Christenson Flat Tracker 7'6"

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saltyheaven said..
Oh they're the rears from the Bonzer 5 ! That's quite a lot of fin then. Interesting. Do they have the extra cant in them? So they lean out at like 18 degrees or whatever the Bonzer standard is?

So what do you feel that you are gaining when adding these sides as compared to running just single? And what do you feel that you are losing as well?

Ryan talked me into the Bonzer, according to him it gives the board a lot more drive out of your bottom turn in particular.

I'm mostly a single fin guy, I prefer the way a single turns and love the straight line speed.

The theory is that singles will go faster in a straight line as there is least drag but they lose speed when you do turn. The idea of the Bonzer vs a tri-fin is that the Bonzer is really a single fin with small side fins to create thrust through turns whilst maintaining straight line speed vs a thruster which loses down the line speed but will drive even more through turns. The Bonzer is really very similar to the Widow Maker configuration, and it's pretty interesting listening to David Parmeter talk about the science and merits of this fin set up

The fin location is really critical, really wide on the board. The Front of the side bites should align with the back of the single with little or no overlap, Ryan suggested this took a bit of adjusting to get right... Also changed to a shorter fin with wider base

I'll be interested to try but I'm not totally sold on the idea. If it doesn't improve performance then it goes unreal as a single so...

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saltyheaven said..
Yeah, I know the theory and the accepted wisdom.... I guess I was responding to onefin's enthusiasm for the bonzer/half bonzer and hoping for a bit of feedback from his Half bonzer Lizzy riding to weigh up against my own experiences on my boards.

edit: You did say you love the straight line speed and the way a single turns. I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to hearing how you feel about your Lizzy with sides when you've got a good feel for them.

Also, in my perpetual efforts not to surf anything like the short board crowd, I'm working on riding more from the middle of the board with a narrow stance, I feel like the more fin I'm using the more I'm encouraged back onto the tail. It's like the lack of much hold from the fin forces me to learn to use the rail more. Does the greater fin hold actually make it more difficult to turn from the middle or just remove the option to jam off the tail? I'm not sure yet.
I don't think a board type or fin setup (or whatever) actually forces you to ride in a particular way but it's clear that some setups and some riding styles are just a natural pairing and others rather less so.

Hey Salty, I think it's all about feels & the mood you re in. I rode singles exclusively for the last 18 months, they trim beautifully, smooth out your surfing and what's not to love about those big arcing turns. I do tend to Surf very laterally on a single, the semi bonzer allows me to mix it up a bit, draw different lines at a different pace, still feels very much like a single fin but with an accelerator. If that makes sense?

bottom turns give a bit of lift which equates to acceration which in turn changes the angle off the bottom. The sides give a bit more fluidity of the top and most noticeable is the acceleration mid way through & out of a cutback. The sides allow me quicker directional changes.

foot placement is key, whilst it will turn from the mid point it's not as fluid as turning a similiar sized single fin from the same position. Centering your back foot over the fin cluster loosens the board up to either s turn or jam a turn, trimming from the midpoint and cheater 5's are the same as a similiar length single fin.

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onefin said..

saltyheaven said..
Yeah, I know the theory and the accepted wisdom.... I guess I was responding to onefin's enthusiasm for the bonzer/half bonzer and hoping for a bit of feedback from his Half bonzer Lizzy riding to weigh up against my own experiences on my boards.

edit: You did say you love the straight line speed and the way a single turns. I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to hearing how you feel about your Lizzy with sides when you've got a good feel for them.

Also, in my perpetual efforts not to surf anything like the short board crowd, I'm working on riding more from the middle of the board with a narrow stance, I feel like the more fin I'm using the more I'm encouraged back onto the tail. It's like the lack of much hold from the fin forces me to learn to use the rail more. Does the greater fin hold actually make it more difficult to turn from the middle or just remove the option to jam off the tail? I'm not sure yet.
I don't think a board type or fin setup (or whatever) actually forces you to ride in a particular way but it's clear that some setups and some riding styles are just a natural pairing and others rather less so.

