I’ve been procrastinating on this post for a while but finally got around to writing it. I tried Surftech’s 5’6 Xanadu Rocket Fish many months ago thanks to the good guys at Surftech Hawaii. I had seen this board out in the line-ups of Oahu’s popular surf spots e.g. Diamond Head Cliffs, Kewalos, Bowls, Rockpiles, etc and it seemed like the most consistent Surftech board out there in the surf. After a few unsuccessful tries, I was able to borrow the Xanadu Rocket Fish just in time for tiny waves! Bummer. Regardless, I took the board out to see how it would do in crap surf and after the first three sessions I thought this board was a total tool. The deck seemed way to flat and I couldn’t seem to get this board to work…probably because of the poor surf more than anything.

Xanadu Wave Rocket in waist high garbage

Here’s another short clip of the Wave Rocket in knee high slightly onshore dribble. The board worked great this day…I was flying down the line while all the shortboarders were bogging 🙂

I was about to give up on this board and return it to Surftech when I decided to take it out to Diamond Head during a small swell. With low expectations, I paddled out and caught a few in between waves. Amazingly, this board turned on with speed and tight turns coming with ease. It seemed like a completely different board from the first few sessions and the more I rode this board the more I liked it.

After that fateful Diamond Head session, I rode the board almost every day for a month. This board was simply magic for the typical waves we have in town (weak and fatter on most days). The board paddled easy despite it’s short length (5’6 x 21″ 3/16 x 2″ 1/4) and this board paddled into waves better than any board I’ve ever rode which I attribute to a perfect entry rocker. This board is blazing fast down the line and with each pump on an open face the speed you can generate is mind boggling. Even with all that speed, the board is still very maneuverable with loads of drive off the bottom but just loose enough for tight turns in the pocket.

I’m not sure if Surftech has discontinued making this board as it’s no longer on their website but you can still find them in most surf shops. Here’s tip for those looking to buy one. The most common thing I hear from people who own Rocket Fishes is they always wish they got the next smallest model (board comes in lengths of 5’6, 5’8, 5’10, 6’0). At first glance you’ll probably want to err on the safe side and get more than enough board but the rails are boxy and full making for a full volume board and the Tuflite skin make these boards extremely buoyant. So if you’re thinking of getting the 5’10, you should probably get the 5’8.

A few more notes, I did try a friend’s 5’8 and there was a pretty big difference in volume…I can see why you’d want to get the smaller board. The 5’8 for me was too buoyant and thick for me and made the board feel more like a funboard…easy wave catching but less responsive.

Future Rasta Keel Fins

The Xanadu Rocket Fish also comes with Future keel fins which work ok for stock fins but I’ve heard that the Future Rasta Keel Sea Shepard fins work insane on the Rocket Fish. I hope to get a pair of those fins and try it out and I’ll be sure to report back when I get them.

Guest Post by Oliver Irwin

Most people who surf have a friend of a friend who knows someone who has heard of a guy who is a shaper. Weather they are a casual tinkerer who does a couple boards in their garage or professional shaper who makes boards day in and day out, in my experience, it has been pretty easy to cell them up and find out what they’re about and what they think the next board you should get should be. It is my dream to find a shaper who I can go out and surf with, who understands my ability and has the foresight to think about what would work well for me, who would also give me free boards, dinner,chicks and financial advice. I haven’t found that dream, but getting somewhere close to it is worth fighting for.

Eric Streufert is the guy who I have found works really well with me. He works for Patagonia and shapes boards everyday. He is lucky enough that Patagonia allows him to use their shop to produce boards in their shop on his personal time. His line is appropriately called S-Turn. Everyone I know who has ridden one of his boards has been totally satisfied with the quality and craftsmanship including me. Eric listens to me carefully and always gives me insightful feedback that refines what I am want in a board. I also enjoy hearing what he has to say about what hes doing in the world of shaping.

The following is an edited transcript of an interview I had with Eric in February 2008.

What kinda boards are you making now?

