Just checking out your video, thanks for the great info! What would you recommend for my 6'6" MF Twintown swallowtail? It's a pretty drawn in foamie that is thick but so fun for all conditions. It came with small fsc II modern keels, plastic, they just feel too skaty and loose for me, I'm about 82 kg.

Amazing video! thanks! just one doubt, at the end you said about not getting channels if you want to do turns...but maybe just the opposite? i mean, they hold more the tail at the bottom turn and later, they proyect the flow of water throught them and and so the board up to the lip...could be?

Great video. Inspired me to get out my 5’8 Little Marley. Looking forward to vid.

Another great review

Great review. Your last board looks like Christenson C-Bucket. Excellent board that i have, and works in any conditions.

Thanks for answering many of the questions I've had of my 9'4" pintail. As a novice, I wanted a board for various conditions and waves to get the most out of those here in the NE USA. At times, though, I've wondered if the most versatile board is sort of like having all-weather tires - or if it's maybe too good for me? In any case, I've found that an FCS 8.75" center fin and sidebites work for hold as you said (and stability).

Thanks for this James. I've just started surfing lessons at Mooloolaba and plan to keep it up. The surf teacher and my mates suggested to just get a big 8-9 foot foamy that I can beat up to start with but that witbier looks like a great board. What do you suggest? How would you progress if you were a beginner?

Agree that the speed shape is an incredible option. I've tried heavier logs pintail and square tail as well as performance shapes. I agree that the "logs" are fun in small surf, and that the speed shapes can handle most anything. I have a pintail classic log that I do feel bridges the gap nicely, but there are days when the flatter bottom and edge in the back of the typical performance or speed shape opens up possibilities. Classics really need a beautiful running small wave and if there are wind, chop, or rogue waves on the day it is not the right choice. It will handle on bigger days due to the pintail, but it won't get around sections unless you are able to cross-step and noseride with some skill. Generally they are much slower on the tail and need to be ridden in trim. Not very forgiving if you are new to longboarding. Great video!

All features in a board affect drag. Outline, rocker, rails, concave, channels, fins. These vs volume, rider ability, wave shape and power, and even wind all factor in to how and why something 'works' or not for the individual. You need to surf a lot of to have an objective view of what any feature does for yourself...but it's pretty hard to generalize for others. Feel is so hard to quantify....

What's the best surfboard for wave pool? For an advanced surfer. What do you recommend? Thanks

Thanks for an interesting video!

This is a great video. I would take exception to the description of an intermediate fin. Soft fins are almost as difficult to use as no fins.

Got a Takeda. Love it. Yoshi’s cool.

Cymatic. End of story.

Col Smith was a visionary with channels. Seeing this develop when it was happening was so cool.

Cheer~~~assert or confirm as a result of one's own experience that something is true or accurately so described.😊

Wonderful information. I got me a 6'6" Channel Islands Tom Curren Single Fin (TCSF) with channels. I didn't know which fin size to mount. This vid really clarified a lot. And it verified that I can go with a smaller fin because of the channels. Priceless. Thanks again.

Did not vibe with the seaside at all. Much prefer a proper twin, personally!

YES! Finally someone who has a channel explanation that I think accurately describes how they work. So much surfboard design discussion that talks about channels and concaves creating "lift". There is planing lift and there is hydrodynamic lift. Planing lift is like the flat hull of a boat traveling at speed and being pushed up by the force of the water. Hydrodynamic lift is like an airplane wing providing lift or in the case of water, like a hydrofoil that is basically a wing submerged in water. If you tried to surf on a finless disc the "board" would simply slide down the face of the wave towards the shore. Add a fin to the edge and the disc would now orient itself in line with the fin and if turned to the side would resist sliding down the face by moving more or less parallel to the wave face. Fins, concaves, edges, channels all provide more directional stability and resist side slipping by vectoring that force perpendicular to the direction of wave travel which gives the board drive and makes the board go. A flat bottom rockerless board would provide the most planing lift but would be unstable and barely controllable Of course concaves, rail shape, fin configurations, provide endless nuance to how a board performs but most of it has to do with (as BlinkSurf so beautifully said) translating side slipping to forward drive by acting as another fin.

what do you think about True Ames Ryan Burch's twins?

Nice review.i met Glen Winton in the late 80s.he had some experimental quads in California. He made a template for me and i had the late Terry Senate shape me a quad.seeing Glen surfing pipe brought back memories

How do you compare the captain fin mikey February withb the christenson and machado keels? They look almost identical, or they are different and should be used in different conditions?

Hello ! i really enjoy all the video that you make ! Thanks a lot for that ! i was wondering, i wanted to buy new fins for the the Mike Feb's fish, would you recommend the Captain fins, the new FG Keels from MFebruary or the AM Britt fish they made specialy for the board apparently ? Anyway i will buy one of those day the Chris C half keels to try them out Have a good surf !

One of the most difficult to explain surfboard feature is channels. This review and explanation hits on all of the basics to introduce you to a really legitimate board design.Thank you for some solid information on this board feature. I've been ridding and selling them since the 70's when Bill Caster started to incorporate them in a collaborative effort with Col Smith. Martin Littlewood was sent over to guide Bill through the intricacies of building them to ensure they were used correctly.

