looks like i decided to check in at the right time. Well gliders yes well Devon Howard summed them up perfectly in my eyes (them as in 11ft plus). They are the hardest boards and the easiest boards to ride. Alot of people assume gliders are easy...they are not...sure they are easier in 1ft waves going straight but if you start going over say 3ft then you have to know what you are doing. I have 5 big boards now;
11'11 deadkooks
this board is personally i think my best 12fter.... i think because when people say 12 ft boards you automatically assume big, heavy, hard to turn boards....the reason i like what deadkooks is producing is because my red one is as light as most peoples 9'6...its quite thin for a 12ft board i think around 3 1/2 thick with super pinched rails....and narrow....i think from memory 23 3/4 from memory. My opionon is why this particular board works so well is what Eden has done in the tail...he has this perfect combination of roll and tail kick that enables people at 60kg to throw this board around easily.
next is my 12 ft mctavish redline.
this board is big...its 12ft x 25 x 4...3 layers of 8 ounce glass top and 2 on on the bottom with 1 inch cedar up the middle. comes in at about 25kgs.... this is the board that most people thing when they think 12fter. Its flat the whole way through with slight concave on the nose. It takes about 4 strokes to get the thing moving and achieve boat speed but once it goes goodluck stopping it. I havnt found many people that can handle this board aside from myself...it took me along time to master.
next is my second fav board is a 12ft Bear shaped by Brett munro
this board is 12'1 x4 1/4 x 25 3/4 (i think) but this board you will never realize its as big as it states. It has a perfect disbursement of foam from the center to the rail. The biggest plus for this board is the V in the tail...it enables the board to turn quite nicely and i run a huge D fin in this board it it works well.
this is the only photo i have of it..board in the middle of the 3
then there is my newly designed 11'6 fish...yet to ride it :)
i also have a 12 ft tom wegener which is a dog not going to even talk about it
my advice is start at 11ft...get it light...and some roll or vee in the tail...start in uncrowded areas and learn it and respect them for their size....