I kind of have two styles of these but don’t really break it up into two versions like the Double Bump Swallow.
It’s either thick or thin – the adjustment comes in the tail block and a little in the rails and up into the chest of the rails. A very relaxed entry rocker, a slick little curve out the tail, and a full floaty loose volume that seems to surf virtually everything up to ten foot faces are what you get in this sleek, racy outline.
An extremely shallow straightline swallowtail, a behind-center widepoint, a generous dose of flat rocker apex, and very sharp, full, slightly tucked rail through the tail make this board FAST.
Fast down the line, fast turning, quick level changes – a true California shortboard staple. A single to spiral V concave and a lifty squash like feel with the grip of a round pin during high speed deep turns, make this thing float on air through turns and ripping it off the top frontside or backside.
I’ve ridden this board at Stub jetty on small days in the summer, Little Point way overhead, Razors double overhead at Punta Abreojos, big Theresas, OB jetty, Avalanche, and, of course, Blacks. Perhaps the best session I’ve ever had was on this board at Hospitals in La Jolla. It went from the bottom to the top and squirted off the top turn easier and more pivoty than any thruster (pro shape) I’ve ever felt! I truly felt like there wasn’t anything this design does not like!
It kind of has some subtle similarity to the get up and go feel of the Double Bump Swallow – mostly because of the really wide hip and deep concaves, but that is where the similarities end. The Double Bump Swallow even has a curvier entry rocker!
I’m excited to introduce this shape to more of the general public. Don’t let the pulled in nose fool you. The flat entry rocker and nice chunky rail volume keeps it super loose and on top of the water. In EPS, it just feels weightless through turns.
I consider I have extremely fine tuned rails and very sharp, effective edges on my boards. I shape a really subtle micro-bevel through the tail rail of this design, so it still feels graceful going rail to rail on steep, fast faces. This yields the most versatile pro shape I have yet to design, that isn’t really a step-up, mainly due to the extra width of the entire outline, primarily in the hip.
Number changes in the nose can give the outline a bit more of a teardrop appearance but that’s probably better suited for a travel board or specifically for bigger than average surf. I can even pull the tail in slightly so it holds better on rounder steeper drops if it’s ordered specifically for that purpose.
That’s the advantage of going with me. I am a HAND SHAPER. I will make the proper adjustments backed up by 25 years of shaping and 35 years of surfing experience. (And this is not just surfing in SoCal – it is experience from around the world)
Read my bio to learn more!
One time when I took off on a right at a reef in Baja with 8 foot faces, I did my initial check turn to build speed and race to the next section. This board actually went slightly upside down with a fin out and threw buckets of water in the air, then flipped back over and sat flush to drive soooo fast down the line to throw a massive roundhouse cutback.
I can’t say enough good things about how crisp, graceful, and capable this board is to absorb the most powerful sections of a strong round fast wave. AND, it goes in average surf well too! It seems to feel loose and smooth in every condition I’ve put it in.