I’ve been surfing on Channel Islands boards for almost 7 years now. I’m thankful to have been able to work with Al over the years, and be a part of the Channel Islands team. It dawned on me a few weeks ago that I have only ridden a few different models from their massive collection. All my surfing life I’ve gone by, if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Over the years Al and I worked on a shape that I use for my everyday short board, The White Dove. I thought instead of working on a new design, it would be really fun to ride each model and do a little blog on how they work for me. In all honesty, it’s more about me trying to understand what’s under my feet and putting words to it. I’ve never been good at explaining why my boards work, but hopefully the explanations will get better with time…

Please excuse typos, grammar, spelling, making sense, booties, head snaps, & brevity.

 

Details

My height: 5’9
My weight: 155
Motor Boat Dimensions: 5'4" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4"
Fins: Futures 2/3 vector side fins, with AM1 450 back center fin
Worked best in: Head to head high+ medium push, glassy surf
More challenging in: Hollow, powerful, choppy surf

 

Ride

At first I thought I ordered the Motor Boat a bit too small. The first 2 sessions I kept going over the handle bars, but I know that you have to give boards a few sessions and change out fins before you can make an accurate decision on how the board really works. On my 3rd session I put the Future 2/3 vector fins in with a small back fin (AM1 450) and the board started working really good. The 2/3 vector fins look strange, but in the right waves and right board they help create a lot of speed & release well when landing airs. If I caught a wave that had some punch, the board got a little loose.

The Motor Boat worked best for me in waves that were mushy and glassy. It carries a ton of speed through flat sections when you have most of your weight on your front foot. I really liked this board for doing airs, it felt like a skateboard on some waves because it was so short. Overall the Motorboat is really fast and carries a lot of speed, due to it not having much rocker.

I would recommend ordering a Motor Boat 3′ to 4′ inches shorter than your height. This is a great summer time board depending on where you live. I would also always recommend having a few different sets of fins in your fanny pack. One set of fins could change everything about the way your board works…

Special Thanks: Photos/video Kyle MacLennan
Music: Contractions-Andy Smith/TCB

 

Photos