"Disclaimer: It had been over a week since my last surf ? so I was stoked just to be in the water. It was a perfect day for alaias ? head high, glassy, hollow and fast peeling waves. I have been dreaming about this board and how it would work for months and I had visualised every line I could ever hope to draw on a wave long before I ever paddled it out.
But seriously it was SUPER fun! I didn?t really have too many opportunities to test it on my backhand (I struggle on my backhand with alaias, in fact I normally choose to ride rights on my knees), but for the couple of rights that I did get, I was happy to be able to take off and hold a line and even pull a little floater.
On my forehand it was crazy good. The Flounder held its line so well, had heaps of speed and glide and doing the LaLa (a kinda vertical climb and slide in the pocket of the wave) was a lot easier to control.
Freshly oiled boards tend to feel fast at first and this was no exception, but this board also felt different, the hold and control through the bottom turn as I set my line was not something I had felt before.
On my third wave despite my best efforts to paddle wide, when I took off I was still about 12 ft behind the peak, but it was a small day with long waits between sets so I thought I?d have a go. I took off fairly early and immediately pulled the Flounder into trim setting a fairly high line angling down just a touch. The lip hadn?t quite folded over as I approached the peak. Just as the Flounder reached the bottom of the wave and I straightened up, the lip folder over my head and for the next few moments I was locked into a perfect little barrel travelling really fast and really smooth across the glassy wave. These moments are rare in my surfing life, and tragically I often slip out at this point on the traditional alaias, but not with the Flounder, this time the Flounder held its line perfectly and even seemed to accelerate as I tried to pull up the wave a little. It was all over in another second or two as the close out section approached I tried to squeeze out at the last minute as the wave crunched shut. I lost it at the last moment getting clipped, but I had all that I needed. This strange looking board worked even better than I had expected.
More photos and vids check out kirisurfcraft.blogspot.com.au
Thanks to all the other wooden board and finless builders who have posted their stuff. Its a real inspiration to see so many other guys doing their own shapes and designs. Keep it up! I'm super keen to make it to the next wooden board day!"
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