Fishes are the hottest selling board right now. They work really well at Pipe in Ventura. There’s two different kinds of fishes I’m making. The hybrid fish I make is a modern twin fin with a small trailer fin. This board is more high performance than the other type of fish I’ve been making – which is basically a stand up knee board with a big fat swallowtail. This is a more retro board with at least 7″ base twin fins on it. It’s really fast down the line and you get big long arcing cutbacks. You ride them really short too, basically like if you ride a 6’2″ shortboard, the fish you would ride would be about 5’6″ to 5’8″. For a hybrid fish go up another inch.

Dimensions go from about 20.5 inches wide and 2.5 thick —older guys up Ill make the boards up to 6’6″ and 2 ¾ to 3 inches for the big fat dudes.

What do you do at Patagonia?

Technically I’m a sander in the glassing manufacturing part. But I’m familiar with all the steps of building boards.

Are the boards you’re making similar to the boards you make at Patagonia?

The practice is different, they use epoxy with a closed cell EPS board. My boards are built with regular foam and covered with epoxy resin. I glass the boards differently. I find that the flex in the regular kind of foam is better. It’s also easier to shape. Plus if you get a ding with a closed cell eps board you have to fix it immediately, and if you fix it with anything but epoxy, it will ruin the board and dissolve the foam. Glassing epoxy over normal foam has the advantage that you can patch a ding with poly or epoxy and you will still maintain the integrity of the board.

How many boards are you making for S-Turn?

I generally make about 2-4 boards a month just taking orders out of the water at California Street. I have a good niche market down at the point. I also make shortboads, funshapes and longboards.

Can you talk about shortboard vs fish?

Fishes are good all around board, great at point breaks, but shortboards are good for good waves. Waves which have power or whatnot. That kneeboard Im making — people think they’d be too loose, but they’re actually more drivey and won’t spin out the way you might think they would.

When the surf gets softer — get into the shorter fishy boards. The shorter your board, the easier it is to fit your board into a smaller faced wave.

How about riding a fish in bigger more powerful surf?

I like it Ive done it. It’s challenging. It’s a really fast free feeling. You’re just flying. But with a fish its more challenging catching waves, and holding into your bottom rail. With a fish you’ve gotta be right under it and have better wave knowledge. A longer board can glide and you might get a wave that you can’t on a fish.

Can you expand on that? What is really happening with the rail and fin when riding a fish?

When riding a fish you kind of use your rail the way a boogie boarder would use their rail — boogie boarders don’t even have fins, so instead of just turning off the tail as you would with a tri fin thruster board, you’re using one of your twin fins plus your forward part of your front foot rail. You’re essentially holding in with the rail.

With a tri-fin going into a bottom turn you still have two fins in the water, on a twin fin you have only one fin in the water, along with your rail. It all has to do with the fact that the wide point is forward of center on most fishes.

Fishes have the wide point forward of center by the front foot. On shortboards and funboards you’re driving off of your back foot where the wide point is back of center — creating the driving point off your back foot. If thrusters are rear wheel drive, then fishes are front wheel drive.

Any ideas on the next trend in boards?

The quad craze in full swing. Quad fishes, and regular shortboards are going quad. Ive never liked them myself. They originally came out in the early 80s. In and out. In the single fin era to twin fin era the quads came for a sec and then the thruster took over. Today, they’re more popular than when they first came out. Quads are more drivey than a twin fin. In my experience, when doing a big roundhouse cutback, there’s a certain point in the cutback where the fins sort of release. Mid way through your roundhouse cutback, it kinda pops out and slides, where if you had a thruster that wouldn’t happen.

What do you think will happen with quads the way they are progressing?

I’ve seen what they’re doing on quads — they keep bringing the trailing fins closer to the stringer. They’re going to keep bringing them in and you’re going to have a thruster.

When did u first shape?

I was around it when I was a grommet. My brother who is 6 years older was shaping in Santa Barbara for Clyde Beaty and the like. I think it was in 1997 I shaped my first board.

You only have a MySpace page, right? I think you want to stay underground? Why?

I’m really busy with helping everyone else out, I’m actually kinda afraid to get all kinds of orders in. One of these days ill have to get my own show going. But Ive got a pretty good gig where people let me do boards under their roof. If I were to go production it might not work.

