Monday, October 29, 2007

The 'ol Switcheroo

Conditions were perfect for some fin testing this weekend--swell was small and clean (weird), wind was non existent (really weird), and my wife volunteered her 7' EPS egg while she watched the baby (bizarre). The board, a modified displacement hull template with low rocker, is a great platform for fin testing, and I got to surf a variety of fin combos in a variety of tides.
Saturday's lower morning tide called for the 2+1 setup, with a 7" flexible fin in the center. Not enough power to really feel the fin, but the combo held in on the steeper faces, and was really stable during late takeoffs. Stoked to try this out in some bigger surf.
As the tide filled the Spitfire single was the call. The template and thick foil make it virtually drag-free (you can feel a big difference on the paddle-out alone), but it's surprisingly fast, stable, and drivey. Rekindled my love for single fins (it's been at least month since I last declared my love for singles. Sorry, singles!).
The swell dropped a bit for Sunday, but conditions were still clean and glassy. Started off with a Wil Jobson Twinzer-inspired setup (no pictures, as the coffee had eroded whatever attention span I have left), which was fast as hell and held in nicely.
The call of the day, however, proved to be twin-with-a-trailer setup (1+2?). Kept the rear Lokbox twinzer fins in and added a small stabilizer in the back of the box. Fast, slippery fun with a lot of drive.
I like surfing on the edge of control--mostly because that's the only way I can surf--and this combo kept things interesting for a few hours. Found a peak all to myself and let her rip.
Still stoked thinking about it--made this overcast, cold day away from the coast that much more bearable.
Note on the board: Ordered this one with a 'clear' glass job, but Fatty wanted none of that. Check out her 'hourglass' lap line on the bottom, which adds strength to the boxes and is very slimming...

4 comments:

Kate said...

Hey, now you're on the surfysurfy site, it's sort of weird having someone I know show up on my little private obsession arena. (that being the surfbolgasphere) love the look of the boards....we're not coming to the SF zone this winter but next. gallo's person

HeadHighGlassy said...

Hey,
Looks like your coast is going to get some swell this weekend. Still have that 70s twinner?
Come on out next summer. We'll make that Baja spot work for the families and you can sink your feet into some displacement hull fun!

markmosk said...

I'm not kate now, it's damion as mark. Yeah, I was pretty fun last weekend, got the last of the head high sets, I still think I need to be more aggressive about going to the scarier spots instead of the regular longboard one. I would love to try (fall a lot) on the hull at some point. Summer 08? The wife and I will start the negotiations.

Mick said...

I'm assuming the spitfire name comes from the wingshape of the WW2 fighter. Very cool looking fin, love the mixing it 'round and great site mate.