Dimensions: 5’0 x 20.125″ x 2.5″

I also got a chance to try the Cole Trunk Board recently…again in small knee to waist high waves. Conditions this day were very very clean, small but lining up very nicely. The board I tried was a very short and stubby 5’0 model with thruster setup running M5 FCS side fins and an M3 center fin. The overall thickness and width make up for lack of length and paddling was pretty good for such a small board.

The bottom features a deep bonzer like concave running from front to back which looks like some type of jet intake and low nose and high tail rocker. The full rails have those Stretch channels for improved durability (I think) but nonetheless provide extra grip when duck diving. This particular board was a custom ordered PU board though they also offer several Aviso carbon fiber models.

Paddling into waves was super easy…probably because of the extra low nose rocker and once up and riding the lack of length made this board feel very skatey. The board was very responsive and I could pump it on the face of the wave just like those Carver skateboards. I really like the way the board turned tight in the pocket…you feel like you can make the board go anywhere you want it to. The Xanadu Wave Rocket is my favorite mushburger board but it’s length is a bit much for someone of my size (5’5 140lbs) and it’s turns are much more drawn out than the Trunk board (b/c of board length and twin fin setup).

According to Cole, the full length deep concave drastically reduces drag which is probably the reason the board was pretty fast running a truster setup. Normally you only get that type of speed with a twin fin but I’d say this board with three fins generates similar speeds as a twin/quad board would in small surf.

I’ve tried a few short stubby boards under 5’5 but in the past those shorter boards have been squirrely without much drive which is why I’ve stayed away from them. The Trunk board on the other hand had plenty of drive for such a small board yet it feels much more snappier than a retro fish.

I didn’t get a chance to ride it backhand but I hear it works great both ways…this is definitely a great board which lives up to the hype and they make them in a wide range of sizes. I’m 5’5 140 lbs and the 5’0 was more than enough board to surf a very small day so adjust accordingly and talk to Cole himself. I’ll have to consider getting one of my own!

The concept of how the board was created is pretty interesting. The surfers in Japan wanted a board small enough to fit in their tiny trunks or small enough to bring along on train rides so Cole designed a board with shortboard volume compressed into a short stubby board, hence the Trunk board was born.

This board was also featured in the Lost video 5’5 x 19″1/4 REDUX with Kelly Slater giving it a test ride somewhere in California. Pretty cool stuff.

Website: http://colesurfboards.com/trunkBoard.asp

Dimensions: 7’4 x 23″ 5/8 x 3″ 4/4
Fin setup: Thruster setup with center fin box & FCS side bites

On a recent clean but super small day on the south shore of Oahu, I tried my buddy’s 7’4 Ben Aipa Big Boy Stinger. At first glance the board looked like it would ride similar to a longboard as the board was super wide (23″ 5/8) and very thick (3″ 3/4) and I figured I’d catch a ton of waves and go straight. To my surprise the board did catch every knee high wave I went for but the responsiveness and maneuverability was quite impressive. You can actually pump this board along the wave face and the stinger keeps the tail very loose yet the board is loose enough to carve on the face and pump but still has enough drive off the bottom to get you around sections.

I hear this all the time but this board really has longboard paddling with shortboard-like turning and in my opinion is a true “funboard”. The 3″ 3/4 thickness provides both small and larger surfers more than enough paddling power though the bulk of the thickness is foiled out on the rails creating a domey deck. Somehow all the width in the center of the board provides you with longboard like paddling while the pinched rails give the board all of its turning ability.

Best of all it’s made from Boardworks’ sandwich epoxy which means a very floaty and durable board which is ding resistant compared to PU boards. This is a great board for beginners or advanced surfers looking to ride the boards of yesterday in small surf. I recommend this board for mushy type waves ankle high to neck high.

You should play around with the center fin’s position to get the right amount of looseness/drive for your surfing style. For novices, pushing the fin forward makes the board looser while moving it back creates more drive.

Other Big Boy Stinger Dimensions:

Website: http://boardworkssurf.com/shapers/ben_aipa/bb-stinger.php

We have a 1966 to 1968 Holden Stringer surfboard and I want to find out how much it is worth. It is in excellent condition. Anyone have any idea about its worth?

