Lost Mini Driver

[Goanna]

Goanna my MD is 6'2 I went for this size as i thought the 6'0 would be to small, I wish there was a 6'1 as that would have been perfect for me. I feel the 6'2 is over volume but i don't mind as i wanted the board as an alrounder. I am 85kgs about 6'2 and fit at 41years(how depressing is that) and above average surfer but that depends on the night before. Give it a few more goes first 5 surfs i thought finally found that board, then 3 -4 surfs it was i hate this thing, now after a few more i am back to i think I have found that board again. i surf a mix of beachies and points on far north coast. good luck.

Thanks Seabass and H.S.O - I'll give it some more time.

[Goanna]

Jase I'm on my way home from a two week holiday riding the 6'2"MD in everything from 2ft slop to 4-5ft messy, 4-5ft clean long lefts and this morning 4-5ft clean long right sand covered reef point break. I feel this is a good enough test to know if a board is right for me.
I'll say straight up front....this board looks and feels amazing under the arm and it is-it just may not be the board for me. I have figured out after so many waves of various types that A. I will need a smaller fin so this is no issue and will be trying some different types in the next few weeks. B. although I'm at my surfing fittest at the moment I've never been a strong paddler and just cannot get into the wave quick enough. I virtually spent the whole two weeks going over the falls or getting caught behind!
The frustrating thing is that I know without a doubt my beloved Futura would have been all over these waves for sure as it has so many times before. Buzzy will be reminding me of this no doubt but the 6'2" MD ticked every box for me and I had no doubt it was my dream board.
I am putting the difference down to more nose and tail rocker compared to the 6'4" Futura - it doesn't look like a lot of difference but it has made a lot of difference for me.
I'm still keen to try some new fins but this won't solve my paddle problem unfortunately.
It's not all doom and gloom though-the few waves I did make were amazing and the board is built for speed!
I would say this board is for the younger or strong paddler in the 82-95kg range.

Well I caught up with famous Slowman for a board swap this morning and it was a positive outcome all round.
The waves were 1-2ft with a little bit of grunt running along a shallow bank / quick take off / close to shore / slightly back washy. At first it didn't look all that inviting but we thought we'd get wet and see if we could get a feel for paddling the boards anyway.
I liked the familiarity of the JK - it reminded me of the Futura straight away and didn't have any trouble catching the small waves on it - I put this down to the slightly flatter rocker. Didn't get any that walled up properly but hey it was about catching the wave so I was happy after 2 weeks of floundering up the coast.
Now the good part - I got a few waves on the MD and although it was difficult to get along the quick face (this was because of the waves not the board) I found the board just as easy to catch these small waves on as the JK. The tide dropped a little more & started breaking further out so I got 2 walled up waist high longer rides before I got out and the MD lit up - at least enough to let me know that I was onto something good – so I won’t be giving up on her yet!
I couldn't do this on 5ft clean waves on holidays – then I come home to waist high peelers and catch them with ease??? Go figure hey
My mate reckons I was dehydrated from drinking more beer than water and surfing 2-3 hour sessions everyday whilst on holidays– he says you feel super fit but lack power and balance – this made a lot made sense to me.
Anyway I'm starting to feel the love for the MD after a rough start.

[FW - Fan]

Well I caught up with famous Slowman for a board swap this morning and it was a positive outcome all round.
The waves were 1-2ft with a little bit of grunt running along a shallow bank / quick take off / close to shore / slightly back washy. At first it didn't look all that inviting but we thought we'd get wet and see if we could get a feel for paddling the boards anyway.
I liked the familiarity of the JK - it reminded me of the Futura straight away and didn't have any trouble catching the small waves on it - I put this down to the slightly flatter rocker. Didn't get any that walled up properly but hey it was about catching the wave so I was happy after 2 weeks of floundering up the coast.
Now the good part - I got a few waves on the MD and although it was difficult to get along the quick face (this was because of the waves not the board) I found the board just as easy to catch these small waves on as the JK. The tide dropped a little more & started breaking further out so I got 2 walled up waist high longer rides before I got out and the MD lit up - at least enough to let me know that I was onto something good – so I won’t be giving up on her yet!
I couldn't do this on 5ft clean waves on holidays – then I come home to waist high peelers and catch them with ease??? Go figure hey
My mate reckons I was dehydrated from drinking more beer than water and surfing 2-3 hour sessions everyday whilst on holidays– he says you feel super fit but lack power and balance – this made a lot made sense to me.
Anyway I'm starting to feel the love for the MD after a rough start.