It’s kinda a hard transition to go from a steady paycheck to all on your own. Right now it doesn’t matter cause I have plenty of other work.

People will come up to me and ask wow what is that thing that youre riding. How long is that board? Is that a kneeboard? All the people in the water just kinda found out that I make them and then they ask and I do.

You know, I haven’t heard of kneeboards so much. Is a kneeboard the same thing as a fish?

I use the old school templates off of kneeboards from the 70s and put modern concave bottoms (like single to double barrel concaves) which help them plane better. Those old style boards were more v-bottom which turn really nice, but when the waters coming across the bottom of the board, its being slowed down by the v-shape in the board vs a concave you actually plaing off the surface of the water and you almost have an air pocket. it’s less drag which is faster. Its kinda like a hovercraft.

What do you think about when u are talking to someone new about making them a board?

If you’re out in the water its really good to see their ability. If they’re not a great surfer, you tend to make them a wider thicker board so it’s easier to catch waves. If they’re better you’d tend to thin out their board more. Generally because they’re able to generate more speed.

I truly believe in flex patterns. Really thick boards wont flex as much and wont bend into the wave.

What do u think of off the rack boards? Compared with having someone shape you a board with your body weight and ability in mind.

Off the rack is generally more pop-out. The boards not customized. There’s not anything wrong with them. But I’m pretty anti china because a lot of the people that are big in the business are having their boards made in china which means that people are actually having to close down their shops. So people like me in the glass factories are actually losing their jobs. And the quality is terrible cause they dont know what they’re doing really. But thats whats happening — people are selling out.

Ever made aboard that didn’t ride well?

Al Merrick has made boards that I didn’t like – but has also made some that I thought were amazing. Every board is different.

Are you interested in experimenting with strange shapes?

I’ve made flex tails gimmick off of George Greenough where I’ve ground out all the foam in the tail to where its just glass— you glass multiple layers in the tail so that the back 2 inches of the tail is just pure glass. You can actually push on it with your thumb and it bends. As George Greenough says, it allows you to create a variable rocker.

Fin placement moving stuff around. Extreme rockers and extreme flat rockers. Everything works good— it just depends on what waves you’re riding. Curvy-er the wave curvy-er the board. Flater the wave flatter the board.

Have you seen board shapes/designs that have inspired you, or influenced the way you look at boards?

Yeah I think everybody looks at everybody’s stuff. Everybody copies everybody. Even Al Merrick brings his old designs and bring them back to life. I remember somewhere in the bible there’s a passage that really says that there’s nothing new.

Malcomb Campbell’s got a pretty unique thing: The bonzer. I’d give him credit for having the 1st thruster. Not Simon Anderson who got credit.

What do you think of Bonzers?

I haven’t really ridden them. I have a few that I have to fix up, but Im planning on riding them. I got 3 of them in my garage.

Do you ride different kinds of boards a lot?

Sometimes you feel like you’re surfing stagnant – I can get kinda board with what I ride so I like to mix it up a lot.

When I get bored I like to ride something different. Some people get really screwed up if they mix up their equipment, but some people like Tom Curren can just jump on any thing and just rip up on it.

Being in the business – are there funny stories where you would notice something that someone who doesn’t work with surfboards wouldn’t?

(after thinking about this one for a bit) Oh yeah…You know, if you look at the bottom of pelicans when you see them flying low over the water? I’ve noticed the contour in their wingspan and their body. If you watch them glide you see how the concave in their wings creates lift and allows them to glide. Each of their wings — if you were to put a flat surface beneath their wings — you’d see a concave on each side of the wing. And their body is the v part — which cuts the air or what not. I look at that contour and see the double barrel concave which is a really popular design in a lot of surfboards.

What’s the best way for people to get in touch with you?

