Right and wrong

[SUPsideATX]

Honestly, I consider the second set of fin boxes pretty pointless. the rails are too long and straight for quads to work well. All I've seen with quads in is increased drag and loss of that wonderful quick turn that the center fin placement sets up. I've never had a board, even those much shorter, that pivots so dramatically. It's easy to turn right out of a wave and exit going straight out the back--mostly when you didn't mean to.

Pono, second set of fin boxes on all SUPs or just on certain sized SUPs?

[PonoBill]

On the 10'4 Foote Triton. Any board that's short enough, or with with the right curve to the rails deserves a shot at being a quad, or a quad plus nub. But just looking at the bottom of either mine or LopezWill's Big Foote tells you those extra boxes aren't going to yield wonderfulness. Bill was right to leave them off. I don't know why mine has them.

[PonoBill]

Wow, I'm losing it. I had this nagging suspicion that it wasn't my 10'4" that I tried the quads on, so I got the board down and sure enough--three fin boxes. Very troubling. I had this clear recollection of it being the 10'4". Not the first strange memory defect lately.

[Flying Walrus]

So I've taken the Bill Foote 10' Triton out seven times now. Waist high to a little overhead. Pretty glassy most days, bumpy on a few. Not a real critical wave, but nice humpy walls and a saddle/bowl when the swell direction is best. A good paddle from shore and backs off into deep channels. Mostly lefts but long rights can be had.
The board is magic. More so than any other prone or SUP than I have ridden. I am having as much fun surfing this board as any other since I started on the Outer Banks in the early 1990s.
There are other variables at play. I have spent the past few years surfing this break solo. I have a wife and two minor sons and was always conscious that surfing alone isn't the smartest thing to do. Certainly I held back on my 11.6 Nalu. Introduced a few friends to the spot in the past month or so and having company has been awesome - I feel like the gringo Santa Claus. All are longtime surfers who grew up in the neighborhood (I moved in four years ago, been in Puerto Rico since 1996) but they just never thought to look at this spot. There are other good spots within easy striking range. Without a SUP I never would have explored it either (the crew now includes a boogie boarder, a longboarder, two SUPs and a shortboarder). I am much more comfortable "going for it" and I guess I have a little bit of a show-off in me. Well-timed advice to commit to my backside bottom turn has paid off in spades.
But the Foote feels like a custom slipper. It does what I tell it to do. Which is unusual in itself. Because in 25 years of off-and-on surfing I have never been more able to keep my brain on after dropping in. I've never been a great surfer. Took a long break to go to college in Montana and took another long break to be an idiot in Puerto Rico. I've been back for a awhile and am having a blast, especially seeing my sons catch the bug.
So I'm getting out more than ever. Enough to realize that I needed something other than the 11.6 Nalu. And I am just thankful that the Zone led me to Bill Foote and his Triton. Sky's the limit. It may sound crazy, but I feel like this board wants me to put the pedal down and go for it. Happy accident? Confluence of positives? I won't question it too much. But I'll keep paddling out sure that the Triton will more than be up to the task.
Buying this board makes me feel smart.

[SpaceCoastPaul]

Nice reviw FW. Thanks for sharing the stoke. I believe it was Laird who said that the best surfer is the one having the most fun.

[lopezwill]

Great review Flying Walrus.  Took the Triton out today in 2 to 4 foot mush and it performed wonderfully.  It's like one of those "Utility knives."  With a small change of fins the board seems to work in all conditions.

  That's great you can turn your good friends onto your own surf break.  I can't think of any undiscovered surf breaks where I live.  Have you named the break yet? 

   How about "Tritons?"

[Flying Walrus]

I was calling it Off the Radar because the break is just off a small military installation that sits atop a cliff-lined headland. It is not visible from the beach or any surrounding public lands. Never saw another surfer there in 3-plus years, just a couple spearfishermen inside and sometimes small fishing boats way outside. There are nearly always green sea turtles around the lineup. The first buddy I took suggested we call it Tortugas in their honor. Seems like that name is sticking. I told another neighbor about it a couple years ago. Said I'd be happy take him there. A shortboarder, he looked at my Nalu 11.6 and sort of nodded politely. Probably thought "What a kook." Not that he was wrong, but I was a kook on a wave conveyor belt with only sea turtles, pelicans and the occasional spotted eagle ray for company. And ospreys. He finally paddled out a couple weeks ago on his 6.4 and loved it. Now he's shaking his head thinking about all those waves that went unridden. Once I let the cat out of the bag, I was kind of freaked out thinking I should have just kept my mouth shut. It could still get crowded someday. It isn't an epic wave or anything, and there are better ones within a quick drive, but we're having a blast.
I'll probably erase this post soon. Too mappy.