Right now I've got 11 surfboards in play for this winter, with another hybrid custom order from Quiet Flight in the works. So come February, that will leave me with a dozen options to take me through spring and into summer. By that time, I'll probably be looking to tweak things again. But here's what I'm going with as the new year turns to 2025...
10 STICKS ON THE LAWN... 2 longboards, 3 shortboards, 3 hybrids, and 2 hp fish
LONGBOARDS
GOOD FOR: Most east coast wave conditions
FIN SETUPS: Christenson performance, RFC Cutaway, RFC Flex Single, Kai Sallas Single and H4 Quads
CONSTRUCTION: PU/Poly
HEIGHT: 9'2 - 9'6
WEIGHT: Heavy glass jobs... we don't like light
TAIL: Round Pins and Swallow tails
I ride a lot of longboards. Year-round. And while I'm not the best nose rider on the block, my high performance longboarding is as good as the next average joe. Ripping turns and cracking lips on a 9'+ water craft is a really cool feeling. Powerful. I regularly clock over 20 mph on my longboards. The Christenson Bandito can flat-out fly.
Some folks only pull out the longer equipment when waves are small, but if we're being totally honest, all three of these boards really light up when wave heights pass the head-high range. The HP quad by Shawn Vecchione is the best stick in my quiver for wrapping a turn at 20mph+. In fact all of my longboards go really fast and can out-race the long period closeouts of Central Florida during tropical or north swell season.
I'm STILL working on reproducing copies of my 24 year old 9'2 Gee Rainbow HP log, the Jebshred Model... it's just taking longer than expected on the R&D/eps-epoxy front. For now, the old PU/Poly model has been repaired and it's ready to charge this February!
SHORTBOARDS
GOOD FOR: Traveling to juicy surf zones, or that one day a year when it's firing at home
FIN SETUPS: Thrusters bro
CONSTRUCTION: PU/Poly and Black Dart
HEIGHT: 6'1 - 6'3
WEIGHT: Light and Lively
TAIL: Round tails
MY BOARDS: 6'3 Lost El Patron in Black Dart construction, 6'2.5 Vec All-in-One, 6'1 Lost V3 Round It
I don't ride shortboards very often anymore. The waves in my neighborhood simply don't call for it. And while I COULD make a performance shortboard work in the dinky waves at home, I choose not to. I can get to the same spots on a wave riding a fish or hybrid, and while the trajectories are less vertical, performance takes less effort, with easier wave catching and more stable platforms to work from. BUT, when there are legit rippable waves, with tops and bottoms to navigate, and consequences for miscalculations, there's no stick I'd rather be riding than an hp shortie. In these conditions my boards are like extensions of my feet, and I never even think about shredding. I just do. When I only need a few strokes to glide into a drainer, and my surf craft effortlessly matches the curve and speed, with control and precision, I don't have to think much. A dialed-in shortboard just goes. But that's the thing... the waves in my hood just aren't that good. And I'm too old to force it. So these boards stay pretty new only getting ridden on trips, and on those magic days that are few and far between.
HYBRIDS
GOOD FOR: Changing things up, milking garbage waves, looking cool on the beach
FIN SETUPS: ALL fins
CONSTRUCTION: PU/Poly & various Eps/Epoxy constructions
HEIGHT: 6'0 - 7'6
WEIGHT: varies
TAIL: varies
I spend a lot of time on hybrids these days, surfing the east coast. I like the funshape sizes for ripping small waves, and the over-stuffed wide outlines for groveling or out-racing close-out sections. I will ride anything weird or with a unique fin setup. I'm very comfortable on single fin surfboards, been riding them since my first stick back in the early 80's, a 7-foot something single fin Tom Overlin I purchased for $15, as it grew weeds in my neighbor's side yard.
I've always had an affinity for odd shapes and oversized performance surfboards with crazy fin setups. They're actually pretty versatile in the conditions you can ride. One of my only gripes with hybrids is they don't always look great when you surf them. You can't force a hybrid. You look really dumb chop-hopping or chattering from the tail. You gotta learn how to cruise and stay on rail. If you can't cruise, you gonna lose. And I'd say figuring out the best fin setup for a hybrid takes a bunch of trials and tribulations. But once I do, I'm known for locking them in and never taking them out.
