something
fishy
ALB|044
2008 mid-length
board guide
The longboard does have its limitations. Plus there’s always the allure of something new. The bait is pure enjoyment. Jump on a fish, track down shapes borrowed from yesteryear, add some excitement to your quiver. It’s all about paddle power and tighter arcs. The 2008 ALB Mid-Length Board guide brings you the best boards designed for those with a taste for the different.
The Fish has been a great addition to the longboarder’s quiver. Photo: Sage Joske, by Tom Woods/ST Images.
ALB|045
Bear Surfboards
G-Boards
BIC Surfboards
G-Boards
BIC Surfboards
G-Boards
BIC Surfboards
Ron Wade Surfboards
Model: Fat Arse Wombat Dimensions: 6’’6” - 7’ 6” Comments: All 100% handmade. Proven time and time again, we have reworked the Wombat slightly – narrowing the nose and tail slightly to suit a more performance-based approach. Still with more than enough volume and width to paddle on to anything, the Wombat is one of the easiest and most versatile surfboards you could ever own. Great for both beginners and guys/girls looking to step down off a longboard.
Model: 7’6” E-Comp Performer Dimensions: 7’6” x 21 3/8” x 2 ¾” Comments: Combining that elusive blend of versatility and performance with unbeatable durability, the 7’6” Performer lives up to its name! Possessing the stability and ease of a longboard, with integral design elements of a quick-turning shortboard, the Performer offers you the chance to pump up your surfing technique while decreasing your board length.
Model: 8’0” G-Board Classic Dimensions: 8’0” x 21 ¾” x 2 7/8” Comments: The criteria for making a perfect soft surfboard are simple. You need suitable shapes and extreme durability, but transferring that design criteria into reality is where the simplicity stops. The G-Board gets about as close to those criteria as physically possible. G-Boards make learning to surf easy and safe. Catering to the needs of the first-time board buyers who specifically want a soft surfboard at a reasonable price.
Model: 8’4’’ ACS Magnum Dimensions: 8’4” x 23 ¼” x 3 3/16” Comments: Learning to surf as an adult presents an exhilarating challenge – and the Magnum is up to it! Built to give performance to bigger surfers, the Magnum’s exceptional volume makes it easy to paddle and catch waves, no matter your size or ability. Offering its riders a fast learning curve, its mid-range length keeps it loose and fun in a wide range of surf conditions.
Hawaiian Pro Designs Model: NR-3 Dimensions: 6’6” - 8’6” Comments: All 100% handmade in Australia. Essentially a shrunk-down longboard. These boards are surprisingly loose from the tail, and getting up the nose is no worries. A perfect addition to the longboarder’s quiver, as the transition is quite easy from long to short with the NR-3
Hawaiian Pro Designs
Model: Flo Egg Dimensions: 6’6” - 8’0” Comments: The Flo Egg is nothing like the traditional Egg that Donald makes. This board is a low-rail, single-fin wonder. This one is for those who like the long, drawn-out, full-rail turns of the single-fin shortboard days. A throwback to a time when shortboarders still had a log or two in their regular quiver, but who wanted to experience tighter, more in-the-pocket turns than their longboards allowed them. ALB|046
Model: 8’0” G-Board Classic Dimensions: 8’0” x 21 ¾” x 2 7/8” Comments: Great all-round family board. Good floatation, without being corky. Designed for the beginner and intermediate surfer. Fully engineered dual epoxy stringers. Full service and backup with the G-Boards warranty. Designed to last.
Model: 8’0” G-Board Classic Dimensions: 8’0” x 21 ¾” x 2 7/8” Comments: Great all-round family board. Good floatation, without being corky. Designed for the beginner and intermediate surfer. Fully engineered dual epoxy stringers. Full service and backup with the G-Boards warranty. Designed to last.
Model: 8’0” G-Board Classic Dimensions: 8’0” x 21 ¾” x 2 7/8” Comments: Great all-round family board. Good floatation, without being corky. Designed for the beginner and intermediate surfer. Fully engineered dual epoxy stringers. Full service and backup with the G-Boards warranty. Designed to last.
Model: Wildfire Dimensions: 6’10” - 7’ 6” Comments: All glossed and polished with a graphic colour design.
Ron Wade Surfboards
Model: F1-11 Dimensions: 6’0” - 6’7” Comments: All glossed and polished with a graphic colour design.
Ron Wade Surfboards
Model: The Bull Dimensions: 9’0” - 9’8” Comments: All glossed and polished with a graphic colour design
ALB|047
Golden Breed
McTavish Surf
Golden Breed
McTavish Surf
Model: Quad Fish Dimensions: 5’ - 7’6” Comments: The quad fish is the ultimate small-wave weapon. The positioning of our four-fin set-up creates a super loose but drivey board. Width and thickness can be changed to suit the customers’ needs. All Australian made.
Model: Hybrid Dimensions: 5’10” - 7’6” Comments: The easy rider! With a nice, curvy outline and medium rocker, this board will be right at home at your local beach break or abroad. All Australian made.
