Hi all

Looking for a bit of board advice, does anyone have much experience or info on the dripping wet home brand boards?

I have been riding an 8' mini mal for about a year and bought the fish 6 months ago but I just can't get to grips with it

I don't wish to be the tradie who blames his tools but it was a cheap as board - are they any good and is it just my lack of ability?!

Fish is 6'8" by 20.75"

Chuck up a pic if ya can, cant tell much with out it

Lack of ability and wrong concept. A fish should be smaller than your theoretical normal shortboard. So e.g. I ride a 5'9" 'fish' board (and would still prefer a couple of inches less in ideal conditions). A 6'8" x 20 3/4" is a boat. No doubt super straight rail line and lots of volume (how thick?). It's pretty much the same thing as your mini mal.

What do you expect it to do and what is it not doing?

Thanks for the responses, fully willing to accept its operator error but more just if I can get something more helpful I would rather just buy another board than persevere with something f that's making life harder.

Will chuck photos up tonight.

What's it not doing? Basically just don't seem to be able to get any momentum into the take off the board is either bogging down, generally after this happens a few time I get frustrated and move my body position forward and the board then nose ]dives as soon as soon as it picks up and throws me end over end

Sure they make perfectly good boards but I did say I didn't know what I needed and that's what they sold me so that's my only criticism really

Pretty sure they are the "home brand boards" made in china and the shops just have their logos on them. I bought a mini mal for someone of the same brand. It was heavy, slow and didn't turn. But at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

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EnglishCraig said..
Thanks for the responses, fully willing to accept its operator error but more just if I can get something more helpful I would rather just buy another board than persevere with something f that's making life harder.

Will chuck photos up tonight.

What's it not doing? Basically just don't seem to be able to get any momentum into the take off the board is either bogging down, generally after this happens a few time I get frustrated and move my body position forward and the board then nose ]dives as soon as soon as it picks up and throws me end over end

Sure they make perfectly good boards but I did say I didn't know what I needed and that's what they sold me so that's my only criticism really

Sounds like the rocker (bottom curve) if a board has too much rocker it will be slow and push water

Admittedly they're being towed in,,, but if you can wait, its worth a look at 9.25

As requested please see pics inc full board dimensions - cheers

Yeah, I was going to say the opposite to doggie, that it might be flat rocker causing your issues in this instance.

So you're paddling in too far back, making the board sit on its tail and not plane and then when you get frustrated you are paddling in the right spot but given how flat the rocker is with minimal nose flip if you stay centered like that it will pearl.

So what you need to do is paddle in the further forward position but when you go to get up you need to shift your weight backwards.

But given how much foam is in that board you should be able to get in really early and no matter where your weight is if you're early enough it shouldn't matter. I.e. no late takeoffs. If you are still taking off in a steep enough section then you need to work on paddling more.

On my 'fish' it's a lot easier because it's a foot shorter so you can make minor adjustments easily. It has really flat rocker but it's rare for me to nose dive because I can stand on the tail a bit and do an acid drop without shuffling.

Your board will never be a manoeuvre monster given how much foam is in those rails and how straight it is. I don't really understand oversized fishes. I don't get what their purpose is.

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Legion said..

I don't really understand oversized fishes. I don't get what their purpose is.

Simple: to keep 110kg+ blokes like me off mals... you would be horrified with the 53lt volume mine has, but now that I am dialed into it, it works for me in the conditions I surf most. Horses for courses...

Cheers

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Legion said...
Yeah, I was going to say the opposite to doggie, that it might be flat rocker causing your issues in this instance.

So you're paddling in too far back, making the board sit on its tail and not plane and then when you get frustrated you are paddling in the right spot but given how flat the rocker is with minimal nose flip if you stay centered like that it will pearl.

So what you need to do is paddle in the further forward position but when you go to get up you need to shift your weight backwards.

But given how much foam is in that board you should be able to get in really early and no matter where your weight is if you're early enough it shouldn't matter. I.e. no late takeoffs. If you are still taking off in a steep enough section then you need to work on paddling more.

On my 'fish' it's a lot easier because it's a foot shorter so you can make minor adjustments easily. It has really flat rocker but it's rare for me to nose dive because I can stand on the tail a bit and do an acid drop without shuffling.

Your board will never be a manoeuvre monster given how much foam is in those rails and how straight it is. I don't really understand oversized fishes. I don't get what their purpose is.

Thanks for the info legion so if I'm understanding u correctly I should be as far forward as I can be to paddle in but as soon as it starts to pick up I need to get my knees into the tail and get my weight back to stop it diving?

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WA71 said...

EnglishCraig said..
Thanks for the responses, fully willing to accept its operator error but more just if I can get something more helpful I would rather just buy another board than persevere with something f that's making life harder.

Will chuck photos up tonight.

