2nd longboard, boardworks stewart hydro hull 9'6

[kaossurfer]

Hi, new to this forum and its great to have a read of peoples posts to hear about others surfing issues and advice for improvement.
I've been surfing on and off for about 25 years but due to not going frequently enough i still consider myself a beginner. I bought my first longboard 16 years ago from surfers paradise in Cornwall, shaped by martin geary. The board is a 9'2 x 22.75 x 3 progressive mal, 2+1 fin setup which I've always surfed tri fin and catch most waves i go for between knee to chest high, can trim down the line and occasionally turn but never learned to cross step. Having got a bit older and heavier over the years, I'm 6'1 and 235lbs, strong build not fat and found recently that on smaller slow waves the board starts to sink. As i sup as well and know a bit more about volume etc i wanted to get a longer, wider, thicker board with more volume. I got hold of a boardworks Stewart hydro hull tec 9'6 in great condition and within my limited budget. It came with the Stewart 2+1 fin setup but i wanted to try it initially as a single fin for more glide so i fitted a nineplus dolphin 9.5" fin almost all the way back. I tried it for the first time Sunday, allbeit in knee to waist high very mellow, clean slow waves. It paddled out fine but initially i couldn't paddle it fast enough to catch a wave, caught the 4th wave but the board does feel sluggish compared to my pu 9'2 board, any thoughts? The boardworks is a performance board with a fair bit of rocker but less rocker than my old board, could it be that epoxy and pu boards are that different, my sup is epoxy but has similar rocker and loads of glide. Funnily enough the guy I bought it from was selling it because he surfs at a mellow break and wanted something longer with less rocker and suggested this board would be better suited to a faster more powerful break? Having said that, once i caught a couple of waves i managed to pump the board up and down the face of one wave and managed a cutback, which is more than i could do on my old board. Might try it with the 2+1 setup to see if pumping it for speed is the way to go.
If anybody else has any thoughts on it i'd appreciate your comments, sorry to go on so long.

[jaffa1949]

Try putting the fin as a single a little further forward, you can pump for speed one two or three fins the epoxy could be more buoyant but if they have cut back the thickness then it might actually be less in volume.
Unfamiliarity is also your problem as you said once you caught a couple it performed better than your old board, answer right there just try the fin positions till you get the right feel to it add and subtract the outer fins and see how it responds for you.
Read the fin primer for a little more understanding. Let Kaos rule!

[pico_train]

Definetely move the single fin forward a bit and see how that goes. You can move a little each time, say .5 inch to find your "equilibrium". My 9" fin is all the way forward in the fin box and it's great.

You could look into a same size flex fin for the single setup. I have a 9" flex fin on a 9' board and it's a thing of beauty in smaller and milder waves. Makes cutbacks and smooth turns a lot easier without sidebites. It's looser so to speak.

Enjoy!

[kaossurfer]

Thanks guys, the Stewart is 3 5/8 thick and 23.5 wide and i can definitely feel that its got more float, i was just surprised that it seemed so much slower than my old board considering less rocker, less nose concave, double concave though the middle and single fin setup. As you say its unfamiliar at the moment but definitely showed potential to be good. I'll try moving the fin forward gradually although the fin box is quite short on these boards, already read the fin advice, good stuff.
Pico, i tried a flex fin on my old board and hated it, felt like the back of the board was made of jelly. To be honest i was impressed that i could notice the difference. Will keep trying and when i find a setup I'm happy with I'll update.

[IB_Surfer]

Not to knock boardworks or any other board I have a story:

I have a 9'6l Eberly longboard, and she is a beauty. But back about 9 years ago I wanted more paddle of a board, so I went out and bout a takayama tuflite 10'2, with a nice woody look. Well, it seemed to paddle worse than my 9'6, so I sold it.

Have you tried a board shaped by a local shaper? Same size, but you tell him what you want in performance and the shaper will make you a board that rocks.

[kaossurfer]

I've got a tuflite sup and its great, wouldve bought a tuflite Robert august what i ride of i could afford it, does make you wonder though.
I looked into getting a custom board made, 2 great shapers in the area but wouldve cost me £200-300 more than i paid for the boardworks. I'll keep at it, if i get no joy, I'll sell it on.

[pico_train]

Ok fair enough. I'm a smaller guy so maybe the flex fin works better for me. So...that tells you that you like rigidity for a single fin. MoVe your big dolphin forward a bit, you'll find your sweet spot. Enjoy!