Don’t we need to stop saying that tail width “creates lift” …..yes a wide tail sinks less than a narrow tail…..yes the board rises out of the water to plane, but this starts at the front of the board…..by the time the tail comes into play it’s more like “less sink” than “more lift” when there is more width in the tail. The toe angle of the fins creates ACTUAL lift, so we should reserve that term for fins rather than tail shape.

what is that first fish you show before the MR? who's the shaper/manufacturer?

99% of people will never be able to tell the difference. Most people who surf are casauls. Details like this matter to the pros. For everyone else, it's gimmicky, a novelty at best.

That first board was a Creature... dude loves his channels in his designs!

They 100% work when done right.

I love channels twin It match 100% with my sensation I just order à twin fin round pin 6'1 with 4 channels after surfing with the fiji 6'5 I hope im not gonna think thay it would have been better without As you precise at thé end that for this type of board no need to add it Thanks your vidéo is very explicite and make me better understand all type of channels and réaction eegarding zise of the board and others détails Thanks

I still run channels. My shaper doesn't like doing them because of the extra work. Same with the Glasser. But I can tell you they didn't act like a fin at all. On smooth surfaces the difference isn't really noticeable But when I'm cutting across bumpy faces or broken white water they provide alot more stability. It's doesn't increase drive or speed other factors orf a surfboard influence that

Channels main effects are 1) increase tail rocker 2) reduce tail volume 3) annoy glassers. The grip thing is nonsense, the grip your feeling is from the tail being easier to sink. The edge of a channel is far too small to have any effect on grip. They don't go as well in small waves because they have less volume and more rocker. If you want the same effect just get deeper concaves and bigger fins.

By far the best board I had was with curved channels. It was a tri fin with 4 curved channels just above the outer fins. Dan Van Zanten from San Diego was the shaper. The idea was to get added lift. Worked great. What are your thoughts?

The thought that channels don't work is insane. Channels have their purpose and done right can yield great results. Starting the channel mid point thru tail has a more predictable carve. All in the tail on a Fish will make it spin out at the end of a round house. Test them on a good point break and compare. Clean for sure..

I have a massive which I love but torn between a Fiji and au go go

Definitely noticed the difference from locally made and tuned to local waves. I ordered a semi fish thruster from a shaper in Gisborne New Zealand and hated it riding it in Christchurch New Zealand until i took a trip to Gisborne. The board came alive and loved it.

They slow the board down when not going perfectly straight and also retard your ability to slide the tail effectively.

Im picturing a fast swimming game fish or a mako with channels. You feel a cross wake three times in a tri hull boat. It seems like there would be drag digging into a turn. But, none of my boards have channels. So why are you listening to me, man

My channel bottom round pin pyzel ghost feels Looser than my non channel bottom round pins. I think the channels actually break up the flow of water and that’s why it feels looser.

very informative video.back in the day (20 years ago) 4deep channels with quad fin set up seemed tobe the hot setup for the kneeboard community in my area.Newport/ Huntington beach,southern california.I shaped and glassed 3 of them for myself. out of the three only one worked well for me. But only in the best of waves. so I agree with you, they are not for everyone and they do need a good down the line wave.

Own 11 channel bottom surfboards,Been riding them since Col came home with his Pollards,

There are many subtle flavors and spices that can complement each other in a wide variety of ways. Some of the best boards I ever had were very simple flat to V bottoms well refined. Simple and sweet is a beautiful thing, especially when it comes to glassing and sanding. I have had a few magic channel bottoms, especially a 5"11" double wing fishy twin with channels exiting the wings. There was the channel bottom that went great at Rincon and Tarantulas but felt tracked out over at Sunset Beach. Radically sculpted hulls can carve like a dream in good point breaks. Finless boards can use convex parabolic curves, V bottom tails (hot curls) or concave channels to gain control of direction. Any complex bottom design must be well balanced against the other elements of the shape.

Great, l am 65 years old, I ride a mid length twin fin, many years ago after coming off MR twinnies, l ordered a 6’0 rounded pin with 6 channels, also had 2 sets of flyers, a single fin. Wasn’t really giving me the groove like twinnies and thrusters always felt tracky. I made the middle fin much smaller and then glassed on 2 fins off an old twinnie, one bigger fin , 2 smaller ones. The board just came alive and all these years later I still have fond memories of surfing NZ left hand pointbreaks on it. Wouldn’t mind a replica, paddling it could be a problem, do enough late takeoffs already, getting old sucks, but channels don’t.

I have a HGD 6 channel superstix. It's like a Formula One car. It's beyond fast to the point of almost hard to control. But once you get it wired, it's insane!

Hamish Graham made me some great Byrning Spears deep six channel bottoms years ago that worked well in everything including barrels and chop. They were very fast especially in steep barreling waves. If they’re not done right they track out.

Yair nar

Solid video, very informative. Pretty sure Occy's been riding 6 channels for the last decade, he's doing alright. 👍 Mick Fanning won J-Bay on a blue DHD years ago too.

Had a hot stuff kong in the 80s . Miss it terribly.

Good run down given most won't be charging Torren Martyn style waves. Can't express how much of a pain it is repairing a board with deep channels.

Channels on twinnys almost go hand in hand. Depends on the board and the wave