At last we got moved and I got to pick up my 604 Dominator . I went with the Rusty 5 fin set . As allways happens when I by a new board the wind has howled from every direction possible so the ocean looks like the inside of a washing machine. When the wind lays down enough or at least picks a direction for a few days we should have a swell ... can't wait !

Mike

Buzzy , I would love to visit Austrailia some day . When and if I ever make a bucket list Austrailia would be #1 and #2 .

#1). Snorkel GBR , I've always wanted to do that.
#2). Grander Black Marlin release .

Funny thing is I grew up in a small town on the east coast of Florida called Melbourne Beach.

Mike

Iggy, It's nice to get "lost" for a period of time but it's good to come back to the beach.

I weigh 200 right now I expect to lose 15 pounds or so . The surf in Florida is mostly sandbar breaks although Sebastian inlet is only 30 minutes away it's kind of a baby wedge . The jetty angles to the southeast so any east or northeast swell causes the waves to bounce off the jetty and create a wedge of incoming wave and the bounced wave .

Mike

Slowman , I'm jumping up and down to get moved and can't wait to get back in the water.
Don't get me wrong I'm stoked to have this board ready and waiting for when I pull into town.

Mike

Chris , What I was trying to say and I must have not conveyed it very well is this, customers when something breaks tend to be upset ( ie emotional ) and look to place blame on someone be it the manufacture etc. I wasn't referring to you .
I'm still not sure what statement I made but I was asking in the frame of a new customer what is the real deal ie ... are these complaints just customers that pushed the envelope to far or mistreated the board and the board delamed /creased or is there a design issue? I certainly didn't mean to imply that you or any rep of FW misled anyone. If I had thought that I damn sure wouldn't have bought the board in the first place. I don't do business with those types never have never will.

Now that being said , I'll take the heat for not being clear in my question. All is well.

I got the info I was looking for , no hard feelings.
Cheers,
Mike

Forums are a great way to gather information ! The only down fall is that they are just text and sometimes emotions / attitudes don't come through the way they were intended.
The board is coming with futures, I was on the edge with going 6'4" or 6'2" but when I'm honest with myself I think 6'4" is the way to go. Also the 6'4" Koa Dom is in stock and has my name on it !!
Ha , I'm not that far back in the mountains.
Board is in stock , facial hair is gone ,sold all of my camo to pay for the Dom HA.
Still up in air on which fins. Florida has it's moments like hurricane surf can be 2X overhead but 99.9% of the time chest to head high sandbar breaks.

Thanks again,
Mike

Chris I asked a question in the hope that I would get an answer that was not written by someone overcome with emotion. Concerning PU tech, please remember I have been in the mountains for seven years and out of touch with the surfing comunity.

See above , I put a deposit on the board because I liked the shape ( looks like a fun board for FL surf ) and because of the recommendation of the shop and those posting here. Nobody is perfect.

New information to me , again I've been out of touch.

I don't see how doing research on an investment of any kind is shortsighted ? Again, I asked the question in the hope that I would get an answer not drenched in emotion as many of the posts I read were . I had read several posts concerning what people precieved as " an issue " this concerned me. To be fair I even asked " OR IS THERE AN ISSUE ". as far as being responsive , you have done a great job responding to your customers ... In my opinion.

Chris , I have been out of touch for a while , but I also spent many years surfing . I know just like everyone else that boards ding and break.
I made NO blanket statement . I asked a question concerning my investment .
If I do something stupid or get dumped on a heavy wave and the board breaks I can accept that, stuff happens. Yes I have broken boards.


Where have I pointed the finger at anyone ? I asked a question plain and simple ! Remember "OR IS THERE AN ISSUE" !
I understand your frustration , I don't think dumping it all on me was was the right way to handle it but whatever.

iggy and prjwebb thank you for respoonding in a reasonable fashion that was the info I was looking for.

Chris , My deposit remains in place and I look forward to the new Dom.

Mike

mrees , Thanks great info.

As far as the dominator ... I can't wait to get it in the water.

Mike

OK guys I just put a deposit on a 6'4" Koa dominator. I will discuss fins and set-up when I finally get there ....7 weeks . So keep the set-up info comming.

Mike

Hey Chris , What i think I want is a quad and then as you say a thruster for bigger surf, but a quad would be fine for now. Quad should work up to head high maybe a little over head correct ? Hurricane swells or big choppy nor-easter swell I would want more bite and stability.

Yes it has futures boxes.

I want to have some looseness , but primarily snap out of the turns . When I first get back in the water I imagine I'll be trying to generate speed first and get myself set up for some mild turns just to get the muscles , reflexes and coordination working right again.

Thanks ,
Mike

Sounds like I'll go with the 6'4" with the Koa deck ....

Now , Fins and setup.

As buzzy said Florida is not known for big surf. So chest to head high is a good day. It gets bigger but that is usually storm ( hurricane or big noreaster ) surf. So most days are just small and fun.
Any suggestions on fin type / set up?

Thanks guys,
Mike

Buzzy the guy at the local shop was recommending a 6'4" Dom.

Mike

Hey Chris thanks for the input !

Along time ago I used fishtail fins ( I case you're too young to remeber those they were a urethane sheath over a fiberglass spine ) they gave you that little extra energy comming out of a turn so maybe that's a similar feel.

My normal weight should be around 185. So I would like to target that for the volume weight.

The local dealer has a 6'4" Koa Dominator and 6'2" Dominator non Koa. don't know if there is a durability difference . My favorite board of the many I had was a 6'2" so I like that lenght fo rthe smallish FL surf.

Mike