Love this new board.

First outing was on a nice small combo swell. Thought you might be interested in reading some of my impressions, in no particular order.

Board arrived easily. The whole shipping thing when well. The packing looked real secure.

Man, the board seemed wide and thick, and short, as expected but different than what I was used to.
I ended up putting the fin about 1/2 inch aft of exact midline. I figured that I needed to make sure the fin would be in the water when the rail was rolled up on edge for turning and holding in the water. At 45 degrees angle between board and imaginary wave line the fin still had good projection down and still very close to exact middle.

Craftsmanship of this board is really pro. The pin stripes were a good idea.

In the water the float was much more than expected. The paddling glide was very smooth. Wonder how those thick rails are going to work?
First wave, snappy take off, tried to turn too soon and fell forward. ha ha.
Second wave, wait a split second… and follow the board down, then bottom turn, then blast off! Speed, climb up the wall, great hold, going faster, outrunning the curl, man that big fat rail can hold…, drive out back over the top, paddle back out.

STOKED!

Next wave same idea, wait a split second for board to get going, same bottom turn and acceleration, drive up to the lip, float on the lip, drive the board around and land on bottom. Nice fat board very stable and easy to do this. Maybe a little more work swinging the nose around than a thruster, but did not feel limited by the single fin on this move. I think the fin position is really good based on this, certainly the fin is forward enough not to impede.
My instinct to “pump” for speed didnt really do anything, no more thruster.

I can really see why we can go shorter in this board design. I used much more of the rail line to stick it in the fast part of the wave. The functional rail was actually longer than my thrusters. Overall I was using more of the enitre rail, vs thruster that for me is much more using the aft part of the rail.

Todd, you were right about the length. I probably could have gone down to 6’6, but…the 6’8 did not at all seem too long, and my ability to trim fore and aft was easy. I also have a naturally wide stance. Would not want it any longer. Glad we chose 6’8. Width is correct too. Would not want any wider. Probably could have gone 1/2 inch narrower, but not really necessary. On my second day out it was a more pure NW swell, much more power, and I still had enough control rail to rail. The width was not an impediment. Also, with the rounded pin tail my back foot could really feel going from rail to rail.
I like the single fin groove for sure.

I have never had a board made by someone I didnt know.

I have to say the whole process with you two has been much better than I would have thought it could be over the phone and via email. The whole consult with Todd really went well, and I think that he really understood what I was trying to get out of this new board. Will be recommending you to friends for sure.

Hope you all have a great day.

Cheers and Aloha,

Rob

6’8″ x 21 1/2″ x 3″ roundtail Bullet single fin

Thanks so much Todd and Charissa!

Rascal II 6’8″ x 22″ x 3″ swallowtail

Rascal II v-1.3 6’8″ x 22″ x 3″ moontail

Hanglider 9’6″ x 24″ x 3 1/4″ squaretail

Hanglider 10’0″ x 24″ x 3 1/4″ squaretail

So hands down the best longboard I have ever owned, better yet ridden!
Surfed with Dave this morning and was

super grom stoked. Thank you so much!

Josiah, Ventura, CA
10’2″ Hanglider

video.fuel.tv
Jarrah Tutton experiments with four fins, three fins, two fins and
all kinds of shapes during a fun summertime swell on the goldy.

custom Proxy Blackbird with Parabolic Carbon Rail suspension system & Kevlar compression patch
twin fang, greased rascal, apache, and more….

even got three reverse drop knees!!!

Just wanted to tell you again that I adore my board.

Kat Hervey, Somis, CA

9′0″ x 22″ x 2 3/4″ Super Full Concave Nose Roundpin Classic Longboard

I’ve had enough opportunities to ride the new 9’6 HPLB where I feel I can write a decent review.

First off, the craftsmanship of the board is really top notch.

EPS boards often come out with smudgy paint and dodgy glassing and this board is a far cry from that — the glassing is solid and the airspray looks super clean.

In the water, the weight and flex dynamics

of the board are very predictable and fluid.

It’s not a super stiff Surftech type feel, it’s not a damper poly-type feel, it’s somewhere in between.

Lightweight, high performance, solid, predictable.

The board turns very well from the back 2/3 of the board.  This is enhanced by the generous rocker and probably the bottom contours as well.  I think the board is stable enough on the nose to enjoy some nice tip time as well.  I haven’t had it out yet on a decent beach-break noseride day where I could really spend a ton of time on the tip, but I can tell there are some solid dynamics in the bottom contours that will enable some fun in the future!

Overall, this is a great ‘everyday’ high perf board

and I expect to get a lot of use out of it.

I may bring it to Hawaii in the next few weeks to try it out in some decent juice.

