sizing the sweet

[cuttlefish]

For Firewire repairs both Brian at Inside Edge and Bart at the Beachbeat factory (not the UK one PRJ) are quite familiar with them and it's straight forward.
I've had Brian repair my carbon fibre/eps Van Straalens and my Diverse dynocore eps which has innegra cloth and repairs have been invisible.
If you get a ding with Firewires you need to get out of the water and the eps has to be dry before repairing it.
If it's just small fractures that can let in water you can sand them down and use Solarez : squeeze out of tube onto fracture and cover with clear tape to make it smooth, take out into good sunlight and peel off tape after a couple of mins, then sand flush if needed. Easy.
Fins wise with fcs I was running a similar sized fin template to the MR tfx in fronts and M5 rears today only because My stretches were in my 6'er which I'd left at home so these were my second choice.
If it was smaller I'd put GXQ's in the rears if I wanted to loosen up the tail.
My favourites are the Stretch PC cores. Set and forget.

[prjwebb]

Would be an expensive ding repair if you sent it to the UK one! Haha.

You think the Stretches are best in the SP Pete? I don't actually have a set of them anymore, I was thinking MRTFX fronts with K2.1 quad rears or Soar DL with K2.1 rears.
If I don't have great results with those I'll probably buy some PC SF4s but I'd like to stick with the Powerbase fins really...
Have you had any experience with the Controllers? Are they as good as everyone says? I considered ordering in Futures to run them but I've got a bunch of FCS fins so I figured I'd have more options this way and potentially wouldn't have to buy any more new fins.

[A.Vern]

So did I go too big?

Here's the background....

6'0 195 lbs (88.5 KG) 25 years of experience, like to think I'm advanced ;)

I tested out a 6'2" RF in head high + surf. I had 4 days in San Diego last month and planned to buy one while I was there. Can't call it unlucky, but a 5-10 ft early Southern Hemi showed up and I figured I would get a feel for the Spud before I picked a size since I was initally thinking 5'6" as Firewire recommends.

I thought the 6'2" would be a disaster in big surf (hard to turn and would slip out). It was the complete opposite. The board carried so much energy I could go anywhere I wanted to on the wave. If felt like surfing on a rocket. It did feel a little big, but was easy to turn from rail to rail.

So I ordered a 5'8" FST. By the time I got it, the surf had dropped to a fun 4-5 feet. I took the SP out at La Jolla Shores that is a average type wave for So Cal, not a lot of power, but still fun.

The 5'8" shot down the line with the same tremendous speed, but felt "nervous" except when I was up on rail. It still had a good rail to cut back on, but for the first time, I had the fins slip out when I went to cut back. It felt too small for my frame, so I swapped out the 6'2" to be sure. The 6'2" felt a bit big, but had that solid feel at all times with none of the nervousness (twitchy).

So I ordered a 5'10" and headed back to where I'm currently living in South Texas (Corpus Christi).

The first few days out on the SP was in 4-5 foot wind swell (the standard for around here), and the 5'10 " worked pretty well and had amazing drive.

Yesterday was the first time I've had the SP in what it was designed for... 1-3 foot weak slop.

The board paddled me amazingly, and I was catching waves out with the guys riding logs. Once up, the board did it's best to try and get speed. On any other short board, I would of been struggling, but with the mighty SP, I had enough drive to make it down the line, hit the lip a few times and finnish off with a floater.

While I can manuever the board, it does feel heavy and a bit big. From what I've read on here, it sounds like a proper sized Potato is real loose in 1-3 foot slop.

What do you guys think, did I go too big or is it just a bit harder to work this board in weak mush?

I like the 5'10" in the waist to should high mush around here, but I'm wondering to truly see the magic of the SP, should I be riding a 5'8" or 5'6" in the 1-4 foot range?

