Just completed a successful mission to SoCal with two brand spanking new twinzers in tow. Both boards made it unscathed. Yep - between snapping my favorite 6'8" BSD single fin in two and reaching 60 this month i was able to convince Mrs. Flyinraptr that i was in desparate need of new boards for the upcoming Nica season - despite already having several in the garage.
R2
Apollo Twin
The boards:
The green one ...
Barry Synder Designs - R2 - custom 6'4" x 21 1/2" x 2 3/4" - standard construction - had him add an extra patch on the deck in the general area of where the foot placements should be. Rails are foiled out nicely - hard edge from the tail up to past the mid-point blending into soft rails through the nose. Looks like a slight single to double concave. Twinzer fin setup.
This is what Barry had to say about it on Instagram ...
"R2 Model. Twinzer version. This boards DNA goes back a ways. Once upon a time, this board was a short, wide, double-winged Swallow Tail fish. It was called the Roosevelt fish. So I took it, added length, narrowed it some, changed the tail to this configuration, and WaLa! The R2. That’s where the”R” came from. Besides the outline change, board became more foiled out, and rocker was increased at both ends. Primarily a Quad or 5-fin setup, decided to also offer it as a Twinzer. The original board was a Twin-fin, so this made sense. Those added little Canard fins help to channel water around the main fins. They are held in place by a new box I helped in design. Any board manufacturers interested in these boxes contact George @Liv3mind. This board has one of my Faux tint sprays in green. Lighter and stronger than an actual resin tint! And typically free w/ board purchase. This look costs anywhere from $50-100 from most board builders. Save some $$$! BSD Mandala logo looks fresh! One of the last shapes from the last decade! Come order one!"
The blue one ...
Barry Synder Designs - Apollo Twin - custom 6'10" x 22" x 2 5/8" - standard construction - had him add an extra patch on the deck in the general area of where the foot placements should be. Rails are foiled out nicely - hard edge from the tail up to past the mid-point blending into soft beveled rails through the nose. Looks like a slight single to double concave. Twinzer fin setup.
Of course - Murphy's Law - upon my return to Nica with new boards we've had 40+ mph winds - white caps in San Juan del Sur bay LOL! Day before yesterday - i saw a small window on the forecast where the winds were expected to back down in the 30+mph range - so took the opportunity to give the R2 a quick test drive. Even though it is standard construction - feels light and responsive. It has a lot of volume but with the way the rails are foiled - feels like you can really sink the rails. Paddling out - couldn't believe how much glide it had - first couple of waves - was taken by surprise at how quick it got into waves. Love the outline of the nose - have never been fond of super pointy noses - this one seems like it has sufficient width to help getting into waves but pulled in enough where it doesn't get in the way of an angled late takeoff. Unfortunately - conditions deteriorated fairly quickly - so ended up cutting my first session riding a twinzer short. To me the board felt more like a thruster than a twin or quad - felt like the rear RFC twins were way too small. The template is pretty raked on them as well - comparing to other fins on hand the base is the same size as the thruster sets i have on hand - just longer in the tip. Plan on trying it with a set of the Futures EN twins in the rear next time out - they have a substantially larger base and area. It was a short session but feels like this one is gonna be a keeper. The Apollo twin - feels like its going to be a lot of fun - its definitely in the big fish - performance mid-length category - with the added length went slightly thinner than the R2 - feels really good under the arm - can't wait to get it in some proper waves.
R2
Apollo Twin
The boards:
The green one ...
Barry Synder Designs - R2 - custom 6'4" x 21 1/2" x 2 3/4" - standard construction - had him add an extra patch on the deck in the general area of where the foot placements should be. Rails are foiled out nicely - hard edge from the tail up to past the mid-point blending into soft rails through the nose. Looks like a slight single to double concave. Twinzer fin setup.
This is what Barry had to say about it on Instagram ...
"R2 Model. Twinzer version. This boards DNA goes back a ways. Once upon a time, this board was a short, wide, double-winged Swallow Tail fish. It was called the Roosevelt fish. So I took it, added length, narrowed it some, changed the tail to this configuration, and WaLa! The R2. That’s where the”R” came from. Besides the outline change, board became more foiled out, and rocker was increased at both ends. Primarily a Quad or 5-fin setup, decided to also offer it as a Twinzer. The original board was a Twin-fin, so this made sense. Those added little Canard fins help to channel water around the main fins. They are held in place by a new box I helped in design. Any board manufacturers interested in these boxes contact George @Liv3mind. This board has one of my Faux tint sprays in green. Lighter and stronger than an actual resin tint! And typically free w/ board purchase. This look costs anywhere from $50-100 from most board builders. Save some $$$! BSD Mandala logo looks fresh! One of the last shapes from the last decade! Come order one!"
The blue one ...
Barry Synder Designs - Apollo Twin - custom 6'10" x 22" x 2 5/8" - standard construction - had him add an extra patch on the deck in the general area of where the foot placements should be. Rails are foiled out nicely - hard edge from the tail up to past the mid-point blending into soft beveled rails through the nose. Looks like a slight single to double concave. Twinzer fin setup.
Of course - Murphy's Law - upon my return to Nica with new boards we've had 40+ mph winds - white caps in San Juan del Sur bay LOL! Day before yesterday - i saw a small window on the forecast where the winds were expected to back down in the 30+mph range - so took the opportunity to give the R2 a quick test drive. Even though it is standard construction - feels light and responsive. It has a lot of volume but with the way the rails are foiled - feels like you can really sink the rails. Paddling out - couldn't believe how much glide it had - first couple of waves - was taken by surprise at how quick it got into waves. Love the outline of the nose - have never been fond of super pointy noses - this one seems like it has sufficient width to help getting into waves but pulled in enough where it doesn't get in the way of an angled late takeoff. Unfortunately - conditions deteriorated fairly quickly - so ended up cutting my first session riding a twinzer short. To me the board felt more like a thruster than a twin or quad - felt like the rear RFC twins were way too small. The template is pretty raked on them as well - comparing to other fins on hand the base is the same size as the thruster sets i have on hand - just longer in the tip. Plan on trying it with a set of the Futures EN twins in the rear next time out - they have a substantially larger base and area. It was a short session but feels like this one is gonna be a keeper. The Apollo twin - feels like its going to be a lot of fun - its definitely in the big fish - performance mid-length category - with the added length went slightly thinner than the R2 - feels really good under the arm - can't wait to get it in some proper waves.