S-Turn’s cell number is 805-815-8274. Or I can be reached by email at thestreuferts@yahoo.com

http://www.myspace.com/sturnsurfboards

I normally ride nothing but twin fins but recently I’ve had the opportunity to try a bunch of quad fin boards. I’ve been pondering the question which works better: twin fins or quad fins? We can all agree that they both generate more speed than a thruster in average surf, but their turning is noticeably different. I’ve noticed that twin fins generally feel a bit looser than quad fins. While the quad fins have more drive and hold better than their twin fin counterparts, they seem to feel more ‘sticky’ in the lip and harder to release than twins or thrusters. I’m still on the fence whether I prefer twins over quads but I’m very curious to hear what other surfers have to say about the topic. Please vote for your favorite fin set-up below!

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Since 1967 – Our Shapers have been providing Surfboards throughout the world, shaping surfboards renowned for their performance and by far some of the highest quality boards on the market today.

All Surfboards from Riff Raff are hand shaped with a variety of High quality Blanks from US Blanks to Biofoam even Balsa and Koa and colored by some of the finest Artist in the US, fitted with Custom Island Fins (made in Hawaii) designed by our Shapers and finished with a High Gloss Polish by the most reputable Glassers in the islands.

Our surfboards are unique offering the best of the past, bringing it to the present, boards that ride great and look impressive.

Riff Raff board builders come from various backgrounds and shaping styles, creating surfboards for such riders as Dino Miranda, Sunny Garcia, Martin Potter, Rusty Keaulana, Johnny Boy Gomes and many more. But they all have one thing in common, the love for the “classic old school” board, thus we are able to create a unique line up of custom surfboards, from all eras.

When you order a board from Riff Raff you have the piece of mind that your board is truly custom, no two boards are alike, as they are hand crafted from start to finish solely for you, the rider.

Riff Raff Surfboards pride themselves on keeping you updated throughout your build. Once your order is complete we`ll register you into our Private Online Status Page, where you can get an up to date progress report on your surfboard build. Just another reason to choose Riff Raff Surfboards as your board building company.

Have fun and check out our Retro surfboards at…

From All at Riff Raff Surfboards

Aloha!

Donald Takayama, legendary shaper of Hawaiian Pro Designs, has had over 55 years of experience in the surfing industry. He designs, shapes, and manufactures shortboards, funboards, and retro and progressive longboards. Hawaiian Pro Designs has several retail locations in Hawaii, California, and Texas. Not only is Takayama known for his line of custom surfboards, he is also a five time United States Surfing Champion. His surfing experience undoubtedly helps him make the ideal surfboards for a wide range of surfing expectations. His shapes have been proven both in Hawaii, California, and around the world as evidenced by his Surftech line which are some of the most popular epoxy boards around today.

A glance at the variety of Takayama Surfboards:

Shortboards:

• Twin Fin: classic board built for speed and agility that holds bigger waves than a tri fin would of the same size
• Thurster: maneuverable model that allows for quick vertical snaps and cutbacks
• Single Fin Gun: built to tackle the biggest waves with a more than capable baord
• Quad: designed to work in all conditions with more speed than a twin fin

Progressive Longboards:

• DT1-4: series of longboards designed for speed and maneuverability
• Beach Break: hard down rails and the extra rocker make this tri-fin a high performance progressive long board
• In the Pink: modern 2+1 fin arrangement with a harder edge to allow board noseriding and turning
• Stephen Slater Model: tri-fin set up with rounded pintail designed for Stephen Slater to match a full range of surfing, from nose riding to straight up snaps

Retro Longboards:

• Model T: the broad nose and wide tail of this versatile retro longboard make it perfect for shoulder to ankle high waves
• NR2: retro version of the DT2 with a similar design to the model T, but with a more narrow tail allowing for tighter turns
• Classic Noserider: the volan cloth and single fin bring back the mid-60s style longboard
• Double ender: made to ride any size wave but its nose and tail are built to ride overhead waves

Funboards:

• Scorpion: this mini-noserider is a fast mid-length board with controlled maneuverability
• Flo egg: progressive short board with volan cloth, a single fin, and a long full rail that enable tighter pocket turns
• Retro single fin: single fin short bard designed to handle barrels with confidence
• NR3: shorter version of the NR2 with a tri-fin setup

