Rocket Fish 5"4 / Converse 6"2 / RRD WaveOff 5"6

I decided I need a surfboard!

Motivation:
I'm on a 12m Switchblade and a Slingshot 139 twintip. 85kg. Doesn't cover light winds. Saw lots of guys at Scarbs going out on surfboards. So ... me was thinking: get out the old 7"2 and give it a shot. First in light winds Pinnaroo. was like 10kn, quite an effort to launch the kite in the first place. jumped on the 7"2. I was the only person on the water not going straight downwind. almost held my position. Tried again in 15kn Scarborough. Could go upwind easy. So bigger kite isn't necessary and just turns slower and costs heaps all that.

Riding w/o Footstraps gives you a whole new understanding for the balance on the board. And looks cool. And you can fall off violently. So footstraps might have a benefit here. The big board would just sometimes get really heavy with drag and a gargling sound. So ... need a real board. Looked around and got the demos. Great to have so much gear available to test here!

North RocketFish 5"2 and 5"4 Pintail:
Tried both from WSP and my first impression was 'fast'. (here's where the parallel fins and the slim outline are smart). Wasn't too impressed until I tried my 139 and realised there was no wind. only 12-13kn. 5"2 pivots quickly on the tail, 5"4 is a bit more forgiving and easier to gybe. I found it a bit hard not to push down on the tail to much. It's either I'm to heavy or the board's to small. Think it's not a lightwind board. It is for big waves!

Airush Converse 6"2:
From Airborne. Lots of volume. easy. splayed fins can drag a bit. Worked better for me than the rocket fish and was going upwind in no wind. Felt a bit large in the waves but climbed the whitewash smoothly ... just didn't really get me excited.

RRD WaveOff TS 5"6:
Tried John's (SOS). Had the right balance with the wider outline for me the moment I stepped on. Enough tail to gybe on. Goes fast (fins only lightly splayed). Had the best feel going toeside. and upwind so. Good in light winds but rides the wave nicely. Got one on order

With all the testing I found that my impressions might not be of any use for someone else. Very much depends on personal riding style, skills, whatchawannado. I hope this just helps to get the right boards to demo quicker.

Cheers,
S.