This Beauty turned up yesterday 8'8" x 30 1/2" x 4 3/8" 130L , just in time for me to go back on shift . That's OK, the surf is non existent at the moment, and there's some "biteys" lurking around, but there should be some waves around on the weekend! Hurrah!
It's a combo of the Deep Jackson Close model (I have a 9'2") and the Minion (mine is 8'0"), so should go like a scalded cat. Wide enough for a big fat bastard too!
Had a play around with the deck pad, an idea I had in mind for a while, reckon it turned out OK. Took some time as can be seen from the bright sunny day turning in to the deep dark night. It was well past my bed time when I finished .
Looking forward to getting her wet.

Nice looking board, is that the Deep deck pad cut up.
I have an 8.2 on order, can't wait

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micksmith said...
Nice looking board, is that the Deep deck pad cut up.
I have an 8.2 on order, can't wait

Yes it is mate. I had Simon send it loose so i could have a play. After doing similar to my Rhinochaser, i'll never look back. I like being able to glimpse the board colours through the grip, and actually prefer the feel of it with the gaps. Adds to the individuality of the board too .

Very nice looking board!! Great idea with the deck pad too!

Very nice looking board.

Yeeeew. Epic.

I have a 7'8" x 28 version of this board - great board. You will love it.

Luverly

I saw it in the flesh today out in the surf, must say I'm very impress with the deck pad job

Cheers mate. Would have hung around for a chat but that 20 knot cross shore was bringing me undone on my first outing. The half a dozen waves i did get though were smooth as. Not quite as loose as the minion, but definitely more nimble than the JC. Exactly what i was hoping for. Gonna have some fun times on this sweet board.You guys got more waves than anyone else on the whole beach. Kudos to you.

Yeah we got a few fun ones, not as good as the forcast predicted but worth taking the morning off work for.. Some nice waves at the point but a lot of snakes in the water! Hard to hold your spot close to the rocks on the standup, a lot of water swirls around out there....

Haha. Hearing you 'bout the snakes. Wind's due to ease off tomorrow and there's 5km of fun to be had. The last 6 weeks of northerlies has been ****e but there is an upside. It pushes all the sand back up and there's a bank for everybody. Had a ball halfway down the beach this morning before it blew up again. I had my own snakes to deal with, my daughter and her mate! Plan to see the sunrise again in the morning...

Brenno you didnt tell me you did the grip yourself - looks sweet as.
It looks like my dream all round board (when I win lotto)
Really really want you to let me have 5 minutes on it one day (if we ever get a f#*n wave again)
ET

Hmmmm. Dunno 'bout that mate. I didn't think i was going to get my minion back when you had a go! Thought you were gonna paddle off in to the sunset
Nah, all good mate, would be my pleasure. Be interested to see what you think of the feel of the grip. I love it. Every time you move position it feels different. It's gotta be better for circulation, my feet don't seem to get as numb. Got half a dozen lil' beachies this morning before the wind got on it again. It's a great board. I can feel it will really excel in chest to head high stuff. I was much more comfortable today being the second session. Another couple of goes and i'll have it nailed.

deck grip looks nice......what glue did you use? .....or did it come with some adhesive already on it?

Self adhesive Gizzie. Just peel off the backing. Sticks like sh1t to a blanket. Pretty easy to play with. It will come off easily and you can move stuff around. After it's been on a while it gets harder to remove. I replaced the kick pad it came with. The glasser at deep has offset the leash plug from centre so it's not to close the edge. Same as my rhinochaser. A good idea if the board is hauling a 100kg through the water. The kick pad was lined up with the plug so a fair way off centre. I think the new one looks reeeeeeeel perrrrrrrrrty.

Had mine For about 5 months now

Great boards great shaper

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SteveM74 said...
Had mine For about 5 months now

Great boards great shaper

Great pics. And i agree, great shaper. My fourth board from Simon. The only dilemna i ever have is which one to take out.

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SteveM74 said...
Had mine For about 5 months now

Great boards great shaper

What dimensions Steve??

Thruster set up

Find as a quad its too skatey for my heavy back foot surfing style

Responsive holds a rail in turns and steep take offs and big speed turns
Quad set up she slips too much and lays flatter on the wave surface
Too much fin in the water

Love it !!

Steve, tried it with the nubster? I've only had it out twice and that was as a quad. Need a bit more of a wave to trial as a thruster.
I was wondering how the hell you were making it hang on!