-Bruce L.

Please leave comments below if you have any insight. Aloha!

Dimensions: 5’5 x 19″ 1/4 x 2″ 1/4 – Five fin convertible – Quad Setup MR-tx (front) GX (rear)

The first time I saw Todd Proctor’s shapes was in one of his Lil Rascal Youtube videos. Jay Phillips was going so fast on that red Lil Rascal at 1st Point Malibu absolutely killing it. One particular scene in that clip which is the most memorable to me was when he passed (literally went around) several loggers who dropped in. The board looked like it had some serious speed yet Jay was still throwing the board around in the pocket.

According to Todd, the Lil Rascal has all the speed of a retro board with the maneuverability and turning of a modern board. Seems too good to be true, huh? Being that I spend a lot of time surfing on the south shore of Oahu, I’ve been looking for a grovelly type board that has enough speed for flatter waves that turns better than the retro twin fins that generate speed in those waves. I’m always searching for the perfect high performance town board that generates speed in crappy waves.

The Lil Rascal 2 is very similar to the original Rascal but has a bit more flip in the nose (which helps to keep it from digging when you hook it in the pocket), shallow parabolic channels (helps create increased lift and speed), and a moon-tail (which Todd says helps shuttle the water off the channels like an exhaust).

The board has a fuller nose and a pulled in tail…it looks way more performance than those speedy twin fins. The deck is flat which creates full rails so even though my board is only 2″ 1/4 thick, it’s 2″ 1/4 thick all the way to the rail which helps with giving you enough bouyancy to paddle into waves early.

This particular Rascal was glassed with custom Proxy (Todd’s special formula epoxy) which provides a board that feels and flexes like poly but lasts 10x longer. The board came out really light and the lime green paint job was solid.

I surfed the Rascal 2 for the first time during my trip to California at shoulder high 1st Point. The waves that day were pretty small with a nice shoulder and immediately new the board was a keeper on the first wave. The Rascal paddled very well for such a small board and one quick pump on the face instantly generated enough speed to get the board racing down the line.

I got my Rascal with a five fin setup (You can get a free 5 fin upgrade when you use the code SHACK) and tried it out as a quad first with MR-x twin fins in the front and Gx trailer fins in the rear. Quite an unusual combination for such a small board but that’s what Todd recommended. I thought the board would be too stiff with all the fin area but was pleasantly surprised at the responsiveness. The board is solid on turns and in the pocket with plenty of speed to get around sections. Todd mentioned that the single concave under your front foot creates a little engine providing lift to help generate speed. Anytime I had a little wall the board zipped across the face and then I could finish the end of the wave with a roundhouse cuttie. The Rascal passed the first test, surfing small clean waves without much power or push…I could generate all kinds of speed with a few pumps on the face and to me, surfing small weak waves tells you a lot about your board. If you can have fun in the weaker surf, your board will probably work well when its bigger and better.

With a five fin convertible option, you can ride the Rascal in a variety of conditions…I’ve ridden it with the MR fins and trailer which gives the board more of a twin feeling where the board feels quite skatey. I like this option in sectiony and softer waves though just like any twin, you can’t push too hard on the rail and have to ride the board somewhat flat. Those that like the way tri fins pivot on turns can ride the Rascal as a three fin…I generally ride this board in small surf and find that the twin or quad setup generates more speed for me. Overall I prefer the MR quad setup the best.

I managed to bring the Rascal home to Hawaii in one piece thanks to the packing supplies Todd’s wife Charissa provided me. I took the board out for its first run at Diamond Head on a shoulder to head high day with very clean conditions. This would be a good test to see how the board worked in slightly larger surf. The wave at Diamond Head isn’t very top to bottom but because its more of an open ocean swell, there’s more water behind the wave and it provides you with open faces and long hittable walls.

The board was absolutely on fire going right. A couple quick pumps and the board was screaming across the face. I ended up pumping too much and going past the whole section having to roundhouse to slow down and get back to the pocket. That seemed to be my problem that day, having too much speed and going too far onto the shoulder (not a bad problem to have). The small stubby shape fit the curve of the wave well and turns were crisp…it felt like you could put the board on rail really well and blast your turns.