Model: 7’6” Surftech Carver Dimensions: 7’6” x 21” x 2 7/8” Comments: The secret to a Carver is in the highly developed bottom shape, with proven elements like three-stage rocker, single to double concaves, and bevels. Fins mounted right under your back foot. The package is greatly enhanced by Tufflite’s featherweight handling. A versatile winner!
Golden Breed
McTavish Surf
Model: Performance 8 Dimensions: 8’ Comments: With all the trimmings of the modernday longboard, and shortened-up template, this board has speed to burn, but still retains its great trimming ability. We can always add some foam to the thickness of the board to create a compact, easy paddler. All Australian made.
Model: Custom Eightball Dimensions: 7’6” - 8’6” x 21 ½” - 22 ¾” x 2 ¾” - 3 1/8” Comments: Our Eightball is the shrunk-down version of the Fireball design. It takes all the best bits of the popular nine-footer – the proven threestage rocker, the double-concave tail, the concave nose with bevels, and condenses it into a great paddling mid-length. The Eightball is ideal for surfers not ready to commit to a full-size longboard, or the surfer looking for a mid-length that is easy to paddle, but still rips off the tail.
Oxbow Surfboards
McTavish Surf
Model: 7’3” Mini-Malibu Dimensions: 7’3” x 21¼” x 2 4/5” Comments: Ease of use is the focus with these shapes. Gentle rocker lines with lots of volume under the surfer make these a great all-round summer choice. Pick your size based on your weight; the heavier you are the bigger size you need, and if in doubt go a size bigger.
Model: Custom Egg Dimensions: 6’0” - 7’8” x 21” - 22 ½” x 2 1/2” - 3 Comments: The Egg takes its lead from the original double-enders pioneered in the ’60s and ’70s. A classic, tinted single-fin, the Egg is smooth and responsive, fun in conditions from two-six foot. The Egg draws out turns and makes the most of small or windy conditions with its subtle concave bottom-shape and flatter rocker profile. It’ll always leave you grinning!
Oxbow Surfboards
McTavish Surf
Model: 7’6’” Mini-Malibu Dimensions: 7’6” x 21½” x 2 9/10” Comments: Ease of use is the focus with these shapes. Gentle rocker lines with lots of volume under the surfer make these a great all-round summer choice. Pick your size based on your weight, the heavier you are the bigger size you need, and if in doubt go a size bigger.
Model: Custom Carver Fish Dimensions: 6’8” - 7’8” x 19” - 22” x 2 5/8” - 3” Comments: This futuristic shape loves an open face. The Carver Fish has morphed a little this year, and is now available in a quad set-up, to loosen things up a little. The standard set-up is still the five-fin, and we’ve had positive feedback from customers riding both five and three-fin versions. The Carver Fish has a deep vee bottom in the tail, and a flatter rocker profile for super paddle power.
Oxbow Surfboards
McTavish Surf
Model: 8’0’” Mini-Malibu Dimensions: 8’0” x 22” x 2 9/10” Comments: Ease of use is the focus with these shapes. Gentle rocker lines with lots of volume under the surfer make these a great all-round summer choice. Pick your size based on your weight; the heavier you are the bigger size you need, and if in doubt go a size bigger.
ALB|048
Model: 8’0” Surftech Carver Dimensions: 8’0” x 21” x 2 7/8” Comments: Due to its friendly volume and area, the Carver is a great fun and practical board to get going on, but don’t underestimate its potential. Thousands of very fine surfers ride Carvers in all kinds of conditions – from off a boat in the Maldives to daily hits at your local beachbreak – with reliability and fast reactive performance.
Model: Custom Origin 8 Dimensions: 7’6” - 8’6” x 21 ½” - 22 ¾” x 2 ¾” - 3 1/8” Comments: The Origin 8 is an eightfoot version our successful Original model. The shorter version packs a lot of punch off the tail with its extreme rocker profile and deep concaves. This board is perfect for an easy paddle-in, before ripping top-to-bottom down the line. It will even let you get in a quick trimming noseride! ALB|049
Na Papa Surfboards
Model: Fourplay Dimensions: 6’6” x 21” x 2 5/8” Comments: The Fourplay quad has evolved out of the Fish and other designs to be a high-performance four-fin. Unlike a fish, however, you don’t have to adjust to be able to ride this just like a normal thruster. And this board doesn’t lose speed through turns, it’s like you’re riding on railroad tracks.
Na Papa Surfboards
Valla Surfboards
Model: Pro Model Dimensions: 8’0”, 9’0”, 9’1” Comments: Our Pro-model boards are the exact same weight as the pros demand. Pro-models bolt out of turns, accelerate like a cut cat and nose ride like you wouldn’t believe!
Model: Verve Dimensions: 5’7” x 20¼” X 2¼” (available from 5’5” – 6’0”) Comments: A lively, responsive board, the Verve came about in an effort to design a high-performance fish for good surf. A curvy outline with rounded swallows allows the Verve to draw smooth, tight arcs, yet it retains the natural speed and flow inherent in fish designs. Available in HP Twin Keel or Quad fin.
