It's a John Carper Hawaii, model Shane Dorian-3, thruster, squash tail. The size is 6'0 x 18.75 x 2.35. I have no idea what ruler scale of the thickness is. Must be something between 5/16 and 3/8 (but then there's no point in working it back to ruler scale, right?
) By the way, I'm 177cm and 70kg.The board on the left hand side is a local brand - 5'10 x 19 3/8 x 2 1/4. I've been riding only this board with FCS K2.1 for about ten months and therefore I am very used to it.
This early morning I gave my new mate a try for the first time, with the K2.1 set I have. The surf was about shoulder high but not so good because many of them would only break on the top. I caught all the waves I paddled for, though.
However, my first impression was, "why is this board so light!?". I guess I'm too used to that 5'10. Also, my late drops seemed to be a bit delayed, maybe half a second late. When going down the line, it was a lot faster than the speed I'm used to. I couldn't really hack the lip because of the wave condition, but I found that going vertical is heaps easier with a squash tail!!
After about an hour, I had enough of its looseness so I got in, went back home and switched fins to FCS UL-5(bought this recently and felt it was too stiff for my 5'10.) Got out again, was surprised that it worked fine with my new board. Made it stiffer and more stable and I was able to draw some better roundhouses.
I was learning to blow the tail and trying to pull off some air(though not successful) on my 5'10. Now, I'm sure I'm going to look like a beginner again
but I'm very positive this is going to be a big change to my surfing style. This morning as I was pumping across the face, I felt like my board could fly anytime!
How did it go? Keep us posted.