Channel Islands CIFish..

[hbslider]

I surf a 9'6" RA. Been wanting to cross over into the Channel Islands short board. Are they pretty forgiving? Or am I better off sticking with a shorter longboard?

[tomcat360]

brent just got one, talk to him.

But a fish is kinda opposite of a longboard. spend a while looking through old post about fishes

[Brent]

Yep; I love mine. Mine's a 5'9" x 21" x 2 5/8"

What can I tell you about them. Well, volume - mine has (I think after close measuring) about the same volume & float as Libby's 7' mini-mal. Although it is slower to paddle generally due to it's short length...the plus though is because of it's wide nose you don't have to be paddling forward as fast to catch waves. Literally 3 strokes & you're away...
I've adapted quickly & easily to mine being a shortboarder whose boards vary between 6' and 6'7" at the longest.

I imagine for a longboarder like yourself the hardest part is going to be adapting to paddling a board where your chin is almost level with the nose when you're lying on it. Advantages though are they are alot lighter than a Mal so wil accelerate much quicker when paddling for a wave.

I suggest buying a full-volumed 6'8" hybrid fish or a short (sub 7') mini-mal or similar before going down to a real fish. Sub 6' boards are quite different to use.

I intend to write a full-on post about using real fish with quiver photo's to illustrate my comments prob sometime on Sunday if I get time. I'm in a fortunate position having all my boards made locally by one of NZ's best shapers and, especially, a magic 6' hybrid.- so I can make objective comparisons. The best hybrid v the original.

[dondiemand]

i also have a 5'11" fish tail shortboard, i love it to death, it's so much easier than a regular shortboard, since it's wider and thicker, so im pretty sure you wont have a hard time with it

[hbslider]

When it's pumpin I surf a 6'8" pin tail. It's gets pretty loose but I cant get enough speed down the line to pull a cut back. I'm thinking the Cfish would be good for getting into waves and seems like it's pretty forgiving..

[drowningbitbybit]

paddling a board where your chin is almost level with the nose when you're lying on it.

That really does take some getting used to. Particularly when you're paddling for a wave with a steep face
Instinct says to lean back, or shuffle backwards, but then you dont catch anything as its so easy to stall a fish
So its bite the bullet and use the weight of your head over the front - feels like you're going over the falls every time


Makes me wonder about the salomon noseless - gotta give it a go, but my head is gonna be 6" in front of the board with the flat nose pointing at my neck...