Na Papa Surfboards
Donald Takayama
Na Papa Surfboards
Pope Bisect
Model: Retro Model Dimensions: 9’9” Comments: These boards are replicas of boards made in 1966. We’ve clothed this board in the 10oz Volan of the day, resourced the original “stage three Greenough fin”, and given this board the original cedar-balsa-cedar tail-block.
Model: Scorpion Dimensions: 7’0” – 8’0” Comments: Classic Takayama performance fun board.
Model: Mini-Mal Dimensions: 7’3”, 7’6”, 7’9”, 8’0” Comments: Easier paddling, catching waves is child’s play. A very, very good learner vehicle because of its stability and wave-catching ability – yet for the more experienced surfer, it goes like the wind and bolts out of turns.
Model: 2 piece Travel Board Dimensions: 8’2” x 16 1/8” x 22” x 14 ½” Comments: Our newest Pope Bisect is the Wayne Rich 8’2” Fun Shape, a combination of epoxy and carbon fibre over a foam core. A very highperformance mid-length design with excellent speed and manoeuvrability in any conditions. Shape is by Californiabased longboard guru Wayne Rich. The two pieces pack neatly into a four-foot travel case, which makes this the world’s first true travel board package.
Na Papa Surfboards
Demon Surfboards
Na Papa Surfboards
Bear and Hawaiian Pro Designs Distribution: North Coast Surfboards Phone: 02 6685 6896 Email: bearsurfboards@bigpond.com.au Website: www.bearsurfboards.com.au
Ron Wade Surfboards Distribution: Ron Wade Surfboards Phone: 02 9979 7071 Email: info@ronwadesurfboards.com.au Website: www.ronwadesurfboards.com.au
Na Papa Surfboards Distribution: Na Papa Distribution Australia Phone: 1300 662 878 Email:info@napapa.com.au Website: www.napapa.com.au
Donald Takayama Distribution: Heritage Surf Phone: 02 9977 7623 Email: heritagesurf@bigpond.com Website: www.heritagesurfaustralia.com
BIC and Oxbow Surfboards Distribution: Glide Industries Pty. Ltd. Phone: 02 9949 1322 Email:info@glideindustries.com Website: bicsurf.com.au, glideindustries.com
Golden Breed Distribution: Noosa Surf Works Phone: 07 5474 4567 Email:info@noosasurfworks.com.au Website:www.noosasurfworks.com.au
Retro Surfboards Distribution: Retro Surfboards Phone: 02 4456 4045 Email: markrabbidge@clearmail.com.au Website: www.retrolongboards.com.au
Bisect Australia Distribution: Bisect Australia Phone: 03 6248 7335 Email: info@bisectaustralia.com.au Website: www.bisectaustralia.com.au
G-Boards Distribution: G-Boards Phone: 03 5261 9013 Email:: info@gboards.com.au Website: www.gboards.com.au
McTavish Surf Distribution: McTavish Surf/Surftech Australia Phone: 02 6680 8807 Email: ben@mctavish.com.au Website: www.mctavish.com.au
Valla Surfboards Distribution: Valla Surfboards Phone: 02 6568 8909 Email:sage@vallasurfboards.com.au Website: www.vallasurfboards.com.au
Demon Surfboards Distribution: Demon Surfboards Phone: 0448 628 700 Email: info@demonsurfboards.com.au Website: www.demonsurfboards.com.au
Model: Quad Fin Retro Fish Dimensions available: 5’8”, 5’10”, 6’0”, 6’2”, 6’6”, 6’4”, 6’6”, 6’9”. Comments: The plan shape and the bottom shape combined with the quad fins smoothes out your style and tunes you in. Smoother turns, quicker than a standard fish, with the retro feel. Whatever your motivation, these boards are disgusting fun!
Model: Egg – 3 Fin / 5 Fin Dimensions: 5’9”, 6’0”, 6’3”, 6’6”, 6’9”, 7’0”, 7’3”, 7’6” Comments: This is a shortboarder’s funboard or a longboarder’s shortboard. Easy to catch waves earlier and very speedy. Handles small stuff like a fish, and takes on the big stuff like a shortboard.
ALB|050
Retro Surfboards
Model: Longboard Dimensions: 9’0”, 9’1”, 9’3”, 9’6”, 10’0” Comments: The ultimate longboard – performance-plus for the experienced surfer and is so, so easy to noseride. From slop to super-size waves, this board will take your ability to the next level!
Model: Demon 9’0” Dimensions: 9’0” x 21½” x 3” Comments: The traditionalists will love this shape with all its pure old school joy. A great noseriding board, this is your all-round performance longboard. This noserider is where it all started, built for the longboarder who loves to work the length of both the board and the wave. Suited for all ages from the old school to the modern-day beginner simply because of its easy paddling, strudiness and its enjoyable, clean, smooth ride. Catering to most conditions, this board is a must in anyone’s quiver.
ALB|051