Hipsquash
What would you durf if paddling onto the wave wasn't an issue? At spots that use rope assist (like tow in surfing) or where you can literally jump from the bank onto the wave, the boards length, or ability to catch the wave becomes moot.

I shaped this board under the premise that I wouldn;t be swimming onto any waves, but that I would have to swim back afterwards. The rocker in the tip is therefore kept to a bare minimum, to maximise its speed (forwards and backwards), and its ability to turn comes from the generous sweep of the template. Once on the wave, this is almost as fast as my 6'6" Squashtail, and much more responsive - it's just really hard to paddle onto a green wave.

The rail is tucked from tip to the fins, where it goes into a totally vertical sidewall and very sharp edge to the tail. The tail is narrow, and squared off making it very sensitive, while the low rocker puts you into sections of the wave at speeds I never thought I'd be able to achieve. its a true dream for performance surfers looking for the ultimate river wave machine.

But it's not easy to ride - if you're having a good day, you have a great one, and if you're having a bad day, you have a really rotten day!

 Model shown: Hipsquash

Length: 5'8"

Width: 19 5/8"

Thickness: 2"

Construction: 4oz glass - 14oz rails - 8oz front foot.

Base Price: $700 can

3D Tuff Fin System $50

Graphic Art $350

14oz rails - $50

8oz front foot $25

Total Price $1125
This board I shaped for myself once more after my experience in the ocean with my last 5'8" hipsquash. I was able to paddle onto waves that the longboarders were catching, and making sections other shortboards were not making. But the super low nose rocker and nose width were presenting some issues with lip smashes and climbing onto the pile in general. I also found that I like a smaller tail fin for small mushy surf, but this fin releases when carving too hard because of its short length. Finally, I'm tired of reparing my rails. I dropped my board onto a rock and that was all she wrote.

This board is almost the same template and rocker as the last hipsquash from the centre back (minus 5/8" taken out through the centre). I then took off an additional 1/4" per side 12" back from where the nose of the 5'8" was, and then added 3" of flip tip over and above an additional 1" nose rocker, starting 16" back from the "old nose". Finally, I squared off the tail just a hair, and shifted the foil back about 2" to make the board snappier. Then, in order to use smaller tail fins, I moved the centre fin closer to the rail (so one on each side) so its still engaged even on a hard carve. The result is this board is far more responsive, and turns so fast its almost overwhelming. While I lost just a hair of top speed across flat sections (narrower template), what I've gained in manouverability and the ability to ollie onto the foam pile and do certical reentries far outweighs the loss of top end speed on the flats. It seems to swim on every bit as fast, and the nose rocker makes it more forgiving on late take-offs. I started with FCS GL fins in the tail, but have since gone to a 2 1/2" kiteboard fin and this is awesome feeling.

The kevlar rails are an expensive experiment, but hopefully this will solve the ongoing saga of busted rails on river boards the same way the 3D Tuff fins have solved busting fin box's (and resulting broken boards).

 Model shown: Hipsquash

Length: 5'11"

Width: 19"

Thickness: 2 1/8"

Construction: 4oz glass - 14oz rails - 8oz foot pads.

Base Price: $700 can

3D Tuff Quad Fins $100

Graphic Art $100

6oz kevlar rails $100

8oz foot pads $25

Total Price $1025