After writing a post on Firewire Surfboards back in March of 2007, I finally got a chance to try one of these hyped up boards. Luckily for me, Kumau at Tropical Blends was cool enough to let me his personal board. For some reason, the Firewire people have been uninterested in letting me demo a board…who knows, perhaps they’re not into free publicity? Anyway, I recently got a chance to try a 5’10 Futura on a dying south swell which would be a good test to see how this board worked in less than perfect surf. The Futura is available in 3 models:

5’10 x 19 1/2″ 2 1/4″
6’0 x 19 3/4″ x 2 3/8″
6’2 x 20″ x 2 1/2″

All come with swallow tails and a thruster FCS setup. An interesting note on Kumau’s board…he set it up with FCS MR twin fins (glass) and added the smaller trailer to it. I had never heard of anyone riding this other than as a thruster but he said it worked well for him so I figured it would be very interesting.

This board has a somewhat fuller shortboard outline, lower rocker, yet overall the board is pretty thin…especially in the nose area. Paddling was very easy and it definitely floated a lot better than it would have if it were traditional polyurethane.

I ate sh!t on the first wave…guess I wasn’t prepared for the slippiness of the twin fin setup but after a few more waves I figured out where my weight needed to be and voila…I was very impressed at how responsive the board felt. The biggest thing I’ve heard about Firewire boards is how they flex out of turns. Well I didn’t really feel the board pushing out of turns and giving me a boost of speed (probably because the surf was only waist/chest high at best) but the board did feel a bit more springy and lively than even a fresh fiberglass board. The Futura demonstrated exactly what the Firewire website claimed: “The Future Series merges the innate performance of new school fish design with the acceleration of Future Shapes Technology, creating a surfboard with pedal to the metal top end speed and remarkably tight turning radius. Buckle your seatbelt.’ This board could definitely fly and I was blazing on the small little walls. It’s hard to say if it’s because of the flex in the board or more because of the twin fin setups which usually go faster than tri-fins. Either way, this particular setup is killer for smaller days head high and under with twin fin speed and thruster performance. The Future basically rides like a traditional shortboard yet it’s so much more forgiving in less than ideal surf.

I have another day to try this board out in a tri-fin setup so I’ll report back on my findings. So far, the hype is true and these boards are quite remarkable. Best thing about them, they’re pretty resilient to dings and damage so if you’re the type of surfer that always wrecks your boards, you may want to try a Firewire.

I recently received a question from a surfer.

What is the retail value of a vintage signed Gerry Lopez lighting bolt surfboard in great condition?

Does anyone have any idea? I know it’s hard to tell without a photo and much details…I”ll see if they can send some over for me to post. I guess it does matter what it’s condition is, if it’s been restored, who shaped it, when, etc. If anyone knows anything please post a comment below. Mahalo.

Updated, just got more information about the board: Attached photos of board. 7′ 6″ yellow lighting nolt. A pure source TM. It is numbered, however resin was attached over number for an ankle strap. Part of the number is visible – 898. Mahalo for your help.

After many near misses at the Surftech warehouse, I finally got a hold of a Surftech Takayama In the Pink. I had always wanted to try this board and up to this day I had never had the chance to ride a Takayama board. I see these things out surfing all the time and they look like really good boards so I was definitely stoked to finally have my hands on it. This particular In the Pink model is 9’3 x 22.38″ x 2.88″ with a 2+1 setup…Steve hooked me up with FCS side bites and an 8″ Takayama Surftech fin. Not a whole lot of foam but what can you expect for a performance longboard? Before jumping in the water I was hoping it would paddle a bit better than the Pearson Forumla One so that I could compete with all the logs. As soon as I jumped in the water I could tell this board was gonna work well…it floated me well and the lower entry rocker cut helped with the paddling as well.

This particular day saw extremely small and weak surf. It was lining up okay with the surf around knee high at best…this would be a good test to see how well the In the Pink board performed in gutless conditions and how well it groveled. Paddling into waves was a cinch…I have to give a lot of credit to the flatter rocker…you don’t feel like the board is bogging and pushing water up at the nose. The epoxy seemed like it floated a bit better than a traditional PU board and that helped with wave catching as well.