I also took a few decent waves on my backhand and similar to my forehand, the speed was unbelievable. What really surprised me was how quick it turned off the bottom…I was able to turn hard off the bottom and hook it off the top throwing decent spray 🙂

The Rascal absolutely kills it in peeling waves. It doesn’t matter if it’s waist high, soft, or slow, this board will work if you have any kind of wall. You can take this board out on days when your shortboard isn’t generating enough speed for you to have fun. Some of the town surfers need to try this board and find out how perfect the Lil Rascal is for town.

Proctor Surfboards Special Offer: SurfboardShack.com has an exclusive offer for all our users on their next Proctor Surfboards custom order. All custom order purchases include your choice of FREE upgrades:

• U2K UV resin + direct size cloth ($40 value) – code: SHACK
• 5 fin install ($45 value) – code: SHACK
• Dakine tailpad ($40 value) – code: SHACK

Use the code SHACK when ordering your board. Aloha

I recently had a chance to try Aviso’s Lost Round Nose Fish. This was truly one of the most interesting boards I’ve laid my eyes on. For those who don’t know, Aviso boards are hollow and comprised of carbon fiber and epoxy. According to Aviso, because the deck is not connected to the bottom, the deck absorbs and stores potential energy thus kinetically propelling the surfer in and out of turns. The hollow construction works as a sort of suspension system for surfers launching the surfer into turns and creating constant acceleration while still maintaining fluid control. The board offers an ideal coefficient of restitution (COR) which interestingly enough is used a lot in the golf world. COR is a property inherent to a rigid structure which allows it to return to its normal state after a force has been applied to it (flexing and un-flexing). Most people would read this stuff and immediately write it off…I admit that I thought most of this was marketing fluff, especially since the board retails for over $1200!

However, a friend of mine got a great deal on a used Aviso RNF and we traded boards during a surf session that featured small but nicely lined up waves. Upon first paddling this board, I noticed that it made quite a bit of noise when paddling…similar to that of an epoxy longboard (when water splashes beneath the nose while paddling) but other than that minor annoyance, the board paddle very well with a similar buoyancy to epoxy. This particular RNF featured dimensions of 5’7 x 19″ 3/4 x 2″ 1/4 with a quad fin setup. During this particular session, I rode the board as a twin with two MR tx twin fins.

I immediately caught a few decent waist high waves and was very surprised by the flex and speed of the Aviso. I had assumed the board would feel really stiff due to the hollow boat-like construction and foreign materials but that was far from reality. The board had a really nice flex…perhaps more than a Firewire board and speed generation was instant. This particular Aviso absolutely flew in the small knee to waist high surf and turns/cutbacks were so smooth. I’m totally turned onto these boards and I’m going to try and test drive a few more.

I’m not sure if I can recommend paying $1200+ for a brand new Aviso (I’ll need to try these boards a bit more), but I sure like what I see so far. If you find a good deal on a used Aviso, you should really consider taking that person up on the offer. These boards are also 3-4x stronger than polyester boards which means they’ll last a lot longer and you can use epoxy resin to patch them.

Aviso Surfboards

Jon B. Mar, another avid local surfer and surfboard shaper, sells his customized hand-shaped surfboards online on his self-named website. Mar offers longboards, shortboards and fun boards in a variety of dimensions and specifications to provide the perfect ride for any surf aficionado. New boards and used boards are available for viewing on the website, along with easy-to-read charts with each board’s measurements to be ascetically pleasing to the eye, as well as useful for surfboard shoppers. With over 20 years of surfboard shaping experience, Mar’s boards are influenced by many of the other great local shapers who have made their mark on the surf scene. The website also includes an online form to create custom surfboards made to a surfer’s personalized needs and styles. On this form are unique questions like “What do you like/dislike about your current board?” and “What are you trying to accomplish in surfing?” that help Mar to shape a board in a very personal way for each individual’s preferences.

