@haydnlewisdesigns and I had been chatting about this design for a while. Where do you go when you’ve been riding a fish all summer long and want to stick with that Twin fin feel on those bigger days, without sacrificing performance? Well, here is a prototype step up twin that is the outcome of those conversations.

Im 5'7 and 65kgs, Dimensions are - 6'3 x 20 1/4 x 2 1/2 around 34L. The board has moderate entry rocker and a bit of extra flip in the tail.

Ive had several surfs on it now in a range of different waves and it seems to really perform when the waves are steep and hollow with a bit of push.

Originally designed to use the Futures T1 twin / Captain fin Christenson twin set, I found that unless the waves were steep there was too much area in the tail behind the fins and the board wanted to spin out coming off the bottom into a turn. So I've tested a few other templates including the Futures K2 keel, which had plenty of hold but was a little too stiff and over the last few sessions, the Futures EN twin set - So far these have worked well. A good combination of hold and release when you need it.

1st session was at North Bondi on a big stormy swell, it was probably 8-10ft out the back, but the corner had a nice hollow left wedge in the rip up to about 3-4ft. The board felt really comfortable after a few waves, late drops were no problem thanks to the extra nose and tail rocker however it still paddles like a dream in the rip and made catching waves super easy. I didn't really notice the extra area in the tail behind the fins during this session as the waves had plenty of curve to them. The Vee in the tail made rail to rail transitioning easy, in summary I was stoked with how it went.

2nd session was at solid Manu Bay in Raglan, NZ. Waves were in the stormy 4-6ft category and although the board paddled and caught waves well, it wanted to spin out coming off the bottom at high speed. I put this down to it being a flatter faced wave and also there was a fair bit of chop down the line. I was still using the Christenson twin set, which in hindsight i should have swapped out for the K2 keel.

Since returning from NZ I've used it in over head waves at Bondi and Mckenzies and its performed well. On my back hand Ive found its a little difficult to come off the bottom and straight into a turn, it needs to be surfed a bit more horizontally which i guess is standard for Twin fins. It definitely prefers punchy waves with some curve. My latest surf was at North corner Bondi in 3-4ft wedges and it came into its own once again..

Overall I love how this board paddles and takes steep drops and allows me to push much harder than my fish in hollower waves. As its still a prototype, I think there are one or 2 tweaks that need to be made to fin placement (maybe a small trailer or Asymmetric twin/quad setup). Keep an eye out for a final version of this board to drop into our in store range, once its dialled! Clips coming soon.

If you have any questions or want to know more about this board you can contact us at info@sunburntmess.com