1 Im 5’9” about 165 lbs. Im 32, live in san francisco, and am in good shape. I started surfing this summer, and have been going out about 2-3 times a week for the last two months. I really like it, and would like to buy my first board soon. I started out on a foam board–first 10, then 9, and then moved to an 8 foot fun board. Obviously, I have a lot to learn, but I can go out on this board and catch waves and have a good time.

Im trying to figure out what to get: Id really like to get a board that I can grow into. Also, I just feel like I am heading towards short boards one day (I hope)- and so Id like to get some kind of transition board–rather than a long board.

A guy at the surf shop told me that there is a 6′ 4” CI fish that I should consider–he showed me, and it looked great, but I cant remember the name. Do you think this is a good board for me? If not–what other boards should I consider. I like the CI boards.

Thank you!

Matt Thomson

Al Merrick, “I recommend the 7’0 M-13. It will allow you to catch waves easily and forgiving enough to improve quickly on.”

2 Some surfboard companies are starting to include board volume on their websites with the dimensions, do you think that volume is a good measurement to base your board choice on? Also, how do you decide what volume board fits you?

Kevin

Al Merrick, “Volume is just as important a measurement as length, width, and thickness in my opinion. If you know the volume of your existing board, you can use that number to base your next board purchase on. Every surfboard manufacturer uses different sets of standard dimensions for their stock boards. Some are longer, narrower and thinner. Some are shorter, wider and thicker. If the volume of the board is available, it takes a lot of the guesswork out the equation as to whether or not the board will float you.”

3 I’ve been surfing CI boards for more than 20 years. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Hoping to pick up a Biscuit soon. I live in a part of Orange County where there are a number of shapers and friends of shapers and up-and-coming shapers. And, lately I’ve heard a lot of grumblings about CNC shaped boards and how it’s destroying the industry. I know you guys are unapologetic about using CNC machines to shape your boards and then finish then off by hand. As one who has seen my own industry completely re-invented by computers and technology (and outsourcing) over the last ten years, your way of doing things makes a lot of sense to me. I may not understand all the nuances of a shapers life. I presume there are some who shape purely for the love of the craft – I get that and I truly appreciate it. But it seems to me that CNC production would allow a shaper to focus on innovation rather than hours and hours of production. So in general it’s hard for me to see the downside – especially for a shaper. This brings me to my question…What is the downside? I’ve heard several people recently claim that hand-shaped boards are all around better than a machine shaped board. This argument seems completely illogical to me. Even commercial airplane pilots don’t land airplanes anymore because they aren’t as accurate as computers. If you’re using the same foam – how can a hand-shaped board perform better than one coming off of one of your machines? I’ve surfed a lot of CI boards since I was nine years old and I can’t say I ever noticed when you changed your shaping methods. So, what is the downside? What are all the grumblings really about?

Best, -Kevin

Al Merrick, “We shape boards from raw blanks when there isn’t anything in our existing database that we can start from. When we shape boards from raw blanks for our team riders, each one of them rides completely different from the last, so when we are looking for consistency, the only way to really achieve it is to start with a CNC milled blank. We don’t see any downside to using the CNC milling machines.”