Jon B. Mar Surfboards
(808) 277-0800
www.jmarsurf.com

TORE Wide Nose Rocket Fish: 5’5 x 19″ 1/2 x 2″ 3/8
www.toresurfboards.com

It’s funny how influential pro surfers can be, especially the greatest surfer of all time. The recent surfboard trend has been towards shorter, wider, thicker, flatter boards with quad fins thanks in large part to the funky/stubby boards Kelly Slater rode at the beginning of the year in Australia. While fishes and alternative designs have become increasing popular over the past few years, Kelly’s extreme change in equipment from flip tail potato chip to stubby quad has influenced stubborn elite level surfers open their minds and their equipment and thus has helped all the rest of us.

Wider, slightly thicker, and flatter rocker boards help all surfers who aren’t on surfing elite CT tour surf better day in and day out. As Rusty put it in his recent design article, most surfers ride potato chip boards which only work in 10% of the time. Why not ride a board made for the average surfer’s home break which probably isn’t a roping overhead machine like right/left in the Mentawais or Indo. The majority of us surf garbage waves more often than not, side/on-shore, knee to waist high, less than perfect shape, and not much power. Why do we still surf a stock 6’0 x 18″ 1/4 x 2″ 1/4 shortboard when only pros can actually ride these boards in these conditions? Probably because we always see our favorite surfers riding these types of boards which is why it’s great that Kelly broke the thruster trend and helped a bunch of us out by showing us that even the best surfer in the world can have a crap load of fun and draw new lines on something other than thruster.

As I always complain, the waves I surf everyday on the south shore of Oahu typically consist of strong side shore winds, weak waist high waves, below average shape (semi mush), and very short wall. I’ve only seen a few surfers ride stock shortboards really well there and most everyone rides some type of fish. I’ve been experimenting a lot with equipment this year and being that I really liked my TORE Rocket Fish, I decided to tweak it by widening the nose and overall width to help this board work better in mush burger surf. The original Rocket Fish worked great in good waist to overhead surf, but it didn’t have quite enough volume to power through the flat spots in the weak stuff.

We shortened the Rocket Fish from 5’9 to 5’5, widened it from 19″ 3/8 to 19″ 1/2, increased the tail rocker slightly, added a pair of wings to narrow the tail, and widened the nose area. I could instantly tell the difference in the changes we made on the first session out with the board as it planed and carried better speed in mushy surf and the board maintained enough speed for the slow sections and when it found a little wall it accelerated with one quick pump. I would bet that a lot of it had to do with the increased nose area. The minimal length also helped the board fit in the pocket better which is ideal for short waves where quick maneuvering is critical. All these changes combined with quad fins made this a super fun small wave destroyer.

This board is perfect for the surfer looking for a high performance fish for less than ideal surf…especially those who don’t like riding retro fishes when the surf gets better. It handles well in waist to head high and works way better backside than even your best retro board. We’re currently tweaking this design with thoughts on increasing the nose area a tad more and adding a bit more volume for those really crappy days. I’ll update this post when I get my new board.

The Mule Surfboard Transport is a simple yet useful accessory to help transport your longboard or stand up paddle board using your bike or by towing it yourself. The Mule consists of a durable fabric for nose and tail pieces which strap your board to the two tube tires. Assembly takes about 5-10 minutes (I did have a little accident **see below) and it took me a bit to figure out how to assemble it the first time but once you figure it out, it should only take a couple minutes to strap your board in the future.

The Mule Transport is perfect for people who bike to the beach and works best with larger longboards. I think a stand up paddle board would be too bulky and heavy for bike racks and if you live a ways from the beach, the Mule is perfect. We all know how heavy those stand up boards can be…I dread carrying my SUP from the parking lot into the water let alone carrying it on my shoulder for several blocks and windy days are a whole different story here in Hawaii. You’d be surprised how much easier it is being able to tow a heavy board compared to carrying it over your shoulder and having to stop every five minutes to rest and let the blood flow back into your arm.

