I'm looking for a sup that I can predominantly sup surf but can also use to windsurf and learn to windfoil. The Smik Mongrel looks like it might be a good option but my main concern is how much performance do you give up in the surf compared to a dedicated sup surf shape (for intermediate surfer) like the hipster twin. I am 75kg and 178cm tall and am looking at the 7'8" mongrel for my intermediate ability across surf and windsurf. It would be my only board for waves from knee high to slightly overhead and mostly flat water windsurfing to 20 knots.
Thanks

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I emailed smik the same question the other week. Scott's reply in comparison to the twinny was;
"The mongrel does surf very well

But differently

I'd say faster due to flatter rocker in more gutless waves, whilst still turning pretty good.

But not turning as tight as the hipster twin. Or handling hollower waves"

Awesome, thanks Peguin

Penguin,

Any other info on the mongrel? I have an impending move that will force me to thin down my quiver drastically. I am most interested in how it has been tuned for sailing and foiling. I would likely only surf it when it is smaller or weak as normally I prone surf when the waves are good.. Do you know if it is coming with a single fin center box? It would also be great to know the holy grail: how much they have flattened out the tail rocker? And, of course, knowing the weight would be a big help when trying to figure out if a smaller one will be uphaulable if you have the weight of a foil and rig to add to the mix. The board looks fab, especially for traveling, but I would have to get one sight unseen, so any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
surlygringo

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Surlygringo said..
Penguin,

Any other info on the mongrel? I have an impending move that will force me to thin down my quiver drastically. I am most interested in how it has been tuned for sailing and foiling. I would likely only surf it when it is smaller or weak as normally I prone surf when the waves are good.. Do you know if it is coming with a single fin center box? It would also be great to know the holy grail: how much they have flattened out the tail rocker? And, of course, knowing the weight would be a big help when trying to figure out if a smaller one will be uphaulable if you have the weight of a foil and rig to add to the mix. The board looks fab, especially for traveling, but I would have to get one sight unseen, so any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
surlygringo

No other info except whats on website & from Scotts email. Scott is really helpful to deal with. He does customs so can get it exactly how you need it. It will be awesome board as all his Smik boards

Thanks. I will email Smik.

Mate I just bought a 7'10" hypster transformer and I have only surfed it once and it does have some extra weight, that said I was impressed with how it surfed as I am above recommended weight which is a disadvantage in small surf. Haven't foiled,wing ding or sailed with it yet but I reckon it is a good one board quiver. Just need to get rid of about five other boards now.

Used my 8" Mongrel at Centre Side (Bells Beach ) recently in 3-4 Foot good waves. Surfs really well. Burst of speed, turns easily with heaps of confidence on the rail. Must be it's Hipster rear end. Only thing is I notice Is the weight compared to my bigger 8'6" Spitfire when you are off It in the water manoeuvring it around or throwing it over white water. When you are up you don't notice it, nor when surfing (I guess all the foil box, foot strap hardware is towards the back anyway so not a big swing weight issue) and certainly no sense of drag from the empty foil slots. Watch tells me that was regularly hitting 35kph down the line!

As for wavesailing I've had some sessions at Long Beach Robe and Beachport in 10 - 17 knots using a smaller sail than I would on my wave board in 18knots. Was so much fun, I found myself having a giggle.
and then I use it on Port Philip Bay for wind foiling which I'm learning. It works well coping well with most slap downs being recoverable due to the wide and rockered surf nose and rails rather than crashing - a real benefit!. Now flying around with a sort of this is too weird confidence. Mongrel mission accomplished.

Used to own a JP slate. Long gone. Moved from NE to Georgia. Need a Tomo style groveler.

Boom. SMIK Mongrel without all the foil stuff.

Working on a custom with Scotty. Geezer froth now activated.

He has made several already without the foil internals. Lighter!

Scotty and his lads working. Here is a shot of the outline and color..
Getting antsy!

Looks sweet! Any other changes to the normal
shape?

Five FCS II boxes and soft channels. Otherwise SMIK special sauce..