Thanks,

Vern

[cuttlefish]

Prj,
I've not tried controllers as both spuds are fcs shod but putting the Stretches in has been the money fins for me and since I've only ridden 2 waves (albeit very good ones) with the other MR like combo I'd say put your MR's in with confidence and adjust the tail release with your rear fin sizing.
Vern,
Waves are pumping at the moment so I'll have to wait for a while to figure out which of the two spuds goes better in small junk.
What a problem to have???
What fins are you running in your spud?
From my (limited) experimentation on the spud I'm going to say it is sensitive to fin choice and getting it dialled with the right fins (for You) is critical.
In weaker surf try some glass flex fins if you have them.
If you're using large fronts then put in a smaller front and see how you go in loosening it up.
Large fronts like MR's are drivey because of their area and depth but will tighten up the way it feels off the top.
Even with smaller rears in weak surf the taller front fins fins may be giving you too much hold and so making the board feel tight overall.
So try smaller fins in a balanced front and rear size set.
Report your findings back too please.

[A.Vern]

Will do,

by the way, I'm running FCS SF-4's.

Cheers,

Vern

[STC67]

I have been running MR's in the front and K2.1 in the rear. Cuttle is right in that it is drivey but a bit too stiff. I am going to try the stretch quads. I don't have a set, but just board an Activator so may be worth getting some to try in both boards.

The best results I have had in the SP were some Rainbow Speed Dialers. These went well up to chest high waves but felt a little under finned bigger than that. I don't really like the SP in conditions bigger than that so no a real issue. Unfortunately my son has pinched them and has them in his board now.

[STC67]

Hey Cuttle, SEQ has been NOICE the last few days. Are you surfing the Pnator at the moment? It would have to be 6ft and bigger on the open beachies.

[A.Vern]

So you guys think the 5'10" is a good size if it's riding well for me in 3-4 feet but a little sluggish in 1-2 feet... just maybe need a fin swap?

So Rainbow speed dialers might help? What about the Indo fins? Anyone try these?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/160716757...84.m1423.l2649

[cuttlefish]

STC I have been riding the p'nator and also mixing it up with others.
If anyone's read my first post on the p'nator small wave assasinator thread I started I mentioned I get shoulder pain (around my scapula) from paddling really short boards.
Sometimes I forget all about that.
After a short surf on the 5'8" sweet potato demo the other day the shoulder pain is back to remind me that while most of me is willing the shoulders will make me pay for it.
No such problems on the 6'er as the floatation allows me to keep my chest down more while paddling whereas the 5'8" (43l) with it's lower volume and shorter length has me arching my lower back more.
The 6'2" (44l) p'nator for me paddles a lot easier and doesn't give me the shoulder pain.
Reminds me that it's one of the reasons why I first bought a 6'6" Addvance a few years back.
Mentioning this in case anyone else has the same problem.

[cuttlefish]

turtle0005_ s.jpgIMG_20120102_091438.jpg
A.Vern,
These are pics of a 4'2" that I have which can be ridden prone or standing up and I've played around a lot with fins on it.
The way it skims across flat sections is the same as the sweet potato.
When it's tiny I can still ride this board but I useIMG_20110923_125332.jpg M7's that Ive cut down to be baby keels because it's not about drive on it.
Have you got any smaller fins to try in it?
Both the speed diallers and the Indo fins (controller type) are large area fins yes?
Try some smaller fins first.
The board already has a wide planing area with deep double concaves so what most are chasing with such a small, wide board is controlling their speed which the board has with lots of fin area.
So if you have a larger board with even more planing area but subsequently more rail to use as well, drop your fin sizes in small stuff to loosen it up.
You're not chasing drive as the sweet potato has it in it's low rockered, wide, double concaved bottom already.
Then it'll be a matter of fine tuning to find the fins that give you back the slippery loose, free running feel, you get when you're surfing it it in larger waves with larger fins which control it.
Try to get a demo set of H2 fins. I reckon they would put a smile back on your face.
My 2 cents.
Feel free to tell me I'm dead wrong anyone.