The Takayama ITP also turned extremely well and was quite responsive in the not so great surf. The board seems to want to go where you want to go and as well as it performed in the weak surf, I’m excited to try it at 3’s on the next south swell. As far as its noseriding capabilities, I did manage to hang 5 on one wave and got close on a few others. There just wasn’t enough of a wall to really get to the nose and in small weak surf, you can do a few quick noserides but anything longer will result in the nose pearling. I’ll try noseriding this board in better surf and report back. Stay tuned.

I recently tested a Surftech Bob Pearson Formula 1 performance longboard. Dimensions were 9’0 x 22.5″ x 2.88″. This board is supposed to be more like a competition board that can maneuver well yet still noseride. It’s hard to tell from the photo but this particular board features a very blunt and wide nose typical of Arrow boards. On the extreme end the board also features a very pulled in tail which kinda resembles a rounded pin or diamond tail.

I took this board out to one of the best longboard spots called Number 3’s on a day with waist high peelers and a heavy crowd. The first thing I noticed about this board was how domed the deck was which basically decreased the overall volume considerably. Paddling was somewhat difficult and unless you’re a champion paddler or small framed surfer, this board will probably not float you very well. Once out at the break I had to jockey for waves as I was competing with guys on absolute logs, however, I did manage to snag a few waves and interesting enough the board made up for its lack of paddling power with extreme versatility and performance. I managed a few noserides courtesy of its blunt nose and this board felt really good down the line. Once you got the board moving it seemed to glide pretty well into waves probably due to its flatter rocker but this board was definitely made for solid surf. This board would work well on a fast and steep point break when your only competition in the water are shortboarders! Unfortunately I was under-gunned at Threes this day.

Up next is the Donald Takayama In the Pink board. Can’t wait to see how this one rides!

The local surf tech rep here in Hawaii has been cool enough to give SurfboardShack.com a full run of all their Surftech demos. While I’ve always favored traditional PU boards, I am quite intrigued with epoxy boards and Surftech’s long list of boards shaped by the world’s top shapers. After writing an article debating which surfboard material works better, epoxy or polyurethane, I’ve had a number of people inquire about how well epoxy, most notably Surftech boards work in a variety of conditions. Up to this point I had only ridden one Surftech board and a few other epoxys so I guess you can say I haven’t given epoxy a fair chance. Anyway, thanks to Surftech, I now have access to write about every Surftech board available and let you all know how they ride.

I just tested Randy French’s 5’8 Soul Fish the other day in marginal shoulder high surf out on the South Shore of Oahu. This particular Soul Fish has dimensions of 5’8 x 20.75″ x 2.5″ and rides with twin keel fins. When I first took a look at this board I noticed how thick the middle to front section of the board was and knowing how floaty epoxy is, I knew this board would paddle well.

The waves in town this particular day were average with an out of season south swell rolling through. Incoming tide at my normal surf spot which is better suited toward fishy type boards. The waves were on average shoulder high coming in at a funny angle and not connecting all the way to the inside…definitely not epic conditions! Today would be a great day to test the limits of this small wave fish as the Surftech website claims that this board is recommended for gutless to shoulder high surf.

I caught a bunch of waves and it was very amazed at how easy it was to paddle into these weak waves. The board does have a lot of volume for being only 5’8 but I think the ‘floatiness’ of epoxy along with the super flat entry rocker made wave catching ridiculously easy. Once up and riding, this board had more than enough drive…I would say it was more drivey than loose and very responsive. Cutbacks were a cinch and the board seemed to want to go where my feet went. Pumping was pretty good as well and I got a few ultra fast speed pumps on the waves that lined up just right.

The only downside to this board is that it didn’t hold very well on the drop on a couple head high sets. I was practically dropping in sideways on one head high wave which would make me assume that unless you like feeling out of control on larger waves, you should surf this board shoulder high and under. This board is an awesome small wave groveler board, especially for those who don’t like riding longboards.

Lastly, I’ve had problems with epoxy boards being too floaty and not being able to keep the rail in the water, especially in windy conditions. However, the Soul Fish rode almost like a traditional PU board even with offshore winds around 20 MPH.