I just thought i would post my thoughts on a recently purchased but soon to be sold dominator. After reading everyones glowing endorsements of the dominator i looked around the surf shops and found a 6'4". I looked in another shop at the 6'6" but it looked huge and i wanted more of a performance board for around head high waves. I am 52, 6'3" and 95-100kg, surfing for 38yrs. I have a 6'3" minifish and a 6'10" mollusc but wanted something in between. My first surf on the dom was in chest to shoulder high reef break lefts, on my forehand. I found it to be not a good paddler, but i still caught plenty of waves, and after the high volume boards i had been riding i was not surprised. It was not a board that had natural down the line speed, i found it was easy to pump small turns to get it going, but did not have glide when i stopped turning it. It turned well, and was easy to wrap around a cutback on the small faces, but in the waves i ride i would prefer it with less rocker. I could imagine it would go great in punchy beachbreaks or bowly reefs. I love the outline shape and the round tail which i havent had for a long time, and i think the tail lends itself perfectly to a quad fin setup.
I am still a believer in the technology and the shapes and i have decided a 6'5" El Fuego, diamond tail, would suit my surfing and the waves i ride, so after an expensive experiment i will try and sell the FST Dom and get an elf. After reading Nevs experiences im a little more confident i will get it right.
The other thing i notice on here is there are old guys like me who are light, and big guys who are young. Not many big old guys, and they seem to steer towards the addvance.