Oooo channels.. that does sound good. What did Scotty say that would do to it performance wise? Any other tweaks? ive got a 7'2 x 28 hypernut and wonder how this would handle compared to that? (Prob the 7'4 x 29 x 100l) version. Never foiled but really keen to learn!

Always liked 'em. Used to ride Hamisch Graham six- clinkers on short boards. Worked awesome in hollow clean waves. Cavitated in everything else.

Soft channels in my first SMIK, my Short Mac, worked really well for me. They don't stick or cavitate. in junk, give a squirty feel out of turns, and help with geezer stability.

I noticed Scotty added a channel in the V3 Spitfire..

I suspect if I had not used them in my younger short board days I might not favor them as much as I do.

Scotty is awesome at answering questions. Send him an email for the real story.

Cheers, Biggie
Hamish still making them..




Scotty soft channels. Notice the belly in the center. And they are splayed. Smooth like buttah!

Standtrue, I have waited for a good few months to finally get my hands on the 8'10 Mongrel, 32 wide, 143 litres. I'm 70kg and 175cm. Took it out yesterday in smallish (1/2 to 1m high face waves) and it was a ripper. My previous 2006 10'6 Naish is not a good board to compare with as the 2 are very different, but I'd say the Mongrel was at least as stable. Obviously harder to catch a wave, but really manouverable. Also had a go on my mates Starboard Hypernut (140L) which is possibly a more dedicated SUP board(??) and I'd say the flatter rocker in the nut made it a little easier to catch a wave. The 2 felt really comparable for manouverability. However, the Mongrel should do well for windsurfing and windfoiling with the upturned nose. I loved how you could slightly stuff up and be paddling onto a wave a little crossed up and the Mongrel would take off, then straighten out and off you go. It's super forgiving and REALLY fun. As for Foiling, I have a Naish Hover 122, but the foil mast base looks a little further forwards on the Mongrel, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes for windfoiling. The deck is well set out with deckpad everywhere and locations for footstraps. There's a mast track for a sail. No plug either, which suggests to me the board isn't hollow - and 1 less thing to forget and fill the board with water. I'm looking forwards to experimenting with different fin combos for the stacks of different things you can do with the thing!

Can't help you with wind and foil info,
as to Sup board performance, I got a Custom 9'0 x 32 Mongrel with couple tweaks, without wind or foil setup.
Got it like this as a travel n sharing board for Indo, we really enjoyed it in a variety of waves with different rider abilities.
Scotty is great to deal with, might have to get another one for OZ summer if we can't travel away.

It's alive! Surf only mongrel.




Good things are worth waiting for. Covid bah humbug!

Scotty just sent me these. Looks awesome. Praying for delivery. Scotty arranged for US delivery through Tillo a while back. Send good vibes my way mates!

Awesome color layout
Will this be another chilly winter test ride ?

Bighugg - Negatory good buddy. Am in Georgia now!

Covid. Shipping not. Never gonna see it Cry me a river!

Scotty santa sez it is

going via Tillo! Pray that the Surf Gods have been appeased!

Merry Christmas Happy New Year everyone!

I worked this board up with Scotty at SMIK in June.
.

Covid, factory issues, shipping issues et cetera et cetera.


My Dad, may he rest in peace, passed on some advice from his experience as a Naval officer. "What can go wrong will go wrong Clevie"!

Ping! Scotty tells me it is on it's way via Tillo.

Trust that there are no Pirates out there and that the ding lords have been appeased..

Will give a report as soon as I can!!

Cheers,
Biggie

I Ordered a Mongrel from Scotty, took a few months due to Covid delivery delays but it finally turned up the other day.
I wanted something I could SUP with but also have the option for Foil/Wing Ding/Windsurf after several emails back and forth to Scotty we came up with 8'6" 150ltr, I'm not a small human at 115kegs so needed plenty of foam to get my over large size to stay on top of the water!
Well since the board turned up I've had it out for a flat water paddle, taken in the surf in shoulder high beach break, and yesterday had another paddle then the wind came up so took it out with my Wing ding without the foil as I'd left it at home.
The board is so stable to paddle, I was surprised how far forward I stand to find my sweet spot and the nose still stays out of the water, paddles fast. Wave take off took a few stacks to get right but once on the wave the board has so much speed when I wanted it and still turns so easily.
I'm loving it so far, hopefully will get the foil on in next few days with the wing.
Sorry could not work out how to turn the photos?

