Fun Mctavish 9'0 session

[xtremebigair]

fun small surf Mctavish 9'0 session

[SoCalSupper]

Nice!- that McTavish looks fun-nice pulled in nose-Shell Beach in Dana Point?

[xtremebigair]

Shell beach is in Pismo Beach - Central California

[mike suerth]

Nice video...how do you like the mcTavish? what is your height and weight? Have you tried the 9'6"?

Thanks,

Mike

[xtremebigair]

Yes i have tried all 3 sizes of Mctavish 9'0, 9'6 and 10'.  I weight 155 lbs/70 kg and short board rider so the Mctavish 9'0 works really well in small to big over head waves.  Last month I was down in Punta San Carlos and got some big waves with this 9'0 Mctavish and it was super sweet.  The board is very light.  I tried it with Quad stock fins and I am liking my set up: 6" center fin  thruster.  I might try it with some side bites on the next swell.  Last summer I was riding a 8.5x29 Solo Paddle Surf prototype and it was one of my favorite board...

[SoCalSupper]

great pic-looks fun-thinking about a 9-0 myself- im 5-8, 160, sounds like i have the length right-what is thickness and width on your 9-0 McTavish?-you run quad or thruster mostly?

[VB]

I have ridden all three of the McTavish SUP boards and found the 9' a liitle tippy when paddling around.  I weigh 150 pounds.  It is a fun board once you get on the wave and surf it though.  Like anything else, I would definity demo the board first.  I personally found the 9'6 McTavish to be a lot funnier board.  It still surfs loose and paddles around easily.   

[SoCalSupper]

Thanks VB-good to know-dont mind a little extra work to get out to lineup as long as i get a payoff on the wave.

[jd]

Last month I was down in Punta San Carlos and got some big waves with this 9'0 Mctavish and it was super sweet.  

Off-topic, but how was the crowd down at San Carlos?  People still staying away from the area from all of the violence?  I'm planning a trip for the end of the month near there.

[xtremebigair]

Hey Jd: What crowd ?  hehe :-)  San Carlos is as good as ever: check out the vid here: http://xtremebigair.com/puntasancarlos.cfm

[LagoonSurfer]

Just had my 9' McTavish out for the first time. I found it really tippy (I also surf a Pocket Rocket). I have it set up as a 2+1 thruster and still kind of found it squirrelly. Is anyone else finding that deck REALLY slippery? I kept slipping off it like I was riding a wet banana or something. Grab handle/box is really in the wrong spot too. Build quality looks good.

I'm 5'10" and 143 pounds. Am an endurance fitness paddler when there is no swell.

What fin set up do you recommend?

[LagoonSurfer]

OK. So some more time the McTavis 9 fish including in some decent waves. It is a REALLY NICE surfer! Takes total paying attention to balance but it carves as a quad beautifully. Very stylish board wave-riding wise. Seems to plane/glide a little better than the PR (which I still love). I am using wax on the deck pad and that has helped. Down the road might just replace that deck with something similar to what Starboard is using but it's not totally necessary right now. I'm not slipping off going down the face of waves. Now that I'm getting the hang of this board I can't wait to get it out in BIGGER waves. Oh yeah!

This is a good thing--glad to have this board in my quiver. (Glad I didn't waste my money!).

[Beachbuddy]

I have surfed the McT.9'6'' and found the deck really slippery, and the carry handle horribily out of place. It surfed ok, although it felt slow and heavy. Maybe it needs bigger waves then the shoulder high I took it out on.

[LagoonSurfer]

Yeah that carry handle is stupid out of place. I'm just dealing with it. The 9'6" is a little wider and obviously heavier than the 9' I am riding so that may be the deal with your feeling it's slower. It's a design that supposed to be good in 3ft and above.

[Stev0]

I'm 77kg .I've had my Mctavish 9'0 for a year now , so I've got a good feel of what it's capable of.
Practical stuff first:
 Handle:..I've stopped being irritated by the badly placed handle: unless its windy I cary it on my shoulder & if I do use the handle I balance the board by holding one of the side quad fins

 Fins set up:I quickly did a permanent change to the quad fin set up - on the wave it feels like the board was made for this rather than the 1+2 set up.

 Stability:I find it pretty stable and is great getting through the white water - the extra width just in front of the step in the rail seems to really make a difference in the second or two when you're sculling to regain your balance. Dry hair 9/10 waves.

Build quality: Really good - I don't get the slippery deck thing.. - the traction pad is great with bare feet or boots. You're going to have to wax the front - more later

The Ride:
I moved down from a 10' JL waverider , so it did feel pretty small initially , and hasn't got quite the glide of a 10' board of course , but within 30 mins I was doing stuff I'd only dreamed of on the JL - because its is so manoeverable. Great power in bottom turns and I was sending spray off my top turns at last.  There is quite alot of volume in the front 1/3rd - which actually means you can get your front foot very near the front (hence the wax) for those last couple of paddle strokes if the wave is'nt quite steep enough to catch from the back.  My daughter (she's 60kg ) has riden this board quite alot and definately can't get it to turn like me  - the volume does need someone of at least my weight to really get the rails to bite & drive the board.
In steepish waves it's fantastic - copes with really late take-offs, but also paddles in early easily enough. It hasn't got the glide of a 10+ board so slower/shallower waves take a bit more effort to get onto. I think it works on anything from 2' up - best 2-5' - bigger than that it feels too manoeverable - I'm just usually gunning for safety.

In summary - I wanted a board that would rip & have found it hugely satisfying. Its a superb board to move down to from anything over 9'6 - 10' for any weight above 75Kg . Not a board for lightweights I reckon. Its really got me hooked on short board SUPing.