What's it not doing? Basically just don't seem to be able to get any momentum into the take off the board is either bogging down, generally after this happens a few time I get frustrated and move my body position forward and the board then nose ]dives as soon as soon as it picks up and throws me end over end

Sure they make perfectly good boards but I did say I didn't know what I needed and that's what they sold me so that's my only criticism really

Sounds like the rocker (bottom curve) if a board has too much rocker it will be slow and push water

I know the photos are crap but does it help at all confirm / Dismiss your comments re rocker line at all?

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EnglishCraig said..
... if I'm understanding u correctly I should be as far forward as I can be to paddle in but as soon as it starts to pick up I need to get my knees into the tail and get my weight back to stop it diving?

There's an optimal paddling position. On a shorter board it's a matter of inches. If I'm wrong, my board won't paddle at all. If I'm right it's minimal effort. If I sit back on the tail and paddle, I'm pushing against water and extremely inefficient. If I lie too far forward, the nose digs and sinks and I go nowhere. There'll be a spot. You sound inexperienced but given time you should be able to jump on a new board and instantly figure out where you should lie.

Knees on tail? Well, as soon as the wave picks you up you should be moving to your feet (with a few very special exceptions). Knees don't come into it.

On a fish, there's plenty of flat volume so that you can weight forward when paddling or surfing. But with mine I stomp heavily on the tail, nose, whatever is required for a given situation. That's the advantage of a fish - they're (supposed to be) small so you can throw them around to overcome the limitations of the straight template.

The nose diving issue in your case is because you've got a long flat board trying to fit into a curved wave. Ideally, your board rocker curve matches the wave curve. So a fish or a mal is best on a flat or weak wave, not e.g. a beachbreak, or a low tide shallow reef.

One solution would be (if you're able) to turn from the takeoff so you're not going straight down the wave. Another would be to get in early before the wave steepens up (and the volume should make this easy if you can paddle effectively).

For me I'd want a completely different board but it sounds like you're still learning so the extra volume is more important than a little shorty that would reduce your wave count. Something with more rocker and less volume would be much harder for a learner to paddle, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Are you nose diving because your too slow to your feet From pick up (wave surge) you need to be quick to your feet..Especially if heading straight to the beach. As Legion said if you can take of a little more down the line you can then be a little slower

Im sure that makes no sense...

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jbshack said...
Are you nose diving because your too slow to your feet From pick up (wave surge) you need to be quick to your feet..Especially if heading straight to the beach. As Legion said if you can take of a little more down the line you can then be a little slower

Im sure that makes no sense...

No that makes sense mate, I windsurfer in waves long before I tried to do it without the power of a sail! It may be that I'm slow but also obviously new that pick up before hand to et the momentum

Guess its just a balancing act and I'm not quite there...

Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Yeah think I'm with u mate

Guess overiding comment seems to be get on my feet ASAP and get speed in te board however possible!!

Thanks for the contributions by the way guys- learning to surf in bondi hasn't always been a friendly experience so appreciate u taking the time to help!!

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EnglishCraig said..

Thanks for the contributions by the way guys- learning to surf in bondi hasn't always been a friendly experience so appreciate u taking the time to help!!

Surfing in a city crowd will never be a friendly experience no matter the experience
My advice is if it doesn't look like you will have fun go to the pub and play some darts

If you're just learning, paddling and positioning will be your biggest issue. Didn't we just have a thread on that?

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WA71 said..
Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Hey WA71 ! What happened to Doggie? And why are you minding his dog? And where are the malamutes?

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pweedas said..

WA71 said..

Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Hey WA71 ! What happened to Doggie? And why are you minding his dog? And where are the malamutes?

I am doggie

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WA71 said...

pweedas said..

WA71 said..

Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Hey WA71 ! What happened to Doggie? And why are you minding his dog? And where are the malamutes?

I am doggie

And Legion

Select to expand quote

jbshack said...

WA71 said...

pweedas said..

WA71 said..

Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Hey WA71 ! What happened to Doggie? And why are you minding his dog? And where are the malamutes?

I am doggie

And Legion

And Laurie

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WA71 said..

jbshack said...

WA71 said...

pweedas said..

WA71 said..



Ok, windsurfer. You know when you do a carving jybe? You lean in the direction of the jybe, taking off is the same point your'e board in the direction you want to go and aim higher than you think. It will also help you get up easier

Hey WA71 ! What happened to Doggie? And why are you minding his dog? And where are the malamutes?

I am doggie

And Legion

And Laurie

I thought I recognised that Kelpie grin.
So did doggie blot his copy -book by pooing on the carpet or something?
Tut tut tut ! BAD dog.

Thanks for the help guys

I have been told by a number of people that they are copies of a bigger brand - anyone know where they get their "inspiration" from

Guess its hard to protect design IP on that sort of thing

Perseverence is starting to pay off a bit with this board - anyone know of somewhere in sydney area (or within 1 hours drive) that rents or lets u try out different shapes / sizes?