So yesterday was the macking mega swell.

After initially driving away to surf somewhere else and almost either getting swept into rocks or being forced to do 2km paddle to safety (I got one wave, my mate got 2 - not big, little overhead, but dangerous) we returned to the first spot and I had an absolute ball on the longboard on some little rollers. I reckon I would have had even more fun on a different board if I got into them earlier.

At times, after dropping into a shoulder high wave, I would be walking up the board to maintain trim on really fat swell that was only knee high, and running back when it stood up a bit. Just lots of fun.

It got me thinking that a 14' glider like the one posted a while back would work really well on some of our winter waves, but I was also wondering if a more standard longboard would do the same if it was 11 or 12'.

I have eyed off the McTavish Cruiser as a guide to what I was thinking about. Just a really really big board. I am currently on a 9'6" with a bit of nose and tail rocker. I always thought my second longboard would head towards the performance scale, I am reconsidering. Over winter we have a few bays and points where green swell rolls in and may not break, having a chance to surf that would be good.

So I guess my questions for the brain trust is:

1) is a really flat rocker necessary (the glider looks flat to my eye) or can a more standard rocker profile suffice?
2) how long, wide etc would you think?

If you think tNoosa without the length and more sectiony then that would give you an idea of the types of waves.

A SUP equaliser even.

The 10 footer I made has hardly any rocker. The trick with glide is weight and I buried it with Volan and my poor glassing technique - so it carries way more resin than it should and as a result it can catch anything and go forever . So no need to go for a huge huge board. Make some changes elsewhere. Mine is 10*23*3 or there abouts.

That board gets ridden here when it's 2-3 foot. Most fun on a long board.

I was lucky to get a surf in with Dave Basher as his wife Jan was nice enough to take my daughter Ivy again so we could go surf (Thanks Jan).

Anyways I was on the 9.2 McCoy and Dave has a 10' McT Cruiser. I think the dims are 10 x 23 1/4 x 3 3/8 but I cant be sure. The waves we were in were about 2 to 3 foot and fat but clean and nice. Anyways Dave was catching lots of waves. Maybe send him a message if you want more if a review. I think he was saying those glider type boards can have knifey type rails but I guess it depends on who makes it.

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McHenry said..
I was lucky to get a surf in with Dave Basher as his wife Jan was nice enough to take my daughter Ivy again so we could go surf (Thanks Jan).

Anyways I was on the 9.2 McCoy and Dave has a 10' McT Cruiser. I think the dims are 10 x 23 1/4 x 3 3/8 but I cant be sure. The waves we were in were about 2 to 3 foot and fat but clean and nice. Anyways Dave was catching lots of waves. Maybe send him a message if you want more if a review. I think he was saying those glider type boards can have knifey type rails but I guess it depends on who makes it.

Those Cruisers are a great board I sometimes wish I still had one.

One should keep an eye out for( Grace ) a real trimming machine the length starts at 10 foot and goes up to 12 with glassed in fin triple stringer standard.

Oh and thedrip the reason I sold mine was simple they are more tilted at hp with the rocker and outline than the name Cruiser suggests.Yes easy paddle,wave count up but I always found myself surfing them off the tail.

Your a tall bloke like me, so you could go wide too. My Modern Retro 10 x 24 1/4 x 3 was bloody good at getting in way early & cruising through the flats...that would be one option, only the width would limit it a bit for steeper sections, but you might be in so early & down so far the line it might not matter haha

Personally I'd go with your idea of 11 or 12 foot...maybe 12 x 23 x 3 but not too flat of a rocker. Simply coz that's where I'm at & want to try next. So my 2c worth is biased

Gotta say one of the best longboards I've ever ridden was a Boyd Purdy, could be worth having a chat to him

Drip are you talking Q-Land or further out the cape? I sat and watched QLand a few years back on a mega swell imagining how much fun a Frye glider would be out there. Wouldn't be much use anywhere else over here though....

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smicko said...
Drip are you talking Q-Land or further out the cape? I sat and watched QLand a few years back on a mega swell imagining how much fun a Frye glider would be out there. Wouldn't be much use anywhere else over here though....

Further out. I have never surfed there but heard it can be fun with long peelers. I should go look one day.

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thedrip said..

smicko said...
Drip are you talking Q-Land or further out the cape? I sat and watched QLand a few years back on a mega swell imagining how much fun a Frye glider would be out there. Wouldn't be much use anywhere else over here though....

Further out. I have never surfed there but heard it can be fun with long peelers. I should go look one day.

Flat, heavy and about 10ft..I rode a mates 10 x 22 3/4 x 3 yesterday and **** you could catch anything...mind you after 2 hours of wrestling the beast I was pretty cooked

Love my 10'1" Creative Army Sweet Love, she's a beautiful cruiser and very stable nose rider but with enough speed to handle the odd quicker section. This is Josh's take on the Legendary Takayama Model T.

I wont bang on about it again but here's my previous review www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Surfing/Longboarding/Creative-Army-101-Sweet-Love-by-Josh-Constable/

This..

https://theshopnextdoor.com.au/collections/new-boards-in-stock/products/christenson-chris-craft-11

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McHenry said..
I was lucky to get a surf in with Dave Basher as his wife Jan was nice enough to take my daughter Ivy again so we could go surf (Thanks Jan).

Anyways I was on the 9.2 McCoy and Dave has a 10' McT Cruiser. I think the dims are 10 x 23 1/4 x 3 3/8 but I cant be sure. The waves we were in were about 2 to 3 foot and fat but clean and nice. Anyways Dave was catching lots of waves. Maybe send him a message if you want more if a review. I think he was saying those glider type boards can have knifey type rails but I guess it depends on who makes it.

Yep the Cruisers are good boards but are definitely performance oriented and prefer shoulder high and up where they can be thrown around like a big short board (seriously!) I like something heavier and more traditional with flatter rocker in the small clean stuff. The McTavish site explains the cruiser but understates its performance potential. My wife loves minding little Ivy who is a gorgeous baby, and Dave gets a surf- win win!

Hi Mr Thedrip.
Just spent almost a month on the NSW north and mid north coast. Big south swell for a fair bit of that, but it was going past a lot of the south points. Spent nearly all my time on my 10'2" x 23.5" x 3.5" Imprint Surfboards log. Caught everything, from 6" to 2 plus foot, chest high take offs to waist high walls. Had a ball, as I could surf almost anything, even standing up before the sups could take off (momentum from 8 ounce volan glass). Definitely a lot of fun.
Have added some photo's of my son on his 10'3", same specs as mine.