FYI I thought the 7″ Cutaway fin and SB1′s were really over-finned for the board in the conditions I am surfing it in.  I swapped out the SB1′s for SB3′s (375′s vs 325′s) and I intend to put in a 6.5″ Cutaway as soon as I can get my hands on one.  A lot of this has to do with the mediocre conditions that are available to me, where I want as much looseness as possible.  The board is not overly volumed — if anything, it’s pretty thinned out in the rails, so it enjoys the looseness a lot.  I want to try it as a single soon — too many fins, too little time!

Thanks again, will be in touch soon.

Best,

Eric B, Manhattan Beach, CA
Custom Proxy Epoxy Performance Longboard
9’6″ x 22 5/8″ x 3 1/4″ roundpin

I surfed the new board in 1ft to 4ft Hawaiian, clean to ugly Ho’okipa conditions. I only wish I had ordered this board last year.

It does everything I want it to do.

You can delete the old hybrid file because this tail caves II fits my surfing perfectly.
This board is much faster getting into the wave as well as transitioning over the flat spots.

Rail to rail I feel I can set up the big snap with 100% confidence.

That was something I was missing with the other epoxy board, I was always fighting the bouyancy of the board while bottom turning. Anyways I have more control through my turns with the new board and it has a lot of whip. I can’t wait for my knee to be fully recovered so I can tweek the last bit of my turns, but all in good time.

I haven’t touched my magic polyester board since I’ve pulled yours out of the box….and I love that board!

Kenny Asahino, 34, Kahului, HI
Custom Proctor Epoxy “PROXY” Surfboard: 6’0″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 1/8″ Tail Caves II

surfboard review: custom epoxy performance shortboards, hawaii surf

three years later…

I’m still riding the epoxy Tailcaves II and

it still doesn’t have any open dings

after three years.

The leash plug finally came out last month but the plastic cup stayed put. All I had to do was glue it back in and
reinforce it w/ cloth just in case.

Todd, I ride this board hard and I even put on

a little weight and the board only has a

shallow well where my backfoot goes.

I even put some mileage on my single fin too.  It’s a fun board to ride on the glassy overhead days when I want to get a laugh, but the occassional faceplants aren’t as funny. Sometimes I forget that bottom turning on that board takes a bit of finesse. Anyways, I got too many boards here, but I’m looking forward to my new Lil’ Rascal.  I just realized that I need something like it on Maui for summer and the inbetween swell days of winter.  Thanks again. Aloha.

-Kenny Asahino

Love the board. I may have you make another one just like it around 6′ 8″ . Here are a couple of pics. Namotu is awesome, I highly recommend it. The food, service, and surf were incredible.
Talk to you soon,

Marc Hassell-Cramer, Namotu, Fiji
Custom Proctor Epoxy “PROXY” Surfboard: 7’6″ x 16″ x 22″ x 13 1/2″ x 2 3/4″ Retro Hybrid Gunny pulled Roundpin Single Fin

Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year to you and Todd.

My two 6 channels single fin are perfect.

I’ve surfed the 6’6. It’s a very fast board
going up and down very easily.
This is the perfect all around surfboard for me.
I will bring the 6’8 in march 07
during my next boat trip in Maldives outer atolls.
Vincent

Vincent Tourtoulou, 43, Anglet, France
6’6 x 20″ x 2 5/8 6 Channel Single Fin

surfboard review: custom 6 channel single-fin surfboards, france surf

I haven’t talked to you since I got my EPS “Ridiculous” single fin with side bites (6’4″ x 20″ x 2 5/8″) a year ago October. Thought you should know I’m still loving it. People at “Uppers” (Trestles) continue to comment on it and how well I surf on it.

And my wave count is through the roof.

Anyhow, I’m about ready to make some quiver changes and the “lil Rascal” is sounding a bit tempting. I’ve been riding the “Ridiculous” with a 5 1/2 inch single and the small longboard side fins.

I really like the positive, flowy feeling of the single fin- especially backside because I’m goofy footed.

I have ridden it as a twin and a half and didn’t care much for it. So, here’s the question. Would you recommend the “lil Rascal” with a similar fin set-up? I’m curious because it looks like a board I could surf a bit more radically. The nose, rocker, and outline looks very similar between these two boards, thus the transition would be easy between the two. The “lil Rascal” seems like you’ve trimmed the fat, shortened, and put a more pure twin set-up on it than the “Ridiculous”. Is this the case, and how could it be adapted for a 6’2″ tall, 35 yrs. old weighing 175lbs? I’d love to believe I surf as good as Jay, but…. Would you recommend a 6′ 0″ x 20 x 2 5/8″?” Too big or small?

I’d love for it to paddle similar to my current board (or better if you can work miracles).

As always,

Thanks for your time and attention to detail.

Sincerely,

Mark Quest

6’4″ x 20″ x 2 5/8″ Ridiculous Small Wave Wonder, Single Fin thumbtail/roundpin
custom flexible epoxy surfboard construction

Visit the Lil’ Rascal page and watch the movies