Hey Salty, I think it's all about feels & the mood you re in. I rode singles exclusively for the last 18 months, they trim beautifully, smooth out your surfing and what's not to love about those big arcing turns. I do tend to Surf very laterally on a single, the semi bonzer allows me to mix it up a bit, draw different lines at a different pace, still feels very much like a single fin but with an accelerator. If that makes sense?

bottom turns give a bit of lift which equates to acceration which in turn changes the angle off the bottom. The sides give a bit more fluidity of the top and most noticeable is the acceleration mid way through & out of a cutback. The sides allow me quicker directional changes.

foot placement is key, whilst it will turn from the mid point it's not as fluid as turning a similiar sized single fin from the same position. Centering your back foot over the fin cluster loosens the board up to either s turn or jam a turn, trimming from the midpoint and cheater 5's are the same as a similiar length single fin.

Great reply. Agree completly. The bonzer is like a single with extra zip and more hold.
The e wing on the Campbell's is a great thing too. Shortens the rail length and gives lift. Hard to see on mine below.

The Campbell website has some great stuff on there.

bonzer5.com/boards/bonzer-mechanics/

bonzer5.com/fin-placement/




Better shot of the Ewing.

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onefin said..

SP said..

onefin said..

saltyheaven said..
Yeah, I know the theory and the accepted wisdom.... I guess I was responding to onefin's enthusiasm for the bonzer/half bonzer and hoping for a bit of feedback from his Half bonzer Lizzy riding to weigh up against my own experiences on my boards.

edit: You did say you love the straight line speed and the way a single turns. I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to hearing how you feel about your Lizzy with sides when you've got a good feel for them.

Also, in my perpetual efforts not to surf anything like the short board crowd, I'm working on riding more from the middle of the board with a narrow stance, I feel like the more fin I'm using the more I'm encouraged back onto the tail. It's like the lack of much hold from the fin forces me to learn to use the rail more. Does the greater fin hold actually make it more difficult to turn from the middle or just remove the option to jam off the tail? I'm not sure yet.
I don't think a board type or fin setup (or whatever) actually forces you to ride in a particular way but it's clear that some setups and some riding styles are just a natural pairing and others rather less so.

Hey Salty, I think it's all about feels & the mood you re in. I rode singles exclusively for the last 18 months, they trim beautifully, smooth out your surfing and what's not to love about those big arcing turns. I do tend to Surf very laterally on a single, the semi bonzer allows me to mix it up a bit, draw different lines at a different pace, still feels very much like a single fin but with an accelerator. If that makes sense?

bottom turns give a bit of lift which equates to acceration which in turn changes the angle off the bottom. The sides give a bit more fluidity of the top and most noticeable is the acceleration mid way through & out of a cutback. The sides allow me quicker directional changes.

foot placement is key, whilst it will turn from the mid point it's not as fluid as turning a similiar sized single fin from the same position. Centering your back foot over the fin cluster loosens the board up to either s turn or jam a turn, trimming from the midpoint and cheater 5's are the same as a similiar length single fin.

Great reply. Agree completly. The bonzer is like a single with extra zip and more hold.
The e wing on the Campbell's is a great thing too. Shortens the rail length and gives lift. Hard to see on mine below.

The Campbell website has some great stuff on there.

bonzer5.com/boards/bonzer-mechanics/

bonzer5.com/fin-placement/




Better shot of the Ewing.

Hey SP, I have always liked the look of the bonzer egg, how big is yours? Have you had enough waves on the nautilus to compare with the egg? (Another board I d like to own!)

look forward to hearing your thoughts

Haven' surfed the nautilus yet been a big flat spell since I got and been busy on the few days there has been waves.

My bonzer Egg is 7'2 x 21.75 it isnt the standard egg. It's more like the speed egg. Tail and nose is pulled in more, lot less round in the outline. It also has the Ewing. Which a lot of the eggs don't. But having said that it was a quiver killer for a while there. The c bucket even got left on the rack. Generates speed easily and handles a wide range of conditions. It' a bit thicker then what I usually go but the rails are low and still have plenty of bite. Especially when you get you foot back on the Ewing bit. Definitely recommend having a go on one


Mine is more like this one.

Dear christenson & flat tracker aficionados, I was in the bay this afternoon and the best board I fondled in onboard was a 7ft christenson flat tracker. Now I really don't need another single fin but the outline reminded me of a parmenter stub vector which were/are thrusters. What are your thoughts? Would it work? Or too much vee? Thank you in advance

yeah first thing i noticed beyond the price was the size of that skeg...over by 2''s perhaps

I'd be checking who shaped it too.