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subseaos said..
I Ordered a Mongrel from Scotty, took a few months due to Covid delivery delays but it finally turned up the other day.
I wanted something I could SUP with but also have the option for Foil/Wing Ding/Windsurf after several emails back and forth to Scotty we came up with 8'6" 150ltr, I'm not a small human at 115kegs so needed plenty of foam to get my over large size to stay on top of the water!
Well since the board turned up I've had it out for a flat water paddle, taken in the surf in shoulder high beach break, and yesterday had another paddle then the wind came up so took it out with my Wing ding without the foil as I'd left it at home.
The board is so stable to paddle, I was surprised how far forward I stand to find my sweet spot and the nose still stays out of the water, paddles fast. Wave take off took a few stacks to get right but once on the wave the board has so much speed when I wanted it and still turns so easily.
I'm loving it so far, hopefully will get the foil on in next few days with the wing.
Sorry could not work out how to turn the photos?

Mate, that looks sensational. Just one question: What width is it?

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CaptainJimbo said..

subseaos said..
I Ordered a Mongrel from Scotty, took a few months due to Covid delivery delays but it finally turned up the other day.
I wanted something I could SUP with but also have the option for Foil/Wing Ding/Windsurf after several emails back and forth to Scotty we came up with 8'6" 150ltr, I'm not a small human at 115kegs so needed plenty of foam to get my over large size to stay on top of the water!
Well since the board turned up I've had it out for a flat water paddle, taken in the surf in shoulder high beach break, and yesterday had another paddle then the wind came up so took it out with my Wing ding without the foil as I'd left it at home.
The board is so stable to paddle, I was surprised how far forward I stand to find my sweet spot and the nose still stays out of the water, paddles fast. Wave take off took a few stacks to get right but once on the wave the board has so much speed when I wanted it and still turns so easily.
I'm loving it so far, hopefully will get the foil on in next few days with the wing.
Sorry could not work out how to turn the photos?

Mate, that looks sensational. Just one question: What width is it?

Thanks

Width is 32"

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cbigsup said..



Scotty just sent me these. Looks awesome. Praying for delivery. Scotty arranged for US delivery through Tillo a while back. Send good vibes my way mates!

Boom! Just landed. Ding lords appeased. No damage. Installing C-DRIVE quads. Will report. STOKED!!!!

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cbigsup said..

cbigsup said..



Scotty just sent me these. Looks awesome. Praying for delivery. Scotty arranged for US delivery through Tillo a while back. Send good vibes my way mates!

Boom! Just landed. Ding lords appeased. No damage. Installing C-DRIVE quads. Will report. STOKED!!!!

Just got out the water. Waist high long period. Clean offshore. Surf only Mongrel is fantastic. Tomo nose makes 8' x 30" really stable. Soft channels with C-Drive quads accelerate FAST coming out of turns.
73 year old geezer threw some spray. Hoots from punks on tiny short boards always be a gud thing.
Will update after some bigger swells!
Cheers BiggieRat

Geez i like the look of that engine room. Is there a bit of double concave in there too? Have wondered how cdrives would go in the bonza.

Water shot! Mongrel works..

I got the 7'8 Smik mongrel a few months ago and have been pretty disappointed. I'm a surf supper and wanted to give foiling a go. I loved the idea of a versatile board that I could surf, foil and eventually get a wing for wing foiling. I've found that the shorter board size (to allow it to foil) massively impacts its surfability. No paddle power and I'm having to take off in a similar location on the wave to short boards. trade off simply isn't worth it. also the paint is coming off the board after only a few months of use.... I've never had that with any other board I own ! My advice, if you want a quality board primarily for surf supping, don't go Smik, don't go hybrid

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Hi just got delivery of my custom smick mongrel
9ft buy 32 I'm getting back into windsurfing and wanted to learn foiling I used to travel alot before COVID so I haven't been surfing as much so I opted for bigger size I live in Cervantes and red island East java hopefully go for a sup on the board tomorrow

Cheers