Right now, I'm addicted to my Jumbo Sting Fish by Quiet Flight... the thing has amazing wave-catching abilities and incredible swing weight. I ride it with medium sized FCS Reactors. The open face down turns on my backside feel like I'm drifting in a race car, busting half-donuts on the bends. Under waist high it's not so great because it doesn't really fit into our wedgie beach breaks... but catch a chest high+ line out the back on a longer period swell, lookout. This board is a total ripper and it's a must-have in your quiver. I've also just picked up a 6'0 Pontoon from Quiet Flight. Impulse buy. But I've been experimenting with the many cool fin configurations this odd-ball plank provides. The vee-bottom hybrid cruiser has a longboard nose with a fair amount of rocker for it's overall flat-looking appearance. I'm still playing around with the Pontoon model as I patiently wait for my new custom 6'8 SUPER Secret Agent from Bruce Ragan... stay tuned!
HP FISH
GOOD FOR: All east coast waves from small to large, choppy to clean. Fish boards can be used as a daily driver here in Florida.
FIN SETUPS: Thrusters, Twin+1, Quad
CONSTRUCTION: Black Dart
HEIGHT: 6'2 and under
WEIGHT: Light and lively
TAIL: Swallow and wide
MY BOARDS: 5'11 Lost RNF '96, 5'11 Lost Puddle Fish both in Black Dart construction
Even though it's technically a hybrid shape, the HP Fish needs it's own category in my quiver. It's what I ride the most. And while I do have a half-dozen fish shapes hanging in the garage, only these two are in rotation at the moment. I've put away all of my dedicated twin fins and soft-tops twinnies. I love love love the speed and freedom of a true twin fin, but the pivot and trajectory towards the lip is not really conducive to the waves I surf on the regular. You need more space to draw out a twin fin turn, and you need to pivot off the bottom regularly to hit a crashing lip. These things can be difficult in racy close-outs breaking on the beach. BUT, throw a center stabilizer in there and you've now changed the game. I know folks like to keep the Twin +1 setup in the Twin Fin category, but it's not. Three fins is three fins. It's not a 2+1, it's a damn thruster people. I don't care about fin placement. I ride thruster fins in twin +1s pretty regularly. Shoot, the Lost RNF isn't even a true twin-fin placement, setting them back in between a thruster and a twin. But I've been experimenting with smaller center fins and weird configurations since the 90's when removable fins became the norm. I really like the template of upright twin-shaped side fins, and I think when they're sized down and paired with a stabilizer fin in the middle, you get an amazing combination of speed and performance. But the Twin+1 is in fact a thruster. It just is. Fight me. I also enjoy the Split Keel Quads from Lost, they have great pivot for a quad set and give you a little more vertical trajectory. They work especially good in the Puddle Fish. But I'm usually choosing three fins over a split keel set-up unless it's glassy long lines with more space to draw out my turns. I've been riding these Lost Black Darts by Drew Baggett for three seasons now, and aside from a little bit of discoloration, they are in amazing shape. I highly recommend the Black Dart Construction of eps blank, carbon fiber top, with an epoxy bottom. Drew glasses boards for Quiet Flight, Lost, and other local shapers. He's also got a rad lineup of his own Inspired Shapes out of Northeast Florida, check him out.
A lot of people ask about my Black Darts whenever I ride them in crowds. They look really good, and they surf really good in our playful Florida conditions. I've even ridden the El Patron in overhead hurricane surf multiple times. Thing is unreal when the waves get good... so light and so much hold. I did a custom order for a pack of three Darts back in 2021, and they've held up nicely. Here are those custom orders with dims. If you're taller than 6'2 and weigh more than 200lbs, don't buy boards off the rack that are sized-up. These shapes aren't necessarily optimized to work if you size them too long. You've really got to dial them in to your body size and abilities, which for me is slightly more narrow outlines, low entry rocker, with a bit less foam up front. I don't taper or pull-in the rails. I keep them chubby, especially under my feet. My best advice is to talk to the shaper about your needs. They know a lot more than you do.
I hope this helps you dial-in your winter quiver. At the very least try to have a Fish for daily driving, a Longboard for the slow and small days, and a Shortboard for those couple times a winter when the swell is on fire. If you want more variety, add a mid-length with a versatile fin setup, a stubby groveler shape with a 5-fin setup, or a soft top version of any of these to maybe get your girl out in the water with you. You don't need to buy new or custom either, you could easily outfit a decent quiver buying USED boards. Checkout Facebook Marketplace, and if you live in the Melbourne, FL area, head on over to Another Ride Surf Shop for an excellent selection of secondhand boards at good prices. Kelly Branagh is a cool shop owner with a ton of surf knowledge. If you're a newbie, he's a good place to start. OK, that's all I got!
I know it's chillier outside, but get out there and get some. I hope you're surfing where you are!