You’ll want to be aware of where you take your Mule as you won’t have anyone watching it when you’re in the water. I’m not sure how it is where you surf but here in Hawaii, people will steal anything you leave on the beach even in popular areas like Ala Moana and Waikiki. I’ve had people steal my shirts, $3 rubber slippers (flip flops), and I’m sure if they had a chance they would steal the Mule. If you live in an area like this, make sure you have a good hiding place or as an extreme you can try locking up the Mule with a bike cable lock.

Caution: Problems Assembling the Mule

I ran into some problems when I tried to add the nose and tail straps to the axle bar. I didn’t know it at the time, but the axle bar is made of fiberglass and for some reason the wheels were stuck and I couldn’t get one of them onto the bar to lock it in place. I kept trying to push the wheel on the bar and before I knew it I had a hundred fiberglass splinters in my hand. Ouch! As I was pushing the wheel, it had scraped the end of the bar and began shaving off the edges of the bar. It didn’t take much for those splinters to become lodged into my hand and I spent the next three hours trying to get all of them out. Mule Transport told me this had never happened but be careful not to jam the wheel on if it isn’t fitting properly. If you do get splinters, use duck tape to gently remove loose splinters. You can also use Elmers glue (wait for the glue to solidify and peel the glue from your hand) and use tweezers for the ones that don’t come out. Be careful not to lodge them into your skin.

The Mule is a cool and nifty surf accessory but I would recommend they change the material of the axle bar to heavy duty plastic or anything that doesn’t have the potential to splinter.

You can buy the Mule Surf Transport online for $89.

9’6 Surftech Takayama Model T Dimensions: 9’6 x 22.875″ x 3.06″

I gave the Surftech Takayama Model T board a spin during a recent swell. This was the first time I had really tried a traditional noserider and found out quick that they don’t handle very well in larger surf. I took it out to Pops off Waikiki in overhead surf and right off the bat found that these boards get quite skittery on waves with speed. The large single fin combined with 50/50 type rails made the Model T very difficult to manage in the overhead waves and its slow speed made it nearly impossible to make sections.

After my hard learned lesson, I waited for the swell to die and proceeded to surf it in perfect waist high 3’s. The board features moderate thickness (though it didn’t feel too bulky) and very flat rocker. Paddling was very easy and I was able to glide into each wave giving myself more than enough time to setup for each noseride. The concave in the nose made nose riding easy and the 50/50 rails helped the board to stay in the pocket.

The board is a great choice for cruisers looking for pure noseriding with minimal turning. I recommend you surf this board in anything with nice shape under chest high. These type of boards don’t do well with quick adjustments mid-face which is why you need long and perfectly peeling waves to have fun…an attribute true with most noseriders.

6’0 Joel Tudor Good Karma Dimensions: 6’0 x 21″ 1/8 x 2″ 1/2

All I can say is I give a lot of credit to the surfers of the past who rode boards with half the performance (if that) of today’s boards. Those included the chunky single and twin fins of the 70’s where surfers were pushing the evolution of performance surfing to new levels. To truly appreciate how good today’s surfboards are, you really need to step back in the past and ride any of those boards. The Joel Tudor Good Karma is a total retro shape…wide point forward, full volume from rail to rail, and a single fin setup.

I was actually pretty excited to give this board a try as it was my first time riding a single fin shortboard. I took it out at one of the better town spots on a slightly onshore day in head high surf. The board paddled pretty good but once on the wave it took a lot of effort to generate any type of speed. I ended up getting stuffed behind a number of sections that normally would have flown by…it was a lot of work.

Turn was typical of a board with only one fin…you really had to utilize all of your rail and force the board to turn. Turns were long and drawn out but I can see how these boards teach you how to use your rail…you really need to if you want any chance of completing a full turn.

I was pretty disappointed with this board…just too much work and too slow. I’m assuming the onshore waves had a little bit to do with the board’s performance but the waves were still very surf-able.

I assume this board would work well on a long point break with a big wall and lots of water behind the face. You really need a big open face and long wall to generate sufficient speed (imagine your mom’s 70’s station wagon and how much time it needs to get to top cruising speed).

Some people are into riding old school shapes and drawing rather straight lines at minimal speeds. If cruiser surfing is your style then Surftech’s Good Karma may be worth a try.