2015 Infinity Blackfish ST

[kayadogg]

I'm not affiliated with Infinity in any way, other than living down the street and being friendly with them. That being said, I just picked up a brand new custom Blackfish ST race board. 12'6 x 25". Weighs in at about 18 lbs with pad and tri-fin setup. I talked to Dave in depth about this shape before pulling the trigger. This shape is slightly modified from last fall's design, it has a wider tail with a little more volume. The board I was coming from was 26" wide and Dave assured me the Blackfish would be as stable, if not more. He was spot on. I paddled it last night for the first time and was really surprised at the stability. It is definitely a different feel since it's not a displacement hull and it's meant to plane. The release off the tail is really smooth, very quiet and throws a wide wake. Dave said it's harder to draft these boards due to the tri-fin setup and he wasn't lying. Really interesting things going on with this shape. The bottom is very rounded but then flattens out and actually has a deep concave out through the tail. He designed it around the tri-fin setup so that's what I went with. Tracks very well, pivot turns very easily and handles side chop and upwind with ease. Can't wait to see what this thing can handle and how it performs in different conditions. Have a training session tonight so we'll see how it does with some sprints and different drills. Will post more once I have a better feel for it but so far, nothing but butterflies in my stomach. This one's a keeper.

[Kojack]

Great looking board.  I have been really interested in this shape as it looks like it would be great in flat water and chop.  Curious why you went with a 12'6 VS 14.  I have a new Round Nose Blurr on its way and would love to add one of these as well. 

[BWilliam]

Thanks for posting K. I think it looks awesome, but not being at least a 14' takes it off my short list. I do like it though.







Will

[kayadogg]

Great looking board.  I have been really interested in this shape as it looks like it would be great in flat water and chop.  Curious why you went with a 12'6 VS 14.  I have a new Round Nose Blurr on its way and would love to add one of these as well.

I've been in a 12'6 mood for awhile now, since I've moved to California. Little bit easier to transport, store, maneuver, and I don't miss too much of the speed difference that the extra foot and a half gives me. Plenty of competition in the 12'6 division in races here too, so that keeps it fun. Plus I like surfing a 12'6 better than a 14. Just preference. I was on unlimiteds for a little while but now have gone full circle.

I'm waiting on a round nose Blurr too - ordered the Blackfish after the RNB and somehow got the Blackfish a lot sooner. Oh well, something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Bwilliam, check out Infinity's Facebook or IG page... they just finished a board for Chip Bock in Florida - another big guy and Dave cranked the volume and specs up on his board. I think the volume was in the 320-330L range. 27" wide, 14'. Nice looking big guy board. I'll have this Blackfish back in Rhode Island at some point over the winter and you're welcome to give it a spin even though it might not be the best match for you. Still keeping an eye out on some unlimiteds to bring back to Rhody for ya.

[BWilliam]

Great looking board.  I have been really interested in this shape as it looks like it would be great in flat water and chop.  Curious why you went with a 12'6 VS 14.  I have a new Round Nose Blurr on its way and would love to add one of these as well.

I've been in a 12'6 mood for awhile now, since I've moved to California. Little bit easier to transport, store, maneuver, and I don't miss too much of the speed difference that the extra foot and a half gives me. Plenty of competition in the 12'6 division in races here too, so that keeps it fun. Plus I like surfing a 12'6 better than a 14. Just preference. I was on unlimiteds for a little while but now have gone full circle.

I'm waiting on a round nose Blurr too - ordered the Blackfish after the RNB and somehow got the Blackfish a lot sooner. Oh well, something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Bwilliam, check out Infinity's Facebook or IG page... they just finished a board for Chip Bock in Florida - another big guy and Dave cranked the volume and specs up on his board. I think the volume was in the 320-330L range. 27" wide, 14'. Nice looking big guy board. I'll have this Blackfish back in Rhode Island at some point over the winter and you're welcome to give it a spin even though it might not be the best match for you. Still keeping an eye out on some unlimiteds to bring back to Rhody for ya.

Oh yeah, spotted that after you pointed me to it...Nice!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205423481173929&set=a.1280160371571.42237.1456893988&type=1&theater

Thank you very much on both counts! Would love to at least give that a go even though its a little on the small side. Unlimited - yeah baby!







