Mega Platter 2.0...asymmetrical...?

[skiff]

Bob- Yes, moving the fins around to create an asymmetrical was just the cheap way to begin the experiment. With pad, drive to Santa Cruz to pick the board up, and everything, the MP's are close to $800+, so before I invested that kind of money I had to know that this would be a worthwhile avenue to go down. What difference in the ride did I notice? Simple: it did everything better. EVERYTHING. The board was faster, looser off the bottom and way looser off the top, and in short, the feeling was so noticeable that I figured the money for a template asymm would be worth it, so I'm pursuing that. I was riding my current board last week at a nice little isolated point break, and I was easily flipping the board sideways and side-slipping it in the pocket at will, and then re-connecting the board and continuing down the line. I can do that with the full complement of quads on the bottom, but it's much harder.....so I was having some fun with that aspect of 'less' fins on the bottom.

Not sure how big the fins were on the old Parmenter, like I said, this was over 15 years ago, maybe 20...? And yes, the rails WOULD be more parallel than the red board, as the red board is more classically Dextra-sized, at 4-8, and the green one I believe was 5-6.

[bgreen]

Skiff,

I know these boards/fin set ups are made for surfing one way - have you in a wild moment tried the asymmetrical fin set up on the non-dominant side?

Bob

[skiff]

Please explain to me, when I am laying down, which side is dominant???

[krusher74]

Please explain to me, when I am laying down, which side is dominant???

I think what he means is, have you tried going left on your board with the asymmetric fin set up you are using for rights.

[bgreen]

Krusher's explanation is what I had in mind.

[skiff]

Nope, haven't tried that yet.

[skiff]

Nice little swell these last few days....Had the 'asymm' fin setup on the standard M. Platter, good day for some experimentation in anticipation of the new board delivery...

[krusher74]

woooo! killing it, big swell next week!!

[bgreen]

Skiff,

Ever heard of Ron Radon from Santa Barbara? Could be a kneeboard, a short stand-up or a BB?

RadonRon_RadonBoatsSantaBarbarac1970.jpg (36.61 KiB) Viewed 5906 times

Bob

[soulglider]

spoon.

[skiff]

SG- Sure, the Radon family is very well known throughout Santa Barbara. The patriarch, Ron Sr. 'invented' the Radon Boat company, and that design hull has been a staple in SB and beyond. My boat, the one used to access the above waves..... is a Radon, built by one/some/part of the family when they had an operation in Port Townsend, WA. Don still builds boats in Goleta, Mike in New Zealand, and Ron Jr. up in Myrtle Creek, OR. Don still surfs, and can be seen out on his Channel Islands from time to time. That early photo of Don's buddies is vintage Goleta Mafia, a classic shot for sure...

[soulglider]

remember the cold and the zip front suits? when crowded was 10 people? gotta get me a radon!

[skiff]

Yes, a Radon can be a help w/ surf procurement in 2015, and that's the fact, Jack...

[skiff]

Some photos are filtering in.............the board is done. They're rounding up some appropriate fins, and I'll schedule a trip to Santa Cruz next week to pick it up-

[Pes78]

Looks good skiff. Planning a trip up in your area in February so hopefully I can get a couple on one of your boards. Are the channels new to the design? Didn't notice them on your other one.

[skiff]

PES- Yes, the channels are a new addition as well. I've got a buddy who was raving about his L-41 with 'em so we worked to incorporate them into this design. It should be quite a game changer for me, and a few steps 'forward' which is nice. Let me know when you're heading up this way and with a little advance notice, we can no doubt get something planned.

[soulglider]

bitchin!

[bgreen]

Skiff,

I look forward hearing how it rides, I've only ridden one channel bottom style board, which I borrowed (my one board quiver didn't make it onto a plane) and it went way different to what I normally rode (talking stand-up here). The board went great in hollow waves.

Don't let an airline baggage handler near it.

Bob
Thanks and to SG for the Radon board info.

[skiff]

Here's some shots of 'er; just finished putting the rubber pad on. Surf is currently 20'+, so once the ocean gets reasonable again, we'll give it a go.

[skiff]

Well, no photos to show of my finally finding a suitable venue to take the 'asymmetrical' Mega Platter out, but I did get 'er out yesterday, and I'm ready to gauge the board and it's somewhat kinky design as an unqualified success. We happened onto a high quality situation, and had offshore winds for the entire day. I was out maybe three and a half hours, and caught a ton of waves during that time....................as we were the only guys out for the entire day. Very cold and offshore, but then, that's what we've been waiting for all El Nino, right?

The wave is a right point break, which is what this thing is designed for. It felt faster in all situations, felt looser and I guess I'll call it 'more sprightly'....? Turned with less effort, especially on the top turn-down-the-wave thing (turning onto the shorter rail with the set forward single fin...), and it was quite noticeable. Just super stoked with it. If I had taken it out in just regular beachbreak sessions here locally, then I would have needed much more time to make a final determination. But in this setup, with so many high quality waves coming through, I got to rev up and figure this design out pretty quickly, and I'm very happy with what the board was telling me. I'll begin playing with the fins as the Winter moves on, and try a few fine tuning tricks re riding it that I'm now capable of. Just thought I'd weigh in with the final report.