5 Fin Stubbie Happy Fun Time







The lovely Ms. Surfy Surfy 2009, Maggie Marsek shot this sequence of me last month surfing my new Mandala 5 fin stubbie. My legs gave out at the end of the sequence (that is the way the cookie crumbles) but overall I’m pretty stoked on this board.
Back story: Manolo Caro loaned me one of his personal 2+1 stubs and I liked it a lot, but the little sidebite fins had a habit of breaking loose and sliding out on cutbacks. I recalled the wise words of Duncan Campbell’s who once told me that the 5 fin Bonzer system can improve any surfboard, so I had Mani shape me a replica of the 2+1 but utilizing Bonzer siderunners instead.
This board does not have a Bonzer bottom, it’s not a Bonzer per se, but the siderunners did cure the cutback issue I was having with the 2+1. I had Marlin Bacon of 101 Fin Co make me a full set of bamboo glass-ons. Mani wanted me to get a center box so I could try different fins, but I felt committed on this board. The center fin is not a Bonzer fin either, it’s a copy of the one in Mani’s 2+1. It’s a fairly large fin for a guy who is 5’7″ and 150 lbs, but the wave I surf this board at regularly is a semi-closeout, so the idea is to drive hard off that big center fin and use the bamboo flex/twang to race to the end section. I love it when a plan comes to together.
Mandala Stubbie 5-fin
5’11” length 20.25″ width 2-3/8″ thickness
Golden mustard airbrush by Peter St.Pierre
Glass-on bamboo fins.
4 oz s-cloth glassing. Wetsanded gloss finish.



Links:
Maggie Marsek website
Maggie Marsek blog
Mandala Surfboards website
Mandala blog
101 Fin Co.
Moonlight Glassing (order one!)

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21 Comments
  • Rui aka Bushman
    March 16, 2009

    good looking girl 😀

    Rui
    surfinggg.blogspot.com

  • Chusma
    March 16, 2009

    Nice boar and nice wawe, what it´s the size of the certer fin???

  • Rick
    March 16, 2009

    I want one!

  • Anonymous
    March 16, 2009

    eggs, you gotta love’em!!! displacement hull, flat bottom, double barrel concave (flat panel V), kinda like scrambled, overeasy or sunny side up, gotta love’em!!!

  • Clams
    March 16, 2009

    ohhhh yeahhhh!

  • Anonymous
    March 16, 2009

    man, that is some coarse grass!!!

  • erik baldwin
    March 16, 2009

    I NOW BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SITE!…SCHWING!!!!!!!!!!
    NICE BOARD!!!!

  • warm jet
    March 16, 2009

    8″ greenough bamboo?

  • Kyle
    March 17, 2009

    So rad. So rad…

  • Clifton Evers
    March 17, 2009

    That board does not look like its working at all in those shots. It is not suited to what you are attempting. It is “coping” but not fitting the groove … really.

  • rob70
    March 17, 2009

    Cliff, maybe you’d care to explain exactly what type of board is ment to hit the lip?

    I sure would hate to accidentally ride a board that wasn’t ‘fitting the groove’.

    Maybe you could start a biz surveying other peoples boards so they don’t all make the same mistake!

  • shacky
    March 17, 2009

    Cliff is correct. On shot 3 you should have done a tailslide.

  • bobsurf
    March 17, 2009

    Sweet funboard, yo.

  • Anonymous
    March 17, 2009

    Needs a traction pad.

  • Erik Hakon Olson (EHO)
    March 17, 2009

    Great sequence! Nicely done JP and Maggie.

  • Clifton Evers
    March 19, 2009

    don’t be such a sook rob70. want your dummy back?

    discussing what a board goes like and the lines it draws is actually more important than how it looks. “fitting the groove” is about the gelling between wave, rider and board (whether they sync).and this relationship seems whack here as indicated by the rider’s recovery (or lack thereof), as well as arm and leg placement and fall at end = struggle.

    nobody is ridiculing the photos or boards robprecious70. they both look great.

    but people who actually ride and enjoy boards also like to discuss how they work and not just what they look like.

    have a nice day

    -clifton

  • Clifton Evers
    March 19, 2009

    ps. by “not suited” I meant the design features seem to be making the board want to do something other than what is being attempted. as you know this has to do with rail line, width, length etc etc etc. and not whether it is a potato chip thruster or not.

  • Anonymous
    March 19, 2009

    Don’t blame the board for JP’s weak stick legs. 😉

  • Festus Porkmeyer
    March 19, 2009

    Surfing “for the camera” again, were we?

    Nice boar and wawe!

  • shacky
    March 20, 2009

    Let’s analyze the sequence.

    Frame #1 Strong bottom turn and good projection. He is attacking the lip. Impressive start.

    Frame #2 Rocky steady closeout lip bash. Looks solid.

    Frame #3 The money shot. Classic Curren era floater style.

    Frame #4 Impacting with whitewater lip bounce. Common at low tide beachies.

    Frame #5 Only head and shoulder visible as wave eats him up.

    Frame #6 Our hero survives the whitewater bounce and emerges but his weight is on his back foot and he falls backwards into the soupy foam.

    Conclusion-I blame Obama.

  • Clifton Evers
    March 20, 2009

    hehe. yep Obama.Damn him 😉

    – Clifton