3 piece Dakine shortboard flat pad

 

[silentbutdeadly]

So I tried to reapply with Super 77 but it was hardly sticky at all when sprayed on the back of the old pad. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong. Is there a trick I'm missing?

did you spray and let it sit to tack up before sticking back on?

 

[Lohena]

did you spray and let it sit to tack up before sticking back on?

Yea, never really got that sticky though.

 

[sdsrfr]

Is that a special pad for narrow tails? I replaced the pad on my Ghost to move it back, but both the old one and new one I bought are too wide and bend over the rail edges. Don't want that so I'm wondering if I should be looking for narrow pads or cut one of my standard size ones.

I had to try a few on my blackbird before one was narrow enough at the leash plug.

ended up with the dakine gieselman pad.

 

[ehiunno]

Yea, never really got that sticky though.

Yeah definitely give it the two minutes or whatever the can says before you try to stick it down. And definitely spray both surfaces. You might need two coats, especially on the pad since it's a bit porous.

Did you try to stick it down anyways? Even if it doesn't feel crazy tacky to the hand it should stick to itself pretty well after it's set up for a few minutes.

 

[Lohena]

Yeah definitely give it the two minutes or whatever the can says before you try to stick it down. And definitely spray both surfaces. You might need two coats, especially on the pad since it's a bit porous.

Did you try to stick it down anyways? Even if it doesn't feel crazy tacky to the hand it should stick to itself pretty well after it's set up for a few minutes.

Yea, it just peeled right off, but I didn't put any on the board.

 

[ehiunno]

Yeah I'd do one coat on the pad to seal the bottom, let it dry for like 5 minutes. Then one coat on both the pad and the board, wait until both are tacky and stick it down. How long to wait depends on the humidity etc, 30 sec to 5 minutes or so, keep an eye on it.

I thought I recalled it saying only to do two-surface bonding but looking at my can just now it does say you can do just one surface, but definitely do both. Maybe it was 90 that says one surface is not recommended. 90 is definitely a bit stronger.

 

[jkb]

I cut my pads for narrower tailed boards.