Bumped this thread to give an update on the fin topic.
The 9' Jamie Mitchell fin I've been running is fun in small waves on the 10' Laird.
Also, I just had the chance to surf some of the swell from Cat 3 Hurricane Gonzalo along the east coast of Florida.
The Laird got a bit squirrely on some of the larger waves. Conditions were less than perfect with offshore/sideshore winds.
As I was driving home I put in a call to Pearson Arrow Surf shop and then over to the factory.
The fella I spoke with there suggested running quads plus a center in larger surf, and also run with just the quads otherwise.
His suggestion on the quads was T1's (about 5 1/2") in the front, and EA's (about 4 1/2") in the back. For center fin 6" to 6 1/2"
I've give it a go and will report back...
Fins for 10 foot surfer.
At the moment still got Laird Thruster set in which works well on bigger days. I think I can get board much looser. After getting some long clean point waves the other week I think the nose riding, pilot dependent..... can get much better with another set up. Looking to try a larger single around nine and a half with plenty of flex and 2+1 setup with same fin small side bites. Then same 2+1 with flex centre around seven and a half. Have not tried quad or five fin as yet.
I have a Bob Pearson custom 10'. This is the fin I'm running at the moment. It turns & noserides as good as I could expect.
Bob McTavish has excellent fins. You can buy them online. I use the redline fin as a single in my 10.6 and in my 12.6 race board
Hi all,
Anyone have any trouble with durability of the EPS layup? I have the 9' hybrid and the rail saver is chewing up my rails on both sides. Yes, i have the cord nice and short. Maybe 30 sessions so far and two repairs to the rail just up from the tail point.
Rail protection tape maybe?
Thx
Dan,
Sorry for the slow response, I see you have posted this question twice.
That sounds a real bummer
No I haven't had any issues like that, to be honest I am pleased how mine is holding up
Have you spoken with the supplier?
It could be linked back to their early batch which were did have some soft issues which supposedly have been rectified
Seems about as durable as a fiberglass board. Glass will fracture and spider. Also have a few spots where the epoxie is so thin that I've had to squirt a little sun cure on it. Love surfing on it though.
Just wanted to add that this is one of my favorite boards. Glad I bought it, love to ride it, and plan to keep it. Some of the big name pop outs may be a bit more durable, but in my opinion this board is special. I think it's one of the early customs eps boards built in the Pearson Ca. factory. Don't even think Pearson is building them anymore. Since it's a hand laid board the rails are thin and sharp which adds to the performance. This also makes the board more fragile.
Yep. Gonna drag this one back out into the light again. FINALLY got a go on my mates 11' surfer today and I gotta be honest with you; at first I thought it sucked. My board of choice in this category is my 10'6" Nalu, which at a 160L keeps you well up and out of the water on a normal day. The Laird sits down wayyyyy lower and the chop was slapping at my ankles straight away. I thought to myself "this thing must be waterlogged or something", and decided to try and get on a wave asap, before I lost interest. First couple of disastrous attempts found me looking like a numpty, and it was obvious I needed to adjust to this board quickly or end up damaging myself. A quick stance and attitude adjustment saw me take off on a nice little right hander and that's when this board came to life. It is a true longboard, that they've somehow made just buoyant enough to label a SUP. I can truly see on the right wave on the right day it would really put a big childish grin on your face. Now if only I can get someone to tell me where they're being made, and when they'll be available......
Give Sam at Balmoral sup a call ,I think they are pretty much up to speed on models etc.They can arrange shipping if you order from them.I think they come into Australia through an agent in WA,but not fully sure on that.
Brenno they are in store at Balmoral Paddlesurf next week. Most brands are experiencing hold ups with sea freight at the moment.
The Laird sup has a vent that I am not familiar with(not that I am familiar with most others).what if any maitenance do they need or is it a case of set and forget..
It must be a Gore Tex membrane www.gore.com/products/categories/venting
Basically it has holes small enough to let the gas through, but not liquids.
Note that water can go through it in vapor form, so it is not a good idea to keep a board in an tight closed wet bag, water will get into the board as air humidity (vapor) - and you will get osmosis blister anyways :-). But in the other hand, on dry days, the board wll breathe and water will get out as vapor too.
In a nutshell: the vent works, dont touch it.
David, you should definitely look at boards designed for the mediterranée, more specifically to your local conditions, by shapers surfing in our local conditions.
Hawaian boards (e.g: the prowave, Hokuas, ...) just have a too slow rocker to work there.
For instance, for my stretch of coast around Cannes, traditional longboards are not great as we do not have waves long and steady enough for them to work: what works best here are either "mini longboards" that combine glide of a fast rocker and agility of a short length, or "performance longboards" (modern shapes) that you can push to exploit the fickle waves.
Other parts of the Mediterannée have other characteristics however. Near Hyeres some longboard spots seem to exist: www.bothejess.com/
I suggest you read the Gong forum, you will get a lot of insight of the different types of longboard SUPs and their adequation to the spots and intended style... e.g:
Note that I dont say that you must buy a Gong board. I am just saying the the gong forum is an unequaled source of extermely useful information, especially on what woks for different kind of people on different kind of waves, and that you should read before buying something not adapted to your conditions and tastes.
Exemples:
www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=62345 (explains the old school shapes like the Laird/Pearsons)
www.gongsup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=81390#p81390
www.gongsup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=88612#p88612
...
Sorry, correction on fins, 9' Benda centre fin by Shappers and it is 3/4 forward in the box which means the leading edge is around 10mm past trailing edge of Solus sides. Just had another super fun session surfing part of the beach nobody else would bother with, stoked on this board