Hi all,

I am currently in Perth and we plan to travel around WA in December to surf and kite. I only brought with me a 5'9 shortboard which is too small for me to paddle but very good to kite.

I am looking at buying a surfboard for the summer season that I could eventually bring back to Europe. When we were in NSW in 2010 I discovered the firewire sweet-potato and I surfed it quite a lot. Although it is a bit too much under the back foot when I am backside, I really like the feeling of this board.

I would like to find an hybrid with the drive and flow feeling that I have with the sweet potato but that could handle well from knee to head surf (5-6 feet, eventually a bit more if clean and tidy). The number of options on the production board market is really large and I am a bit lost (FW dominator, potatonator, Lost rocket, Al Merrick driver, ...).

Prices are quite high as well - is there an inspired shaper around Perth who would shape epoxy board (I want to be able to launch a kite on it in mushy onshore conditions) at comparable (or lower) prices so I can eventually "go local"?

For info, I have surfed for around 25 years, 66 kgs and in good shape and I don't want to ride performance shortboards anymore - there are plenty of more talented younger surfers who can ride these boards better than me and I never like them anyway - one need to be too explosive with these boards, and I never was :)

Advice and comments welcome!

Best.

SL

sl said...

Prices are quite high as well - is there an inspired shaper around Perth who would shape epoxy board (I want to be able to launch a kite on it in mushy onshore conditions) at comparable (or lower) prices so I can eventually "go local"?

Contact katana off this forum, or look up Katana surf in Osborne Park.

www.katanasurf.com/

Ask him what he rides? I have my own preferences but what works for me might not for you. I do like a wide tail and also some width through the nose, but with too much your rail to rail transitions can be slow and/or tricky. Lots of foam, carried out to the nose, tail and rails. Short length for throwing around in small waves. Tail? Up to you - each has its characteristics. Sharp tails work well for release on these boards (sharp squares etc). I love rounded tails but not as much for small waves (well, they require more work).

The sweet potato does look a bit too fat in the tail for me, but I'm sure they're fun.