Imo the nubster does jack for me

Its all of 1-1/2 inches at its highest point

The back hand bottom turn pic shows the extent of the board on a turn
The nub wouldnt do anything

Its the centre and side fins that hold on along with the sharpness in the rail and the swallow tail

Quads make the board sit more square/flat to the wave face due to there being more fin/s keeping the board from getting properly onto its rail
Nubs may do something for someone who rides differently to my style

Its alot looser as a quad but skatey and surfs quite diferently

I like to get up on the rock at the alley and its quite a steep wave face
This board shines as a thruster in a punchy steep wave

Brenno, I promise mate - 5 minutes ..... maybe 6...or 7. It looks so nice.
Interesting to hear your comments re numb feet - I thought that must be just my problem (being an old fart)
My feet get really bad sometimes, especially after a long session - would be interested to hear others' thoughts on it (if theres's any one else suffering it)
ET

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SteveM74 said..
Imo the nubster does jack for me

Its all of 1-1/2 inches at its highest point

The back hand bottom turn pic shows the extent of the board on a turn
The nub wouldnt do anything

Its the centre and side fins that hold on along with the sharpness in the rail and the swallow tail

Quads make the board sit more square/flat to the wave face due to there being more fin/s keeping the board from getting properly onto its rail
Nubs may do something for someone who rides differently to my style

Its alot looser as a quad but skatey and surfs quite diferently

I like to get up on the rock at the alley and its quite a steep wave face
This board shines as a thruster in a punchy steep wave

Cheers Steve.

Even though I am a big fan of the quad, will definitely try it out as a thruster when we get some decent waves. I bought the board specifically for the waves you're talking about.

I tend to change my JC over from a quad to a thruster when it gets closer to overhead, so will probably do the same with this board. And yes it makes a big difference when you're on a steep face. Especially if it's about to close out on you and you're aiming for an exit.

I use the nubster in the minion, and even though the difference is minimal, it's still noticeable. Just. But that's a totally different board and IMO lends itself to that skatey feel. Good fun.

Get back to you when I get a chance to give it a go. The way the slop is here at the moment it could be in the new year! Will attempt to post a pic or two.

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EToriginal said..
Brenno, I promise mate - 5 minutes ..... maybe 6...or 7. It looks so nice.
Interesting to hear your comments re numb feet - I thought that must be just my problem (being an old fart)
My feet get really bad sometimes, especially after a long session - would be interested to hear others' thoughts on it (if theres's any one else suffering it)
ET

Yeah, yeah, promises, promises. Gotta find some waves first!
I only get numb feet after not catching a wave for a while. The brain gets a bit numb too.
When I'm having a good session and constantly on the wave, I never notice it.
I found that the gaps I have created in the grip (10mm gaps in both boards) mean that every time I move my feet, the pressure points are in different places.
Like those lumpy thongs they sell at chemists that I could never wear!

Inspired by Brenno (and the guy who cut the deck grip to the wrong size...), I just replaced the original Minion deck grip (a MUCH bigger job than I expected...):

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cantSUPenough said...
Inspired by Brenno (and the guy who cut the deck grip to the wrong size...), I just replaced the original Minion deck grip (a MUCH bigger job than I expected...):

Awesome mate. And yes, it always turns out bigger than expected!

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SteveM74 said...

Thruster set up

Find as a quad its too skatey for my heavy back foot surfing style

Responsive holds a rail in turns and steep take offs and big speed turns
Quad set up she slips too much and lays flatter on the wave surface
Too much fin in the water

Love it !!

Well Steve, i took your advice and tried it out as a thruster. I mainly did this because i found the rear quad fins supplied had smaller bases (about half the depth) and less fin in the water. They slipped out a couple of times on steep faces and i shat. I didn't mind the thruster set up on the bigger waves, definitely more control. Not as lively IMO. I couldn't even name the moves in your pics, managed to do my version of "picture # 7" on the minion a few times.
I swapped the quad fins i had on the minion with the set provided with the 8'8", and must say both boards are better for me in this config.
I had an absolute cracker surf on it yesterday morning. I'm sure the old boy next to me was wondering how the hell i could get down for a bottom turn and back out before getting smashed, they were breaking so steep and straight. Love this board. It is super fast and lively. A definite keeper. So much so I've scribbled all over it already. Yewwwwww!

Good to hear you gave it a go

The length of the board restrics monouvres in the pocket as well

You can also put the larger fins back and the smaller forward
Stiffens the board up somewhat however

Did this in the Maldives when the centre fin box loosened up on me and gave me more of a thruster feel

Sounds like the quad suits your style

I recently changed to thruster after using quad with my deep since new... I must admit I'm liking it much better..took me a few surfs to get used to but find I am keeping my speed through my turns much better.. The quad setup I found was fun to throw the tail out but stalled me too much not allowing me to slingshot back to the foam....I'm gonna keep the thruster for now I think...

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SteveM74 said...
Good to hear you gave it a go

The length of the board restrics monouvres in the pocket as well

You can also put the larger fins back and the smaller forward
Stiffens the board up somewhat however

Did this in the Maldives when the centre fin box loosened up on me and gave me more of a thruster feel

Sounds like the quad suits your style

Thanks for your advice mate. I am always willing to try out different set ups.
I think the thing that mainly restricts my manouvers is MY shape, not the boards!