I am hearing you G...I too have had some ok sessions on mine of late. One particular session it was head high, bumpy and super quick. I found the board got me in early so as to provide enough time to work up speed to race the close out and make sections. One particular wave just kept walling up and whilst it was getting smaller and smaller I kept it going and finally kicked off when it had been mid shin high for a bit...was really surprised the board kept going with such a small wave. I have had some waves on it as well where the speed was so intense that when I cut back the board seemed to buck and wiggle a bit....every time I ride it I find a reason to keep it. Would be interesting to see how a 6 x 19 3/4 x 2 5/8 Unibrow would go. That is close to my ideal dimensions for this type of board (the 6'2 MD is a "little" too much board) and the plan shapes look similar.

[buzzy]

I'm curious, as a back to back comparison did you prefer the MD or the Jacknife?

[Goanna]

I am hearing you G...I too have had some ok sessions on mine of late. One particular session it was head high, bumpy and super quick. I found the board got me in early so as to provide enough time to work up speed to race the close out and make sections. One particular wave just kept walling up and whilst it was getting smaller and smaller I kept it going and finally kicked off when it had been mid shin high for a bit...was really surprised the board kept going with such a small wave. I have had some waves on it as well where the speed was so intense that when I cut back the board seemed to buck and wiggle a bit....every time I ride it I find a reason to keep it. Would be interesting to see how a 6 x 19 3/4 x 2 5/8 Unibrow would go. That is close to my ideal dimensions for this type of board (the 6'2 MD is a "little" too much board) and the plan shapes look similar.

I’ve just compared foils on the two and the Unibrow is holding a lot more thickness throughout. The outline is almost identical. I do like the idea of going shorter and retaining volume though.

click to enlarge

MD UB.jpg

[Goanna]

I'm curious, as a back to back comparison did you prefer the MD or the Jacknife?

I loved the fact that I know I can go get the JK if the MD doesn't work out - It has lifted a weight off my shoulders!
but....even after what I've gone through there is something I now like a lot about the MD it even showed me something in very marginal surf so I'll reserve my answer for when I get some bigger waves and come back to you then.

you are more than welcome to have a surf on it of you like buzzy so let me know.

I'll just add that the first thing I noticed -

MD more float (due to slightly higher volume)
JK flatter deck - MD has more meat in the center
both caught waves easily
JK turned a lot easier - this can be fixed by fins though

[Slowman]

Well I caught up with famous Slowman for a board swap this morning and it was a positive outcome all round.
...

Goanna thanks also for the go on the MD. It was surprising, it seriously looked like 6" to 1' only and then some 2' sets would come every 5 minutes or so...and after the NE winds the water temperature was refreshing.

[Goanna]

I'm curious, as a back to back comparison did you prefer the MD or the Jacknife?

Buzzy, I got some solid waves on the MD today. It was around 4ft with some 5ft sets onshore, bumpy and warpy but the wave faces weren't too bad at all if you got the right one.
I only got about 5 good waves in the end but found the MD performed very, very well. It caught waves easily and handled the bump and drops easily. I found I could bottom turn hard and come off the top harder with great control (to the best of my ability that is!)
I think the early issues I had with this board was the Sweet Pot, Potatonator, Dominator, ElFuego and Futura all went perfect from the first time I planted my feet on them so it was a shock when it didn't happen this time and it really got to me.

So how would I compare them?
The MD (for me) is a little easier to catch waves on
I can turn a lot harder on the MD but had to work a little harder as well
The Futura was easier to cutback on - The MD seems to stop half way on a fuller wave but I've identified this as a technique issue
The Futura would be a little better in weaker surf - but not by much.

Could I pick between the two right now - No! it's going to take a few more surfs to have an answer but I can tell you that right now I can't wait to ride the MD again.
So as you can see I've turned the corner!

[Jase]

Great to see that you and Minnie have made friends :)

[seabass]

Hey Jase I find my MD is slightly over volumed so for you it might be perfect but it depends on how much volume you like I sort of sit in the middle of most people some dudes like little to none and other perfer a lot and they are equally good surfers. When I sit on my MD in just boardies the water sits just above my waist and just below my chest. If i sir on My Sub at 32.5 the water sits at start of my chest and i feel i am the water a lot more. For 5% volume differance i do notice it. Hope that helps.

Goanna good to hear. I am getting more used to my MD now and finding i havn't really had that bad surf again, i mean I have had some shockers but its the 12 coopers the night before and not the board. i know what you mate is on about the whole dehydration thing I find that if i am surfing 3-4 hours a day over a week or so my performance drops as the days go on and after a few days out i am back on track, but if only surfing a 2hrs every second day i seem to improve. Hope the swells is up down your way.