Will

[BrentP]

That thing looks killer!

[greatdane]

Stoked to read your post Kayadogg, as I just ordered a 14' Blackfish 3 days ago! My 14' will be 26" wide with a 16" wide tail and probably at least 290 liters as I am 190 lbs.
I'm going with bright red stripes (-:
Please keep me posted on your experiences on it… I somehow have to find the patience to wait 6-8 weeks now...

[Kojack]

Great looking board.  I have been really interested in this shape as it looks like it would be great in flat water and chop.  Curious why you went with a 12'6 VS 14.  I have a new Round Nose Blurr on its way and would love to add one of these as well.

I've been in a 12'6 mood for awhile now, since I've moved to California. Little bit easier to transport, store, maneuver, and I don't miss too much of the speed difference that the extra foot and a half gives me. Plenty of competition in the 12'6 division in races here too, so that keeps it fun. Plus I like surfing a 12'6 better than a 14. Just preference. I was on unlimiteds for a little while but now have gone full circle.

I'm waiting on a round nose Blurr too - ordered the Blackfish after the RNB and somehow got the Blackfish a lot sooner. Oh well, something to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the feedback.  12'6 is def easier for all the above and agreed on the surfing side.  Out of curiosity, what is your height and weight?  Thanks for feedback, I am trying to figure out what to do re ordering.  Snowing here right now-never ends.  Cant wait to get on the water.

[XLR8]

Sick board! I really like Infinity and have been interested in this board.  Nice!  Looks great!  I'll bet it's awesome. 

[Sup44]

Hey I noticed you have an OAM pad but the tail says FCS. Did you combine two separate pads?

[kayadogg]

Hey I noticed you have an OAM pad but the tail says FCS. Did you combine two separate pads?

Yes, that was Justin @ Infinity's idea. The OAM pad doesn't have a tail kick and they have used the Infinity ones before but they are narrower and he would have had to cut that last piece of pad too far in so it would have looked a little awkward with extra space on the edges and an abrupt angle to the tail kick. The FCS looks way better and maintains the lines of the board.

[breakbad]

Looks incredible! I've been eye'n this board for awhile. Would love to see some reports on how it performs in all conditions.

[stoneaxe]

Sweet board.

[breakbad]

So......how's it performing? Updates?

[kayadogg]

So......how's it performing? Updates?

It's awesome. It took some time to mentally get used to how it paddles since it's the opposite of the traditional displacement shapes. Biggest things I have noticed is that it picks up the smallest bumps, especially side wake... you can hang out next to someone, paddle on the outside of your board and feel the board catching their wake and pushing you at a forward angle. Very easy to get into draft positions too, which is due to the nose rocker and soft rails up front. Drafting is a bit different. Took some time to get it dialed, where to stand, where to position the nose, etc. since it's not sitting in the "V" pocket the way a displacement hull does. Also depends on what and who you're drafting. I discovered that my board can't draft someone like Candice unless someone like Candice is paddling my board. No board will fix that.

I've paddled it in just all conditions with this except for true downwind with decent bumps (for SoCal). I have had it out in messy disorganized conditions and fin choice will make a difference. I'm running it with Larry Allison's "stealth" 3 fin setup for most scenarios. In open water, you will probably want at least a larger center fin or just remove all 3 and go with a more standard fin. With the stealth setup, as the tail gets lifted up and the wave rolls under, it clears the water so it gets loose and squirrelly. It also wants to track very straight, not great for messy open water when you're angling all over the place. I've surfed it in thigh high peelers at Doho, once with the stealth fins and once as a single fin. Way better as a single, obviously. With the stealth fins, I found it hard to even kick out of the wave, they really lock in.

Tail has a lot of volume so now that I've had it for over a month, pivot turns are super easy. Stability has not been issue since day 1 (25" wide) even in messy stuff. Speed-wise, it's as fast, if not faster, than my old board. I train 4 days a week with the same people so it's easy to compare and it's right there. Off the line, it gets up and goes extremely quick. Running skim starts are also really fast and fun.

Call it the honeymoon period, call it whatever, I'm really happy with it. I was just telling someone that between this board and my new Infinity Round Nose Blurr, that's all I really need or want for right now. Those two boards cover almost all of the paddling I am doing right now.