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.