5'6'' Sweet Potato VS. Quadfish

[jsurfer]

Currently I ride the 5'8'' Hellfire on medium to bigger/cleaner days here in Central FL but I recently got my hands on a 5'6'' Sweet Potato to use for the junk. I'm still getting used to it but so far have liked it for the most part-- riding it up to chest high. The past few sessions though I still feel like I wished it would paddle into mushier waves with greater ease. It might be just me still getting used to the board as I've only had it out for about 7-10 sessions. But I'm curious if anyone had any thoughts on how a Quadfish would compare to my 5'6'' Sweet Potato. I know once you are up and going on a wave they would perform differently, but on the junk days I just want to paddle into the wave and go down the line. Would a 5'10'' or 6'0'' Quadfish paddle into waves easier for me? I realize that some might say the volume might be overkill but I would love for a board to paddle well into these weak/mushy Fl waves closer to how my longboard would. If the SP is a better board for what I'm looking for them I'll keep working at it, but just curious if the design of the QF would give me any more advantages. Thanks!!

[iggy]

I had a 5'10" quadfish a few years back and now own a 5'2" potato. As far as paddling go, the quad fish will give you that ease of paddle but once on, the potato is waaaay more fun. Is two completely different styles, Quadfish will be more down the line while the potato will be going all over the place.
But do not disregard the potato, once you get it dialled is tons of fun.
5'10"

[jsurfer]

Thanks for the advice. yeah I think I'll keep working on the sweet potato then. I had my buddy's 5'11'' retro fish out yesterday (non firewire) that was a little less buoyant than the sweet potato. After switching back and forth a few times we both were convinced that not only did the sweet potato paddle into waves easer but it was much more maneuverable on the wave. I think I'll stick with it. Those last few sessions had pretty mushy waves and I can't make a judgment call too fast.

[jsurfer]

Any other thoughts? More specifically how a retro 5'8'' Quadfish (2 3/4ths thickness) would compare to a 5'6'' Firewire Sweet Potato? My understanding is that the sweet potato will make tighter turns. But is the ease of paddling/wave catching ability about the same?

[prjwebb]

Yeah they'll paddle similarly, maybe the quadfish having the edge on flat water but hard to say. It'll certainly surf much more laterally and cruisey than the Sweet Potato.

[iggy]

Any other thoughts? More specifically how a retro 5'8'' Quadfish (2 3/4ths thickness) would compare to a 5'6'' Firewire Sweet Potato? My understanding is that the sweet potato will make tighter turns. But is the ease of paddling/wave catching ability about the same?

They will paddle similarly, The potato will go on rail easier and will draw tighter turns than the fish.The beauty of the potato is that you can pack lots of volume on a short lenght allowing this board to fit into anything while keeping you afloat

[Chris]

good feed back folks, thanks for the help!